Is a 10% 'Forced' Tithe Biblical?
Both the Old and New Testaments clearly show that offerings are to be made with thanksgiving of the heart, and by our own free will.
Leviticus 22:29 "And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will."
2 Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."
The giver must be of a 'willing mind', and the offering is made out of what a 'man hath' - not what he 'hath not'.
This is a clear instruction that an offering, and even a 'tithe', should be made from a person's net income, not from the gross as is so often preached.
How can one give of what they don't have? In both the Old and New Testaments, offerings were made from the crops and livestock that they actually had.
One is to give as they are able, and from that which they have:
2 Corinthians 8:12 " For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not."
Deuteronomy 16:17 "Every man shall give as he is able."
Ezekiel 46:11 "The meat offering shall be ...as he is able to give."
In the Old Testament of the Bible, when there was a precedent for the Tithe, it was usually during certain days of celebration, and not on an ongoing basis.
When Melchizedek, a priest of God, blessed Abraham who “gave him tithes of all” (Genesis 14:20), it was done on the specific occasion of a victorious battle.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul noted that the offering should be done willingly, not from compulsion or given grudgingly. (2 Corinthians 9:5, 7).
My hope and prayer is that God's people would be freed from the burden of guilt that the supposed required tithe sometimes brings and see that the New Covenant does not require this type of offering.
Offerings should be made from a glad and willing heart, not from a superimposed 'requirement' of 10% of one's gross household income.
Give to the ministry of your choice, but most of all give of yourselves unto God:
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Micah 6:8 "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
The Lord's 'requirements' are not burdensome: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
In Christ's Love,
Pastor Greg
Both the Old and New Testaments clearly show that offerings are to be made with thanksgiving of the heart, and by our own free will.
Leviticus 22:29 "And when ye will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving unto the Lord, offer it at your own will."
2 Corinthians 9:7 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver."
The giver must be of a 'willing mind', and the offering is made out of what a 'man hath' - not what he 'hath not'.
This is a clear instruction that an offering, and even a 'tithe', should be made from a person's net income, not from the gross as is so often preached.
How can one give of what they don't have? In both the Old and New Testaments, offerings were made from the crops and livestock that they actually had.
One is to give as they are able, and from that which they have:
2 Corinthians 8:12 " For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not."
Deuteronomy 16:17 "Every man shall give as he is able."
Ezekiel 46:11 "The meat offering shall be ...as he is able to give."
In the Old Testament of the Bible, when there was a precedent for the Tithe, it was usually during certain days of celebration, and not on an ongoing basis.
When Melchizedek, a priest of God, blessed Abraham who “gave him tithes of all” (Genesis 14:20), it was done on the specific occasion of a victorious battle.
In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul noted that the offering should be done willingly, not from compulsion or given grudgingly. (2 Corinthians 9:5, 7).
My hope and prayer is that God's people would be freed from the burden of guilt that the supposed required tithe sometimes brings and see that the New Covenant does not require this type of offering.
Offerings should be made from a glad and willing heart, not from a superimposed 'requirement' of 10% of one's gross household income.
Give to the ministry of your choice, but most of all give of yourselves unto God:
Romans 12:1 "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."
Micah 6:8 "What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"
The Lord's 'requirements' are not burdensome: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:30
In Christ's Love,
Pastor Greg
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