One of the most contentious, if not THE most contentious, issues in the Bible is money˳ I have heard and read numerous times that money is mentioned more times in the Bible than heaven, hell and love combined˳ I have seen sites that tout money is mentioned more than 2,000 times, Others tout 800˳ Yet others claim 125 in the King James Version˳ In any case there is no set number˳ But money and relying upon God for it are very important issues for Christians˳
So what is a tithe? Is it relevant to today? Was it for the Israelites only? Do Christians need to pay it?
Tithe is defined as a one-tenth contribution˳ Therefore to truly tithe, one must be giving up 10% of his income˳ Any amount above 10% is called an offering in biblical terms˳ Anything below 10% is not a tithe˳ It may be a donation but it is definitely not a tithe!
God promised blessings for those who tithed AND curses for those who robbed Him of the tithes and offerings that were due Him˳ Deuteronomy, 2 Kings and Malachi are great books in the Bible to see the blessings and cursings that occurred for the Israelite people˳
An argument I hear against tithing is that it was part of the Law˳ It was an old covenant direction that was wiped away under the new covenant˳ But if you want to be nit picky about this, the concept of the tithe predates the Law˳ In Genesis, Abraham (still called Abram at the time) offered the high priest Melchizedek 10% of the spoils of war which Abraham had just won˳ Both Abraham and Melchizedek were acknowledging that God had blessed Abraham with victory and the spoils˳ Thus tithing was around hundreds of years before the Law was established˳
Do Christians need to tithe? No˳ It is not a condition of making heaven˳ No one can buy his way into heaven˳ There is no legal requirement to tithe˳
Should Christians tithe? Absolutely! This is how Christians demonstrate their trust that God will take care of them˳ Let us assume that money is a very important issue to God (based upon the number of times it is mentioned throughout the Bible)˳ Obviously money is an important issue to every human being˳ So who do we as Christians acknowledge as the source of our money and overall welfare? When we choose to put a few dollars in the offering plate when it comes by during church service, we are demonstrating that WE are the source˳ We earned that income and we are going to hold onto it˳
But when we truly tithe, we are acknowledging that God is our ultimate source˳ After all ten percent is a hefty portion of our income to let go of˳ But when we place that trust in God, He blesses us through unexpected income AND lessening of expenses˳ He did not stop blessing people when the new covenant was established˳ God’s math is infinitely superior to our math!
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Giving-10-Percent—The-Importance-of-Tithing&id=9414471
