Back to the
cross,
the root, the word @
The
Radical Pilgrim
~
Pro Bible ~ Pro Apologetics ~ Pro Kingdom ~
All
scripture quotations from the Authorized Bible, without
apologies.
Placed accents mine.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Freedom
From "The Tithe"
What
doth the LORD require of thee?
Please let me have my two pennies worth ...
We
don't come to the Lord because we come for the benefits in knowing Him,
but because He is GOD and when He calls, we heed. He is also
someone to fear, believe it or not.
However, the great thing is ... God is a compassionate God,
who
is also
just and fair, and declares and records His decrees for our
safeguarding
and spiritual well being. Whereas, treacherous man being what
he is, doesn't like it when he looses control over his religious
constituency because some happen to find the truth; and will
do all he can to keep you hedged in by
his rules and regulations. All for your common good of
course. Cos, in the end, they do not want to see others getting
"ahead" of them. After all, this could threaten their power-hold
and financial security.
This is also why we are wise to heed
God and please Him in the end, whether it means being unpopular or not,
than heeding man and falling into the obligation trap. One of the
biggies today of course, being tithing!
Tithing and striving, winding
and
grinding ... turning over the religious machinery that is!
The world of mundane systems and routine! Upholding the liturgy,
plus the proceeds of the
mechanism,
to make the thing work! But here's good news to quote when the
religious Gestapo come knocking on your door ... Acts 15: 5-10:
"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a
yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were
able
to bear?"
Meaning, being under a better
covenant is
living by faith not compulsion. Nor living under condemnation and
obligation. Tithing (as aleady mentioned) being one of
the biggies in the obligation
trap.
Like using the old 'out of context' Malachi Chapter Three as emotional
blackmail or a great fear tactic ...
"You'll
be under a nasty curse if you fail to come up with the cash this Sunday
morning. Remember, that's at least 10% your net income, because it
does not include your required offerings on top!!"
Tithing ... "what doth the LORD
require of
thee?"
Isn't it to do with doing justly, and loving
mercy, and walking humbly with thy God? Or is this too
simple? Whereas, it is more religiously expedient to complicate
things and work things in favour of the priesthood elite. Let me
explain:
Tithing is first mentioned
in
scripture
with Abraham when he gave a tenth to the Lord (just the one occasion
may
I add!). Later it was incorporated into the law system of Israel
as there became different tithes for different things. The main
tithe
was given to the Levites, the priesthood (not to a special figure-head
by the way), whereas they in turn were to give a tenth of the peoples
tenth
(gets quite involved eh!) as an offering to
the Lord.
Num. 18:26. And like all religious observations ... on it
goes!
Tithing was to do with produce,
not money . Today, it is taught by many churches as a New
Testament
requirement, and is always to do with loot ... the $$$s and (non)
cents
stuff!; as it is used for paying the minister's wages. Even
though
there
is no scriptural back-up whatsoever for tithing in the New Testament,
or
'rules and methods' for giving money. Even as there is no New
Testament
backing whatsoever for a "one" pastor show. Even though Paul
mentioned
five times that elders were to feed the flock not by constraint, but
willingly;
and
not for filthy lucre (financial revenue/proceeds, that is!). Look
'em up ... 1 Tim. 3:3 & 8, Titus 1:7 & 11, and 1 Pet.
5:2!!
Then there is also the one where
Paul said he
did not have dominion over the faith of the Corinthians. Who did
then? They did! The individual saint before the Lord.
Giving was an individual choice/heart thing, not a crowd being forced
en mass
because of damnable consequences. Or being fleeced because they
thought it was their duty to provide for and sustain bullies over them.
Yes, Jesus tithed before going to
the cross
as
he was fulfilling the Old before He ushered in the New (Heb.
10:9).
Yes, in regards to Abraham, along with Israel, tithing is mentioned in
Hebrews. However, we must remember, Abraham also
circumcised. Which by the way,
was
also practised before the ceremonial law was introduced.
Therefore, is circumcision a requirement today? No (Gal. 5:6)!
Abraham is our father according to the Promise, not circumcision
(Rom. 4:14-16). Just the same way, Abraham is also our father
according
to the Promise, not tithing!
Also, when the letter was written
by the
Jewish apostles for the Gentile believers in Acts 15: 20 and 29, as a
recantation
(Gal. 2: 11- 3:1) for yielding to the demands of the religious Mafia
(the
concision - Phil. 3:2), this letter was to do with not placing heavy
burdens
on them (much of Jewish custom by then was add-ons and inventions of
men,
and not scriptural anyway). This letter was an outright reversal
and written public declaration against bringing new converts back under
the yoke of the Old or under any new form of Judaism. It was
also,
by the way, their big moment when tithing could have been made into a
very convenient doctrine
by
the apostles. It was also their great opportunity when they could
have chosen the heavy push for centralization of power and wield the
big stick for "apostolic-elitism". When tithing, circumcision,
Sabbath
or Sunday keeping, submission to clergy, and so forth, could have been
reinforced if they were still valid or had become valid.
However,
these guys were not in the business of taking advantage of novices in
the faith nor lording it over flocks, as, in the end, only four things were required
for
these
new converts to abstain from. And it was nothing to do with
cranking
along
ceremony or routine, or propagating or sustaining religious hierarchy,
for that matter! Here we go:
To our
Gentile brothers ...
"Gidday
folk! Welcome to the fold (without religious strings attached
... only some practical - spiritual - pointers)!!
As we have not been
raised up to do your thinking for you,
or make you into Jews, and after much heartfelt discussion amoung
ourselves, we will only ask you to take note of abstaining from the
following:
meats offered
to idols ("which
direction is the abattoirs facing ... east or west? Mecca
or
the bank?" - "You mean I don't have to be a vegetarian?"),
and
from blood (goodbye
black pudding and rear, dripping, juicy red steak),
and
from things strangled (pushing
home the point and problem with raw blood),
and
from fornication (tough
on the New Wave trend and Bible traitors).
When it comes to the New Covenant the
Lord
requires
all ... just like the illustration of a certain poor widow giving
up the
only
couple of coppers to her name in Luke 21: 2-3 (ever tried tithing 10%
of
two pennies?). However, when it comes to giving, the balls in our
court. The freedom of choice can be exercised. Dad does not
want us to respond like a robot, or give out of compulsion, for God
loveth
a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).
Which basically means the LORD
does not
demand
a "spiritual" tax (in the manner rebellious Cain and apostate King
Saul responded to God)
but a whole heart.
Yip, all means all under the New Cuv!
Without
excuses.
Without spiritual mumbo jumbo and doctrinal hiccups. Without
religious
side-issues and clerical red-tape.
How does the Sunday morning chorus go? Oh,
yes ...
"I want to worship the Lord with all of my heart,
give Him my all
and
not just a part."
Next verse, similar to the first ... and
added without
censorship
(please feel free to sing-a-long!):
"
I want
to worship the Lord with all of my life, give Him my all and not just a
tithe!"
In conclusion, again, let me just ask you this one
simple question (seriously) ... "Have you ever tried tithing 10%
of
two pennies?"
Impossible!? Then welcome to
the New Covenant!!
