Posts Tagged ‘giving’

Some Nagging Thoughts in my Mind

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010

- Giving to the poor
The concept to support the poor through offerings is reiterated in the New Covenant, so why wouldn’t tithing be reiterated to support the spread of the gospel even just once?

- In regards to tithing and the New Testament:
The number one problem i had when i once believed in the tithing mandate was that all i could see was the consistency and repetitiveness of tithing. I could not see the other inconsistent, and incompatible errors it has under the new covenant. Anyone can see the similarities of any screwdriver and any screw, but it’s inconsistencies that will tell you whether or not a screw driver will fit the screw.

- To those who hate when I condemn prosperity preachers and their self serving ministries:
“God put this religious system here. But when the nation became so sinful, He sent the Babylonains in and they destroyed the very system which he had setup.” – Jim Gables, Vineland Park Baptist Church

- In regards to former multi-millionaire Mark Brunnel’s bankruptcy:
Why are people allowed to tithe while in bankruptcy proceedings?

- Why require Tithing and not Circumcision?:
Circumcision does not raise money. 1 Timothy 6:10

- Tithing and Debt:
I forget which is right and which is wrong – to tithe while in debt, or to gain debt while tithing?

- Tithing Money, Food, & Corruption
It’s important to note the reasons why the tithe was only food in the bible. It’s hard to hoard food when you can only eat so much of it. It’s quite the opposite with money . . . it seems you never have enough.

- Tithing to your neighbor
If i told you to tithe to your neighbor, what would your giving look like? But if i told you to love your neighbor as yourself, now what would your giving look like?

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Pros and Cons: Tithing v. Spirit Led Giving

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

1. Punishments

  • Tithing
    Malachi 3:9
    You are cursed with a curse
  • Spirit led giving
    Acts 5:1-10
    But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet.    But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself? While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not in your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

    Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things. And the young men arose and wrapped him up, carried [him] out, and buried [him].

    Now it was about three hours later when his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

    And Peter answered her, “Tell me whether you sold the land for so much?”

    She said, “Yes, for so much.”

    Then Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband [are] at the door, and they will carry you out.”

    Then immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. And the young men came in and found her dead, and carrying [her] out, buried [her] by her husband.

  • WINNER: Spirit Led Giving

2. Rewards

  • Tithing
    Malachi 3:10
    And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you [such] blessing That [there will] not [be room] enough [to receive it].
  • Spirit led giving
    2 Corinthians 9:8
    And God [is] able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all [things], may have an abundance for every good work.
  • WINNER: TIE

3. Effectiveness

  • Tithing
    Deuteronomy 14:29
    And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who [are] within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
  • Spirit led giving
    Acts 4:34
    Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,
  • WINNER: Spirit Led Giving

4. Cheerfulness

  • Tithing
    Matthew 23:23
    Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [matters] of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.
  • Spirit Led Giving
    2 Corinthians 9:7
    [So let] each one [give] as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
  • WINNER: Spirit Led Giving

5. New Covenant Commands

Tithing
. . .    . . .     . . .

Spirit Led Giving
Romans 12:6-8
Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, [let us use them]: if prophecy, [let us] [prophesy] in proportion to our faith; or ministry, [let us use it] in [our] ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality;

WINNER: Spirit Led Giving

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Walk a Mile in These Shoes

Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

I felt it good to post a comment from a past blog and then write my response here.

Mac says:
06/15/2010

Wow, spoken out of true ignorance. Churches are not perfect, they are run by human beings, but i have seen … alot more good and grace and mercy come through the church than our government. Here’s food for thought for you all. You think preachers have it made? Well consider this. Because a church is tax exempt they do not pay income or social security taxes on preachers. That means it is the preacher’s responsibility to pay both the employer’s portion and their own portion. Also unlike you desk jockeys, a church does not pay into preacher’s social security so if a preacher becomes disabled they are pretty much screwed. Add on top of that the fact that many churches do not provide benefits, like health insurance, etc. Churches get no government assistance whatsoever, that means they are totally dependent on … you to give donations to pay their bills and pay the pastor, etc. But since you are more concerned with buying a Starbucks latte or an apple Ipad than supporting your local church, alot of churches have to shut their doors. Until you have walked a mile in someone’s shoes don’t assume you know anything at all. I hope you read this article author man, you make me completely sick.

Mac,
I am a self employed individual. Every day i wake up wondering why my next paycheck is going to come from. I wonder if God will provide me some business today, and on top of that worry about my competition (unlike a church). If i were to be disabled in any way, probably the only job i could get is at a church. I started my business with no income or contracts, with no customer base or initial converts.

I do not have a health, nor retirement plan. I pay full state and federal taxes on my sales and income (unlike a church), and also have to pay for social security for myself and as an employer.

Most of the people in my situation do not have the opportunity to plead at the pulpit for more support (unlike a pastor). If i need some sort of assistance, my church fellowship might provide some temporary relief, but in the end i have to get off my ass and find a job and work like the rest of the world. It’s an enlightening opportunity to actually be a full time servant of God amongst the rest of the world.

My wife and I own 2 cars over 10 years old, and have worked hard to pay them off. I have a silverado loaded with nothing(nope not even power windows), and a toyota camry with over 190,000 miles (praying that it will go to at least 250,000). I have a 32? old school box TV, and i do not pay for cable. I have 1000 sq ft home with 1 child now and 1 on the way.

I have worked for a church doing administrative work for about a year, and was let go because of budget cuts.

I say all this not for a pat on the back or some applause, because it really is not as hard as you or I make it sound. Mac, i’ve walked miles in these shoes. Did i blame my clients because they didn’t choose my services? Did i blame God during the hard times because i was frustrated? Did i get mad at people in the Church for not giving?

All-in-all Mac, i think you just need to calm down. I’ve never seen a man of God without his needs taken care of. Regardless if you are a pastor or you squeegee sewage all day; the common denominator it all boils down to with everyone is something called faith

I couldn’t agree more with your statement about the church and government. The church is where grace should be coming from. Instead most churches are willing to pass the torch off to our government. It’s ludicrous to watch the pulpit being used to make social demands from the government. It’s also bizarre to me that people expect to see Jesus more from our government than from our Church – just look at hurricane katrina.

There’s only one way to stop the insanity, and that’s to purify the church of greed and corruption. We’re not going to stop all this mess at the polls or at the next tea party rally. Political rally’s are just band-aids on gunshot wounds. It has to come from God’s people and within the family of God.

I do not apologize if the blog article offended you or if it seemed too radical. Once again, i didn’t write my experiences to play my trumpet. I could care less about what people think.

Malachi 3:3-4
He will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, And purge them as gold and silver, That they may offer to the LORD An offering in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem Will be pleasant to the LORD, As in the days of old, As in former years.

-  jared, author of the blog

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Tithing Sermons – Should or Shouldn’t?

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

  1. Why you should: Your Church is broke.
    Why you shouldn’t: Your church will be more broke
    I understand that the utilities, rent, and honorable salaries need to be paid. But we need to learn to cut expenses. The “American Greed Dream” can’t creep into homes without it creeping into the Church.
  2. Why you should: Your pastor wants a new car
    Why you shouldn’t: Someone else needs a car more
    A little perspective goes a long way. Look at how others poorer than you live their lives and try to imagine your attitude under their circumstances. Determine your wants vs. needs.
  3. Why you should: Your Church wants a coffee shop
    Why you shouldn’t: Your coffee shop is only open 1 day a week
    A majority of Church buildings are largely under-utilized so let’s get smart about what were spending our money on.
  4. Why you should: You want a new building
    Why you shouldn’t: Can i remind you that were in a recession?
    I’m not saying that great sacrifices can’t be done during hard times, but let’s not forget that a recession means 10% unemployment, higher taxes, forecloses, and salary cuts. Let’s not forget that your biggest need might be to expand your walls, but, someone’s biggest need this week may be what they are going to give their kids for dinner. Once again, a little perspective.
  5. Why you should: You want to buy new drum set for the band
    Why you shouldn’t: Bongo’s are soooo much cheaper!
    This may be just my pet peeve, but I’m kind of getting tired of seeing 5 guitar players and a drummer on stage. Can’t anyone play anything else?
  6. Why you should: You want people to be blessed
    Why you shouldn’t:     People will be cursed instead
    I’ve said it once, I’ve said it twice. . . Shoot! . . . I don’t know how many times I’ve said it, but tithing is an Old Testament law.
    Galatians 3:10 – “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse“
  7. Why you should: It’s Stewardship month
    Why you shouldn’t: Why spend time talking about 10% of our money?
    Am i missing something here, or is there a reason why churches are concerned about the 10% that they get from you and spend very little time advising you on the other 90% that they aren’t getting from you? I’m wondering if they take the time to advise you on the 90, I’m sure there would be less problems collecting the 10. Like i said above it’s hard for greed to slip into the home without it slipping into the Church. The apple does not fall far from the tree.

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The Church is a Spoiled Brat

Monday, March 29th, 2010

“If everyone in the Church gave 10% of their income, the Church would have an additional 50 billion a year to do missions, feed the poor, provide clean water and medical supplies, etcetera . . . etcetera . . . etcetera.”

Sound Familiar?

Why is it that every time you hear a challenge to tithe, you get slapped with the guilt that your current endowment efforts aren’t enough to give some clean water or even a band-aid? You begin to feel that as soon as everyone started giving a tithe, that we could solve the depravity of basic necessities in the world.

I wouldn’t dare question that we wouldn’t gain an additional 50 billion if we all tithed, but i do have to question if food, medical supplies, and clean water really would be administered with that 50 billion.

Why don’t we admit the truth – that if we gave 50 billion extra, we would spend the majority of it on ourselves for building projects, salaries, church events, and theatrics.

We don’t admit the truth because, the truth doesn’t guilt people as much as the lie does. Who could deny water, food, and shelter to anyone while i sit at home in my comfy house with central air, and a supermarket down the road? Seriously, what type of human being are you if could deny someone just the basic necessities for survival?

One thing you will never hear is that if all of us gave 10% of our income, the Church would actually spend about 80% of that 50 billion on internal operations.

“If only i had a little more money then i could tithe?”

Does that sound familiar? well that doesn’t sound too far from saying “If only we had 50 billion more, then we could . . .”. Can we say that the apple does not fall far from the tree?

Anyways, the point here is to expose the lie that frequently proceeds the tithing challenge. The truth is if we had 50 billion extra, we wouldn’t provide water, food or shelter. Let’s face it, our tendency has been to hoard it, so why would we change? In actuality, the Church takes in over 100 billion a year, but you won’t hear this number out of anyone’s mouth. The constant whine of what we don’t have as opposed to what we do have, is what i call a ‘Spoiled Brat’. Let’s not use crying babies and starving families as a ploy to get people to tithe unless our money is actually going towards them.

P.S. I don’t believe tithing is commanded anyway.

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Bible Verses on Spirit Led Giving

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Because of my stand against the tithing mandate, many have asked me for bible verses that support Spirit led giving. So I’ve compiled a list of the more obvious bible verses that i believe support Spirit led giving as opposed to tithing. There are definitely other verses that may support Spirit Led giving in an indirect way, but i do not feel that they are as obvious as these bible verses below. I have included a monetary offer at the end to the best one who contributes an additional bible verse on Spirit led giving.

  1. Galatians 5:18
    But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
    Um, need i say more? Sure, because there are 10 more bible verses still to write about.
  2. Romans 12:6-8
    Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, [let us use them]: if prophecy, [let us] [prophesy] in proportion to our faith; or ministry, [let us use it] in [our] ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
    This just plainly states that our giving is a Spiritual gift, not an action that is determined by a numerical calculation.
  3. Matthew 10:8
    Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, [fn] cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
    With this verse in correlation with other spiritual gifts, such as healing, we should see that our freewill, spirit-led giving is a command and is a spiritual gift as well.
  4. Acts 1:8
    But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
    It is the law and sin that no longer has the authority and power over our lives, including our giving.
  5. Acts 5:3
    But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself
    In this passage Ananias disobeys the Spirit of God and convinces himself into believing a lie that he should keep back part of the price of land.  If the Holy Spirit was not responsible for instructing Ananias to give everything, then Ananias had no reason to hide part of the price. The guilty need no accusing. This is why i believe that Spirit led giving is not an easy way out of giving. There are direct consequences for disobeying the instructions of the Holy Spirit. With tithing in the Old Testament, you had some idea of what the consequences of not tithing were.  I would think that the worst part about some types of punishments is not knowing what the consequence would be.
  6. 1 Peter 4:10
    As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
    Many times we pray and plead for an opportunity to minister our gifts except when it comes time to minister our gifts of giving. It seems that we have the opportunity to bypass the intense pleading and praying part because the ministry of giving is calculated through tithing, not prayer.
  7. Acts 2:44-46
    Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart,
    This is not a verse that even mentions the Holy Spirit, but can we deny that the leading of the Holy Spirit is not upon them? Can we deny that the worries of possessions and materialism have faded into the gladness and simplicity of their communion?
  8. 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, 9:7
    Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.
    So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us–see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.     . . .[So let] each one [give] as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity[law]; for God loves a cheerful giver.
    Yes, this is one of the more vague passages to support Spirit led giving, but in this whole passage about giving, i have underlined 2 phrases to summarize this passage on giving. After Paul’s admonishment on liberality and freewill giving, he states, “I speak not by commandment” and “not of necessity”. These phrases should strike a stake into the heart of all tithing supporters, and should make it clear that no standards or laws are a substitute for the Holy Spirit.
  9. Acts 11:28-30
    Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.
    Here we have a man/woman who revealed through the Holy Spirit that a great famine was going to come. And because of what the Holy Spirit had revealed, the early Church was able to prepare relief for those who would be most effected by this famine. The Spirit led gift of giving many times is not so much the ability to give, but more or less the ability for one to see a financial need that should be filled.
  10. Luke 4:1
    And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.
    Do we see giving mentioned in here, no. But we do see the Holy Spirit as a leader, and a guide.
  11. John 16:13
    Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
    I think we need to realize that Holy Spirit isn’t just this being that puts a permanent smile on our face. Many people believe that Spirit led giving is just simply performing the action of being cheerful. This is not the truth. We not only should be Spirit filled with our giving, but also Spirit led. The Holy Spirit is an instructor, and brings revelation for our lives.
  12. 2 Corinthians 9:7
    [So let] each one [give] as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

We need more verses that support Spirit led giving, SO PLEASE ADD SOME SPIRIT LED GIVING VERSES IN THE COMMENTS. I would definitely love old or new testament verses. There are lots of bible verses on giving in the new testament but it’s hard to really pinpoint that a spiritual gift is being used or that the Holy Spirit is guiding someone. So take that into consideration if you wish to add a verse. Also, please add your own little commentary to the verse as well, so i can add your explanation. I don’t want my voice to be the sole interpreter of scripture on this blog. I will send $15 through paypal to the best new verse and explanation of Spirit led giving.

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Stop Tithing for Lent

Monday, February 22nd, 2010

I know, it’s a little late to stop tithing for lent. But if you haven’t started stopping anything yet, then here’s your perfect opportunity to give up tithing for lent. Many churches have started the 90 day tithing challenge. Basically, it asks you to commit to tithe for 90 days, and by the end, if you are still struggling with your bills, then the church will refund your money. Note they didn’t tell you that they will want you to open up your checking account to them so that they can analyze that you’ve spent too much on vacations, parties, or entertainment.

So, I’m throwing out the stop tithing lent challenge. Give up tithing for the next few weeks before Good Friday. This is not a challenge to stop giving. This is a challenge to begin a journey of sacrificial, spirit led giving. By the end of this journey i want to see how blessed your life has been. By the end of lent, if you feel that Spirit led, freewill giving has devastated your spiritual life, then by all means, go back to tithing (No, i’m not gonna offer any refunds)

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Incompatible Systems: Tithing v. Holy Spirit

Friday, February 19th, 2010

Could you imagine if God told the Israelites to use the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the Levitical service in the temple? I’m sure a lot of objections come to mind right now. here are a few of my objections:

  • The Roman law does not know how much resources are needed to run the temple operations
  • The Levites have no influence or authority over the Roman laws
  • Old Testament laws and the Roman laws have 2 different duties to fulfill
  • The two different statutes are just incompatible, so there would be no way to merge Roman law with the Levitical laws

Using the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the services of the Jewish temple seems ludicrous. But, as bizarre as it may seem, the Church today is financing it’s ministries in this same bizarre fashion. We are using two separate statutes that are incompatible with one another to either govern or finance Church ministry. The Church body uses the Holy Spirit as our guide and our counsel. He is responsible for ordaining evangelists, teachers, apostles, and prophets; and yet we use a different tax code to pay for the service of these offices.

Instead of allowing the Holy Spirit to finance the same ministries that He governs, we use the tithing tax code to pay for them. Since the law used tithing to support the Levites and a type of priesthood that does not exist today; why do we use tithing to support ministries that have no connection with the law still? Here’s my objections:

The tithing law does not know how much resources are needed to run Spirit led operations.

Let me give a practical example. The U.S. Constitution delegates specific powers to our government. So naturally, our constitution delegates funding for it’s own operations. We couldn’t use the financial data from European laws to pay for U.S. government operations. So, how can we use tithing laws to finance the operations that the Holy Spirit has delegated? Tithing has no ability to predict the amount of resources that the Holy Spirit needs.

Also, what better way to confirm that a ministry was  called by the Holy Spirit, then by the same Spirit calling us to give to support it?

The Spirit led Church has no influence or authority over the tithing laws

Let’s just hypothetically say that in the Old Testament, Roman laws distributed a tithe proportionately to 10 levitical districts. What influence would the Levites have over these Roman laws if they felt a change in finances was necessary? The Levites do not have any authority over the Roman government, let alone any of the benefits of Roman citizenship. The needs of each levitical district varies year after year, but the Levites are stuck with the proportions delegated by the Roman laws.

Today, the Spirit led church has no influence over where their tithe must go. You may think that my claim is biased since the church leaders distribute the tithe and offerings after each Sunday. But I’m not talking about what Church leaders do with what others have given. I’m talking about what you do with what God has given you. You and I are the Church. Pastor Bob and his staff is not the entirety of Church operations.

According to most tithe teachers today, our tithe belongs in the local church storehouse. So, if we were to give our 10% anywhere else besides the local church, then we would be in danger of putting ourselves under the Malachi 3 curse. In some cases, our extended family could use some help with groceries this week, but choosing where our tithe can go is not our decision to make. We have no authority to change where the tithe must go, because neither the Holy Spirit, nor your ambitions have no authority to change it.

Even though Christians are to be led by the Spirit of God, what tithing really means is that once you’ve achievedthe minimum guidelines and standards, you are finally free to be Spirit led. Until then, you are under the authority of something other than the Holy Spirit.

Both the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant operations have different duties to fulfill

I’ve already stated that tithing was used to support the Levitical system and a type of priesthood that does not exist today. Tithing financed the duties of Levites in the Old Testament who held governmental positions, couldn’t own land, were guards, and also treasurers of the cities. The tithe in the Old Testament was their government welfare system and also funded multiple yearly festivals. The tithe did not pay for any salaries, nor did the tithe did not go towards any buildings or programs.

There is no way that tithing could have been integrated into a completely different New Testament system without any instructions in the bible on how to modify or migrate tithing into the Spirit led Church. The new testament Church is not the old testament system donning a new costume; so why should tithing be slipped under the cloak of the New Covenant legislation?

In the Old Testament, worship for the Israelites, Levites, and Priests was instructed through the Law. There was no question as to who was to serve, where you were to serve, and how long. This systematic worship, and governance made it quite simple to use a tithe to finance these straight-forward instructions. If the new covenant had laws that dictated who the ministerial class was going to be, as well as where and when they served; then i could see no problem with implementing a systematic way of financing that legalistic operation.

In the New Testament, because we all participate in the operations of priestly worship, our duties are not clear-cut for us. We are all given gifts that differ according to the delegations of the Holy Spirit. Since we all have duties of the priests, there is no Levitical class, there is no priestly portions. We do not have instructions written on who is to serve, how long, or where. The Holy Spirit is spontaneous, and radical. But please take note, that we have the responsibility to develop plans and create order. Spirit led giving is not the presence of anarchy and chaos.

The Holy Spirit and tithing are just incompatible

You cannot use water to fuel a combustion engine, and neither can we expect tithing to fuel the Spirit filled Church. The restrictions of tithing make it impossible to coordinate with the spontaneous and radical movements of the Holy Spirit. You cannot expect a dead, static law, such as tithing, to be fully compatible with a living, spiritual organism.

God’s children are born of the Spirit, so the letter of the law is dead. Nothing screams “letter” more loudly than prescribing a mathematical formula for our worship towards God. Seriously, what other aspect of our worship are we obligated to perform a minimum standard? Name me one – praying, serving, preaching, witnessing, attendance . . . ? Also, name me one spiritual gift, besides giving, where there is a minimum standard attached to it? Could tithing be any less discreet about it’s form of legalism? Tithing IS the definition of legalism! The letter and the Spirit do not mix.

Conclusion

Could you imagine if God told the Church to use the laws in the Roman tax code to pay for the ministries in His Church? It sounds ludicrous! So, stop trying to be a church that is governed by Julius Caesar and be a Church that is governed by the Holy Spirit and the Word of God – Jesus Christ.

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