810. The 800 Club: Looking Back - Tithing, Abraham and Giving Gracefully

As we continue looking back over the years after reaching the milestone of our 800th podcast … we’re following up on last week’s program. Many advocates for “the tithe,” as it relates to giving ten percent of all of one’s money or income, will try to use Abraham as an example on why people should tithe this way today. They will apply a couple of easily misunderstood passages from the Bible, but as we take a closer look, we find the pieces to the puzzle just don’t fit. We try to bring some context from both the Old and New Testaments about Abe and how his tithe to Melchizedek was so very different from the “church tithing” of today—and like the Jewish people under the law—it really wasn’t about money with Abraham either.

We also address some questions about the “tithe money” being received today. If such a system was meant to be in place and ordained by God, who is really supposed to be the designated receiver of the tithes with the priesthood of men no longer in place? Is the church corporation’s bank considered the so-called storehouse?

There is a better way for us to function when it comes to giving, and it’s by the freedom of grace as God’s Spirit moves within our hearts. God is a giver, but not because He is obligated to be … He wants to do it out of love, and so it is with us in the New Covenant. We have inherited this desire to help others, and it doesn’t always involve money.

Here again are some links to some of our past talks about tithing:
495. Covenant Confusion: Tithing
496. Christianizing the Tithe
497. Abe Gives a Tenth to Mel  

The Tithe (Episodes 769-777). Click on the first episode and then click "Newer Post" for each subsequent part.

   
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809. The 800 Club: Looking Back - Twisting the Tithe Into Money

In our look back over the past 800 programs, we’ve occasionally discussed tithing. When most Christians hear the word tithe, they assume it means to give or pay ten percent of all your money. Most will also assume this is to be designated to a church organization which they might call “the storehouse.” And there are those who teach that when one gives ten percent or more to the work of the ministry, that God will bless them with more money.

Sincere Christians can disagree on this subject, but most of what has been taught about the “principle” of tithing in the New Covenant is extracted from Bible verses and concepts very much out of context. Our quick review on the topic touches on why tithing became a requirement under the law for Israel (spoiler alert: it was about food, not money). And did Jesus really say we should tithe? You can certainly give ten percent of your money if it’s what you really want to do, but in the New Covenant, you are free to give as it’s on your heart to do so.

We've talked about the subject of tithing a few times in the past, and below are some links to some of our past talks.

First up is a short series we did a few years ago:
495. Covenant Confusion: Tithing
496. Christianizing the Tithe
497. Abe Gives a Tenth to Mel

And then a nine-part series that we did last year (Episodes 769-777). Click on the first episode below and then click "Newer Post" for each subsequent part:
The Tithe

   
Get the book