The Sin of Tithing Today
Audio read by Tom Parks - MP3
The Tithing Dilemma - Chapter 1 - MP3
More Byte Show Interviews...
Audio read by Charlie Corder - MP3
The Bible defines "sin" as the transgression of law (1 John 3:4)—any law! And in the Bible the use of the word "sin" has to do with violating any law of God that God has given for people to observe. Another way of defining "sin" in the Bible is to apply the verbal elements of the word "sin" itself and we arrive at the phrase "to miss the mark" as its dictionary meaning. In common parlance "sin" simply means to miss the "bulls eye" in the center of a target and this means to violate any standard of conduct that God has decreed for people to observe. God has given certain positive laws to particular people to perform as well as certain negative laws telling people to refrain from practicing particular deeds. When one breaks any of these laws that God has ordained for certain people to do (things to perform or not to perform), that person is reckoned to be "sinning."
With this being the definition of "sin," there are multitudes of preachers, priests, evangelists and theologians who are "sinning" on a daily basis in regard to their use (or better yet, their misuse or their abuse) of the biblical tithe. There is nothing more clear in the Bible than the teaching of God about the ordained tithe. The Bible shows who were to pay the tithe, who were to receive the tithe, the types of products that were to be tithed, who was not to tithe, how the tithe was to be used, along with regulations that gave limitations and restrictions on its use, yet these laws of God are being violated wholesale by preachers, priests, evangelists and theologians who want a ready money supply for their religious or church work. In doing so, they are deliberately committing outright "sin."
The truth is, these religious men and women are often quite aware of what the ordained tithe of the Bible was designed to accomplish and to whom the produce or monies were to be paid, but these modern religious authorities have, in many cases, abandoned all sense of God’s directions and laws regarding the biblical tithe and they have appropriated those funds to themselves and for their own use in ways that the Bible never sanctions. Indeed, it is common in ministerial circles and among the church denominations for the religious authorities to demand the full biblical tithe from church members. Some authorities even threaten the plagues of God on those of their congregation if they fail to pay the tithe either in part or in full. Other ministers use the tactic of producing guilt in people’s minds through their sermons in order to extract the tithe from their congregations. It even has become a common notion among many Christian denominational teachings that the matter of exacting tithe from the people is a cardinal responsibility of the ministry in order to gain money to operate the church and its activities. But this is wrong. It is not biblical. And worse, it is "sinful."
Now don’t get me wrong. It is perfectly proper to have funds given to religious organizations (even generously if people so desire) in order for them to perform the works God has given them to do. People who are members of a church or a religious group that is doing a good work in teaching the Gospel or is providing a worthwhile service to the community and the world should be supported by its members. People should not let others pay for the upkeep of the religious work while they reap the benefits of it. But the securing of the necessary funds with which to operate those organizations is not what this book is speaking about. Having funds to operate is an essential factor for any religious organization, but the problem with preachers and church leaders is the manner in which those funds obtained.
The Bible has a clear and easily understood manner in which the teaching of the Gospel ought to be supported (and funded adequately) and all people who subscribe to those teachings should have their part in financing it, but in no way should the ordained tithe of the Bible be used (in the slightest capacity) in providing that support. That is what we are talking about. In simple terms, the biblical tithe should not be the means that Christian and/or Jewish religious organizations obtain their funds with which to function. Indeed, if a church or a synagogue uses such tithe, everyone who is party to such a scheme is sinning in the eyes of God! That is a fact, and this will be shown in this book.
These are strong words (and they may be shocking to some who have not studied the Scripture on the matter of tithing), but they can be shown to be true. When the tithing laws recorded in the Bible are really comprehended, it will be seen that their misuse by ministers today has degraded those sacred laws into a monstrous system of money gathering which can only be called (by its proper title) "The Sin of Tithing Today."
Click here to order the print version of: The Tithing Dilemma
|
© 1976-2023 Associates for Scriptural Knowledge - ASK is supported by freewill contributions |