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Re: “I believe you are going to go to hell (fire) if you don’t give your tithes.”
Submitted by Nick <nick@houseofprayerlive.com> on 03/Jun/2009 in reply to “I believe you are going to go to hell (fire) if you don’t give your tithes.” posted by Saved by Grace on 26/May/2009
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Hello, saved by grace. I wanted to commend you on your ability to articulate your view point on tithing in a very professional and convincing manner. I find that I share your fear of salvation by any other means than the grace of God, legalism. However, It is my prayer that my closing remarks in our services would not engender confusion nor contention. Jam 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, [and] easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Tithing along with many other biblical principles, when performed to promote favor with God, often leads to self-righteous or legalistic Christians. There are many doctrines such as baptism and communion that many churches make heaven or hell issues. The intent of my comment was to simply state my personal belief concerning tithing and may not necessarily be held by the members or leadership of our church. My point being in the context of my statement is that we have no right as a lay-members to impose certain personal convictions nor try to conform anyone in the body of Christ to our personal beliefs through legalism. It should be noted that this was not stated by our pastor but by me as an example of differing beliefs. It would be more appropriate to discuss tithing with the pastor as it relates to our specific church.
With that being said I feel it is necessary to share my view on tithing. In your closing remarks you seemed to reflect that you are not opposed to tithing in general but rather you are opposed to tithing as a requirement that effects salvation and with this I readily agree. I do NOT believe that a Christian has to tithe to attain salvation and the Bible makes it very clear that we are saved only by the grace of God Eph. 2:8-9. However, I adamantly believe a Christian should tithe. I want to be very clear I do not tithe to be saved but I tithe because I am saved. Please understand that there certain issues that are not debatable, such as the salvation by grace and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but many other subjects lend themselves to debate. One must be careful and spiritually minded when researching such issues due to the vast resources available that allows one to defend their position on biblical issues, whether right or wrong.
I will not offer a rebuttal of your entire post as I feel your argument is sound concerning
salvation by grace (Acts 15:7-11), but rather comment on few specific sections. The discussion board would never hold the many, many books about tithes so I will try to be brief.
Statement #1 : “Therefore, one should not tell an overcomer that he is going to go to hell (fire).”
I do not recall saying an overcomer is going to hell. Based on the actions of the rich man in Matt 18:22-23, a strong argument may be posed in favor of questioning the salvation of those who are unwilling to sacrifice for Christ. Considering that there are many things that may present obstacles for individuals, Christ specifically mentioned money in this text. The dilemma of those who say they are Christians and fail to live out Christian principals is addressed in the book of James..
Statement #2: 2nd Paragraph of Post
I agree that we are not God and must examine ourselves and be careful in condemning or judging others, but to say that we must never judge other individual’s actions does not hold true to Biblical teachings, (1 Cor. 5). I made the statement that we should never judge others or try to conform them to our own beliefs but rather allow the Pastor the opportunity to share his convictions without biting and devouring one another.
Statement #3 : “The council of Jerusalem dealt with legalizers from Judaea. Peter’s argument for Christian liberty was why put under the law those to whom God has given the Spirit?”
I agree we are not under the Mosaic Law, but I would ask if we are required to perform any natural services as a believer? Abraham tithed four centuries before the Law of Moses. Tithing is a principle.
Statement #4: “In today’s churches, there is rarely any mention of tithes going to these underprivileged groups.”
There is no way to prove this throughout the world and therefore could never be validated.
Concerning Matt 23:23
Again I agree with your point but would ask you to examine the scripture more closely to see if Christ condemned tithing or rather condemned the wrongly placed emphasis of the Pharisees.
“These ought ye to have done”, and NLT translation states “You should tithe, yes,”
I believe with all my heart Christ does indeed expect a Christian to tithe and this is just the beginning of Christian service.
In conclusion I believe that every Christian should tithe. I would love the opportunity to sit down and share with you more concerning this matter (there are some neat concepts of percentages, amounts etc…). My e-mail is nick@houseofprayerlive.org and I would be happy to meet with you any time or simply e-mail you to discuss this issue with you. I do not know if you believe in tithing for you say “To be clear, I do not oppose Christians giving 10% of their income to the church, or even more if they desire.” I want to be very clear, I do indeed believe a Christian should tithe.
God wants your heart. Tithing is a matter of motives and your heart.
NLT James 2:18 Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."
"Honor the LORD with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest" (Proverbs 3:9).
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