Wednesday, September 25, 2024

Matthew 23:23; Discovering The Real Meaning

MATTHEW 23:23... 

Matthew 23:23 - "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL 

Matthew 23:23 is a rebuke to the corrupt priests of the Nation of Israel who were under the Law of Moses; the New Testament church is not the Nation of Israel, is not under the Law of Moses and has no command to tithe anything to anyone. 

HIS REBUKE

Matthew 23:23 must be understood in the light of the entire 23rd chapter of Matthew, and in the whole counsel of God, the entire Bible; 2 Peter 1:20 - "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation."

Jesus rebuked and exposed them saying they were hypocrites who ignored the important matters of the Law such as judgment, mercy, and faith, who, the priests, had not done them, and indeed left them undone. The "other" they should have been doing that Jesus referred to was not tithing, they were already tithing and did not need a command to do so. The "other" is a reference to judgment, mercy, and faith, or what was called "the spirit of the Law," that is to say the real meaning of the Law.

Jesus explained the spirit of the Law of Moses here... 

Matthew 5:27-28 - "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."

CONCLUSION 

Matthew 23:23 is not a command to the New Testament church to tithe anything to anyone. Only deceptive tithing teachers seeking to rob you of your income twist Matthew 23:23 into you handing over money to them. They are the type of lying hypocrites Jesus exposed and rebuked. 

The Apostle Peter spoke of them here... 

2 Peter 2:3 - "And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation slumbereth not."

The Apostle Paul spoke of them here... 

Titus 1:10-11 - "For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake."

And, here... 

1 Timothy 6:5 - "Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself."

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Copyright 2024, Anthony Todd, All rights reserved. Permission to copy and distribute this article must be obtained in writing from Tithing Study Online.

Permission can be requested at: tithingstudyonline@gmail.com. Upon permission to do so, it is granted under the strict condition that no content of any article be removed or altered, and that all articles are to remain intact as is when used. You must include a notation that any article distributed originated from Tithing Study Online, and include our blog URL as: https://ExaminingTithingDeceptions.blogspot.com - Permission to copy for personal use only is hereby granted.

Malachi 3:10; what kind of text?

Malachi 3:10; what kind of text?

>> Descriptive text - God describes something in scripture, but does not directly command something to be done.

>> Prescriptive text - God prescribes something in scripture, commands something to be done. 

> Malachi 3:10; for the Nation of Israel; Prescriptive text.

> Malachi 3:10; for the New Testament church; Descriptive text.

Case in point...

Noah's Ark; 

> For Noah; Prescriptive text, build an ark.

> For the New Testament church; Descriptive text, no command to build an ark.

Tithing teachers typically confuse descriptive text with prescriptive text regarding Malachi 3:10 claiming that Malachi 3:10 prescribes tithing to the New Testament church.

Malachi 3:10 was written to the Nation of Israel under the Law of Moses (Malachi 1:1, 2:1, 3:7, 4:4), the New Testament church is not the Nation of Israel, is not under the Law of Moses and has no command to tithe anything to anyone.

Acts 15:24 - "Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:"

Romans 6:14  - "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." - 

Galatians 3:24-25 - "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster."

Galatians 5:4 - "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace."

___________________________________________________________________

Copyright 2024, Anthony Todd, All rights reserved. Permission to copy and distribute this article must be obtained in writing from Tithing Study Online.

Permission can be requested at: tithingstudyonline@gmail.com. Upon permission to do so, it is granted under the strict condition that no content of any article be removed or altered, and that all articles are to remain intact as is when used. You must include a notation that any article distributed originated from Tithing Study Online, and include our blog URL as: https://ExaminingTithingDeceptions.blogspot.com - Permission to copy for personal use only is hereby granted.

A REQUIREMENT TO TITHE?

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