Christians can NEVER be cursed by not tithing; it's simply not possible...

Ignorant tithing teachers make claims well beyond any biblical credibility to place blood-washed blood-redeemed New Covenant believers under the curse of the Old Covenant, under the curse of the Law (the law of Moses). 


>> FACT ONE; Gentiles...

In fact Gentile Christians were NEVER under that Law; they were instead condemned by the witness of nature all around them and their conscience; see Romans 1:18-20...

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" - Romans 1:18-20

And...

"He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto ISRAEL. He hath NOT dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the Lord." - Psalm 147:19-20 


>> FACT TWO; The Hebrews...  

Hebrew Christians who were once under the Law of Moses are now dead to it; how can a dead person be cursed? See Romans 7:4-7...

"Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.

For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet."

>> God’s Word very clearly declares to us who believe that "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us" - Gal. 3:13

Last I looked, this biblical text, Gal. 3:13, is also in the tithing teacher’s Bible also!

>> QUESTION;

The question must be asked; What post-Calvary New Testament principle of interpretation gives tithing teachers the authority to say that Christians who do not "tithe" are "cursed?" 

Just what curse is it they speak of and try to place on Christians? Answer; a false deceptive one God has never established in and under the New Covenant. They foolishly and ignorantly quote Malachi 3:9 which is a curse of the Old Covenant, NOT THE NEW COVENANT...

>> Since the whole 10 percent went to the Levites...

"And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.

But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.

But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance." - Numbers 18:20-24

>> And, the priests only received a tenth of their tenth...

"And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe.

And this your heave offering shall be reckoned unto you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

Thus ye also shall offer an heave offering unto the LORD of all your tithes, which ye receive of the children of Israel; and ye shall give thereof the LORD's heave offering to Aaron the priest." - Numbers 18:25-28

...it must be asked; are not gospel ministers who teach tithing cursed if they receive more than one per cent? ...ref.; Numbers 18:20-24.

Also, the priests only received a tenth of their tenth ...ref.; Numbers 18:25-28.

Are not gospel ministers who teach tithing cursed if they receive more than one per cent?...cursed because they are completely IGNORING what God's Word IN FACT says about the tithe?

>> THE PROBLEM;

Tithing teachers don't read, neither do they obey what God IN FACT says about tithing preferring rather their own made up garbage concerning tithing and their traditions of men which makes VOID the Word of God.

>> THE ANSWER;

"For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision: WHO's MOUTHS MUST BE STOPPED, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for FILTHY LUCRE'S SAKE." - Titus 1:10-11

And...

"For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they draw to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto MYTHS." - 2 Timothy 4:3

And...

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


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Copyright 2019, 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.

Our New Nature in Christ Does Not Need Us to Be Tithers, or Require Any Artificial and Non-scriptural 10% Rule of Giving.

>> God's gift to us; the new person in Christ.

Imposing an artificial "10% rule" of monetary, or any other form of tithing, on Christians is trying to govern Believers by the Law of Moses. One problem that arises by doing so is that the tithing teacher is appealing to the flesh in an attempt to use force by law compelling people to give.

Tithing for the Nation of Israel was law, it was compulsory. When such laws are forced on Christians they violate the freedom Jesus went to the cross to purchase for us.

The result is that people "give" motivated by fear, wrong reasons, greed, ignorance, false doctrine, legalism, and giving under compulsion, which the Apostle Paul warned against in 2nd Corinthians 9:7...

"Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; NOT grudgingly, or of necessity [under compulsion]: for God loveth a cheerful giver."

>> At the beginning of His ministry, Jesus Christ declared, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor.  He has sent Me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners." - Luke 4:18.  Jesus fulfilled this mission by dying on the cross and setting us free!

"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." - Romans 8:1-2

>> New Nature in Christ.

Our new nature is to be governed by the Law of Christ ("Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." - Galatians 6:2), not the Law of Moses where God commanded tithing was established. Being governed by the Law of Moses is like living in one country and having the laws of another imposed upon you. That is what a tithing teacher is doing when falsely teaching tithing as a requirement for a New Testament Christian; imposing the Law for the Nation of Israel on New Testament Believers who are free from the Law of Moses...

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." - Romans 10:4

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

"But now we are DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." - Romans 7:6

"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 3:24-25

"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:" - Acts 15:24


>> We are to learn to give naturally, naturally in a spiritual sense as part of our new nature in Christ, as free will generous givers as Jesus would have us be, no longer in need of "standards" of giving because of laws that compel us to do so; we simply grow into a life style of freely giving that comes naturally to us.

Tithing laws retard the growth of us as free will generous givers, and keep us "giving" for the wrong reasons; that is giving under the law and compulsion, not because of our new nature in Christ.

One of the worst crimes committed by tithing teachers against Christians is revealed in this verse of scripture...

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." - Galatians 3:10

A great crime in the light of this...

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." - Romans 8:2

>> To tithe compelled or deceived by false teachers to do so is to be in chains of bondage. To give freely is to be free in Christ! Our new nature is one of freely giving, not one of needing to be forced to "pay up or be cursed!"

Paul referred to the Law of Moses as a "ministry of death" (2 Corinthians 3:4-11) and warned...

"not of the letter [law] but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." 

>> We are new creations in Christ created by God...

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." - 2 Corinthians 5:17

"Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:" - Colossians 3:9-10

Who is "him" who created "him the new man?" Jesus! Who is the new man who was created? You, the Believer!


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Copyright 2019, 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.

Where is it Written?

>>> If a Christian, that is to say a Believer who's Covenant with God is the New Covenant, should be tithing, then why do we observe these facts in the New Covenant?...

1. There are no instructions in New Covenant as to who or where to tithe to. In the Old Covenant, the tithes (three of them) were (1) paid to the Levites, (2) or consumed by the tither them self, (3) or given directly to the poor and needy and strangers passing through the Promise Land needing help.

2. In the New Covenant there are no examples of anyone paying a tithe to anyone in any way shape or form. Matthew 23:23 takes place at a time under the Old Covenant, not the New Covenant.

3. In the New Covenant no Apostle ever taught tithing, asked for a tithe, rebuked any person or church for not tithing, or received a tithe themselves. Not one of them. The early church (i.e. Book of Acts) NEVER tithed. We have NO record of them doing so.

4. If based on the New Covenant, Christians should be tithing, tithing instructions would be clearly included in the New Covenant for us to follow. We cannot tithe based on the Old Covenant because all tithing God had commanded in the Old Covenant was based on the Law of Moses, we are not under the Law of Moses. For Christians under the New Covenant, No such tithing instructions, terms, conditions or details are outlined anywhere in the New Covenant for us to follow; they simply do not exist.

5. Hebrews chapter seven reveals that God's commanded tithe was practiced based upon the Law of Moses (Hebrews 7:5, also Malachi 4:4); that same chapter in Hebrews reveals that the Law toward us and relative to New Covenant Believers (you and me) is disannulled, weak and unprofitable thereof. (Hebrews 7:18-19). Why would God instruct us to tithe when He tells us that doing so has been disannulled, is weak and unprofitable? Answer: God didn't.

6. One tenth of the Holy Tithe, the tithe given to the Levites, was, under the Law of Moses, brought to the Temple in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 10:38) the remaining ninety percent was taken to the Levitical cities to be stored and distributed to Levites (Nehemiah 10:37).

As of 70AD there has been no Temple in Jerusalem to bring one tenth of the Holy Tithe to, and no Levitical cities have ever been established in the New Covenant.

Nowhere in the New Covenant is a New Covenant gathering of Believers (a church building or facility) ever referred to as a "temple" or "storehouse," and never designated as a place tithes must be brought to.

7. God, in the Law of Moses, the Old Covenant, gave the tithes to the Levites (Numbers 18:21,24), to the tither to spend as he pleases on himself (Deuteronomy 14:22-26), to the poor and the needy, and again, to the Levite (Deuteronomy 14:27-29); where in the New Covenant has God taken the tithes from Levites, the tither himself, and the needy and poor and given any of the tithes to an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Teacher or Pastor...or anyone or any institution? Answer: Nowhere.

8. In God's system of tithing, God restricted all tithes to fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land (Lev. 27:30, 32, Num. 18:27, Num. 18:28, Deut 12:17, Deut. 14:22, Deut. 14:23, Deut. 24:21, Deut. 26:12, 2 Chron. 31:5, 2 Chron. 31:6, Neh. 10:37, Neh. 13:5, Mal. 3:10, Matt. 23:23, Luke 11:42); where in the New Covenant has God changed the tithe that is surrendered to money or currency from a Christian's income and bank account? Answer: Nowhere.

9. Where is tithing included as a commandment, instruction, suggestion, example or even a hint in the Old or New Covenant for a New Covenant Believer to follow? Answer: Nowhere.

10. Where did Jesus Christ instruct New Covenant Believers to tithe? Answer: Nowhere.

11. In the New Covenant the majority of giving was given directly to the poor and the needy, not to church buildings or religious organizations. Acts 4:34-37 records people selling what they had and bringing the proceeds to the Apostles. Also, in Acts 5:1-11 we see the corruption that caused.

It must be understood that simply because they sold everything, and it is recorded that they did in scripture, does not mean that it is a New Covenant instruction to New Covenant Believers. If it is; why have you not sold ALL you have and brought the proceeds to your church and given it ALL to an Apostle? Nothing in scripture records any instructions where God told them to sell everything and give to a common fund.

What they did in Acts 4 was a form of early socialism which ended up with the saints in Jerusalem ultimately IN ABJECT POVERTY needing help from other Believers who Paul organized to help them. 


>>> Tithing was never, is not now, and will never be part of the New Covenant, tithing has nothing to do with New Covenant believers, there are no instructions for Christians to tithe. We are to give freely as God leads us to do, not tithe to anyone or anywhere.

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Copyright 2019, 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.

Here is a short list of why I oppose tithing

1. Tithing is not a New Testament doctrine or command. Christians are not instructed to tithe anything to anyone. 

2. All commands for tithing were a matter of the law of Moses (Jesus made that very clear - Matt. 23:23), no Christian is bound by the law of Moses. 

3. No church or other organization has a right to ask for or receive tithes. In fact, they have no right to expect any donations at all; people can support a ministry if they want to, but no Christian is biblically obligated to do so. The vast majority of giving in the early church went to the needy and the poor, not churches. 

4. Tithing places Christians into spiritual and financial bondage and deceptive slavery to whom they tithe to. 

5. Tithing transfers money into the hands of people and organizations who have no right to have it. In many cases, it has made thieves rich by deception. 

6. Tithing was never money, there is no such thing biblically as monetary tithing. 

7. Christians are instructed to be free will givers, not tithers, giving as they are led by their heart to cheerfully do so. 

8. Tithing is not seen in the Bible as a "Genesis to Revelation" ongoing continuing principle to be followed today by all people. God's command to tithe was limited to the Nation of Israel while they were under the law of Moses. There is no 10% universal standard of giving anywhere in God's Word a Christian must follow. 

9. Tithing, the teaching thereof, turns churches into oppressive organizations that place people under constant financial pressure to hand over 10% of their income "or face curses and loss of blessings;" a damnable thing to tell a Christian! 

10. The teaching of tithing turns "ministers" into wolves in sheep's clothing stealing from God's people. 

11. God has never given the biblical tithe to anyone under the New Testament; not to any apostle, pastor, teacher, evangelist, prophet, etc., to no one. 

12. Teaching tithing to New Testament Believers is in fact the preaching of another gospel not found in the Bible. 

13. Tithing turns a Christian into a fear motivated legalist who is afraid of the wrath and curse of God, and loss of blessings, if he or she does not "pay their tithe" which is deceptively claimed to be 10% of a person's income. 

14. And last but not least; modern day tithing is nothing but a ugly deceptive scam, and those that teach it will be facing God's judgment for what they are doing. 

>> There are many other reasons to oppose modern day tithing, I could list a lot more, but you have some of the reasons I oppose the teaching and practice of tithing. 

Tithers...financial slaves and victims to whom they tithe to. Yet there is hope... 

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32 


>> Facts That Question and Expose the Myths... 

1. Tithing has nothing to do with personal income or money, there is no Biblical tithing instructed on money or income. There is no connection made between the two, tithing and income, in scripture. 

2. The tithe came from the miraculous increase in agricultural products (fruits, vegetables and clean animals) that God gave to the Nation of Israel, that increase alone was the substance of the tithe. 

3. God has never instructed any individual to tithe; the tithe requirement was on a nation, the Nation of Israel, not any particular person, neither Jew or Gentile. God did not instruct persons to tithe, God instructed a Nation to tithe. 

4. The tithe surrendered by the tither was restricted to fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land. In scripture, money (income) was never tithed on, and there was, and remains, no requirement to do so. 

>> If you believe points 1 through 4 are incorrect, please provide scripture contradicting them; 

1. Where does scripture record God referring to the tithe as money to be paid, or connecting a tithe requirement to money? 

2. Where does scripture record God describing the tithe (what the tithe was to be) as anything other than fruits, vegetables and clean animals from the Promise Land? 

3. Where does scripture record God instructing tithing to all individual persons on earth, Jew or Gentiles, under the Old Testament or New Testament? 

4. Where does scripture record God instructing monetary tithing, that is to say tithing on money or income? 

>> Concept; "These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." - Acts 17:11 


Tithers...financial slaves and victims to whom they tithe to. Yet there is hope... 

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." - John 8:32 

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Copyright 2019, 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.

So...Jesus said "tithing is something we ought to do". Let's see if He did...WITH SCRIPTURE.

>>> Jesus' Words in Mathew 23:23 

If Jesus instructed the New Testament Church to tithe based on Mathew 23:23, the Church has a big problem, and here is why... 

"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." - Mathew 23:23 

1. To men with a lot of personal wealth, a lot of money, the Pharisees, Jesus confirmed that tithes were to be surrender as fruits, vegetables...(and in the case of herdsmen, clean livestock); "ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin..." Jesus did NOT instruct them to stop paying tithes from "mint and anise and cummin" and begin paying tithes in monetary form (money). 

Those Pharisees could have easily paid tithes in the form of money, but they and Jesus knew that tithes were ordered by the Law to be paid in fruits, vegetables, etc., NEVER money. 

2. Jesus clearly defined ALL TITHING that God had established as a "matter of the Law;" that is to say; God's one and only tithing system was commanded, established, organized, defined and regulated IN THE LAW, and in NO WHERE ELSE except for scripture referring to the Law... Jesus said "and have omitted the weightier matters of the law," tithing was described firmly by Jesus as "matters of the Law." ...NOT a matter of Abraham tithing, or even Jacob promising to tithe, which Jacob never did, Jacob never tithed. 


Tithing being a matter of the law (The Law of Moses) is also confirmed in Hebrews 7:5 - "And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:" 
NOTE: "according to the law," 

3. According to Jesus in Mathew 23:23, not only were those He was talking to required to tithe as the Law commands, the "weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith" were to be obeyed also. That is to say the person tithing under the Law (God's ONLY system of tithing) was required to do ALL that the Law commanded them... " these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." That "OTHER" is the whole Law. 

> As James wrote in Scripture... 

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend on one point, he is guilty of all." - James 2:10 

> Also, Deuteronomy tells us... 

"Cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them. And all the people shall say, Amen." - Deuteronomy 27:26 

> And, Paul wrote in scripture... 

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." - Galatians 3:10 

The conclusion is obvious; if you tithe GOD'S WAY, you must do so based on the Law, God has called no one to tithe because either Abraham or Jacob did, therefore you, by tithing under the Law, are cursed. 

> Fortunately, we are NOT under the Law, and we are NOT instructed by God to tithe... 

"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." - Romans 10:4 

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

Romans 7:6 - "But now we are DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." 

"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 3:24-25 

>>> Jesus was talking to Jews, Pharisees, who were at that time, under the Law (there was NO New Testament at that time, Jesus had not gone to the Cross yet), and He was calling out their hypocritical tithing practices, Jesus was NOT instructing Christian to tithe. To conclude that He was is taking scripture out of context and is blatant foolishness. 

>>> The bottom line is this; under the New Testament we are to be free will givers giving from what God has freely given us, and as GOD directs us to give... 

"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." - Luke 6:38 

And... 

>>> Misuse of Matthew 23:23 by Deceptive Tithing Teachers 

Tithing teachers often refer to Matthew 23:23 claiming that Jesus instructed tithing for New Testament Believes in this verse of scripture. This claim is utterly false and a clear misuse of the scripture. 

>>> The passage of scripture; 

"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." - Matthew 23:23 

>>> The false claims; 

1. Jesus was instructing New Testament Christians to tithe. 

2. Jesus said that tithing is something you (Christians) "ought to do." 

3. Jesus validated tithing for Christians in Matthew 23:23. 

4. Jesus spoke Matthew 23:23 in the New Testament gospel of Matthew therefore tithing is a New Testament principle and instructions for Christians to tithe. 

>>> The facts; 

1. "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees" ...Jesus was talking directly to Scribes and Pharisees, Jews who were at that time under and subject to the Law of Moses. Jesus did not make His statements under the New Testament / New Covenant era which instructs NO ONE to tithe. 

Much of what was written and recorded in the four Gospels takes place in the Old Testament period. The New Testament era did not begin until the death and resurrection of Jesus. Some scholars believe that the New Testament / New Covenant era did not officially begin until the day of Pentecost. Either way, when Jesus was addressing the Scribes and Pharisees in Mathew 23:23 it was a time when they were under the Law of Moses, not the New Testament. 

To whom Jesus was addressing and under what circumstances He was doing so is vitally important in properly establishing the facts and avoiding the conclusion of false and misleading claims. 

2. "hypocrites!" ...Jesus was addressing the hypocrisy of their actions of paying tithes, which was not an act of hypocrisy in itself, but in the case of the Scribes and Pharisees Jesus was talking to, the manner and motivation in which they were paying tithe was in question by Jesus who called out their hypocrisy. 

The primary point of Matthew 23:23 is not to command tithing, but rather to expose the error of keeping the letter of the law and at the same time failing in the spirit of the law, which is in the end the real point of the law. 

> This same principle is seen here in Jesus' statement... 

"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." Matthew 5:27-28 

3. "for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, "...The scribes and Pharisees were in fact paying tithes (this will become important later). 

4. "and have omitted the weightier matters of the law" ...Jesus included tithing as a matter of the law, but went on to state that tithing was not as important a matter of the law as was other more important (weightier) matters of the law such as judgment, mercy, and faith. 

It is clear that He did so, included tithing as a matter of the law, by stating immediately after speaking of tithing Jesus said "and have omitted the weightier matters of the law." That is to say... 

a. Tithing was a matter of the law, codified in the law, regulated in the law and was a part of the law. 

b. Tithing was not the most important part of the law, leading to... 

c. There are more important matters of the law which the Scribes and Pharisees failed to obey. The point being was that the Scribes and Pharisees were keeping to the letter of the law by tithing, but entirely missing the deeper meaning of the law, that is to say proper judgment, mercy, and faith, that they should have understood and acted on. Because of not doing so, their tithing was hypocrisy. The word "hypocrite" means "actor," as in they were outwardly acting out the law, but inwardly rejecting the more important subjects of the law. 

d. In short; you Scribes and Pharisees tithed based on the law, but fail at the more important matters of the law. 

5. "and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done," ...After stating that they fell short of the more important issues of the law, again; judgment, mercy, and faith, Jesus stated that "these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." 

6. "and not to leave the other undone." ...Continuing from point 3 above; Jesus was NOT instructing the Scribes and Pharisees to do something, that is to say "not to leave it undone," that they were ALREADY DOING; namely tithing. They were already tithing, there was NO NEED to tell therm to tithe by saying "THESE THINGS you ought to have done." 

> Note: "THESE THINGS" (plural), not "THIS THING" (singular)... 

"THESE THINGS" "judgment, mercy, and faith," ...three items, three subjects. 

Not "THIS THING" as in a single subject of tithing, as it would be stated if Jesus was referring to a single subject such as tithing. 

Jesus did not waste His time instructing someone to do something He knew they were already doing, but He did call out and expose the fact that their reason and motivation was wrong and hypocritical in what they were doing. 

The phrase "these ought ye to have done," is clearly referring to "judgment, mercy, and faith," not tithing BECAUSE they were already tithing. No one tells someone to do something they are already doing unless they do so in ignorance. Jesus was not speaking in ignorance. It is NOT, as many tithing teachers claim, referring to tithing as something we "ought to have done." 

Also, notice the PAST TENSE of the phrase "these ought ye to have done," NOT "these things you must continue to do as New Testament Believers." Jesus was clearly referring to something they, the Scribes and Pharisees, had not done in the past, something He was commanding that they should do. 

7. The "tithing principle;" as some tithing teachers are now claiming; Jesus spoke of NO "tithing principle" or "universal tithing principle" in Matthew 23:23. There is no "tithing principle" apart from actual instructions for tithing found in the law or scriptures referring to the Law of Moses. We are not under Law of Moses. "For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace." - Romans 6:14 

>>> Closing Comment... 

"Text taken out of context is a pretext to deceptive text." 

Three words for proper scriptural interpretation... 


Context, context, context. 




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Copyright 2019, 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.

What tithing WAS NOT intended for...

1. Big giant expensive church buildings.

2. Hugh salaries for pastors.

3. Multi million dollar private jets for TV evangelists.

4. Multi million dollar mansions for prosperity gospel con artists.

5. $48,500 vacations to Tahiti.

6. Tax evasion using 501(c)(3) IRS rules inapropriately.

7. Million dollar trust funds for the pastor's kids.

8. Face lift for the pastor's wife.

10. Private yachts in Cancun for heads of a "ministry."

11. Supporting church programs.

>> What tithing WAS intended for...

1. To support the Levites, singers and porters for the work they did in the Temple -

"And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation." Numbers 18:21, (and Nehemiah Chapter 13)

2. To support the poor and the needy in Israel, The Promise Land -


"And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest." - Deuteronomy 14:29

______________________________

Copyright 2019, 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.

Who was Malachi talking to?

>>> Who was Malachi talking to? Who was Malachi condemning for stealing the tithes and being a "God robber?" What is the proper context of the Book of Malachi?

Let's let Malachi tell us himself, which he does very clearly...

>> Chapter One;

> Malachi 1:1 - "The burden of the word of the Lord TO ISRAEL by Malachi."

> Malachi 1:6b - "saith the Lord of hosts unto YOU, O PRIESTS, that despise my name."

> Malachi 1:10b - "I have no pleasure IN YOU, saith the Lord of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at YOUR HAND."

> Malachi - 1:11-12 - "For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts. But YE (YOU) have profaned it, in that YE (YOU) say, The table of the Lord is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his meat, is contemptible."

>> Chapter Two;

> Malachi 2:1 - "And now, O YE PRIESTS, this commandment IS FOR YOU."

> Malachi 2:2-4 - "If YE (YOU) will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse UPON YOU, and I will curse YOUR blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because YE (YOU) do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will corrupt YOUR seed, and spread dung upon YOUR faces, even the dung of YOUR SOLEMN FEASTS; and one shall take YOU away with it. And YE (YOU) shall know that I have sent this commandment UNTO YOU, that my covenant might be WITH LEVI, saith the Lord of hosts."

> Malachi 2:7-9 - "For the PRIEST'S lips should keep knowledge, and THEY should seek the law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But YE (YOU) are departed out of the way; YE (YOU) have caused many to stumble at the law; YE (YOU) have corrupted the covenant of LEVI, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore have I also made YOU contemptible and base before all the people, according as YE (YOU) have not kept my ways, but have been partial in THE LAW."

> Malachi 2:11-12 - "JUDAH hath dealt treacherously, and an abomination is committed in ISRAEL and in JERUSALEM; for JUDAH hath profaned the holiness of the Lord which he loved, and hath married the daughter of a strange god. The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar, out of the tabernacles of JACOB, and him that offereth an offering unto the Lord of hosts."

> Malachi 2;16-17 - "For the Lord, the GOD OF ISRAEL, saith that he hateth putting away: for one covereth violence with his garment, saith the Lord of hosts: therefore take heed to your spirit, that ye deal not treacherously. Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet YE (YOU) say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?"

>> Chapter Three;

> Malachi 3:3-4 - "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the SONS OF LEVI, and purge THEM as gold and silver, that THEY may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of JUDAH and JERUSALEM be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years."

> Malachi 3:8-9 - "Will a man rob God? Yet YE (YOU) have robbed me. But YE (YOU) say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. YE (YOU) are *cursed with a curse: for YE (YOU) have robbed me, even THIS whole nation."

(*Note: where in the New Testament is it stated that God will for any reason curse His own children? No where.)

> Malachi 3:10-11 - "Bring YE all the tithes into the STOREHOUSE, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for YOUR SAKES, and he shall not destroy the fruits of *YOUR GROUND; neither shall YOUR vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts."

(*Note: "YOUR GROUND" ...in proper context; The Promise Land; not New Zealand or Mexico, or a New Testament church building, etc.)

> Malachi 3:12 - "And all nations shall call YOU blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome *LAND, saith the Lord of hosts."

(*Note: LAND; The Promise Land; Israel, not Japan or Korea, etc.)

>> Who was Malachi talking to? CLEARLY the people and Nation of Israel; NOT New Testament Christians in regards to tithing. It is also important to note that Malachi's command to tithe, and rebuke for not doing so, is not quoted in the New Testament, never used by any Apostle to instruct tithing for Christians, and not followed by the early church (i.e., the Book of Acts).

Malachi, over and over again, makes it VERY clear as to who he is directly addressing.

Does this mean that we shouldn't read the Book of Malachi because it is not directly talking to us as New Testament Believers instructing us to tithe? No, it doesn't; but we must be careful to understand what scripture is talking directly to us, and what scripture is talking indirectly to us. Unless, of course, you have read the story of Noah building an Ark and have decided to build one yourself?

>> Remember; text taken out of context is a pretext to deceptive text. Let the Bible interpret the Bible.

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Copyright 2019, 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.