how to stop sinning

Click the photo to watch the VIDEO. There is much more info on the video.

Is tithing required today? Does tithing work? Where are the verses in the Bible that instruct people to tithe? Are there different types of tithes? These questions and more are answered on the video.

What you don’t know about tithing could end up costing you a lot. The bottom line is that you want to obey God and at the same time you want your money to count for something instead of feeding  greed. That is what this teaching is about. I want you to know the truth about the tithe according to what is written in the Bible and not according to human wisdom. You need to know the truth about what you are doing, or not doing, and the reasons behind your decision. If you have a question, please ask.

One of the biggest shocker for most people is that the tithe given under the Laws of Moses was always food (Deuteronomy 14:22-23, 26:2, 2 Chronicles 31:4-6). They gave a tenth of their food (crops, fruit, animals, etc) to the tribe of the Levites because the Levites were not given an individual portion of the land as their inheritance (Deuteronomy 18:1). Therefore, their food was supplied by their brothers (the other tribes of Israel).

I have heard some people say that they did not have money back then so it had to be food, but that’s a lie. If you did a word search on money in the Bible you would have to include Abraham buying the cave of Machpeiah with money (Genesis 23:9-15). Abraham was 400 years before the tithe of food was made a requirement through Moses (Galatians 3:17).  Joseph was selling grain for money in Egypt (Genesis 47:14-18) which again was hundreds of years before Moses and the Laws that came through Moses.

Could the tithe be money instead of food? The tithe required by Moses could only be exchanged into money if the place where the Lord required an Israelite to take his tithe was too far to travel. Then the tithe of grain, crops, the first of the flocks for that year, and the like could be sold for money so that the person could travel to the place determined by the Lord and then exchange it back into the food of his choosing (Deuteronomy 14:24-26).

So, the tithe required by Moses was always given as food and never money, but it wasn’t just for the priests. Every third year the tithe was to be stored up and spent locally for the poor, strangers, and the like so that there was always food for the hungry (Deuteronomy 14:27-29, 26:12-14). Imagine that.

Contrary to popular belief, the tithe was not used to build the house of worship, but only offerings. Offerings or not tithes, and an offering could be anything of value given of free will and not just money (Leviticus 22:19).

Offerings were the only thing used to build the first Tabernacle under Moses and only from those with willing hearts (Exodus 35:4-9). The temple built by King Solomon was built with offerings. King David made huge offerings (1 Chronicles 22:14-19. 28:14-18, 29:2-5). The leaders gave huge offerings, and the people also gave willingly (1 Chronicles 29:6-9). Even willing craftsmen were used (1 Chronicles 28:21).

The rebuilding of the temple through the support of the King of Persia after the people came back to Jerusalem from the seventy years of captivity through King Nebuchadnezzar was built with offerings (Ezra 1:6,  2:68-69, 6:8, 7:15-16).

If the instructions concerning what to do with the tithe were followed by the churches that collect the tithe, no one would go without food in that area. That’s right. If the principles of tithing were followed to the letter today the children’s shelters, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and the like in your area would never run out of food and there would not be a hungry stranger or homeless person in the USA because the tithe was given not only to the Levites (poor people), but also to the fatherless, the widows, and orphans. There would be food in the store house (Malachi 3:10), but we are a long ways from that today.

Very few church buildings have food for anyone, much less a daily distribution of food like the early church was doing (Acts 6:1). Out of the churches that do have food, most charge to eat or do not distribute it in accordance with the principles written in scripture. The tithe is collected in accordance with the Laws of Moses, but only whatever is left over goes to feed someone. That’s not in line with the instructions used to collect the tithe.

Basically, the same people who preach that you should not rob God are the very ones robbing God, since they always mention the verses that require people to tithe, but they ignore the instructions on what to do with the tithe after they receive it. That’s gathering money under false pretenses, but they will receive their due. The love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10), or all kinds of evil if you use one of the newer Bibles.

Romans 2:21

21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? NKJV

Not only that, but the tithe was spread equally among the Levites (Deuteronomy 18:8) just like giving among the believers in the New Testament (Acts 4:32, 2:44). What would happen today is if all pastors made the same thing and the believers shared their belongings with other believers? I believe that it is too late for this country to turn and live according to what is written. Therefore, we will always have to dodge verses like the ones I have mentioned in Acts above and the verses in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and chapter 9 that instruct us to minister to the needs of the saints (2 Corinthians 8:4, 9:12). We would certainly have to avoid 2 Corinthians 8:14 which calls for equality.

2 Corinthians 8:12-15

12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack — that there may be equality. 15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.” NKJV

That’s what New Testament giving is all about. Ministering (helping) the needs of the saints (faithful in Christ). Sometimes Malachi is used as if it is part of the New Testament, but it was written at least 300 years before John the Baptist, and about 100 years after Israel came out of captivity from Babylon. Therefore, we can’t use rules found in Malachi chapter 3 and not be under the Laws of Moses. However, even if Malachi chapter three was used to show that people were robbing God for not paying tithes (verses 8-9), it would still be the same tithe of food mentioned in the Laws of Moses and not a tithe of money.

Malachi 3:10

10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it. NKJV

I’m Alan Ballou; a servant. If I may be of service to you, please contact me. If you have a comment leave it below or click on the “ask Pastor Blue” box on the right side of this blog. Thank you.