Will a man ROB GOD?

Will a man ROB GOD??? 

-by Rory Moore

James 3:1 Do not be many of you teachers, my brethren, knowing that we (teachers) shall receive heavier judgment.

... a good friend has been corresponding with several Texas ministers that teach Christians should "tithe" to the church, i.e., the 10% of members income should go to them or the ministry.

-His questions and challenges have alienated him from people there. “HOW could our pastor be wrong” as they explain tithing to the church?

---But my friend found the church leaders will not answer his questions nor have an honest dialog with him.... Instead they do "damage control" and seek to confirm the error by fraudulently mis-teaching God's Word, or charge non-tithers with selfish withholding.

“Dave” was focusing more on communion yesterday when talking about Gen. 14, then talked about the tithing aspect.
 Melchisedek brought out the bread and wine when meeting with Abram, so Dave said that was like communion. I don’t see how he came to that, but whatever.  I need to add that he did say that we’re not under the law to tithe in the NT now, but he made it a point to say that Abram gave ALL because he had faith that his God would provide. So now the 10% went to ALL.

  <because he questioned them> I do believe that they now understand that tithing is not biblical, but they’re doing damage control to still make people believe they have to give.  For example, in the service that I sent you from 1/31, “T” starts out that we don’t have to tithe, but if a person has a problem giving 10% to God, then I have concern for their soul.

Here is my response to my friends email, and I give him credit for being brave enough to question the pastor and his associate ministers:

Dear bro. ------

Why question a persons soul over 10%?? It is Christ’s nature and fruit of the Holy Spirit to give to others.
Why pick 10% out of the air when that was never taught by the apostles or given to any church in the epistles or Acts?

Abraham tithed?
 Why didn’t Abram record a tithe on his wealth in the context of Genesis 13?
(2) "Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold".

Why didn’t Abraham tithe on the gifts in Gen. 20:14?   And Abimelech took sheep and oxen, and men-servants and women-servants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.
15   And Abimelech said, Behold, my land is before you. Live where it pleases thee. 16   And ... he said, Behold, I have given <Abraham> a thousand pieces of silver. (silver and gold is money)

If 10% was a universal amount from everyone, all the time, why then did God only ordain agricultural tithing in the law from Sinai?

Was the temple tax a 10% tithe?
Exodus 30:13      This they shall give, every one that passes among them that are numbered, half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary: (a shekel is twenty gerahs:) a half shekel shall be the offering of the LORD. 15 The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less than half a shekel, when they give an offering to the LORD, to make an atonement for your souls.

So when they try to impose a 10% “measure”, they cannot go to the apostles who wrote Christ’s commands, they must refer to the covenant that was “disannulled” at the cross (Heb. 7), the “ordinances blotted out” (Col 3, Eph. 2:15).

What they are doing is sowing that 10% law of men and reinforcing the error among people that think the 10% is God's set amount and teaching performance to a duty.. (as we know).

How much better it is to have the Lord direct us in our stewardship over the 100% He owns and what He has allowed us to steward? 

We ourselves have heard the Lord MANY times direct us in giving telling us to whom and how much or what He wanted us to do. In doing so, we have been very blessed.

-Tithing robs the people of this blessing, it robs those that could benefit from our giving, and robs the ministers of truth. It corrupts them into believing the tithes should go to them.

-Tithing robs people of the blessing of giving in secret and robs those that have needs.

-It robs bishops and ministers of the blessing of honest labor and setting an example for other men and often leads to a self-indulgent lifestyle.. It appeals to the greed within the hearts of ministers who grasp the fact that more tithers = more $$$.

-Even Pastors T, D, and J must know and have observed that. We sure did with many ministers in our church association.

FYI: Acts 20.. Paul speaking to the *bishops*:
33 I have desired no one’s silver or gold or clothing.
34 You yourselves know that >>>these hands of mine provided for my needs and the needs of those with me.
35 By all these things, I have shown you that by WORKING IN THIS WAY *WE* (ministers) must help the weak,  and remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he himself said, >>> ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

Examples of Spirit filled saints not tithing:

Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken wherein they were gathered together; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32  And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and soul: and not one [of them] said that aught of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

Again, Spirit filled saints not tithing..

Acts 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as any man had need.

no tithes here either. Acts 4:34 For neither was there among them any that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 and laid them at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto each, according as any one had need.

 If we do not go to God with our questions and seek *Him* for Truth, we will be deceived by our faith in ministers, teachers, church, denomination, priest, pope, politician, and by our own depraved nature.

Why didn't the Levite Barnabbas just tithe?
Acts 4:36 Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Act 4:37 sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet. 

Why did Ananias and his wife die for giving a “portion”?

Act 5:1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, :2 and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. I don't believe they were required to give all the proceeds, but what they did was lie.

-And the apostles did not keep the proceeds for themselves, it was distributed among others.

 Why didn't Paul mention a tithe when collecting for the Saints in Jerusalem?
 1Co 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do.

1Co 16:2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

You see, it is the nature and fruit of Christ to give.. Not just from finances. We give from what we are given and accumulate.. Yet we are not under compulsion.. We give in love and compassion to real people and real needs, not just a dutiful feeding of a plate being ritually passed.

 The only excuse for tithing a tenth might be under Luke 6:38   give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. For with what measure you use it shall be measured to you again. But even here Jesus did not suggest 10% as a baseline.

We might compare the doctrine of tithing as taught in churches today with other doctrines taught in churches today using similar reasoning and twisting:
"Transubstantiation" the act of a Catholic priest in magically turning the "host" into the actual body and blood of Christ.
"all are saved, nobody goes to hell",
"ye are gods": men become god-like.

What money tithing has in common with these commonly believed teachings is that all of them sound religiously correct, but can only be taught as such by perverting the scripture.

Does our "offering" Stink?

Back to Malachi.
It was not just a matter of tithes God was addressing in the passage from Malachi so often quoted and used as a fear tactic to extract the 10% from our gross or net.
    God gave equal emphasis to the "offerings" He required under the Law. 








The church kind of skips over that part of the verse, just like they don't connect the "ordinances" in verse 7 with what God abolished in the new Testament.
"From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances"...

Let's look at what God required in those "offerings". 

The required  OFFERINGS…… will still be cursed EVEN IF YOU TITHE 

Malachi 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!  
                   But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?'  In tithes and offerings.       

GOD defined the "offerings" that the Levite priests (not regular people) were robbing from God in Malachi 3. Mal. 2:1   And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you.

Those "offerings" were just as lawful as the tithes.

When we see how God defined what the offerings were, we will see Christians do not give correct "offerings" as required in the Law from which Malachi was referring in 3: 7            

"From the days of your fathers ye have turned aside from mine ordinances"...
 (ordinances which were not given to the church)

Here is a list that includes most of them:

Ex 13:12 First offspring of every womb every firstling which thou hast that cometh of a beast; the males
Ex 29:14 Sin offering   the flesh of the bullock, and its skin, and it dung
Ex 29:18 Burnt offering  thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar
Ex 29:40 Drink offering   according to the drink-offering
Ex 29:41 Grain offering  the meal-offering of the morning

Ex 30:10 -16 Annual atonement (vs 13The rich shall not give more, and the poor shall not give less, than the half shekel, ...the offering of The LORD, to make atonement for your souls)

Lev 3:1 Fellowship offering  a sacrifice of peace-offerings; if he offer of the herd
Lev 5:15 Guilt offering his trespass-offering unto Jehovah, a ram without blemish, the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass-offering
Lev. 7:11 Thanksgiving offering    offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes
Lev. 7:13 Peace offering   cakes of leavened bread he shall offer his oblation with the sacrifice of his peace-offerings

Lev 7:12  Thank offering  offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes
Lev. 7:32  Heave offering       the right thigh shall ye give unto the priest for a heave-offering 
Lev 7:37   Ordination offering  he law of the burnt-offering, of the meal-offering, and of the sin-offering, and of the trespass-offering, and of the consecration, and of the sacrifice of peace-offerings;
Lev 19:24  Praise offering for new fruit trees   in the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be holy, for giving praise unto Jehovah
Lev 22:18  Freewill offering  Whosoever he be of the house of Israel, or of the sojourners in Israel, that offereth his oblation, whether it be any of their vows, or any of their freewill-offerings, which they offer unto Jehovah for a burnt-offering

Num 5:15 Grain offering for jealousy      meal-offering of jealousy,
Num 5:15 Reminder offering  a meal-offering of memorial
Num 5:26 Memorial offering for discovering sin the priest shall take a handful of the meal-offering, as the memorial thereof
Num 19:17 Purification offering   for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering
Num 28:14 Monthly burnt offering  in the beginnings of your months ye shall offer a burnt-offering unto the LORD

Deuteronomy 16:10     ...shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD
      thy God with a tribute of a freewill offering .... according as the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
Deuteronomy 12:11... Then there (in Jerusalem)  shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; there shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:
Those that insist on trying to "tithe" to avoid the curse and earn the blessings, their failure to keep the rest of Malachi 3:8

"Offerings" very seldom get proper attention.
This is primarily because most church spokesman focus on that 10% to fund the church.
To add insult to injury, tithing puts you under a curse because it is adding a practice to the New Testament scripture that neither God nor the apostles ever commanded Christians to do. 


Have you ever heard of a tither getting sick, having problems with his children, borrowing money, losing their home, suffering pain or affliction?

Those are some of the things mentioned in the "curse" that Malachi wrote about, and also Paul in Galatians.

Luke 18:12-14
12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!'
 14) I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; NKJV

We have considered Malachi's tithes, now let's turn on the truth-spotlight on Malachi's offerings.

We did a search of the New Testament (our Covenant) for "offering" and "offerings".

In church, the weekly tithes, offering plate and envelopes are distributed every service, as if God set it up that way in the Bible.

The truth is there is neither tithes NOR offerings are given to the church in the New Testament. Have you ever heard the phrase "bring your offering" or similar in church?

Here is every New Testament verse with "offering":

1 Mark 12:33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
2 Luke 21:5   And as some spake of the temple, adorned with goodly stones and offerings..
3 Acts 24:17  Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings:
4 Hebrews 10:6        In whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure:
5 Hebrews 10:8        Saying above, Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein (the which are offered according to the law)

1 Matthew 5:23         If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee...
2 Luke 23:36   And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, offering him vinegar,
3 Acts 21:26  Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.
4 Romans 15:16      that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
5 Ephesians 5:2       and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.
6 Hebrews 10:5        Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, But a body didst thou prepare for me;

7 Hebrews 10:10      By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
8 Hebrews 10:11      And every priest indeed standeth day by day ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, the which can never take away sins:
9 Hebrews 10:14      For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
10 Hebrews 10:18    Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
11 Hebrews 11:17    By faith Abraham, being tried, offered up Isaac: yea, he that had gladly received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
12 Hebrews 13:11    For the bodies of those beasts whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned without the camp.

With few exceptions, offerings are mentioned in the New Testament scriptures in reference to the offerings defined by God from back under the Old Testament Law which is done away in Christ.

Let's see what a search of the New Testament church yields in regard to what the church practices. We find  "collection" and "collections" mentioned ONE time in Corinth.

Chapter 16:1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I gave order to the churches of Galatia, so also do ye.
2 Upon the first day of the week let each one of you lay by him in store, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come.

The word "giving" is found 26 times in the New Testament and only once in the epistles to the church:
Phillipians 4:15   And ye yourselves also know, ye Philippians, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church had fellowship with me in the matter of giving and receiving but ye only;


This "matter" Paul spoke of was relating to his needs being met. He was in prison and prisoners were supplied by friends and family.
Phillipians 4:17   Not that I seek for the gift; but I seek for the fruit that increaseth to your account.
However, there are many, many exhortations and reminders to meet the needs of others such as illustrated by these passages:
:

"Gift": 2nd Corinthians 1:11           ye also helping together on our behalf by your supplication; that, for the gift bestowed upon us by means of many, thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf. and to the Philippians,

The word "give" is used many, many times (176 times) in the entire NT, but never in a context of a weekly church collection. The one collection mentioned was for giving TO the saints at Jerusalem.

2nd Cor    9:9            as it is written, He hath scattered abroad,
                                    he hath given to the poor; His righteousness abideth for ever.
Galatians 2:10          only they would that we should remember the poor;
                                   which very thing I was also zealous to do.
Romans 15:26          For it hath been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make
                        a certain contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
Acts 2:45        and they sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according
                        as any man had need.
Acts 4:35        and laid them at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto each,
                        according as any one had need.
Phillipians 4:16        for even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my need.
Ephesians 4:28        Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need.
1st John 3:17   But whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of God abide in him?
Acts 20:35     In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

And let's throw in a Proverb:  (28:27)  He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack; But he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Did Jesus teach His disciples to gather, collect, and take up offerings for themselves?
Mat. 25:35 for I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; 36 naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

To whom was He referring?
40  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me.

The way it works in church today, the building, organization, and many ministers are taking what the Lord intended for the needs of others, for their own  benefit. And the typical church member participates with a nice, comfortable building to go to once or twice a week for great music and a sermon from a hired messenger. 

This passage caught my attention and is very convicting for us former church-goers that were trained to feed the offering plate instead of God's people. And let's rethink where those offerings are to go while we are at it.:

Jesus said in the strongest of terms: (Please read these and ask yourself, Did HE really mean what he said here?)

Mat.25
37        Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee? or athirst, and gave thee drink?

41        Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels:

42        for I was hungry, and ye did not give me to eat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink;
43        I was a stranger, and ye took me not in; naked, and ye clothed me not; sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44        Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we thee hungry, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?

45  Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto me.
46   And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into eternal life.: 

Isn't it odd that people enrich famous ministers and for the most part ignore the poor? The comparison to our enrichment of preachers and televangelists is in stark, convicting contrast in our treatment of the poor.

The leaven of tradition has spoiled the definitions and meanings of both tithes and offerings as defined by God.

By tithing and trying to be justified by a law God never yoked the church to, and forgetting about the OFFERINGS the Law requires, the curse of the law has cause to alight.
The Law is ALL or nothing…..ie all 613 Commandments. 


Church leaders have redefined (i.e. perverted) the meanings of both tithes and offerings for many years, right down to that weekly offering plate for which there is no instruction that it was to be an on-going permanent practice.