A church member of Victory Time Full Gospel Church on Anniston Drive, received a letter from her pastor stating she would lose her church membership if she did not pay her tithes within the next thirty days.
Emma Hafferkamp says her friend has been distraught ever since she received the letter on Wednesday.
“In the letter, it says she had only tithed twice last year and she needed to pay her tithes within thirty days or her name would be removed from the membership list,” Haffercamp told 27NEWSFIRST.
Haffercamp says the church means everything to her friend and the thought of losing her membership made her sick.
“She was so upset last night, she had like an anxiety attack. They called the ambulance and she went to the hospital”, Hafferkamp said.
She also says her friend cannot afford to tithe because she is about eighty years old, on a fixed income and lives in subsidized housing.
The letter does say the church member is still welcome to attend church services but will not be a member if she does not start tithing.
We went to the church to speak to the pastor but no one answered the door and our repeated calls to him have gone unanswered.
GOD tells us to tithe! Not the church! Our obedience is to GOD, not the church! Our tithe is to give back to GOD that which is HIS already!! It is not to give to the church that which they “want/need/count on” in order to function. Shame on this church for expecting its members to make known the amount of their tithe!
And we wonder why there are so many God-hating atheists and agnostics today. The first commetn abvoe is a real doozie too.
(1) God NEVER todl teh Gentiles nor the Church to tithe. Neither does He tell the church to worship on Saturday, avoid unclean foods, circumcize and have more than one wife.
(2) Salvation is not “br grace through faith” plus WORKS such as tithing. Christians are to give sacrificially, generously, joyfully, not by commandment and out of lvoe becasue they have the Holy Spirit. Those are sufficient guidelines.
(3) Paul told preachers to follow Jesus example and work to take care of the poor in the church. That has been reversed. Acts 21:29-35.
(4) Many churches and seminaries flourish without teaching tithing. The secret to growth is evangelism. And many Pentecostal pastors are repudiating tithing so there is hope.
Russell Earl Kelly. See my book, essay and DVD at http://www.tithing-russkelly.com
The tithe never went to God. It was given to the Levites. The purpose was in lieu of land which they would not inherit. From my understanding there were twenty four courses of priests who served at the temple and that for only short periods of time…so what did they do the rest of the time? They worked! They earned a living.
Today’s pastors certainly do deserve support…but that is not the issue of tithing that comes into play here. The poor also deserve support. The Hebrew word for giving to the poor is Tsidkena which simply means “justice”. Giving to the poor is nothing less than giving the poor what they deserve. This woman is off the hook…she is free not to tithe, but this pastor is not off the hook…it is he who must give the woman justice.
Brian
I love comment arguments. Greatness!
The tithing law is not for NT Christians. Jesus did not tithe nor did her require one. No where in scripture are believers to give God 10% of their income. We are to give generously and without compulsion. Give as is purposed in our hearts to Give. no set amount. Tithing was for OT only. ‘Church’s’ lie to the people. ‘Pastors’ lie to the people. Lying is a sin. Even the ‘Pastoral’ system is not biblical. No where does the bible say a ‘Pastor’ is to be paid a set salary by the people. Churchianity is not Christianity. It is Jesus’ Church with no ‘Pastors’ and no ‘tithing’. Very simple yet man complicates it. Real True Church is hard to find.
Oops. I mean ‘He’ did not require one. He; being Jesus. not ‘her’.
the disciples did not ‘tithe’ either. Nor did the apostles. they never taught it or required it. Christians are to Give of gifts, alms, service, etc. Again; no where is there is a set amount in the NT for Christians to give. It can be 1% or 100%. It is what God purposes in your heart to Give. And it does not have to go to a ‘church’ or ‘pastor’. It goes into the World. For God so loved the World….
We are to Give and Love and Serve and have grace and mercy. It’s not about how much to give and to where.
A Christian could easily be giving 50% of their income to a charity not to a ‘Church’ system with a man that is called a pastor or reverend who gets paid from the so called ‘tithes’
I beg to differ on the comment about tithing in the NT. If you look in the book of Galatians Chapter 4. It states that, "when the time has come, God sent his son born under the law to redeem those under the law." Jesus was brought up under the law( because the new covenant was not establish yet) . That means that he tithed and followed the rules on the Jewish Practices. Out of all the things he said that he was and the way the Pharisees accused he of certain things, not one time was he accused of not tithing. If anything he raised the bar for giving. Tithing is the training wheels for giving. This is my humble opinion
I speak for the Accuser…… he delights in seeing all this contention amongst the sheep. Division equals downfall. If you can not agree together, your disagreements will make you torn apart…… The greatest dollar amount saves not any soul. Attempts to do so are meaningless…… calculate
What should a person do if the amount she should tithe is more than the amount she has to live on after the basic bills and utilities are paid? My husband is disabled and on SSI. Our tithe should be $67 per month, but after paying our mortgage and utilities, we’re left with about $40 to live on (this is supporting two kids). Would it be better to mail ALL of our money to the church, not attend services because of no gasoline, and neglect our children in the process of pleasing God? Please comment, as God calls me a robber. (Mal. 3:8). I’ve been punishing myself by refusing food, since in God’s eyes I’m a criminal, plus I’m bothered by all the evidence in my trailer that I’ve stolen from God in order to survive. I’ve bought toilet paper, laundry soap, etc., using God’s tithe, because there’s NOTHING ELSE to LIVE ON. What do you guys think?
Tithing is an Old Testament concept and it is not required for Christians who are not under the Law. Every time Jesus referred to tithing it was always negative towards the Pharisees. Jesus said there were more important things to worry about other than the tithe. Jesus came to set the captives free from rules and burdens or religiousity. We have been released from the bondage of religion by the blood of Christ.
Now, we have been released from the yoke of tithing to give to the poor. We should give to the church and other churches who are poor and we should do it out of love for each other, not because we are commanded to.
Some great websites about tithing and the truth about it are found at:
http://www.nomoretithing.org/
http://www.truthortradition.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=161
Malachi is talking to the Levite priest that he offered up blind, lame and sick animals for the offering. He has corrupted the covenant of the Levi and caused many to stumble at the law.He shown partiality in the Law and departed from the way. He has married the daughter of a foreign god. And God says I will judge those who exploit the wage earners and widows and the fatherless. Malachi is talking to the priest and Israel if they return to him he'll open up the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing on their Land. Malachi has nothing to do with the you.
There is "No Tithe for the Christian". This is a free ebook and it begins with a 20 question test so you can see what you actually know about the tithe … and you can give this test to others and find out what they actually know too -especially those who call for your cash.
You can find it at
http://www.freelygive-n.com/Tithe_and_Offering.ht…
You need to study your Bible more closely. NO where in the Bible did Jesus tithe. Yes, He was under the law, but didn't meet the qualifications for tithing. ONLY those who owned crops and/or animals in herds and flocks tithed. No one else tithed. Income was NEVER tithe on in the Bible. ONLY miracles of God, from God's labor – the crops and animals, were tithed on. The farmers did have income, but did NOT tithe on it. Pastors need to stop changing God's word.
God would rather have mercy than sacrifice! Did not King David and the men that were with him eat of the priests showbread, that thing which was unlawful for him to do. I am a gentile of one outwordly and tithing is for Isreal in the old law. Jesus Christ died on the cross and was made a curse for us. So the curse in Malici is no longer in effect. Jesus was the sin offering, wave offering, the heave offering, etc. he offered himself once and for all. To the jew first than the gentile. Aaron's portion was all these, God was his portion, "Jesus Christ he is the covenant of salt. Under the NT we should be givers with a joyful heart. Pastors today do Not help the poor in the church. They are disgraced and turned away. People would be more apt to give if they knew that the poor were being given to and helped. Cursed is everyone that continues in the old law and does not do all it says. I am in the new covenant.
Refer to Matthew 19:16-22. Christ focuses on our intentions. It's not about what specifically you do or how much you give but your willingness to be loving and obedient to God. Tithing is a form of being obedient to God. He calls us to feed the poor, clothe the naked, etc. and the church's job is to do just that. I think it's important the church does not force anyone to tithe but when you tithe, do it out of love and obedience to the One True God. Jesus made changes to the Old Testament laws. He did not get rid of all of them.
Nothing in Jesus' ministry tells us that we do not have to tithe. But he does focus on our intentions behind tithing. “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." Luke 11:42. According to the previous scripture, he refers directly to tithing (tenth = 10%) by money and other major possessions. He ends that thought with something we like to overlook. "…practiced the latter without leaving the former undone." "Latter" meaning our hands on actions and the "former" meaning tithing. In this case, Jesus was not using metaphors, symbolism, or anything of that kind. He was literal and direct. Jesus tells the Pharisees to tithe and get their hands dirty.
As with everything, God judges our motives not our actions. The reality is that if we are wanting to tithe, but are not able to, then our heart is in the right place.
Tithing should be done out of a heart of "want to" not "have to".
The reality today is that people have money as a God, and this has been the case since the bible times. You can only serve God OR money. I choose to tithe, and this is a personal conviction, but I am also blessed in every way. I claim the promise that was made in Malachi, and I am yet to to wanting. God is a God of love, and wants the best for us.
Another reality is that Tithing helps the lost get saved, and that is the last thing that Jesus told us to do. I am serving as a missionary in another country, and I continue to tithe. Remember what God has done for you. If you want to give out of love, then do so. If you choose not to, then that is your decision, but, make sure that your heart is in the right place, because you have to answer for it. When you face God, he will judge your motives and your actions. I'm a happy tither, and I am seeing The money that is given reaching the lost on the ground. I work and support myself. I am self funded, but I see people that I work with reaching out to the lost and I know that this wouldn't be possible without tithes and offerings. Thankyou to everyone who does tithe, because I see what your dollars do.
Tithe is scam pure and simple