Background

A few days ago I posted a link to Joshua Selman’s message on tithing.

Lineage

Here are the preceding posts:-

1. Joshua Selman
   • Apostle Joshua Selman:- Tithing
     Published:- 2022-August-2nd
     Link

Comment

Leemuede

2022-August-9th 9:28 AM

Response

Giving to the Needy

Yes, I agree that we need to give directly to the needy.

 

Entanglement to the laws of tithing which is connected only to the Levitical era and one of which is the curse Christ redeemed us from

I am not sure that tithing was ever denoted as a curse.

I am not sure where tithing was explicitly mentioned as a redeemable sin.

Furthermore, redeemed via Christ’s atonement.

Tithing In The New Testament

Christ

1. Matthew 23:23 – Woes to Scribes and Pharisees ( Link )
   • …²² And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
     ²³ Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
     ²⁴ You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.…
2. Matthew 15:4-6 – Tradition and Worship  ( Link )
   • …⁴ For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
     ⁵ But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
     ⁶ he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.…
3. Mark 12:17 – Paying Taxes to Caesar ( Link )
   • …¹⁶ So they brought it, and He asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they answered.
     ¹⁷ Then Jesus told them, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” And they marveled at Him.

 

Paul

Corinthians

1. 1 Corinthians 16:2 – The Collection for the Saints ( Link )
   • ¹ Now about the collection for the saints, you are to do as I directed the churches of Galatia:
     ² On the first day of every week, each of you should set aside a portion of his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will be needed.
     ³ Then, on my arrival, I will send letters with those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.…
2. 2 Corinthians 8:11-12 – Christ’s Example ( Link )
   • …¹¹ Now finish the work, so that you may complete it just as eagerly as you began, according to your means.
     ¹² For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.
3. 2 Corinthians 8:14 – Christ’s Example ( Link )
   • …¹³ It is not our intention that others may be relieved while you are burdened, but that there may be equality.
     ¹⁴ At the present time, your surplus will meet their need, so that in turn their surplus will meet your need. Then there will be equality.
     ¹⁵ As it is written: “He who gathered much had no excess, and he who gathered little had no shortfall.”…
4. 2 Corinthians 9:5-7 – God Loves a Cheerful Giver ( Link )
   • … ⁵ So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you beforehand and make arrangements for the bountiful gift you had promised. This way, your gift will be prepared generously and not begrudgingly.
     ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
     ⁷ Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.…

 

Romans

1. Romans 13:7 – Submission to Authorities ( Link )
   • …⁶ This is also why you pay taxes. For the authorities are God’s servants, who devote themselves to their work.
     ⁷  Pay everyone what you owe him: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.
     ⁸ Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.…

 

Key Points

Tithing is rarely a singular act.

Hopefully, there is a lot more to it.

Hopefully, there is:-

1. Care
   • Care Taking of the elderly
   • Care taking of widows
2. Community
   • Belonging to a community
   • Taking care of one’s own community
3. Labor
   • Participative Labor
     • Hopefully, the more people there are, the less burdensome the work will be on a few people
4. Heart
   • Giving starts from the heart
   • When people’s hearts are touched, it is to be hoped that they look for ways to touch others
5. Charity
   • Tithing is an act of charity
   • It hopefully encourages others buy-in and participation
6. Sacrifice
   • Tithing is sacrificial
   • There are other acts of sacrifices mentioned in the Holy Scriptures
   • Sacrifices serve both Godly and Earthly atonements
7. Cleansing
   • Giving is Cleansing
8. Singular Journey
   • Christianity is rarely a singular act
   • Hopefully one’s journey with God, touches others in meaningful and contributive manners
   • Agreeably, a lot can be done through individual giving
   • But, the work touches on more than giving money to the needy

Summary

Based on a quick mental note this morning, I was not able to find aligning scripture that equivocally states that:-

1. Tithing is a curse
2. Jesus, our messiah, crucifixion’s paid fully for that curse
3. And, that we are no longer need to tend the curse

 

Joshua Selman

At the beginning of his teaching, Joshua Selman read from Leviticus 27:30

1. Leviticus 27:30 – Instruction on Tithes (Deuteronomy 14:22–29; Deuteronomy 26:1–15; Nehemiah 13:10–14) ( Link )
   • ³⁰ Thus any tithe from the land, whether from the seed of the land or the fruit of the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD.

And, concluded this has nothing to do with a dispensation, it is an ordinance.