Sorry,I almost 'missed your post' on Matt19.Try to read the story welllll.A man came to Jesus and said what can i do to have eternal life.Then the Lord,it may suprise you says "keep the commandments".The man says which.Jesus begins to mention, ,among which he says thou shall not steal(not paying tithes was considered stealing according to the OT),The man then says,'I do all these'.And Jesus loved him.He told Him, to be 100% go and sell and give to the poor and come and follow me.I think that's the story.
Jesus told him to keep the commands and he said he has and Jesus loved him.Its also good for us to consider that what he was to sell was not his income(they were to tithe thier income I think),if anything this was his outcome.
For benefit of doubt,go to Matthew 23v1-3.Jesus says something interesting to his disciples.I'm praying God will give you all the grace to pay your tithes and to do the right at all times.

Thanks for referring to the commandment "Thou shall not steal".
In Naija church speak, this has been qualified, as you have just emphasised, to mean:

Thou shall not steal from God (=church = pastor). However the pastor turns a blind eye if you steal from your neighbour, employer, government, fellow citizens through corruption.

As long as you pay your unrequired tithe and/or hefty offerings therefrom, you not only get the front seats and priviledged access to the pastor, you also become a church leader. See the last paragraphs of the story in the link below:

http://www.saharareporters.com/www/report/detail/?id=510

This is completely at variance with Christ's attitude to such thieves as exemplified in:
Luke 19:8 about Jesus' visit to Zacchaeus' house whereupon he said to the Lord "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold." Kindly note again that he is giving to the poor not the temple/synagogue/church or even Jesus & His apostles. Furthermore also note his restoration (or restitution) promise to those whom he might have defrauded.

This largely explains why our country is growing in poverty (individual, societal & infrastructural) in correlation with the growth of the prosperity message of churches. What irony.

Have you ever wondered why the chief priests of Christ's period were the leaders of the plot to kill him
Why do you think the veil of the holy of holies was destroyed when Christ was crucified
Read the Bible carefully and put this in context with upholding traditions of men and placing God's annointed, (which we all are under the new dispensation), under the yoke of such tradititions including tithes.

Yes deuteronomy 14 : 22-29 proves clearly that tithes is not money, In this passage was the only place in the bible that money was mentioned as regards to tithes. it says that if the place of worship is far, you can convert the tithes to money so it would be easy for you to carry it to the place of worship, upon getting to the place of worship the bible did not say you should give the money to the priest, it said you should use it to buy whatsoever your heart desires and eat it in the presence of God, it also said you should share the food with the poor and you should not forget the levites( for the sole reason they have no land of there own). Now if God had intended for tithe to be money, he won't have asked the people of israel to use the tithe money to buy whatever there soul desires and eat it in his presence he would have just told them to handover the money to the priests. I think this argument should put paid to the fact that tithes is not money and was NEVER intended to be money. As i said earlier money tithes is a mordern day creation, it is not biblical. If any one as a superior argument back by scriptures, i would lkie to hear.

Please read your bible and read very well

And not just read very well, read the different translations Please!
You can read Malachi chapter 3 from Living Bible or Life Application bible translations.

@seguno you said
Thanks for referring to the commandment "Thou shall not steal".
In Naija church speak, this has been qualified, as you have just emphasised, to mean:
Thou shall not steal from God (=church = pastor). However the pastor turns a blind eye if you steal from your neighbour, employer, government, fellow citizens through corruption.
As long as you pay your unrequired tithe and/or hefty offerings therefrom, you not only get the front seats and priviledged access to the pastor, you also become a church leader. See the last paragraphs of the story in the link below:"


We need to place our priorities right.The question is 'Is it biblical to pay tithes ' not is it nigerian.we pay tithes as to God not as to men.Let God be true and every man a liar.We get God's blessings for paying tithes and for giving,we are not looking for man's blessings,so we are not looking as if we are giving to man when we give.Stealing is stealing whatever form it takes,whether one steals from government,or bank, or from parents,or from God or from white man.My own pastor doesn't place such emphasis as you wrote of.If your pastor places emphasis on stealing from God or him,it doeosn't make stealing more right or wrong.stealing is sin watever emphasis may be placed.No true child of God,not to mention pastor will support stealing of any form or magnitude.
Zaccheus restitution and vow to give 50% of his goods to the poor doesn't suggest that He didn't pay tithes before or later.today we have thieves who pay tithes now.Tithe is 10% of what you earn,not 50% of what you have.As I said earlier,tithes to God is different from alms giving or personal gifts. 

Idon't have to wonder why the chief priests  killed Jesus,the inspired word of God says it at lease twice.
Mat 27:18  For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. He knew,not felt,not tot,he knew

finally,the veil of holy of holies wasn't destroyed when Christ died.lets say what the Bible says and be sincere with our hearts,not just pulling scriptures out to support us,rather lets humble ourselves and pull ourself to support scripture.It says thveil was rent into two.This signifes that we can now come boldly before the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.It doesn't sinify don't pay tithes!The Bible is consistent on paying of tithes has you've read earlier.and the churches( true and fake) say pay your tithes.Let Him that has ear to hear hrear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.We are one body and You don't need to isolate yourself and say,"the body isn't righteous,i wouldn't fulfil my obligations'.Do your part and pray for odas to do their parts.God bless you

Obviously nobody as been able to counter my arguments with any bible scripture, i guess there is no bible scripture quoted in proper context that supports the payment of tithe as it is being interpreted today. I challenge anyone to quote the bible passage that remotely suggests that tithes is money or money is tithable as the bible is very clear that tithes should be eaten, hence it is food. Also not that contrary to what you mordern day advocates of tithing are preaching there is no were in the bible that uses the word "pay" when it comes to tithes it uses the word "bring" as i said except you want to continue deceiving your self, i have stated enough evidence back by scriptures that tithes is not money and it is not required of us as christians. If anybody cannot back up his opinion scripturally, then he or she as no business commenting on this topic we are all seeking to know the biblical truth as directed by God.

@dadifixone
I think it is you that should read your bible very well, i have not only read mine i have studied it exhausively and i am convinced beyond reasonable doubt as to the fact that tithes as is being practiced in today's churches is completley unscriptural. It is just a manipulation of an admoniton to the levites by prophet Malachi to remember to give the priests share of tithes to the temple. Go and read your bible very well my position can not be faulted

This tithing issue has made many Christians in Nigeria to forget Jesus' self-identification with the poor, the sick, the prisoners, etc etc. This is part of why we have many Churches in Nigeria, yet we rate very high on corruption, poverty and oppression. God is now seen ONLY as a bread multiplier or money doubler!!!


------------------------------------------------------
Matthew 25: 31-46    ----->

31 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne.

32 “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats;

33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.

35 ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; 36 naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’

37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? 38 ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You?

39 ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’

41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;

42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’

44 “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’

45 “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’

@dadifixone
I think it is you that should read your bible very well, i have not only read mine i have studied it exhausively and i am convinced beyond reasonable doubt as to the fact that tithes as is being practiced in today's churches is completley unscriptural. It is just a manipulation of an admoniton to the levites by prophet Malachi to remember to give the priests share of tithes to the temple. Go and read your bible very well my position can not be faulted

You have not been reading your bible Kunle. From all your posts on this forum I have found that you only search and paste articles from other poeple.

I will encourage you to devote time for the study of the bible and you will change your mind set. Do you know I have the time and I go to some of the quotes you paste on this forum? I have chosen not to answer most of the post because you yourself never read most of the articles you post in detail. In all honesty, if you really want to post intellectual arguments in a forum like this, you must devote time for extensive reading

I am not here to argue with you on most of this issues, I hope many people would have noticed your postings as a struggle for relevance.

Let me tell you, intellectual arguments are not in the multitudes of postings the originality of your response is better apprciated than copy and pasting.

Hope you will take a clue from this and limit issue to your intellectual capacity.
Shallom!

@kola oloye
I think you need to understand this concept of Jesus coming to fufil the law very well, because the laws were made for Man and not man for the law. i would remind you of various examples of law that Jesus christ changed. The law of the sabbath was contested by Jesus christ, he said the sabbath was made for man and not man for the sabbath, Jesus did not allow a harlot to be stoned to death as commanded by the law then, The law regarding sacrifices and burnt offerings was abolished by the death of christ and the law of the tithe was abolish by the priest hood of our lord Jesus christ Hebrews 7 11 -13. kindly note the passage said the law MUST change, it did not say the law may change or could change it said it MUST change. the reason why an adulterated version of the obsolete law is still being preached today is obvious

@ KunleOshob

KunleOshob:

EOA it is not true that Jesus commended the pharises for collecting tithes, the truth is that Jesus rebuke them for paying too much emphasis on tithes as it is being done today, read luke 11 :42 which says "But WOE unto you pharises For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herb and pass over JUDGMENT and the LOVE OF GOD: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone "

Obviously nobody as been able to counter my arguments with any bible scripture, i guess there is no bible scripture quoted in proper context that supports the payment of tithe as it is being interpreted today. I challenge anyone to quote the bible passage that remotely suggests that tithes is money or money is tithable as the bible is very clear that tithes should be eaten, hence it is food. Also not that contrary to what you mordern day advocates of tithing are preaching there is no were in the bible that uses the word "pay" when it comes to tithes it uses the word "bring" as i said except you want to continue deceiving your self, i have stated enough evidence back by scriptures that tithes is not money and it is not required of us as christians. If anybody cannot back up his opinion scripturally, then he or she as no business commenting on this topic we are all seeking to know the biblical truth as directed by God.

Kindly interpret the highlighted part of your statement above.

Check on all the commentaries on this topic and scriptures, I believe you will have better understanding. Jesus said that our righteoussness should exceed that of Pharisees and Sadducees. Aside paying your tithe you should do more the weigthier things said by Jesus. I dont know about you, most people that pay correctly their tithe(10%), give to the poor and others (benevolence) on the average what is more than 10 % of their income apart from tithe. If non payment of Tithe and doing the weightier things only is GOOD to you, the combination of the two is RIGHT to me. I have learnt that "it is not all good thing that is right, but there is no rignt thing that is not good".

Shalom!

@dadifixone
Obviously you have no intellectual or biblical response to my posts otherwise you won't have resorted to attacking me personally. For your fullest information, my responses have not been copy and paste, in case you don't know i am the original author of this article and i studied the bible extensively before i wrote the article, yes i aslo made references to other authors (big deal) but one thing i am certain is that everything i have written is scriptural, maybe you meant i was copying and pasting from the bible then you would be correct. It is you that really needs to study the bible and stop quoting it out of context. remember it is a sin to add to or remove from the word of God. Rev 22 : 18 - 19

@EOA
stop quoting the bible out of context the weightier things being refered to in you last post is the Jugdement and love of God and i still maintain that there is no were in the bible that remotely suggests that tithes is 10% of your income (that is also quoting the bible out of context)

KunleOshob:

@EOA
stop quoting the bible out of context the weightier things being refered to in you last post is the Jugdement and love of God and i still maintain that there is no were in the bible that remotely suggests that tithes is 10% of your income (that is also quoting the bible out of context)

I am not quoting the bible out of context. I have asked you to interpret to us the meaning of the statement by Jesus Christ in Luke 11 :42 which says "But WOE unto you pharises For ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herb and pass over JUDGMENT and the LOVE OF GOD: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone ". Is that not a scripture that remotely suggest that we should pay tithe.

Shalom!

@dadifixone
Obviously you have no intellectual or biblical response to my posts otherwise you won't have resorted to attacking me personally. For your fullest information, my responses have not been copy and paste, in case you don't know i am the original author of this article and i studied the bible extensively before i wrote the article, yes i aslo made references to other authors (big deal) but one thing i am certain is that everything i have written is scriptural, maybe you meant i was copying and pasting from the bible then you would be correct. It is you that really needs to study the bible and stop quoting it out of context. remember it is a sin to add to or remove from the word of God. Rev 22 : 18 - 19

I have not attacked your personality in any way my dear friend.  I am only telling you the truth that I observe about you. Be truthful to yourself.  Read your postings again then you get most of your answers from your different postings.  If you read very well, most of your postings YOU WILL SEE SO MANY CONTRADICTIONS AND THIS IS WHY I HAVE ALWAYS SEEN YOUR POSTINGS THE I HAVE. Another proof that most of the postings of yours are not your original work is in the choice of words.  they presents too many differences.  I can even highlight your original words from most of your articles.

May be when I am less bussy I will post a thread here to prove my points to you.

@EOA
No it does note suggest that we should we should "pay" tithe as i have said there is no were in the bible that the word "pay" was used as regards tithes because biblical tithing if not and can never be money. Besides Jesus was refering to the pharisees of that time and they were under the laws of moses so it was ok for them to "tithe". and when i say tithes here i am refering to the scriptural definition of tithes as defined in the bible (ten per cent of the produce of the land and herds which must be eaten in the presence of God) and not the morden day adulteration that refers to it as money or income. Kindly note that even in those days people also earned wages, they were never asked to tithe their wages.

@dadifixone
I think it is you that has been inconsistent and contradictory, in fact the practice of tithes today contradicts the biblical practices of tithing ( read deuteronomy 14 : 22-29) is there any correlation between that and what is being practised today? besides what is wrong with quoting other writers to prove my point as long as what i am quoting is the truth and backed by the scriptures? Are we doing a bible quiz competition here to know who knows the bible better

@Dafidixone

If I may ask you kunle, Do you beleive the word from Malachi is truely form God?

You have just succeeded in supporting what we have always belived: that your Bible contains so many contradictions, absurdities, injustices, irrationalities and inconsistencies that it definitely could not have come from God    
You are my Man of the Year 2008 .

However, your motivation (to REJECT WITH FIRE, some of the words from your Bible) apparently came from the realisation that your cheap source of income is being threatened, for you sound like those Con Pastors who underdevelop gullible people by collecting 10% of their hard earned gross income in the name of tithe   .

KunleOshob:

@EOA
No it does note suggest that we should we should "pay" tithe as i have said there is no were in the bible that the word "pay" was used as regards tithes because biblical tithing if not and can never be money. Besides Jesus was refering to the pharisees of that time and they were under the laws of moses so it was ok for them to "tithe". and when i say tithes here i am refering to the scriptural definition of tithes as defined in the bible (ten per cent of the produce of the land and herds which must be eaten in the presence of God) and not the morden day adulteration that refers to it as money or income. Kindly note that even in those days people also earned wages, they were never asked to tithe their wages.

Look at this commentary by Albert Barnes (New Testament commentary) on this scripture: Matthew 23:23

Verse 23.  Ye pay tithe. A tenth part. The law required the Jews to devote a tenth part of all their property to the support of the Levites, Numbers 18:20-24. Another tenth part they paid for the service of the sanctuary, commonly in cattle or grain; but where they lived far from the place of worship, they changed it to money; Deuteronomy 14:22-25 Besides these, there was to be every third year a tenth part given to the poor, to be eaten at their own dwellings, Deuteronomy 14:28,29. So that nearly one-third of the property of the Jews was devoted to religious services by law. This was beside the voluntary offerings which they made. How much more mild and gentle are the laws of Christianity under which we live!

 Mint. A garden herb, in the original so called from its agreeable flavour. It was used to sprinkle the floors of their houses and synagogues, to produce a pleasant fragrance.

 Anise. Known commonly among us as dill. It has a fine aromatic smell, and is used by confectioners and perfumers.

 Cummin. A plant of the same genus, like fennel, and used for similar purposes. These were all herbs of little value. The law of Moses said that they should pay tithes of the fruits of the earth, De 14:22. It said nothing, however, about herbs. It was a question whether these should be tithed. The Pharisees maintained, in their extraordinary strictness, that they ought. Our Saviour says that they were precise in doing small matters, which the law had not expressly commanded, while they omitted the greater things which it had enjoined.

 Judgment. Justice to others, as magistrates, neighbours, citizens. Giving to all their just dues.

 Mercy. Compassion and kindness to the poor and miserable.

 Faith. Piety towards God; confidence in him. Faith in God here means that we are to give to him what is his due; as mercy and justice mean to do to MEN, in all circumstances, what is right toward them.

 These ought ye to have done. Attention to even the smallest points of the law of God is proper, but it should not interfere with the higher and more important parts of that law.

{i} "you pay tithe" Lu 11:42
{1} "anise" or, "dill"
{k} "weightier matters" 1Sa 15:22; Jer 22:15,16; Ho 6:6; Mic 6:8 Mt 9:13


Deuteronomy 14:22-26

22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
23 And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

From the above scripture, the highlited verse 25, you will see it "remotely" talks about the possibilities of converting your tithe to money, by reason of say distance. So in this our time that things have been monetised, how do you think we should pay our tithes as we would love to pay.

Question:
Those that were receiving wages in the Old Testament, were they exempted from paying tithes?

Summary:
1. There are 3 forms of tithes.
2. You should pay tithe. Luke 11:42
3. Tithe can be monetized. Deuteronomy 14:25
4. Jesus Christ used the word PAY when he spoke concerning tithe. Matthew 23:23

Shalom!

@EOA
What else can i say, i would not bother to comment on your manipulations of the word of God anymore and your quoting of the bible out of context i am now convinced that you are one of those benefiting out of tithes and you are just writing all this to protect your source of income. Remember we would all answer to God one day. It is obvious you know the truth about tithes you just choose to manipulate it. in deuteronomy 14 : 25 after it said you could convert the tithe to money, it went on in verse 26 to state what should be done with the money, it never even remotely suggested the money could be given to the priest or the levites it said you should spend it on whatever your soul desires and EAT it in the presence of God with your family. You read this part yet you chose to ignore it and quote verse 25 out of context, that is sheer manipulation of the word of God. May God forgive you.

You have just succeeded in supporting what we have always belived: that your Bible contains so many contradictions, absurdities, injustices, irrationalities and inconsistencies that it definitely could not have come from God
You are my Man of the Year 2008 .

However, your motivation (to REJECT WITH FIRE, some of the words from your Bible) apparently came from the realisation that your cheap source of income is being threatened, for you sound like those Con Pastors who underdevelop gullible people by collecting 10% of their hard earned gross income in the name of tithe .

I wonder if you guys beleive anything at all What do you think I beleive that you beleived?

Bible is meant for only those who allow Holy Spirit in their life. If you read it 1,00000000000 times without the right spirit in you, I am sorry 4 U one by one

Give freely and willingly to the work of God.
There's no mandate anywhere for a Christian that lives under Grace to give a certain amount by compulsion.
Don't let anyone place a guilt trip on you.
In all of the new testament,the Bible talks of give,give give.The bible says give and it shall be given to you.not tithe and it shall be given.

and for people new to this thread or visiting after a long time,I suggest you try to read at least a majority of the previous posts before you start typing your replies.don't behave like all this garage boys that just jump into things without even noing the matter at hand.It will save us from unnecesarily expanding this thread.
let us  Titus 3:9  But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.

Hi,Kunle.Long time.wer you go.You should take some time and unbiased mind to read through the replies thet have been posted on this thread while you were away.as I've stated earlier,if you want to pay your tithes in terms of crops and oil,I believe you 're free But I think we have grace to pay our tithes today the way it best suits us(with cash).We no more live in an agrarian society bro.Also,get your priorities right.are you confused about wether we should pay tithes 2day OR what form we should pay it in?Be clear and sincere

KunleOshob:

@EOA
stop quoting the bible out of context the weightier things being refered to in you last post is the Jugdement and love of God and i still maintain that there is no were in the bible that remotely suggests that tithes is 10% of your income (that is also quoting the bible out of context)

your most beloved quote, deut 14v22 'suggests that tithes is 10% of your income'
Deu 14:22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year.
Harvest came year by year and still does for farmers today.They were required to give a tithe(one tenth) of their increase/harvest/profit/proceeds.Its english man,they all refer to the same thing,
Tithe was before the law(scripture says tithe was paid even when levi,not to mention Moses was in the loins of his great grandpa),so even if the law has been abolished in the sense in which you feel,it doesn't affect tithes.God'll give you grace brother.

@ Kunle,

I believe you should concede that there is no difference between bring and pay when it comes to this discussion on tithe. That is just semantics. Both words are synonyms in financial context.
For example, after haggling the price of a commodity it is usual for teh seller to conclude by saying: bring your money (price).
Bringing up such differences only waters down the real issues that you have correctly raised, to wit:

Tithe is not required of Xtians. However, we are expected to freely give to God.

I have this student friend who pays tithe to this pastor in school. My friend relies absolutely on his mother for finances. Tell me, is this act biblical. Is he not paying for mother? One day, I gave her 1000, she said 100 was for tithe. I almost went crazy. I told her not to pay tithe for me. I think Tithe is of your sweat.
One thing I know too well is that most church leaders paint the scripture to suit them. Some churches don’t believe in tithe-Jehovah Witness, while catholic don’t stress it. Jesus didn’t pay neither his disciples. He stressed aim to the poor.
I visited a church when I went to Abuja, I was handed 3 envelops: 1- offering, 2- Tithe, and 3-special offering. So as a guest, I have to my tithe to them.

If Christ were to repeat his initial coming, he would look into a couple of things. Of which Tithe would be paramount.[color=#990000][/color]

I have this student friend who pays tithe to this pastor in school. My friend relies absolutely on his mother for finances. Tell me, is this act biblical. Is he not paying for mother? One day, I gave her 1000, she said 100 was for tithe. I almost went crazy. I told her not to pay tithe for me. I think Tithe is of your sweat.
One thing I know too well is that most church leaders paint the scripture to suit them. Some churches don’t believe in tithe-Jehovah Witness, while catholic don’t stress it. Jesus didn’t pay neither his disciples. He stressed aim to the poor.
I visited a church when I went to Abuja, I was handed 3 envelops: 1- offering, 2- Tithe, and 3-special offering. So as a guest, I have to my tithe to them.

If Christ were to repeat his initial coming, he would look into a couple of things. Of which Tithe would be paramount.[color=#990000][/color]

The guy is doing it good. Bring tithes of all your increase. Is gift not an increase?

Talking about tithes . . .

Should it be 10% of your 'take-home-pay' (after all the tax/pension deductions) or one's 'gross pay'?

Talking about tithes . . . Should it be 10% of your 'take-home-pay' (after all the tax/pension deductions) or one's 'gross pay'?

I think an extract form my proposed book on this subject may help you.

Tithes in Perspective.
From all indication, the Holy book “The Bible” made it clear that:
• Tithes and offerings are not the same - Proverbs 3:9-10.
• Tithes open Heaven's windows to you - Malachi 3:10
• Tithes diligently cause God to consistently rebuke the devourer for you - Malachi 3:11
• Those who tithe are those who the nations will come to called blessed of God - Malachi 3:12
Also, in the Bible we find that God clearly outlines for us what it means to be good stewards of our resources. Colossians 1:18 states that Jesus wants to come to have, 1st place in every area of our lives, and this includes our finances.

The Acceptable offering and correct tithing.
Tithes Calculation for Business Owners: If you own a business, your "increase" is what is called "profit". It is the gross amount of money you have earned, minus all business deductions. You figure the tithe on that amount, your net earnings, before taxes are paid to the government. God comes first.

Total Income – (Capital + Expenditure) /10
For an example, you start your business with N10, 000 that represent your seed. During the accounting period, you have N25, 000 at hand. We assume you spent N2, 000 for your running cost. This you will have to do. Deduct your Capital (N25, 000 – N10, 000). You are left with N15, 000. Next deduct your N2, 000 expenses incurred; you will be left with N12, 000. Your tithe will then be 1/10 of the N12, 000. That is N1, 200.
Salary Earner: If you are a salary Earner, it is clear you have no Capital apart from strength and good health you invested. So your own calculation will be slight different from a business owners.
Total Income /10
For example we assume you receive N20, 000 per month. All you have to do is divide N20, 000 by 10 (20,000/10) this gives you N2, 000 as your tithe.
On Savings and Investments: As an investor, it is must be understood that an increase is what you invest.
Suppose you were just starting out on tithing, and you had N100, 000 in the bank or other investments. Your regular 10% tithes on earnings you get on the income N100, 000 will be N10, 000. But, let's suppose that instead of paying off that 10% right away, you decide to pay tithes on the earnings of that N100, 00 0.

For simplicity of calculation, let's assume that you're earning 1% interest on that money. So, at the end of 1 year you get 1% interest on N100, 000, which leaves you N1, 000 in earnings. Since 10% of that N100, 000 belongs to the Lord; you owe all of the interest on that 10%. And so, 10% of N100, 000 is N10, 000, and 1% interest on N10, 000 is N100, and so you owe N100 on the Lord's portion.

The remaining 90% of N100, 000 belongs to you, but you still owe 10% on the earnings of that portion. 90% of N100, 000 is N90, 000, and 1% interest on N90, 000 is N900. You owe 10% on those N900 earnings, which amounts to N90.


To contrast, if you had already paid the "whole value tithe" previously, and had N100,000 in the bank earning 1% interest, your earnings would be 1% x N100,000 or N1,000. Your tithe would be 10% of that, or N100."
Gifts and presents: This is important to our Children. Learn to give your tithe early in life.
Every gift in cash and kind (note that bribe is not a gift). So 1 /10 of the value of such gifts are expected as your tithe.

Tithe Calculation in Civil Service & retirement: Many faithful tithers over their working years have questions about tithing their income. They like to know the position of God on their income since government will deduct the tax directly from their pay source.

Since your taxes are deducted from your pay directly, you will have to pay your 10% to God on the amount you actually earn.
For example, if you receive N100, 000 and government deducted 5 %( N5, 000) of the Pay as tax. You will be left with 95 %( N95, 000). Your tithe will be 10% of the 95,000 (that is, N9, 500). God first yes but God also put those in Government in power. We need not be hypocritical about this.

Shallom!

All the above shows is the foolishness of "tithing" and the legalism that it brings back when Christ had done away with legalism.

Food for thought:

1. Did Jesus ever tithe? Probably did not tithe because there was no need; He was a carpenter; carpenters were not required to tithe. Only if he had been a farmer or herdsman was he required to tithe.

2. In the old testament if you were a herdsman who had 9 cattle, were you required to tithe? Answer NO -- because it was specifically the tenth cattle that was supposed to be tithed.


Read your Bible and understand it rather than relying on paganistic superstition masquerading as a "christian doctrine of tithing"!

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thanx for your correspondence, i have been very much around. But i think i should educate you on my position on this topic, I am not seeking advice on this topic, i am actually sharing biblical truths with my fellow christian which certain pastors have found very convinient to hide. If you are in any doubt as to my position go and read all my posts on the subject, in fact at the risk of being accused of being arrogant, i can say i am a sort of authority on the subject because i have researched the topic extensively. Maybe you should contact me directly i would educate you better. THE PRACTICE OF TITHE AS IT OBTAINS IN TODAY'S CHURCH is completely unscriptural in several ways than one and the bible makes that very clear.