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Alright guys, we're finally doing it. We're making our video on tithing. You didn't read the title wrong. I want to talk to you about why I think you should stop tithing and you should start giving generously. This video is long overdue. I know you guys have constantly asked me to make this video over and over for months, and so I'm finally making it. Now let me give you some disclaimers before you give a negative comment or you're an angry pastor watching, I want you to watch the entire video and consider the verses I'm giving. I was a senior pastor for 10 years. I've traveled to hundreds of churches. I'm a part of a local church that I give to and preach regularly at, so I'm not some lone prophet Joe Schmo on YouTube. I just want to set the groundwork here. And here's the truth of the matter when it comes to tithing, there's not one verse in the New Testament that commands us to tithe or give 10% of our income.
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Now, I'm not telling you not to give and I think we should give more than 10%, but I want to show you the biblical way to give in the New Testament. Again, if you're going to get mad, get mad at tradition, not the Bible because all that we defend is tradition when it comes to tithing. We're not defending the New Testament and the fact is tithing is not a New Testament command. That's not like debatable, that's not an interpretation. That's a bottom line fact. And many of you have heard, if you tithe, God will open up the windows of heaven and bless you, and if you don't tithe, you're going to be cursing, you're going to rob God. If you give 9%, you're going to rob God and you're going to be under a curse. But is that really what the Bible is saying? Let's talk about it in this video.
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Alright, let's start out by talking about what is the tithe. Now tithing was a way for the Levites where one of the 12 tribes of Israel to be supported by the other 11 tribes. Remember they were dedicated to God and doing their priestly duties. They're unable to have regular jobs. So God says, okay, the other 11 tribe, you guys can have land and businesses and animals and you give between 10 and 20% because people, there's several interpretations on what the tithe was, but give about 10% of your income to the Levites so that you can support them. This is found in numbers 1821 to the Levites, I've given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance in return for the service that they do their service in the tent of meeting. So their service is in the tent of meeting and they're getting from the other tribes a tithe to support their ministries.
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Malachi three eight makes it clear that those who didn't give were either blessed or cursed. Now we've all heard Malachi three eight, God's going to open up the windows in heaven if you bring your tide to the storehouse. If you don't, then you're going to be cursed. This was not for us today, this was for them back then giving to the Levi. So we can't just take that verse and say, well, that applies to us. If we don't give to our local church, we're going to be under a curse. That's absolutely not what the verse is talking about, but I'm going to go into that in a minute here. Abraham also gave a 10th of his spoils of war to Melek. When God met Joe Jacob at Bethel, Jacob promised to give God a 10th. So those are the three basic main places in the Old Testament we see the tithe.
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So basically tithing, the Old Testament was under the Mosaic law and we know that in the New Testament we're not under the Mosaic law. So let me give you reasons why I believe and why I believe the Bible clearly teaches that we're not required to tithe, but God institutes a new way of giving. Let's talk about why you're not required and then we're going to talk about what we should do. Like Isaiah, if you're saying don't tithe, then what should I be giving to my local church? How much should I be giving? I'm going to show you pastors don't freak out why I believe it's actually more than 10%, but let's look at this. Number one, why we are not required to tithe is we're no longer under Mosaic law. Now you might say, what about the 10 Commandments? Those were given by Moses. But remember Jesus affirmed every commandment of the 10 commandments in the New Testament except fasting.
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So the only commandment to fast or set us, I'm sorry, not fast Sabbath. So the only commandment that Jesus didn't reaffirm was to keep a Sabbath day. The other nine, Jesus reaffirmed. So we are to live by the 10 Commandments. Why? Because Jesus reaffirmed the 10 commandments in the New Testament. So if he reaffirmed it, we live by that standard. In fact, Jesus didn't just reaffirm the nine commandments of the 10 commandments. Jesus would often elevate the standard of the law. So he says this is what the law says about adultery, but I say, if you even look at a woman, you've committed adultery in your heart. So this wasn't Jesus just abolishing the law in all of its essence. Jesus was creating a higher standard that only by the grace of God that we could achieve. But it is clear according to these three verses, we're not under the law anymore.
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Romans six 14 for sin will have no dominion over you since you're not under the law. But under grace, Galatians three 10, for all who rely on the works of law remain under a curse. For it is written cursed by everyone who does not abide all the things written in the book of the law and do them now, it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law. The righteous shall live by faith. Two Corinthians three 14 For to this day when they read the old covenant, the same veil remains unlifted because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is spirit and where the spirit of the Lord is theirs freedom. So Paul is clearly saying you're not under the veil of the law of Moses, like we don't have to live by the law anymore.
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And some of you might say, well, I still believe we should tithe them be under the mosaic law. But if you agree with that, then you also agree that you can't wear clothes made by woolen linen that women that have committed adultery have to drink dirty water. That slaves that refuse their masters have to drink dirty water. You can't plant more than one kind of seed in the field. You can't tear your clothes, you can't eat fat. You have to make sure nobody falls off your roof and the list goes on and on. These are all the laws under the mosaic order, the mosaic law that Moses gave the people in Leviticus and Exodus. So we're not under that. Thank God that we're not under that. And there's some other ones that are a bit graphic I won't go into, but thank God that we're not under that.
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Now the other argument might be, well what about Abraham and Jacob? Because they both tithed and they weren't under the mosaic law. Abraham's giving to Melek was a one-time thing. It was not a regular current. So if you say that, then tithing is only one time event. Jacob's tithe was a response to God's promise, not a subscription to all believers. So again, those three places we see the tithe are not relevant to the church today. Second reason why we're not required to tithe the tithes were given to Levi's and priests and we no longer have Levi's and priests under the old covenant system. Revelation says that we are a kingdom of priests now. So we're all believers are considered priests because we are in a kingdom of priests. Okay? Reason number three, and this is the last reason why we're not required to tithe according to the Bible in the New Testament, is Jesus never commanded a tithe nor did any other disciples.
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Now, Jesus talked about money a lot in the gospels and he never mentioned we should be tithing. There is a place that Jesus talked about tithing and people might say, well, Jesus did in Matthew 23, this is the argument I've heard. He did talk about tithing, but let me set the scene for you. In Matthew 23, Jesus is giving his harshest rebuke in scripture publicly to the Pharisees where he gives them seven strong rebukes. And in that rebuke he says, you guys are so careful to tithe, but you ignore bigger issues like justice and mercy. That's all he says about tithing. So to say that Jesus was saying we should tithe is a massive stretch because number one, he's rebuking the Pharisees. Number two, he's saying you guys are so concerned with tithing but you're not concerned with the bigger issues like justice and mercy.
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Again, he's not advocating the tithe or telling us we should tithe. He's rebuking them for worrying about the tithe and not worrying about other issues. If Jesus wanted us to tithe religiously the 10%, he would've talked about it. And all the times he talked about money, which was a lot, he would've reaffirmed that law. He reaffirmed all the other laws, but he didn't. So again, this is about being biblically integral, not catered to traditions. I grew up, I thought my entire life we just tithe. Even up until recently, I started actually studying and I'm like, wait a minute, the tithe is not in the New Testament, so we're supposed to give generously. So again, don't get mad. You say, I've been tithing for years. It works, it does work, giving works. But don't say living under that 10% law, that's a mosaic. Law is what's working for you because again, there's no one you're going to find that's going to say it's a New Testament command.
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It's not in the New Testament and I, trust me, I've looked just Google it. And you're going to find people like Billy Graham saying the tithe is not required and other reputable people that are going to agree that the tithe is not a New Testament reality. Okay, so seven minutes of me saying why we shouldn't tithe, what should we do then Isaiah, now I want to talk to you about New Testament giving the book of Acts starts with people giving financially. If you look at the beginning of acts, which I'm teaching right now, verse by verse, we are in chapter 15, if you look at it the beginning, there's an explosion of salvation and the people were giving all that they had to the disciple, the apostles, and they were distributing it to those in need so that nobody was lacking. The Bible says, so of course we're supposed to still give in the New Testament.
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That's not what I'm saying. But the fundamental verse for giving doesn't say to tithe. Here it is, two Corinthians nine, six, write this down. He says, remember this. This is Paul speaking to the church. A farmer who only plants a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. And then he says this about finances in verse seven, you must each decide in your heart how much to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. For God loves a person who gives cheerfully and God will genuinely provide all you need. Then you'll always have everything you need and plenty left over to share. Okay, so here's the New Testament giving. Are you ready? Decide how much you're going to give and don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. So don't give because you think if I only give 9%, I'm under a curse or the Old Testament.
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No, we don't give reluctantly, we don't give in response to pressure. We decide how much to give and God will honor that. But Paul makes it clear in the verse before, listen, if you just give a little bit, you can only expect to receive a little bit, but if you give a lot, you'll get a generous crop. So Paul says, I'm encouraging you not to give a little bit. If you give a little bit, you get a little bit in terms of blessing and in terms of return from God. So he says, give a lot. So that's why I believe we should give more than 10%. So you decide. So the basic way you give in the New Testament is not tithing, its generosity giving. Here's what Paul says in one Corinthians 16, one. Now regarding your question about money being collected for God's people in Jerusalem, you should follow the same procedure I gave to the church in Galatia.
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So Paul's going to give the procedure to the church of Corinth that he gave to the Church of Galatia, and this is what verse two of one Corinthians 16 says, on the first day of each week, you should put aside a portion of the money you have earned. Don't wait until I get there to try to collect it all at once. Okay, so here's what Paul is saying. It's biblical set aside money the first day of the week and set that money apart to give. So that could be 10%, that could be 20%. This is why I'm saying I'm not telling you not to give, I'm saying you don't have to give the tithe, but he says set apart money so that when I come to you and collect the money, this is Paul speaking. He's like, I don't want to have to scramble trying to collect all this money from everybody.
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I want to just have it ready for me when I get there. So just have it ready, put it aside so it's biblical to put money aside to give it to your local church so that they can collect it and they can do the works of the ministry and do what they need to do with it. Again, it's a biblical thing Paul says here. Paul also commands the churches to support traveling teachers and traveling preachers in one place. He says traveling teachers should be paid especially well. But I want you to see what he says in one Corinthians nine 11. He says, since we planted spiritual seed among you, aren't we entitled to harvest a physical food and drink? If you support others who preach, shouldn't we have a greater right to be supported, but we never use the right. We'd rather give up anything than be an obstacle to the good news.
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Jesus, the good news about Christ. So Paul says, listen, if preachers, teachers, whether they're online, they're traveling, they're pastors of your church, whatever are investing into you spiritually, shouldn't they be reaping a physical blessing from that? And then Paul talks a lot longer about that in one Corinthians nine. You can go read it for the sake of time also. So that's one place we can give to ministries, to teachers, to preachers. Another place is to give to those in need. One John three 16 through 18. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ has laid down his life for us and we got to lay our life downs for our brothers and sisters. And then listen to what John says. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother and sister in need and has no pity on them, how can the love of God abide in that person?
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Dear children, let us not love with the words or speech, but with actions in truth. So here's what he's saying. If you have money and you see somebody in need and you don't give or support that need, how could you say you have the love of God? For example, our church recently said, okay, we're getting mobile showers to help those that are homeless and poor. We're going to give a special offering to those to provide for these homeless people and these showers that we're having to be able to let the homeless people have showers. So I gave to that because if I have money in the bank in my savings and they're asking for money to help the poor, how could I say I have the love of God when I'm not giving to that? So that's what it's saying there Again, let me just say this.
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There's no verse where it says, give money for prophetic word, give money to be healed or delivered. That's all made up. So if you hear someone say, give so that you could get a prophetic word that's made up. If you hear someone say you need to give to get delivered, that's made up. If you hear someone say you need to give to get healed of cancer, that's made up. These are manmade doctrines to squeeze the people of God. Okay, that's another video. Let me leave you with this proverb if I haven't made it clear. Proverbs 1125, A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. So what should we do? Give more than 10%. I give above 10% to my local church. I support about 10 different ministers and ministries that preach some of 'em on TikTok, some of 'em on YouTube, some of them traveling.
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I also support ministries that directly help the poor and the widows. And I think if you truly understand what I'm saying in this video and New Testament giving, you're going to want to give more than 10%. But I don't want you to think if I give nine, I'm under a curse and God's not going to bless me. These are Old Testament realities. We're not under those any longer. Again, this video made you mad. You got to go to scripture. Okay? I wrestled making this for a long time because I knew people were going to get mad and God's like, you want to be a people pleaser or a God chaser. So I got to be responsible with my platform and I got to honor the word of God and what God is telling me to do. And the Bible clearly makes it clear what we should be doing in the New Testament.
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Let me know in the comments what you think about this matter. Some of you're going to say, well, I've been tithing and God's been blessing me and keep tithing, keep giving 10%. It's biblical to give, but don't live under the standard of the loss saying I have to give 10% because could still give and not call it a tithe, but not live under that standard. So please hear in my heart and what I'm trying to say. Look at the verses that I gave you to recap just to go over what we talked about. Why we're not required to tithe is number one, we're not under the law of the Mosaic law anymore. Number two, the tithes we're given to priests and we're no longer under the old covenant system. And number three, Jesus never commands a tide, nor did any of the disciples. What we should do is give generously. Give to our local church, give the ministries. So as much as you possibly are able to store up treasures in heaven, but don't think that you're required to give a old covenant 10%. Please if you haven't subscribed, subscribe, send this to a friend and family. Let's shake up tradition and see revival. We'll see you guys in the next video.