Were tithes ever required by Jesus or the Apostles?

[OP_Carl]

Originally Posted by COOPER

When I was in the UPC I tithed and gave.

But when guys like Jack Cunningham at a district meeting pressured to give.....it put me on the spot.

I would not give because I felt pressured.

But now I realize tithing is not required or commanded nor will one be cursed if they don't tithe.

I was drilled for almost twenty years about tithing and "shall a man rob God"? doctrine.

It makes me question the UPCI and it's doctrines.

Because to be so "Full Of Truth" there is a lot of false teachings.

And UPC will not budge from anything traditional.....

Truth needs to be truth....

If tithing is not an Apostles doctrine, why teach it?

Why not just preach that it is a tradition to pay tithes....but it is not a biblical requirement to be saved or to be a member of the church.

Why not teach to give with out pressure or guilt? Thats the way the Apostles taught it.

Give and it shall be given....NOT "give or you are robbing God"

The existence of preachers and congregations that use rules and regulations to turn principles into legalism do not negate the validity and beneficience of the principles.

If your local UPCI #314 enforces a strict dress code, and Sister Pharisee has run off countless people with the gimlet eye she casts upon non-regulation apparel, it DOES NOT MEAN THAT MODESTY IS NOT A GODLY PRINCIPLE WORTHY OF PURSUIT, PRACTICE, AND PREACHING. All you can truly say is that local #314 has taken a wrong turn.

It's the same deal with tithing. I, too, have had membership in churches where I was asked if I was going to rob God. And I have had membership in churches where it was taught that grateful and faithful Christians tithed from the fullness of their hearts, not from fear. I was blessed for my tithing in both places. What's up with that?

Defense of principles is not defense of legalism.


And as far as this business of criticizing people who question tithing as being people who have trouble with authority, I reject and rebuke this mindset. Different people make progress in their faith at different rates in different areas of Christian life. Somebody who was raised in a non-religious home, such as myself, who heard their father repeatedly say that all preachers were hypocritical money-grubbing scoundrels, is going to have more trouble entering in to complete faith in this area than someone raised in a deacon's home. Somebody who grew up in a legalistic church, but has moved or received a new pastor, struggles as they internally confront their earliest teachings with new concepts.

The appropriate response to such individuals is compassion and prayer, with perhaps a little mentoring thrown in to boot. Not the quickdraw application of the label of 'rebel.' God didn't throw you over to a reprobate mind over your long-term peccadillos, did he? God has enough grace for everybody.

The bible is vivid and clear about what circumstances warrant excommunication.

It's good to question paradigms, but a lot of things that are presently in place are in place for a good reason, and questioners need to be open to that possibility in their quests, too.