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Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete & Defunct
Preface
This book is about much more than tithing or not tithing. It's about setting people free from a wrong, religious mindset so they can experience the reality of New Covenant life in Christ. It's about recovering a glorious spiritual inheritance that Christians have been defrauded of, exposing wrong doctrines that negate Christ's finished work on the cross. It's about living like a righteous, new-creation son of God, born again through spiritual union with Jesus Christ by his resurrection from the dead. This book is just a beginning. Tithing is just the tip of the iceberg of carnal mentalities that dominate most of Christianity.
I was taught to tithe as a child and did so for many years without question. It was never a problem to me, spiritually or financially. I thoroughly agreed with the teaching and wasn't looking for any reason to contradict it. However, after many years of seeking God and studying his word, I have come to see the doctrine of tithing, and all other financial giving as well, in a new light—the revelation of the mystery of being in Christ.
I have two objectives in writing this book. One is that Christians would wake up and realize that tithing is part of the old carnal religious way of life and put it aside to enter the New Covenant way of living. The New Testament's description for this way of living is, in Christ. Religious traditions that man has created are the biggest obstacle to the glorious life of God that we were created to enjoy. Tithing is one of those well-meaning-but-misguided traditions.
Another objective is to equip Christians with a solid scriptural foundation to answer the constant barrage of teaching that is promoting tithing and keeping the church in a low-realm, religious mode of living. The doctrine of tithing has been mindlessly taught and accepted for so long that some of the most outstanding Christian leaders do not recognize how it contradicts the very foundation of the gospel they are preaching.
This book may challenge some of your deepest beliefs. It may contradict your most esteemed spiritual leaders. But no brother or sister in Christ is being personally judged or attacked. I appreciate those who have given their lives in service to the Lord and his church. The Bible tells us to "esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake" (1 Thess. 5:13). However, their teachings are at all times to be examined in the light of scripture.
This book exposes the error of some very popular teachings but does not accuse those who are teaching them. No names are ever mentioned, but you may recognize some statements. There are many well-known ministers, whom I greatly respect, that I have to disagree with when it comes to the subject of tithing.
Paul the apostle said in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, “we know in part” and “we see through a glass, darkly;” therefore, we can never expect perfect doctrinal unity. However, we can pursue a better knowledge of the truth and we can extend the love of God to one another in the process. If we disagree, we can do so respectfully. Each person must walk with God in the best way they know.
I ask you to lay aside preconceived ideas and traditional thinking, and prayerfully consider the message of this book. Its purpose is to move the church toward the highest and best that God has provided in Christ. I pray that it will be the beginning of a spiritual revolution in your life.
• What it means to be in Christ and our relationship to God as sons.
• The difference between living by Christ and living by laws and principles.
• Why God has ordained freewill offerings instead of tithing for the church.
• What the Bible actually says about tithing before, during and after the Law.
• Where the Bible clearly shows that tithing is not a universal principle for all times.
• How the grace of freewill giving has always exceeded tithing, even during the Law.
• A New Covenant paradigm for living and giving.
This book is about much more than tithing or not tithing. It's about setting people free from a wrong, religious mindset so they can experience the reality of New Covenant life in Christ. It's about recovering a glorious spiritual inheritance that Christians have been defrauded of, exposing wrong doctrines that negate Christ's finished work on the cross. It's about living like a righteous, new-creation son of God, born again through spiritual union with Jesus Christ by his resurrection from the dead. This book is just a beginning. Tithing is just the tip of the iceberg of carnal mentalities that dominate most of Christianity.
I was taught to tithe as a child and did so for many years without question. It was never a problem to me, spiritually or financially. I thoroughly agreed with the teaching and wasn't looking for any reason to contradict it. However, after many years of seeking God and studying his word, I have come to see the doctrine of tithing, and all other financial giving as well, in a new light—the revelation of the mystery of being in Christ.
I have two objectives in writing this book. One is that Christians would wake up and realize that tithing is part of the old carnal religious way of life and put it aside to enter the New Covenant way of living. The New Testament's description for this way of living is, in Christ. Religious traditions that man has created are the biggest obstacle to the glorious life of God that we were created to enjoy. Tithing is one of those well-meaning-but-misguided traditions.
Another objective is to equip Christians with a solid scriptural foundation to answer the constant barrage of teaching that is promoting tithing and keeping the church in a low-realm, religious mode of living. The doctrine of tithing has been mindlessly taught and accepted for so long that some of the most outstanding Christian leaders do not recognize how it contradicts the very foundation of the gospel they are preaching.
This book may challenge some of your deepest beliefs. It may contradict your most esteemed spiritual leaders. But no brother or sister in Christ is being personally judged or attacked. I appreciate those who have given their lives in service to the Lord and his church. The Bible tells us to "esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake" (1 Thess. 5:13). However, their teachings are at all times to be examined in the light of scripture.
This book exposes the error of some very popular teachings but does not accuse those who are teaching them. No names are ever mentioned, but you may recognize some statements. There are many well-known ministers, whom I greatly respect, that I have to disagree with when it comes to the subject of tithing.
Paul the apostle said in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, “we know in part” and “we see through a glass, darkly;” therefore, we can never expect perfect doctrinal unity. However, we can pursue a better knowledge of the truth and we can extend the love of God to one another in the process. If we disagree, we can do so respectfully. Each person must walk with God in the best way they know.
I ask you to lay aside preconceived ideas and traditional thinking, and prayerfully consider the message of this book. Its purpose is to move the church toward the highest and best that God has provided in Christ. I pray that it will be the beginning of a spiritual revolution in your life.
• What it means to be in Christ and our relationship to God as sons.
• The difference between living by Christ and living by laws and principles.
• Why God has ordained freewill offerings instead of tithing for the church.
• What the Bible actually says about tithing before, during and after the Law.
• Where the Bible clearly shows that tithing is not a universal principle for all times.
• How the grace of freewill giving has always exceeded tithing, even during the Law.
• A New Covenant paradigm for living and giving.
- GenresChristian
143 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 1, 2004
9 people are currently reading
17 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 1, 2014
Matthew E. Narramore (probably pseudonym)'s Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete & Defunct does an excellent job not only debunking arguments in Gary North and John Avanzini's books, but by explaining the Gospel. Narramore does not attack anyone by name, and accepts that God blesses people of all different views. Someone who gives 10% cheerfully and sincerely is pleasing to God, but that person also misunderstands the Gospel and who we are in Christ.
Narramore works carefully through the prooftexts given by those advocating a mandatory 10% tithe and explains their context succinctly. He explains what the various Mosaic tithes were and how the New Covenant is superior to the old.
"Ten percent is not an eternally sacred standard of giving. God required much more than the tithe under the Law of Moses. There were many more sacrifices and offerings that were commanded. Many interpret the Law to require two separate tithes and some believe that it required three...Jesus never called anyone to a ten-percent commitment. His call was to absolute abandonment of all things for him and absolute commitment of all things to him."
"The leaders in Jerusalem concluded that they would give the gentile believers only four instructions...But even some of these instructions were based on faulty theology. Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians chapters 6, 8, and 10 that eating food offered to idols is not an issue if you have a revelation of the truth in Christ. If tithing was as important as it is said to be, the church leaders in Jerusalem would have certainly mentioned it."
"People who have wrong beliefs about tithing can still be greatly blessed, according to their faith and how they follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. But no matter how blessed and successful they are, it doesn't validate their doctrine and it doesn't mean they have all that God has made available. The glorious life of Christ cannot be fully experienced while following a way of life that was intended for men who lived before the resurrection...When the church gets a revelation of their union with Christ they will start living to serve God. They will have to be told to stop giving instead of having to be constantly harangued to start giving...The New Covenant has ended the compartmentalization of life. No part is more spiritual than another. In God's family enterprise we are expected to live for him with all of our resources, not just money."
"If failure to tithe makes me a God-robber, then my righteousness depends on tithing. If failure to write out the first check on payday to the local church causes me to lose the favor of God on my life, then my righteousness must depend on doing that. If tithing is what redeems the remaining 90 percent of my paycheck, then the blood of Jesus did not redeem it. If a curse is going to come upon me for not tithing, then Christ has not redeemed me from the curse of the Law."
I give this book 4.5 stars as it is concise, clear, and biblically-based.
Narramore works carefully through the prooftexts given by those advocating a mandatory 10% tithe and explains their context succinctly. He explains what the various Mosaic tithes were and how the New Covenant is superior to the old.
"Ten percent is not an eternally sacred standard of giving. God required much more than the tithe under the Law of Moses. There were many more sacrifices and offerings that were commanded. Many interpret the Law to require two separate tithes and some believe that it required three...Jesus never called anyone to a ten-percent commitment. His call was to absolute abandonment of all things for him and absolute commitment of all things to him."
"The leaders in Jerusalem concluded that they would give the gentile believers only four instructions...But even some of these instructions were based on faulty theology. Paul made it clear in 1 Corinthians chapters 6, 8, and 10 that eating food offered to idols is not an issue if you have a revelation of the truth in Christ. If tithing was as important as it is said to be, the church leaders in Jerusalem would have certainly mentioned it."
"People who have wrong beliefs about tithing can still be greatly blessed, according to their faith and how they follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. But no matter how blessed and successful they are, it doesn't validate their doctrine and it doesn't mean they have all that God has made available. The glorious life of Christ cannot be fully experienced while following a way of life that was intended for men who lived before the resurrection...When the church gets a revelation of their union with Christ they will start living to serve God. They will have to be told to stop giving instead of having to be constantly harangued to start giving...The New Covenant has ended the compartmentalization of life. No part is more spiritual than another. In God's family enterprise we are expected to live for him with all of our resources, not just money."
"If failure to tithe makes me a God-robber, then my righteousness depends on tithing. If failure to write out the first check on payday to the local church causes me to lose the favor of God on my life, then my righteousness must depend on doing that. If tithing is what redeems the remaining 90 percent of my paycheck, then the blood of Jesus did not redeem it. If a curse is going to come upon me for not tithing, then Christ has not redeemed me from the curse of the Law."
I give this book 4.5 stars as it is concise, clear, and biblically-based.
February 15, 2013
The best book on tithing that I ever come across.
February 14, 2015
hmmm...be careful.
July 29, 2012
this book provide a good detail on the subject of tithing
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews