Taxes vs. Tithe

[Limbwalker]

I say go off of what you actually bring home...I view that as my harvest.

This is the direction I'm leaning, even though I consider what part of my taxes that go to sheltering the poor and feeding the hungry to be a form of tithe. Seems like a happy medium to me.

[txchuck]

Well to start with nothing you pay in taxes is a gift to anyone you didnt have a choice,it was taken from you under threat of prison or ultimately death if you resist. So forget that!
Chuck

[Limbwalker]

If its the first 10%, then that would be before right? You take the GROSS, and give God the FIRST 10. Then the goverment gets its %,

I sure hope the IRS will understand when I ask them to tax me on the 90% and not the whole 100.

[Pushbutton2]

Mark 12:14-17 (ESV)
14 And they came and said to him, “Teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?”
15 But, knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, “Why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”
16 And they brought one. And he said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said to him, “Caesar's.”
17 Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” And they marveled at him.

[Sparkles]

Taxes vs. Tithe

Wrong.

If you study the Word ( the Bible ) it tells us to give the first 10 percent of our harvest. Period.

But what does it say in the New Testament?
2Corinthians 9:7
Each man must decide in his heart how much to give and do not do it reluctantly or in response pressure, for God loves a person who cheerfully gives.

[txchuck]

By the way is the tithe mentioned in the New Teatament? Maybe 10% is not enough?
Chuck

[Pushbutton2]

http://discussions.texasbowhunter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=482610

[snappertapper]

Pre tax here. Don't want to risk it.

risk what?

[TexanTiger]

I give out of obedience, not to be blessed.

How much and how its figured is between God and I.

Trust me I don't play this like a slot machine...its a I trust God with everything idea and I don't try to justify keeping something that wasn't mine to begin with, I do believe (if you read my second post) in giving what is laid on your heart by God, I used to not be able to afford to do 10% of pure money so I did volunteer work ect. but through my giving of what I had God has always blessed me more than I could ever imagine, so I tend to say give what you feel led to

ps I will bow out , thought I was being helpful

[Playa]

Trust me I don't play this like a slot machine...its a I trust God with everything idea and I don't try to justify keeping something that wasn't mine to begin with, I do believe (if you read my second post) in giving what is laid on your heart by God, I used to not be able to afford to do 10% of pure money so I did volunteer work ect. but through my giving of what I had God has always blessed me more than I could ever imagine, so I tend to say give what you feel led to

ps I will bow out , thought I was being helpful

No need to bow out. I just bristle at some of the concepts that are passed as theology, namely the idea of giving to God is an investment. I'll just come out and say it, I disagree with the idea of prosperity gospel.

By the simple virtue of being born an American, i'm bless beyond 99.9% of the world's population. I don't need anymore "blessings" the way its tossed around in many pulpits today.

I give today because He has already blessed me.

[Tmag]

Our tithe and offerings are based on our gross income and is the first check we write, I have always considered it as the first fruits of all my increase.

Honor the Lord with your substance, and with the first fruits of all your increase. Proverbs 3:9

You give a small portion back to God what He has so graciously given to you and blessed you with, and there are times when folks give out of their poverty. When you look at the widow, you have to know He blessed her for this act of obedience.

Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury. Many who were rich put in much. But a certain poor widow came and put in two mites, which make a farthing. He called His disciples to Him and said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. They all contributed out of their abundance. But she, out of her poverty, put in all that she had, her entire livelihood.” Mark 12:41-44

In Malachi, He said "test Me now in this, says the Lord of Hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing, that there will not be room enough to receive it."

Try Him, I can tell you that you won't be disappointed.

[snappertapper]

No need to bow out. I just bristle at some of the concepts that are passed as theology, namely the idea of giving to God is an investment. I'll just come out and say it, I disagree with the idea of prosperity gospel.

By the simple virtue of being born an American, i'm bless beyond 99.9% of the world's population. I don't need anymore "blessings" the way its tossed around in many pulpits today.

I give today because He has already blessed me.

agreed.

[RLB]

In the Old Testament...."Tithe" means a tenth or 10 percent. The Old Testament law required that a tenth of all produce, flocks, and cattle be given to support the Levites (the priestly class in ancient Israel). In turn, the Levites were to give a tenth of that for support of the high priest (Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-28).
An additional tithe, collected every three years, was to be used to meet the needs of the Levites, foreigners, orphans and widows. (Deuteronomy 26:12-13). Additional tithes were taken for festival purposes. In addition, everyone was to be generous with those in need:

If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs. (NIV, Deuteronomy 15:7-8)

In the New Testament....The New Testament does not give any specific rules about tithing, and most aspects of the Old Testament Law do not apply to Christians. (See What Does the Bible Say About the Old Testament Law?)
However, Jesus made it clear that we are obligated to be generous to those in need (Matthew 25:31-46).

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. (NIV, Matthew 5:42)

Giving is to be done cheerfully, rather than as an obligation (2 Corinthians 9:6-7), and not for the purpose of public recognition (Matthew 6:1-4). The amount to give is not necessarily ten percent (Matthew 19:21, Luke 18:22, 21:1-4, Hebrews 13:16, 1 John 3:17). Generous giving is an acknowledgment that everything we have is a gift from God, and is to be used in His service (Luke 12:33, Acts 20:35, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, James 1:17, 1:27, 1 Peter 4:10).

Rather than give a certain amount as an obligation, Christians are urged to share generously of whatever talents, abilities and wealth God has entrusted to them:

We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. ( NIV, Romans 12:6-8)

There is nothing in the Bible saying we should give a certain amount or a certain percentage to a church.

Conclusion
The tithing rules in the Bible were based specifically on the religious and social system of ancient Israel and on an agricultural economy. Modern day questions about what percentage we should give and whether it should be computed on gross income, net income or wealth are not answered in the Bible. Nor does the Bible tell us how much of our giving should go to a church and how much to help the needy. In today's world, we must pray and listen to our consciences and consider the needs of ourselves and our families (1 Timothy 5:8) when deciding how much to give and to which organizations or individuals. No one should feel pressured to give a certain amount of money to a church or other ministry.
Also, there is no requirement in the Bible to give "seed money" to a church, preacher or ministry, and no promise that any blessings of any kind will come as a result.

My thought....

I don't think giving 10% of your gross, or net for that means, to a business (and church is a business) is what God had in mind.....he said to tythe and we give a lot to charities and provide in many ways that serve his word. But I refuse to give 10% of what I make to a business in hopes that I may "blessed"......just my oppinion and I'm at peace with it. If this is the worst thing that I have to worry about, I think I'm in pretty good shape.
Carry on!

[Russ79]

One of the things that makes it very hard to understand organized religion is that many churches, when you join, will expect to see a W-2 so they will know how much the 10% will be that they can expect from you. I have personally heard this. I was gone from church for about 40 years until I started back about six years ago. We don't have memberships that require you to be voted in by the congregation and nobody, not even the preacher, knows individual giving except our church treasurer. That is between you and God. We give, monetarily, what we can and give of our time and effort every chance we get. All we expect is that you come with the love of Jesus in your heart and God will lay on your heart what you should do to support the church and His ministry.

[Limbwalker]

One of the things that makes it very hard to understand organized religion is that many churches, when you join, will expect to see a W-2 so they will know how much the 10% will be that they can expect from you.

I've not only heard of this, I know people who have done this. I won't say which denomination they belong to, but it gets more than just a little weird when they tell me about the visits from church elders to check up on how they are living, etc.

I do believe that what you give is between you and God, and that there are more ways to give your 10% (however it's calculated) than just dropping it in the offering each Sunday. But it does help to hear others explain their reasoning.