Barney,
<<In a previous post, you stated that when tithes are not given to God, that person is giving
the enemy permission to come and take it, and you and I agreed completely. Now,
when a person touches the holy tithe, in the OT a 1/5 or 20% penalty was paid or
added to it. So my question is , what is the penalty for touching the holy tithe, is it still
20%. In other words, if a person owes God $500.00 and doesn't pay it are you giving
the enemy permission to take the $500.00 in your possession and an additional
$100.00.>>
I don't think God is keeping track of the "mint and dill" the pharisees tithed, if you know what I mean. Jesus said that they tithed even from the plants of their gardens but they were dead even while they lived. The tithing could not buy them life!
I fell behind with my tithe last year and was praying to God to take my "promisary note" <ggg> like I owed God a certain dollar amount. His response stopped me cold. He was contemptuous of the idea of the money when I kept my heart to myself and did not draw close to Him. It was true that I had been very close to God but after marriage (as Paul explained) I had different priorities and slowly drifted farther and farther away. God set me straight in that instant.
I don't think there is any formula for tithing (giving) other than we are told to give, but there are many forms of giving and things that can be given, not just money. I have not tithed for almost a year now and I do not believe I have given the devil any authority to rob me of anything. He still makes the attempt but he fails as God gives the victory. My every need is still met and opportunity still arrives. If I have failed in my investments I attribute that to a lack of knowledge, and I was making plenty of poor investment decisions when my "tithe" was on time faithfully for years. I don't believe God measures any "tithe" in "mint and dill" but He is concerned with our hearts. He wants us to draw near to Him. That does not discount the tithing as being important, but it is tithing as an indication of the condition of the heart, faithfullness and reverence of the Lord. Those things are important. We are not under the law but under grace. God does not hold us accountable to the letter of the law any longer including in the area of tithing. It is this grace we are under that has freed us from the curse of the law. I feel that even though I have not been able to tithe for some time I and my family are under the protection of God's grace as we have always been. His mercy endures forever and "mercy triumphs over judgement".
In Jesus,
Bob |
