Sustainable Lifestyles in the “New Normal”
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Fred | Nov 22, 2009 | Reply
A Pastor who teaches compulsion in giving, insisting that you must move toward tithing in order to join a Church, is not looking out for their congregation. They are looking out for themselves. Such a man is not a Pastor who looks out for the sheep of the pasture. No, such a man is a self-interested preacher.
If it is not in someone’s heart to give a certain amount, and they do so grudgingly because of compulsory rule-based false teaching, then that giving is not how God wants it, and it is not SUSTAINABLE. A Pastor who preaches that sort of giving is not a Pastor at all, because being a Pastor requires looking out for the spiritual best interests of their congregants. That Pastor is looking out for their own self interests through destructive rule-based Christianity that undermines the Gospel message, and hinders spiritual growth and health.
Tithing as Old Testament LAW was very *clearly* established when God set aside one tribe for the priesthood, and dictated that the other 10 would pay to support the other tribe. That was the origin of tithing as LAW. That didn’t have to do with the spirit of giving. That was REQUIRED by God. Before that, there was no tithing requirement. Those who had given a tenth willingly and joyfully were honored by God, not because of a rule or because of law.
Tithing as law was ABOLISHED after Jesus became our High Priest. God doesn’t require an entire tribe to work in the priesthood any more, and tithing is no longer a law. Giving according to what is in your heart is God’s command to Christians, which is what He ALWAYS wanted, and there is nothing that self-serving preachers can say to change that truth! In fact, preachers who start demanding legalism in Christianity as a way of pleasing God are enemies of the cross. They become enemies of the grace of God.
They seek their own glory.
The New Testament principle is giving according to what is in your heart. That is the only sustainable type of giving, too. And that’s what God wants. Pastors who are ‘ordained’ to tend the sheep of the pastures, should be teaching God’s principles, not their own. That shows true interest in the long-term sustainability of a Christian. A good heart will grow with time, instead of becoming hardened by compulsory requirements that can easily create seeds of resentment. Those who teach giving as a way of gaining financial prosperity are evil. Fortunately, very few preachers ever approach that level of evil.
Someone knows when they should be giving more. God has His way of telling the person. And to suggest that people should be giving 10%, especially in analogy to tips at a hotel, are working against the spiritual welfare of the sheep in their pasture. God doesn’t need your money; he’s not running a hotel. And we’re not supporting 10% in the priesthood either. No, God needs you to give cheerfully, willingly and in a sustainable manner that grows to what He’s calling you to. God deals in a Covenant of the Heart, not in legalism to earn favor. And God tells us that he loves the *hilarious* giver. Doing anything out of selfish ambition, or grudgingly and resentfully is not sustainable, and it’s not what God seeks.
Fred | Nov 22, 2009 | Reply
Every Pastor who makes anyone feel that their willing, joyful, heartfelt gifts to God are not enough should lose the blessing of those gifts. That is my prayer. Pastors who rob people of their God-given blessing for honest heartfelt giving are Pharisitical stumbling blocks, and they prevent people from receiving God’s blessings that are meant to lead to real growth. They rob people of blessings, and I pray that those Pastors will be robbed of theirs.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”
Fred | Nov 22, 2009 | Reply
When a Pastor offers up excuses for being remiss in their duties because their Church is so large, and because the receive so much email that X-number of them will inevitably be lost, then all I hear are unacceptable EXCUSES. That Church should never have become so large if they cannot properly discharge their duties. That’s unacceptable incompetence. I don’t care how many requests they handle properly. If their excuse for incompetence is that they’ve become too large, then they should not have allowed it.
Is that a correct spirit? No! Emphatically, No! But it’s the same spirit at work in Pastors who suggest to congregants that their donations are not enough until they’re tithing. That’s the spirit of the antichrist who beats people down by saying that they’ll never be acceptable to God so long as there are rules where they don’t measure up. That’s the spirit that relishes and enjoys robbing people of God’s blessings.
Of course God’s blessings and grace are unmerited. For *everyone*. Those leading a Church deserve their honor for what they do, even when they fall short of the mark. Everyone falls short of the mark. But those who give even the smallest gifts have the right to receive any blessing that God gives them for their gift, without others interfering and suggesting that their gifts are not good enough. Small steps lead somewhere, and we must honor that, even if it doesn’t measure up our level of perfection. God gives blessings. Not us. And we should *never* interfere with someone receiving whatever blessing God offers, even if we don’t think it’s deserved. Who are we?
The Gospel message is the story of *incredible* unmerited favor, grace shown to people who have fallen well short of the mark and will always do so in this lifetime. But we must *never* rob people of their blessings that God gives because we don’t believe that they yet measure up. That’s stealing from God.
Teresa | Nov 22, 2009 | Reply
Wow! Another great sermon focusing on cultivating our relationships with family, friends and most importantly – God.
Ellen | Nov 28, 2009 | Reply
I appreciated this recent sermon series. This is the first time I have looked at the blog and read through some of the postings. I have to admit that I do not understand where Fred is coming from in his comments. I sense he is burdened in some way.
Fred | Nov 29, 2009 | Reply
Since you cannot understand, then here is an excercise for you, Ellen. Come to understand that it is wrong to talk about “tithes and offerings”. There are only “offerings.”
Before Jesus, there was a distinction between “tithes and offerings.” One was mandatory (tithe) and the other was an offering. There’s no mandatory tithe any more. There are no more animal sacrifices any more either. There are no more High Priests now either. There is no more Great Temple either. All of these were established to point to Jesus, and they ceased once Jesus died and was resurrected.
Offerings come from the heart, whereas tithing was part of mandatory law. Those who insist that part of your offering is mandated by law, especially by some percentage rule, are wrong. They may even be deliberate liars. There’s no such thing as “tithes and offerings.” It’s all “offerings” now.
Jeremy | Nov 30, 2009 | Reply
Has anyone noticed how Bill Tammeus has given his blog over to Militant atheists who viciously attack Christians and believers of all faiths.
I mention that because they were recently attacking the Church as not doing enough for the community, as if they are doing anything for it, and calling for the Churches to be taxed and SILENCED in public.
Check his archives under search, the Militant Atheists are calling for Christians to SHUT UP AND DIE and other threatening things.
And Bill has blocked theists trying to respond.
What is wrong with that guy?