Answer: The apostle Paul answered a very similar question in Romans 6:1-2, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” The idea that a person could “trust in Jesus Christ” for salvation and then go on living just as he/she lived before, is absolutely foreign to the Bible. Believers in Christ are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). The Holy Spirit changes us from producing the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21) to producing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The Christian life is a changed life because the Christian is changed.
What differentiates Christianity from every other religion is that Christianity is based on what God has done for us through Jesus Christ—divine accomplishment. Every other world religion is based on what we must do to earn God's favor and forgiveness—human achievement. Every other religion teaches that we must do certain things and stop doing certain other things in order to earn God's love and mercy. Christianity, faith in Christ, teaches that we do certain things and stop doing certain things because of what Christ has done for us.
How could anyone, having been delivered from sin's penalty, eternity in hell, go back to living the same life that had him on the path to hell in the first place? How could anyone, having been cleansed from the defilement of sin, desire to go back to the same cesspool of depravity? How could anyone, knowing what Jesus Christ did on our behalf, go on living as if He were not important? How could anyone, realizing how much Christ suffered for our sins, continue sinning as if those sufferings were meaningless?
Romans 6:11-15 declares, “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!”
For the truly converted, then, continuing to live sinfully is not an option. Because our conversion resulted in a completely new nature, our desire is to no longer live in sin. Yes, we still sin, but instead of wallowing in it as we once did, we now hate it and wish to be delivered from it. The idea of “taking advantage” of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf by continuing to live sinfully is unthinkable. If a person believes himself to be a Christian and still desires to live the old, sinful life, he has reason to doubt his salvation. “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5).
"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, There is FREEDOM"..
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
God did not highly emphasized on force & intimidation of tithes but Heartfelt giving
It is no longer needed or it is false to say you are curse when you don't tithe because Jesus paid all your sins the moment you accepted HIM and most of all, the old testament is teaching has many obsolete ways and one example is the prohibition of eating pork but why many christian now are the number one pork eaters? Jesus death on the cross would mean nothing if you are still under curse just simply because you don't tithe. This is absolute nonsense and money making schemes and worst than a swindler. What a shame.
Hopefully this set of web pages will assist you in understanding the
topic of tithing. Help you realize it is not necessary to tithe upon
ones income to please God.
For readers not familiar with the term 'tithing', as it is used in
Christian teaching, it means:
The practice of giving one tenth (a tithe) of ones income
(net or gross) to a church organisation based upon the
understanding that this is a biblical teaching applicable
to Christians.
A number of churches today require or encourage their members to
tithe on their financial increase. Depending on the church the
tithing practice may be to calculate the tithe based on either
pre-tax or after-tax income.
Whatever method of derivation is actually decreed the resulting
value of peoples tithe is usually significant. So it is easy to
perceive the monetary benefits a church may receive from the
continued support of this practice. Tithing enables buildings to
be financed, vehicles to be provided, ministers salaries to be
paid and other special projects to be funded.
This Old Covenant law can carry many benefits for a Christian church
and can be very effective in loosening the pockets of patrons.
Those members of churches, which are persuaded to provide a regular
payment of a tenth of their financial increase, are often kept under
this teaching through the mechanism of guilt. Such church citizens
are told that this portion of their increase is "holy" or that it
is the "Lord's" (referring to Leviticus 27:30). That one is stealing
from God (quoting Malachi 3:8) if one fails to forward it to their
church hierarchy - so that it may be used for the purposes of church
support and growth.
These days is has become common for literal Old Covenant teaching
to be quoted over the pulpit without any form of alteration. The
essential nature of the difference between the Old and New Covenants
is often not adequately emphasized and highlighted. Therefore these
denominations seem to act as if it is perfectly acceptable for them
to dip into the Old Covenant Law and select, unaltered, what aspects
they may desire to apply.
A further concern is that often the full complexity and workings of
the Old Covenant Levitical and priesthood financial support systems
are not fully explained to the congregations. The detailed mechanisms
underlying this ancient Israelite system are often poorly understood
even by the ministry.
The current reality is that tithing in the
short and long term can place considerable
strain on the lives of church goers. The
Minister's promises of monetary blessings
do not always materialise and great
difficulty can be encountered in financing
the family home and meeting family needs.
For new Christians initial blessings may often seem to confirm for
them the need to regularly pay tithes. However, God does frequently
encourage and support new Christians, so while these may initially
feel assured of the need to contribute a tenth, they should also
consider that many older Christians have stories of years of tight
finances and missed opportunities under the yoke of this teaching.
A further detrimental effect of this teaching is that it can have a
significant deterrent effect on potential new members. It also gives
credibility to claims by non-believers that Christian churches are
really just after people's money.
Appearances and financial issues aside, churches are required by God
to justly discern the spirit of the New Testament and teach his
children truthfully.
With this approach in mind we will explore an understanding which
will enable many to perceive a more balanced God. A God which is not
pleased with sacrifice, but rather desires us to value wisdom and act
with concern toward one another.
Hopefully this set of web pages will assist you in understanding the
topic of tithing. Help you realize it is not necessary to tithe upon
ones income to please God.
For readers not familiar with the term 'tithing', as it is used in
Christian teaching, it means:
The practice of giving one tenth (a tithe) of ones income
(net or gross) to a church organisation based upon the
understanding that this is a biblical teaching applicable
to Christians.
A number of churches today require or encourage their members to
tithe on their financial increase. Depending on the church the
tithing practice may be to calculate the tithe based on either
pre-tax or after-tax income.
Whatever method of derivation is actually decreed the resulting
value of peoples tithe is usually significant. So it is easy to
perceive the monetary benefits a church may receive from the
continued support of this practice. Tithing enables buildings to
be financed, vehicles to be provided, ministers salaries to be
paid and other special projects to be funded.
This Old Covenant law can carry many benefits for a Christian church
and can be very effective in loosening the pockets of patrons.
Those members of churches, which are persuaded to provide a regular
payment of a tenth of their financial increase, are often kept under
this teaching through the mechanism of guilt. Such church citizens
are told that this portion of their increase is "holy" or that it
is the "Lord's" (referring to Leviticus 27:30). That one is stealing
from God (quoting Malachi 3:8) if one fails to forward it to their
church hierarchy - so that it may be used for the purposes of church
support and growth.
These days is has become common for literal Old Covenant teaching
to be quoted over the pulpit without any form of alteration. The
essential nature of the difference between the Old and New Covenants
is often not adequately emphasized and highlighted. Therefore these
denominations seem to act as if it is perfectly acceptable for them
to dip into the Old Covenant Law and select, unaltered, what aspects
they may desire to apply.
A further concern is that often the full complexity and workings of
the Old Covenant Levitical and priesthood financial support systems
are not fully explained to the congregations. The detailed mechanisms
underlying this ancient Israelite system are often poorly understood
even by the ministry.
The current reality is that tithing in the
short and long term can place considerable
strain on the lives of church goers. The
Minister's promises of monetary blessings
do not always materialise and great
difficulty can be encountered in financing
the family home and meeting family needs.
For new Christians initial blessings may often seem to confirm for
them the need to regularly pay tithes. However, God does frequently
encourage and support new Christians, so while these may initially
feel assured of the need to contribute a tenth, they should also
consider that many older Christians have stories of years of tight
finances and missed opportunities under the yoke of this teaching.
A further detrimental effect of this teaching is that it can have a
significant deterrent effect on potential new members. It also gives
credibility to claims by non-believers that Christian churches are
really just after people's money.
Appearances and financial issues aside, churches are required by God
to justly discern the spirit of the New Testament and teach his
children truthfully.
With this approach in mind we will explore an understanding which
will enable many to perceive a more balanced God. A God which is not
pleased with sacrifice, but rather desires us to value wisdom and act
with concern toward one another.
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