Welcome to the Women’s Weekly Bible Challenge! I’m Lisa Ann Spencer. This week we’re beginning a new series, Everything the Bible has to say about WOMEN TEACHING . Part One Let’s search the Scriptures like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. This is so easy to do today with access to digital concordances at our fingertips. I use www.biblegateway.com and www.BlueLetterBible.org . For example, using both of these concordances, I looked up the word TEACH . “Teach” is found 170 times in Bible Gateway , including all forms such as: teaching, teacher, teachers, teachest, and teacheth. BlueLetterBible catches only the word “teach” 109 times in 108 verses. I also looked up the following related words: Taught Instruct ; including instructs, instructor, instruction, instructions, instructed, Learn; including learned and learning. I combined each of those words with each of the following words: Her, She, Woman, Women, Mother, Daughter, Wife, Wives, Sister an...
Hello, testing 1-2-3
ReplyDeleteHi Lisa. How are you doing? Can you talk to me about Tithing. I know what it says in Malachi. But does Paul speak to this in His letters to us? If so can you direct me to it?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bonita
Good morning Bonita,
ReplyDeleteYes, I will be glad to. The easy answer is that tithing is under the Law of Moses, and we are no longer under the law in this dispensation of grace. (Romans 6:14). Our apostle Paul never mentioned tithing, but he spoke about giving many times. The most well-known passage may be, “God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Read 2 Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9. We are instructed to give according to what we have and not of necessity- not under compulsion (tithe was compulsory), and as we purpose in our hearts. Hopefully you can see the difference between grace-giving and Law tithing.
Read carefully the passage in Malachi. Note chapter 1:1, “the word of the Lord to Israel”. We are not Israel; we are a new creature, neither Jew nor Gentile; we are the body of Christ. Malachi is not written to us. Next read Malachi 3:7-9. Who is cursed? “This whole nation”, Israel. Again, not us. We haven’t robbed God because we were never instructed to give him 10% of the fruits of our land. Also, Christ became a curse for us on the cross (Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:). We who are saved and members of His church, cannot be cursed.
I hope this helps.
In Christ,
Lisa Ann
Yes, it does help. Thank you. My husband and I were talking about it the other night and realized that we couldn't think of a place in the New Testament, and more specifically, in Paul's Letters to us, where we are instructed to tithe or to pay 10% as was instructed under the law. As you stated, I could find that we are to be cheerful givers and to give according to what we have, but not a certain amount.
ReplyDeleteI'm learning! Thank you! I can't tell you how much I appreciate you. I don't want you to think that I'm praising you, Lisa Ann, because I know that would be wrong. But I am praising the Lord for you, because He has answered my prayers by placing you in my path to help me grow spiritually. I am enjoying the Bible studies. Keep them coming!
Bonita
I give God the glory for answering my prayer, that I may help women to understand their Bible. Thanks for the encouragement. There is a “New Testament” mention of tithing found in Matthew 23. However we must remember that Jesus was speaking to the nation of Israel, to whom He had given the Law of Moses, which included tithing. It wasn’t optional for them. Read the whole chapter carefully and see that Jesus is teaching His followers to keep the Law of Moses. He said the scribes an Pharisees would tithe their herbs but neglect judgment, mercy and faith. He said they should do both, tithe and keep the weightier matters also.
DeleteHi Bonita! I hope you receive this notification. I received your comment on my About Me page recently, but something about the configuration will not allow me to reply. If you will go to the Contact Me page, you will find my email. You may contact me directly there. I would love to catch up with you.
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