No, i’m saying that you will not get an incomplete translation in my Church. I have been to other Churches that preach on tithing and the Pastors were just giving they’re own explanations. The the same sermon preached at my CC and the priest actually described why tithing is not something that is required and provided proof in the bible. The priest wasn’t saying… I think this means this, like the other Preachers were doing.
And if the protestants left Peter, how are they still following Gods will?
I suspect that your priest was explaining how tithing is overridden by the fact that in love we should respond with our whole lives to Christ, He has after all died for us. Which of course is a million % more than a small tithe. We also do not tithe because they have been taught that we are not under the law, but under grace.
In prayer, through Christ, we should hear and respond to the needs of the church and others. If a child needs a plate of food then they need more than a spoonful, they may need feeding for many years to come. If a mother needs clothes for her children, she needs more than a pair of socks and so forth. If your church needs upkeep the costs of doing so may be a huge sacrifice. If someone thirsts for justice it may require your time, or ultimately your life.
As Mathew 23;23 says “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
Tithing can also lead to materialism…Yet the most important blesses the least, not amass their wealth. It can lead to a attitude of, I give this much, so I can keep the rest…if I give X amount I will be rewarded so many times more. It also leads to failure because it can become like a failed Lenten fast, where we could become mortified with ourselves if we let The Lord down.
Abram’s tithe in Genesis 14 was spontaneous in the presence of Melchizedek’s blessing. Although it was 10%, the point was that it was not a sacrifice carefully planned out, but one of spontaneity in the presence of God. A gift of love and obedience. We are not told if it meets the high priests needs, but as I have said, that’s not the point. It’s clear that God can lay claim to any wealth that He needs, even if we don’t respond to Him, and this is no different today.
No one really leaves the church if they are in Christ, Jesus is not nailed to the cross any more, His Holy Spirit is free to move amongst us. His church spans the world now, it’s dynamic and diverse, and the many parts have many different functions. As He says if the church is destroyed, He can raise it again in three days. This is a testament to the power of His Holy Spirit, not the will of Peter; that’s because His Holy Spirit is within us. Peter is only the nature which you build yourself on because he is like a rock. You have to build on a rock because the Devil will succeed against you otherwise.
Look at people around you who root themselves firmly in their faith in Christ. These are Peter, human in nature, wise to their failings, saved by Christ, living in Grace and prepared to sacrifice their life. Do you understand what is rock now?
God bless.
