Will You Stop Being Disobedient to God?

Will You Stop Being Disobedient to God?
by Ronald W Robey
(written July 29, 2020)

The Webster’s 1913 Dictionary defines the word “disobedience” as “Neglect or refusal to obey; violation of a command or prohibition”

So, in order for one to be guilty of disobedience in tithing, there first must be a command given concerning tithing. Are you aware of

a) what God’s commanded tithe is?
b) where God’s commanded tithe is to be taken to?
c) to whom God’s commanded tithe is to be given?

The answers to all of these questions are in your Bible. If you study your Bible well, you will discover that

1. God’s commanded tithe is agricultural, not monetary. This means that if you are attempting to obey God’s tithe command, but tithing money…you are disobedient to God in tithing.

2. God’s commanded tithe is to be taken to Jerusalem. This means that if you are attempting to obey God’s tithe command, but are not taking His tithe to Jerusalem…you are disobedent to God in tithing. (note: Numbers 18:21-22 reveals that God did not even what the members of the congregation approaching the House of God with their tithes; Nehemiah 10:29,37-38 reaffirm this prohibition)

3. God’s comanded tithe is to be given to bloodline descendants of the biblical patriarch Levi. This means that if you are attempting to obey God’s tithe command, but are not giveing the tithe to bloodline descendants of Levi…you are disobedient to God in tithing.

I yielded to the pastor’s calls for monetary tithes for the first nine years of my Christian walk. But in 1988, God showed me through His word that, while I was obedient to the pastor’s call for monetary tithes, at the same time I was disobedient to God in tithing. It was then that I stopped yielding to the call for monetary tithes altogether. I did not want God to see me as a disobedient child.

Will you stop being disobedient to God also?

Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD.

 

How to Emulate Abraham in Tithing

How to Emulate Abram in Tithing
by Ronald W Robey
(written July 21, 2020)

Many, in their zeal to defend tithing in the Body of Christ quote John 8:39, which states:

John 8:39 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham.

They say that if we are Abraham’s seed, we will do the works of Abraham. So how did Abraham tithe? How do we emulate Abraham in tithing. Let’s look at the Biblical text to shed some light on Abraham’s tithe, shall we?

Genesis 14:8 And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;
Genesis 14:9 With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.
Genesis 14:10 And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.
Genesis 14:11 And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.
Genesis 14:12 And they took Lot, Abram’s brother’s son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.
Genesis 14:13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.
Genesis 14:14 And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.
Genesis 14:15 And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.
Genesis 14:16 And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
Genesis 14:17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
Genesis 14:19 And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:
Genesis 14:20 And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

There is no record of Abraham tithing before the events recorded in Genesis 14. Therefore, in order to emulate Abraham in tithing, we must pattern our tithing after the manner in which Abraham tithed.

a) wait until a relative of ours is kidnapped
b) assemble a small army to pursue the kidnappers of our relative
c) kill those who kidnapped our relative
d) recover any and all properties that were stolen by those we kill
e) go to an open valley to meet with dignitaries
f) give a tenth of the recovered properties that we recovered to any dignitary we choose to give it to.
g) return the remainder of the recovered properties to their rightful owners (minus what may have been eaten by our small army)
h) encourage the rightful owners of the recovered properties to reward those who joined us in our pursuit of the kidnappers of our relative.
i) not tithe our own property

If your tithe observance is not observed in the manner listed in points ‘a-i’ abouve, then you are not emulating Abraham in the tithe and should not be claiming that you are. Nor should you be insisting that others emulate Abraham in tithing since you are not emulating him yourself.

In Matthew 23:3, Jesus said: “All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.” In this verse, Jesus was speaking of obeying scribes and Pharisees. He said to do what they ask, but not to do what they say they do. Because they say they do things, but don’t actually do them

There is application for the Body of Christ as well. Those that say they emulate Abraham in tithing do not emulate Abraham in tithing thought they clam they do. When they say we should emulate Abraham in tithing, we should dismiss their orders.

 

History Repeats Itself

History Repeats Itself
by Ronald W Robey
(written July 08, 2020)

“And yet, disgusting as it is to see Christian princes in this field more inhuman than any pagan tyrants ever were, yet this is a little less outrageous than the fact that among our priests also, in whose eyes all money ought to be quite worthless and whose duty it is freely to share the endowments they have so freely received, everything has its price, nothing is free. Think of the storms they raise over those famous tithes of theirs, how hatefully they oppress wretched common people! You cannot be baptized, which means that you cannot become a Christian unless you pay cash; such are the splendid auspices under which you enter the portals of the Church.” – Erasmus; “The Adages of Erasmus” p.122, 1946; Translation by William Barker

The injustices, oppressions, and suppressions of the church in Erasmus’ day are also prevalent today. In our modern apostate church, pastors won’t even ordain a man who feels God has called him into the ministry if he is not consistent and faithful in forking over a tenth of his money to the church.

A demand never put upon His apostles in the Bible. He called them, prepared them, and sent them to preach the Gospel…He never demanded they pay Him ten percent of their money or they would not be sent.

Many a person will not even enter the doors of a church building because, “They’re just after my money.” Many a person has been removed from church membership roles because they failed to tithe.

Jesus rightly warned of ravening wolves (extortioners) in Matthew 7:15. The apostle Paul told the Elders at Ephesus that “grievous wolves would rise among them, not sparing the flock.” We are seeing those ravening, grievous wolves more and more. The flock is not spared.

They are money-hungry extortioners masquerading as “men of God.”

 

Cursed!

Cursed!

by Ronald W Robey

(written June 29, 2020)

2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

God wants us to give because we love to give, not because it is dictated that we give by another party.

2 Corinthians 8:12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

2 Corinthians 8:13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:

God does not want us to give to the point that we ourselves are in great need. Many a church member has gone without things they needed because of pastors telling them that, “Malachi 3:8-9 says you are robbing God if you do not tithe.” And, “Malachi 3:8-9 says that if you do not tithe, you are under a curse.”

If only people would learn to read…nay, study their Bibles, they would see that they cannot be cursed if they refuse to tithe.

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:

Christ redeemed those that were under the Law from the curse of the Law. The ONLY way you can be cursed is if you place yourself back under the jurisdiction of the Law by attemptiing to observe any part of the Law.

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.

To attempt to observe Gods’ tithe ordinance, but not to observe the commands written in that ordinance, brings a curse upon the one who is attempting to observe it.

Numbers 18:21-22 says that the congregatiion is not even to go near the House of God with their tithes. By the authority of Galatians 3:10, I can assure you that if you are a member of the congregation and are obeying every command concering tithes in the Bible except the command not to go near the House of God with your tithe…you are cursed.

Leviticus 27:30,32 says that the commanded tithe is to be agricultural. By the authority of Galatians 3:10, I can assure you that if you are a member of the congregation and are obeying every command concering tithes in the Bible but giving a tenth of your money instead of the commanded agricultural crops, flocks, and herds…you are cursed.

Deuteronomy 12:10-11 reveals that the congregation is to take their tithes to Jerusalem. Still another says that an Aaronic Priest, (a descendant of the biblical patriarch Aaron) is to be present at the time the congregation gives their tithes. If you are attempting to observe God’s tithe ordinance, but not observing every command given by God, by the authority of Galatians 3:10, I can assure you you are cursed.

Pastors have church members placing themselves under a curse, and the church members don’t even realize it.

The apostle James takes it even further.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

If you offend in just one point of the Law, (we already know that there are people who place themselve under the Law by attempting to observe Gods’ tithe ordinance) and you do not obey all the commands written in the Law, (we already know that those who attempt to observe Gods’ tithe ordinance are not obeying any of the commands written in that ordinance) you are guilty of the whole Law. Your tithng is not recognized as an obedient act by God. You have actually disobeyed Him.

 

If the Church is the Storehouse

If the Church is the Storehouse
by Ronald Ward Robey
(written May 23, 2020)

In the Bible, the storehouse was not a place to go to hear a sermon. Nor was it a place to preach a sermon. The storehouse was a place to store food and other items associated with the House of God.

This begs the question…

Since so many of the “pro-tithe” persuasion insist that “the church is the storehouse,” why are they going to church to hear a sermon? Why are their (ahem) pastors preaching sermons in the “so-called” storehouse?

Shouldn’t they be going elsewhere to hear sermons and to preach sermons, and not to the storehouse?

 

Tithing Scripturally

Tithing Scripturally
by Ronald W Robey
(written April 17, 2020)

There are many today who are deceived into believing that when they take monetary tithes to their New Testament church building they are being Scripturally obedient to God’s command to tithe.

“Scripturally,” the command to tithe was given to the children of Israel. (Leviticus 27:30-34) It was not given to the New Covenant Church.

“Scripturally,” the commanded tithe was to be agricultural. (Leviticus 27:30,32) God never commanded anyone in the Bible to give Him tithes of their money.

“Scripturally,” the commanded tithe was not to be observed until moving into the land of Canaan to live there as a citizen of that land. (Deuteronomy 12:10-11) It was never required by God in other lands.

“Scripturally,” God commanded the congregation not to take their tithes to the House of God. (Numbers 18:21-22;Nehemiah 10:29,37-38) Only the Levitic tribe was commanded by God to take tithes to the House of God.

If people would actually take a Scriptural approach to tithing, they would not be tithing at all. Why not? Because the only House of God that God authorized His tithes to be stored in (Deuteronomy 12:10-11;2 Chronicles 6:5-6) was destroyed in AD 70.

Scripturally, the New Testament church is never named as a storehouse for God’s tithe.

 

Search Out the Truth

Search Out the Truth
by Ronald W Robey
(written April 10, 2020)

Argument: “God said in Malachi 3:10 that we are to bring all the tithes into the storehouse. If you do not obey Malachi 3:10, you are guilty of robbing God.”

Rebuttal: In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the men of Berea were deemed to be “more noble” than the men of Thessalonika because they searched the Scriptures daily to see if doctrines they were being taught were true. Let’s search out the truth of what it is that Malachi was saying, shall we?

1. Malachi 3:7 says that God was calling for a return to His ordinances. God’s tithe ordinance said that His tithe was to be agricultural. (Leviticus 27:30,32) Therefore, Malachi must have been speaking of agricultural tithes.

2. Malachi 3:7 says that God was calling for a return to His ordinances. God’s tithe ordinance said that the congregation could not approach the House of God with their tithes. (Numbers 18:21-22; reaffirmed in Nehemiah 10:29,37-38) Therefore, Malachi must not have been telling the congregation to bring tithes to the House of God.

3. Malachi 3:7 says that God was calling for a return to His ordinances. God’s tithe ordinance said that the place the congregation is to take their tithes is Jerusalem. (Deuteronomy 12:10-11;2 Chronicles 6:5-6) Therefore, Malachi was saying to bring tithes to the House of God in Jerusalem.

4. Malachi 3:7 says that God was calling for a return to His ordinances. God’s tithe ordinance said that only the Levitic tribe could take tithes to the House of God. (Numbers 18:24-28;Nehemiah 10:29,37-38) Therefore, Malachi was telling the Levitic tribe to bring the tithe of the tithes they received from the congregation into the storehouse.

Conclusion: It is wrong to use Malachi 3:10 as “proof-text”
a) to teach a monetary tithe requirement
b) to teach that the congregation is to bring tithes to the House of God
c) to teach that the congregation is to tithe in religious institutions outside of Jerusalem.
d) to teach anyone that is not a member of the Levitic tribe to bring tithes to the House of God.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
2 Timothy 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not;
2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.

 

It’s Impossible

It’s Impossible
by Ronald W Robey
(written March 13, 2020)

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

The “storehouse” referred to in Malachi 3:10 is not your local church building in Congo, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, or in any other African country. Nor is it referring to a church building in the United States of America. The “storehouse” Malachi was speaking of was a three-tiered structure attached to the outer walls of the Temple in Jerusalem. And that storehouse was destroyed in AD 70.

Your local church building did not exist in Malachi’s day, so he could not have been speaking of your local church building when he said to, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse.”

The “house ” referred to in Malachi 3:10 is not a local church building in Congo, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Kenya, or in any other African country. Nor is it referring to a church building in the United States of America. The “house” Malachi was speaking of was the Temple in Jerusalem. And that Temple was destroyed in AD 70.

Your local church building did not exist in Malachi’s day, so he could not have been speaking of your local church building when he said, “that there may be meat in mine house.”

Conclusion: Absolutely NO ONE obeys Malachi 3:10 today. If they think they do, they are deceived. They can’t and don’t. It’s impossible to take tithes to a building that no longer exists.

 

Promised Blessings of Malachi 3:10

Promised Blessings of Malachi 3:10
by Ronald W Robey
(written March 08, 2020)

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.
Malachi 3:11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts.

The Book of Malachi was written to Israel. (Malachi 1:1) Specifically…the Priests of Israel. (Malachi 1:6-7;2:1) It was not written to the other eleven tribes in Israel. Just to the Levitic Priests. Obedience to God’s instruction in Malachi 3:10 promised collective Israel six (6) blessings.

1. God’s promised blessings for bringing agricultural tithes into the storehouse at the Temple of God in Jerusalem…

a) Rain to water the fields. (Mal. 3:10)
b) An over-abundance of agricultural crops. (Mal. 3:10)
c) Locust prevented from destroying agricultural crops. (Mal. 3:11)
d) Vinous plants will not drop their fruit prematurely. (Mal. 3:11)
e) All nations shall call Israel blessed. (Mal. 3:12)
f) Israel would be a delightsome land. (Mal. 3:12)

2. God’s promised blessings for bringing monetary tithes into the storehouse at the Temple in Jerusalem…

God never required that a monetary tithe be brought to the storehouse at the Temple in Jerusalem. Therefore, if one took a tenth of one’s money to the Temple at Jerusalem, it would have been recognized as a free will offering, not as God’s tithe.

3. God’s promised blessings for bringing monetary tithes to a church building…

God never required that a monetary tithe be brought to a church building. Therefore, even if one takes a tenth of one’s money to a church building without being manipulated through deceit, lies, or coercion, it is a free will voluntary contribution, not God’s tithe.

 

What You Would Do

What You Would Do
by Ronald W Robey
(written March 05, 2019)

For those who insist they are obeying God’s tithe ordinance. If you were obeying God’s tithe ordinance, here’s what you would do…

1. You would tithe agriculture, not money. Lev. 27:30-33

2. You would not be giving God’s tithe outside of the land of Canaan/Israel. Deut. 12:10-11

3. You would only be tithing from farms on inherited land in the land of Canaan. Deut. 12:10-11

4. You would give tithes to bloodline descendants of the biblical patriarch Levi every first, second, fourth, and fifth year in a seven year cycle in the land of Canaan/Israel. Num. 18:21-26; Deut. 14:27; Lev. 25:1-6

5. You would not be tithing to the House of God. (unless you yourself are a bloodline descendant of the biblical patriarch Levi) Num. 18:21-22; Neh. 10:29,37-38

6. You would not give tithes to the Ministers of the House of God without an Aaronic Priest in attendance to lift a tithe of the tithe before the Lord as a heave offering. Num. 18:21-28; Neh. 10:29,37-38

7. You and your family would take a tithe to Jerusalem the first, second, fourth, and fifth years in a seven year cycle to eat in the streets of Jerusalem. Deut. 14:22-26

8. You would give a tithe to the descendants of the biblical patriarch Levi, to widows, to orphans, and to foreigners in farming communities in Canaan every third and sixth year in a seven year cycle. Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12

If you are not practicing points 1-8 above, then you are not obeying God’s tithe ordinance. You are actually doing things your own way and not Gods…which is rebellion.