You Can’t Cherry-Pick

You Can’t Cherry-Pick
by Ronald W Robey
(written November 19, 2019)

Attempting to obey God’s command to tithe, but ignoring God’s command that the tithe be

a) agricultural crops, flocks, and herds (Lev. 27:30,32; Deut. 12:17; 14:22-23,26; 2 Chr. 31:6; Neh. 10:37; 12:44; 13:5,12; Mal. 3:10; Matt 23:23; Lu. 11:42)

b) observed only after becoming a citizen of the land of Canaan (Deut. 12:10-11)

c) given to the bloodline descendants of the biblical patriarch Levi; to widows; to orphans; and to foreigners living in the land of Canaan (Deut. 26:12-17)

d) taken to the House of God in Jerusalem (Deut. 12:10-11; 2 Chr. 6:5-6; Mal. 3:10)

Is not obedience to God’s command to tithe at all.  As the apostle James rightly said, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10)

You can’t cherry-pick from the tithe commands the parts that you like and ignore the rest of the tithe commands. 

 

Guilty of One, Guilty of All

Guilty of One, Guilty of All
by Ronald W Robey
(written November 18, 2019)

According to the Bible, the church is not authorized to receive God’s tithes. If what is written in the Law still applies, then God’s tithe is only to be taken to Jerusalem…nowhere else.

Now, one might say that we are no longer under the Law but under Grace. And this is true. However, just because we are under Grace does not mean we can transgress the Law.

The apostle John wrote in his first epistle, “My little children, I write unto you that you sin not.” To paraphrase, John said, “Don’t sin!” So, what is sin? Well, John later explains in the same epistle, “Sin is the transgression of the Law.”

Now, the Law said that God’s tithe is to be taken to Jerusalem…not to a local church building in another geographical location in the world. But here’s the thing…God’s Law also says that the congregation is not to approach the House of God with their tithe. I kid you not. Read Numbers 18:21-22. It says that the congregation could not approach the Tabernacle with their tithes. Nehemiah 10:29,37-38 later confirms that the same command applied to the Temple.

God never amended His word to say that the congregation can now take tithes to a religious institution doing business as a “church”. Each time you open your Bible, it will still say that God’s tithe is to be taken to Jerusalem.

This means that each time a member of the congregation takes tithes to their local church…they are actually guilty of transgressing the Law. (again, tithes are supposed to be taken to Jerusalem…not to your local church) And, as the apostle James said, “If you are guilty of one point of the Law, you are guilty of all.”

The church can operate on voluntary contributions. Members who are taught properly will contribute out of love rather than by force.

 

By What Standard?

By What Standard?
by Ronald W Robey
October 27, 2019)


I’ve heard wind drinkers claim that Proverbs 23:31-32 is not a command for total abstinence of alcohol. They readily attest to the fact that Ephesians 5:18 says not to get drunk, but claim that Proverbs 23:31-32 is only a command not to drink alcohol any more once you see the wine moving on its own.

News Flash…

If you see something moving that is not moving after drinking alcohol…that is a good indication that you are already “drunk”.

Of course, their argument then becomes nonsensical, in that, If they are seeing something moving on its own after consuming alcohol…they are already violating Ephesians 5:18…

Ephesians 5:18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

One may say, “I don’t get drunk by one glass of alcohol.” My question is, “By whose standards do you measure what drunkenness is? By United States Law? By your own conscience? or by the word of God. If we allow the word of God to define drunkenness, it must be way lower than the Law or our own conscience thinks.

Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Since God’s word says, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his colour in the cup, when it moveth itself aright”, and the verse is clearly not saying drink until you see something moving that isn’t supposed to be moving..I’d say God’s definition of “drunkenness” is much lower than man thinks it is.

 

Abraham’s Tithe…Let’s Be Honest

Abraham’s Tithe…Let’s Be Honest
by Ronald W Robey
(written October 24, 2019)

Read the text of Genesis 14:16-24 carefully.

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.
Genesis 14:21 And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.
Genesis 14:22 And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,
Genesis 14:23 That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:
Genesis 14:24 Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

Then, answer the following questions…

1. Does the text of Genesis 14:16-24 say that Abraham paid tithes of his employment wages/government benefits/household monetary income?

2. Does the text of Genesis 14:16-24 say that Abraham paid tithes of his personal wealth?

3. Does the text of Genesis 14:16-24 say that Abraham was commanded to tithe?

4. Does the text of Genesis 14:16-24 say that because Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, others are obligated to tithe their employment wages/government benefits/household monetary income?

If you are honest with the Biblical text, you will answer “NO” to all three questions. And here is why…

a) Abraham was not employed by anyone to go to battle against the wicked kings so therefore the “goods” that Abraham tithed from were not his wages.

b) Abraham did not carry any of his personal wealth into battle with him, so therefore would not have had any of his personal wealth to give to Melchizedek as tithe.

c) The “tithes of all” that Abraham gave to Melchizedek (v.20) was in reference to all the goods of Sodom and Lot that Abraham recovered at Hobah. (v.16)

d) Abraham did not own any of the recovered goods that he tithed from. He had promised God that he would not claim any of the recovered goods as his own property.

e) There is no mention of a command in the Biblical text. Abraham had set off on a mission to rescue his nephew Lot. (v.14) Not by command, but because of family bond.

 

An Unmerited Blessing

An Unmerited Blessing
by Ronald W Robey
(written October 19, 2019)

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 “tithe” Malachi 3:10 is calling for is agricultural…not monetary; the “house” Malachi is referring to is the Temple in Jerusalem…not a church building; and the “storehouse” Malachi was speaking of was a three-tiered structure attached to the Temple in Jerusalem…not a church bank account.

Giving ten percent of my money to the local church I attend or am a member of is not obedience to the instruction given in Malachi 3:10, so why should I claim the blessing of Malachi 3:10-12 when I have not even obeyed the instruction given in Malachi 3:10? I haven’t earned the blessing. The blessing is for obedience…not disobedience.

 

If the Church is the Storehouse

If the Church is the Storehouse
by Ronald W Robey
(written October 06, 2019)

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.

Although Malachi was speaking of a specific storehouse, i.e the three-tiered structure attached to the outer walls of the Temple in Jerusalem, (see 1 Kings 6; 2 Chronicles 6:5-6) many church leaders today claim that “the local church building is the storehouse.”. If these church leaders are correct when they say the local church is the storehouse for God’s tithes, then this raises a couple questions:

1. If the local church building is the storehouse where God’s tithe is to be stored, why are the church leaders not storing the tithes in the local church building that they claim is the storehouse?

2. Instead of storing tithes in the building that they claim to be the storehouse, why are the church leaders taking the “tithes” they collect to a separate building in their city where pagans do their business transactions?

If the local church is the storehouse for God’s tithes, then these pastors are actually guilty of the very act that Malachi rebuked the Priests of Israel in Malachi 3:8-9 for…robbing God in tithes and offerings.

Just as the Priests of Israel had robbed God through removing the tithes from the storehouse in Malachi’s day, many church leaders today are also guilty of robbing God when they remove the tithes from that which they purport to be “the storehouse for God’s tithes” and take those “tithes” to a worldly bank.

Church leaders, if you claim that “the local church is the storehouse,” then the admonition for you is, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,” just as the Priests of Israel were admonished to do in Malachi 3:10. You are guilty of the very thing that you often accuse the non tither’s in your congregations of…

…robbing God! (if the local church building is the storehouse as you claim)

Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
Matthew 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

 

Noble, Wise, and Just

Noble, Wise, and Just
by Ronald W Robey
(written October 06, 2019)

Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

A little over 8 years ago, I was voted out of a church for teaching what the Bible says about tithing. (it doesn’t say what many people are made to believe)

Context of Malachi 3:10 reveals that Malachi was calling for the tithes and offerings that were required by the Mosaic Law. (see Malachi 3:7; 4:4) He was calling for a return to God’s ordinances.

The fact that Malachi was calling for a return to God’s ordinances should cause people to look into the Pentateuch to ascertain exactly what God said concerning His commanded tithe. Malachi would not have called for any other tithe to be brought to the House of God than the tithe God decreed was to be brought. Nor would Malachi have told anyone who God expressly said were not to take their tithe to the House of God to tithe to the House of God. Therefore, two questions must be asked and the answers to those questions searched in the Scriptures:

1. What did God say was to be His tithe in the ordinances?
2. Who did God say was to tithe to the House of God in His ordinances?

When you search the Scriptures for the answer, as the men of Berea did in Acts 17:11, the answer to these questions may surprise you.

¹There are only 14 verses in the entire Bible that tell us the elements of God’s commanded tithe. God’s commanded tithe was to be

a) seed of the land. (Le. 27:30)
b) fruit of the tree. (Le. 27:30)
c) every tenth animal to pass under the rod. (Le 27:32)
d) corn. (De. 12:17)
e) wine. (De. 12:17)
f) oil. (De. 12:17)
g) seed. (De. 14:22)
h) corn. (De. 14:23)
i) wine. (De.14:23)
j) oil. (De.14:23)
k) oxen. (De. 14:26)
l) sheep. (De. 14:26)
m) wine. (De. 14:26)
n) strong drink. (De. 14:26)
o) oxen. (2 Ch. 31:6)
p) sheep. (2 Ch. 31:6)
q) tithes of our ground. (Ne. 10:37)
r) tithes out of the fields. (Ne. 12:44)
s) corn. (Ne. 13:5)
t) wine. (Ne. 13:5)
u) oil. (Ne. 13:5)
v) corn. (Ne. 13:12)
w) wine. (Ne. 13:12)
x) oil. (Ne. 13:12)
y) food. (Mal. 3:10)
z) mint. (Matt. 23:23)
aa) anise. (Matt. 23:23)
ab) cummin. (Matt. 23:23)
ac) mint. (Lu. 11:42)
ad) rue. (Lu. 11:42)
ae) herbs. (Lu. 11:42)

Therefore, Malachi would not have been calling for a tithe of man’s monetary income. He would not have told man to return to God’s ordinances in 3:7 and then told man to transgress the ordinances by bringing tithes that God never commanded.

² Numbers 18:21-22 & Nehemiah 10:29,37-38 reveal that the congregation was not to take tithes to the House of God. The congregation was to give the tithes of the land (Leviticus 27:30) to the Levites, (Numbers 18; Nehemiah 10) and the Levite was to take a tithe of the tithes he received to the House of God.

That’s right…not all the tithes of the congregation was to go to the House of God…only ten percent of ten percent was to be taken to the House of God. And only the Ministerial Staff of the House of God could take take that tithe of a tithe to the House of God…no one else!

Hosea 14:9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

To be noble is to search the Scriptures. To be wise is to understand the Scriptures instruct. To be just is to walk accordingly. If you are a member of the congregation and have not searched the Scriptures to ascertain what they say concerning God’s commanded tithe, and you are taking tithes to a building commonly referred to as “the House of God,” you are walking contrary to the noble, wise, and just.