A Localized Command

A Localized Command
by Ronald W Robey

When the Bible speaks of the entire planet, it uses the word “Earth” or “world”. When the Bible speaks of land, it speaks of a geographical location.

In Leviticus 27:30 God said, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.”

God’s commanded tithe was not to be a global tithe…it was to be a localized tithe in a specific land. There is a reason for this…a tenth of the land was promised to God more than three hundred years prior to the Law being given to Moses at Mount Sinai.

In Genesis 28, God told Jacob in a dream that He would give to Jacob and his bloodline land. (Ge. 28:12-15) Upon awakening from the dream, Jacob vowed that he would give a tenth of what God gave him back to God. (Ge. 28:20-22) In Deuteronomy 12, we find the children of Israel (Jacob) being told that once they entered Canaan and found rest from their enemies, they would be required to tithe. (De. 12:1,10-11)

In the Bible, God never commanded tithes to be given outside of the land of Canaan.

Deuteronomy 8:3 And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.

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Food, Drink, and Lodging…Not Monetary Payment

Food, Drink, and Lodging…Not Monetary Payment
by Ronald W Robey

1 Corinthians 9:13-14 Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? 14 Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

 

Many have used the above verses to teach that Paul was telling local church members that their church leaders are to be supported financially through tithing of their monetary wages and household income. They claim that Pastors should not work secular jobs, but should attend to the matters of the church alone and be provided for by tithes brought into the church.

 

However, is that really what the apostle is saying in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14? I contend that it is not. Paul is not speaking of local church leadership at all…he is speaking of the right of apostles to food, drink, and lodging in the houses of those they minister to.

 

At the beginning of the chapter, Paul establishes the fact that he is an apostle of Christ. He then establishes the fact that as an apostle, he has the right, as do others who do the work of the apostles, to food, drink, and lodging. He goes on to say that he has not exercised that right but chose to work to support himself.

 

He basically preached the same message to church leaders in Acts 20. There, we read:

 

Acts 20:33-35 I have coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. 34 Yea, ye yourselves know, that these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. Acts 20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

 

Interestingly, historians place the meeting with the church leaders in Ephesus (Acts 20) a year AFTER the first epistle to the church at Corinth was written. Since the apostle stated that church leaders should work to support themselves and the weak a year after saying “they which preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel,” he could not have been speaking of church leaders being supported by the congregation through tithes.

 

Paul was not a double-minded man.

 

Read the first twelve verses of 1 Corinthians 9. Compare them with the first twelve verses of Luke 10. The language in the two chapters is almost identical. Apostles are sent out to preach the Gospel have a right to food and drink. The seventy that were sent out to preach the Gospel in Luke 10 had a right to food and drink.

 

But notice also in the text of Luke 10:4…those sent were to take neither purse nor wallet with them. This indicates that they were not to accept any money for their preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Taking money for preaching the Gospel was forbidden by Jesus Christ. And the apostle Paul would not take money for preaching the Gospel either.

 

He had no right to require money for his preaching. But, he did have a right to food, drink, and lodging. However, he did not exercise that right. He worked with his hands to provide for himself as an example for others to follow.

 

Disabled Widow Won’t Survive Winter – Help Needed

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The Deceptive Drink

The Deceptive Drink
by Ronald W Robey

I wonder how many people in this world got “drunk” to a certain degree when they drank their first can of beer/glass of wine/shot of bourbon?

The fact is, probably 100% did.

Many who drank the next day, and then the next, and the next, and so on, began to show less and less signs of the alcohol affecting them as the days went on.

Why? Because brain cells that had immediately been affected by the first drink of beverage alcohol, had died. They no longer functioned as they had before. And so, the one drinking the beverage alcohol was deceived into believing that it was not affecting him; that he could handle his alcohol..

The sad truth is, the alcohol had already affected him… and the alcohol was controlling him, not the other way around.

The wise king Solomon wrote, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging; whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Alcohol deceives the one imbibing it…from the very first drink. And it continues to deceive the one that drinks it on a regular basis.

The only preventative to drunkenness is abstinence.

 

Briderism Contradicts the Bible

Baptist “Brider’s” teach that one can be saved and still not be a member of “the Lord’s Church”. They teach that, in order to be a member of “the Lord’s Church”, one must be baptized in a “proper Baptist Church”.

 

By “proper Baptist Church”, they mean; neither non Baptist’s, nor infants are a part of the Lord’s Church.

 

Yet, their doctrine totally contradicts Acts 2:47

 

Acts 2:47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

 

Scripture does not say one must be baptized in water in order to be a part of the Lord’s Church. It gives as a prerequisite, “such as should be saved.”

 

The Best Teacher

The Best Teacher
by Ronald W Robey

I have often heard the phrase, “Experience is the best teacher”.

And for many years, I believed it.  After all, who is best qualified to instruct a person in job skills than one who is skilled at that job?  If you want to learn all about firefighting, you would not go to an English Teacher who’d never fought a fire in his life.  You would go to a fireman.  And since you want to learn all about firefighting, you would probably seek out the most experienced of firefighters you could find.

However, even professionals tend to make mistakes in their own fields  Many who make mistakes, learn from those mistakes and move on.  Many, are greatly injured or even killed because of mistakes they have made.

Many mistakes by one can greatly affect others   For instance, a great mistake in the early 19^th Century caused the deaths of more than 1500 people.  I am speaking of the tragedy that occurred with the Titanic

Many who identify as “Christian” today believe that, “Experience is the best teacher”.  They base this assumption on the fact that they have been “tithing” their monetary income for years, and they’ve always been able to pay off any and all financial obligations on time, every time.

“It has always worked for me.  I tithe; God opens the windows of Heaven,” seems to be their unified cry.  Experience, to them, is their teachers.

However, their “experience” is not the best teacher.  Nor is at a reliable teacher.

Why not? Because the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. There is a way that seems right to us, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.  We cannot trust our own hearts.

Many base experience of having a money supply as being proof that tithing money is right.  They say Malachi 3 is proven by their experience of always having money when they need it, or God sending unexpected money when they need it.  However, Malachi 3 was not speaking of a tithe of money. He was speaking of the tithe according to the Law.

Had Malachi called for monetary tithes, he would have been calling for transgression of the Law. No, my friend, Malachi was speaking of agricultural tithes in chapter three, not money.

And the blessing attached was speaking of rain from heaven to water the gardens so that food would grow. The rain would bring a harvest of fruit and vegetables so large that the barns would not be big enough to contain them all.

Malachi’s promise was not for enough money to pay bills. It was for more agricultural crops than the barns could hold. Your experience contradicts what the word of God clearly states, and that is why experience is not “the best teacher”.

One thing to consider… the enemy of our souls will often reward people for listening to and yielding to his lies.

Remember the story of Jesus and the Temptations He faced in the wilderness?  Satan told Jesus he could give Him the wealth and prosperity of the world.   Had Jesus believed satan; had He bowed to satan; there is no doubt in my mind that satan could give Him great riches and prosperity.

But Jesus knew who satan was.  He used the word of God to defeat satan.  Jesus said, “Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him alone shalt thou serve.”

Today, many pastor’s flash pictures of wealth and prosperity before the eyes of their flocks.  They handle the word of God deceitfully; telling the flocks, “If you tithe, God is going to bless your finances, your home, your health, and the work of your hands.  If you fail to tithe, God will allow the devourer to ruin your finances, your home, your health and the work of your hands.”

Pastors may be experienced in teaching from the Bible.  However, when they teach the monetary tithe requirement, as experienced as they may be, they err greatly.   They are going outside of their field of training; whether knowingly or unknowingly.

And their error affects others.

They have many in their congregations believing their “twist” on Malachi 3:8-12 so much that they don’t see that God’s promise was not money here and money there… it was for an abundance of agricultural crops so big that the barn could not contain it all.

Because they fail to study their Bibles, they foolishly believe the lie that they are told.  Their “experience” of a little money here and there blinds their hearts and eyes to what is actually going on.  They are not walking in truth, but in a lie.

Experience is not the best teacher… the word of God is.

 

A Warrior’s Armor

A Warrior’s Armor
by Ronald W Robey

Many pastors, in an attempt to prove that men should not dress like women, will often use Deuteronomy 22:5 as their “proof-text”.  

Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

If one looks at the Hebrew from which the English was translated, one will discover that the verse is not saying what many Pastors today want it to say.

Deuteronomy 22:5 The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman’s garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the LORD thy God.

The Hebrew from which the word “man” is translated is the word גֶּבֶר geber. (pronounced gheh’-ber) It means, “a valiant man; a warrior”.

Had Moses been speaking of man in general, he would have used the word “adam”. (pronounced ah-dahm) Instead, Moses used the word for a valiant man, a warrior.

What is it that a warrior wears? He wears battle armor, correct? So the admonishment is that a woman is not supposed to put on battle armor.

But, is there further proof to substantiate this thought? I believe there is,… and I believe that proof is also found in Deuteronomy 22:5.

The word “pertaineth” is translated from the Hebrew “k@liy”. (pronounced kel-ee) The primary definition is “something prepared”. There are several secondary definitions given for the Hebrew word “k@liy”. Interestingly, one of those definitions for “k@liy” is “armour”

I believe the admonishment is for women not to put on battle armor to go to war. Likewise, the warrior is not to put on the dress of the woman in an attempt to neglect his duty as a soldier.

There are other verses that do tell us that males in general should not dress up like women. The strongest argument against men “cross-dressing” is found in the first epistle to the saints at Corinth.

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1 Corinthians 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

The word “effeminate” is speaking of those men who would put on the dress of a woman. Those that do such “shall not inherit the Kingdom of God”.