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1. Where is Part#4 is your writing ??

   Ok… you did an Excellent job of presenting the “First Fruits ” side, but Proverbs 3-vs 9 reads….
   “Honor the Lord from your Wealth
   AND from the first of all your produce”
   NAS Bible
   Your Bible May read slightly different, but any way you cut it…. this means TWO sources.. not one. ie. Both “First Fruits” AND “Your Wealth”.

   I found this verse about 10 years ago [after having already lived 65 years as a practicing Christian Tither!] and finally found the missing piece in my Estate Plan…. GOD !!

   Hard to believe but I am told that 70% of practicing Christians DO NOT give Any of their Wealth at death to God. It all goes to our children and/or some favorite charities/ Universities etc. NONE to God. That was us… part of the 70%. Sad. .

   That changed and now I can smile while reading that Proverbs verse. For the first time we ‘added’ GOD to the families “Estate”[after our death] Planning and created a Charitable Trust by “deeding” to the Trust an already paid-in-full property [a Commercial Building that we owned]. When that “sunsets” [upon the deaths of both me and my wife] it will automatically become a “XXX Family Foundation” as a living Legacy to all my families future generations to enhance THEIR Christian giving lives! Our Family Foundation is already in place with the Georgia Baptist Foundation, Duluth GA [800-452-9064}, who will administer it with the active advice of our living family members on where Christian giving from the Family Foundation will go every year.

   If You have a “Missing Piece”…GOD… in YOUR Estate Plan,like we had, then change that. Remember that Proverbs Verse… “…and your Wealth” !

   Lets hear from others on this.
   EBL

   1. Lee,

      I don’t understand what you mean about “Part 4”. You’re reading it here in this article.

      Actually, I did address your concern. You are to tithe your first fruits and from your increase. The increase is what you have over-and-above what you paid for it. The first fruits are because you are to give the “first” of anything that is returned to you back to God. It teaches you discipline. Another way to look at that might be called “delayed gratification”. You are not supposed to enjoy your wealth until you have taken care of your obligation to God. This discipline is what is required to learn to make good financial decisions. Remember, it isn’t about giving “things” to God. He already owns it all. It’s about teaching us to be good stewards of His resources.

      There is no Biblical mandate for donating part of the inheritance you give to your inheritor as a tithe. You can, of course, give it if you want, but it isn’t tithe, offering or a gift at that point. There is no Biblical requirement mandating it though. That inheritance is to become “seed” to the recipient and then they are responsible for learning to manage the resources through tithing on the increase over an above what they inherited.

      It is very important to remember that God does not need nor desire your things. He already owns it all. The concept of giving part of your wealth to God upon your death is derived from the apostate church who thinks in terms of money rather than ministry. They want that money and they have no qualms about guilting anyone into making them an inheritor. But the reality is that tithing’s purpose is not the ministry, but to teach us to be good stewards of His resources and to get us personally involved in the ministry to the needy of our brethren.

      To be fair, there is nothing inherently wrong with giving a church or a ministry part of your children’s inheritance, but it is kind of a pointless gift. It doesn’t count as tithe, offering, or gift because after you are dead, there is no sacrifice on your part in the gift. The sacrifice must be part of the gift to be valued by the Lord.

   2. Lee,
      Upon rereading your comment, I have a question for you. Since sacrifice is an integral part of any gift to the Lord, how is it that you think your “family foundation” will enhance their Christian giving lives? And why do you feel you need to have a legal entity that is not a human carry your legacy?

2. Thank you for the article. It feels or reads like it was a lot of work and experience condensed down to article size.

   1. JimW,
      Thank you for those kind words. This actually represents years of studying the concept of giving to God and was actually started because of a discussion I had with a KJV only, NT only person who claimed that the only valid giving to God was giving with a cheerful heart. There is much I left out because this could easily have been a 20 part article, but I think I covered the most important parts – What types of giving, how the giving is valued by God, and why we do it.
      I’m frustrated that the modern apostate church just ignores scripture – unless it says give them money.
      I didn’t even touch on the subject of 501c.3 in churches and the modern trend of trying to get credit with God and the secular government for the same gift, along with many other subjects on giving. It is a very rich subject in the Scriptures.

3. 1-these commands were given to physical isreal- we are spiritually grafted in. 2- only agricutural and naturally occuring produce was to be tithed on. 3- only priests from the bloodline of Aaron could accept tithes in the name of God- only priests genetically descended from Aaron- no exceptions!

   1. Ray,
      You can’t just present a statement like that as truth without any scripture to back it up. What are you basing that on? Without any sort of scriptural basis, the statement is only an opinion.

      1. R2- ok 1- when we are saved we become Christians- not isrealites.2-the old testament commands were given to physical isreal- not those of any other bloodlines. 3 – the (what) to be tithed on is described in leviticus 27-26_33. 4- after the 10 commandments were given and the commandments on tithing were established. Only Aaron and his sons- decendents- were given permission to collect tithes in the name of God- there NO exceptions given to this rule!

         1. Ray,
            You are still not giving scripture to support your opinion. You are only stating an opinion. What you have is a very traditional church view – One that has 1700 years of anti-Semitism deeply ingrained in it. The 3rd century church worked really hard to separate itself from their Hebrew origins, even to the point of all out anti-Semitism. Let me give you an example:

            We all understand that the Hebrew people are God’s chosen people. In Exodus 12:6, right after they are brought out of Egypt, they are referred to as the Congregation. ( עֵדָה or “adat” Strong’s #5712). This same word is translated in the Septuagint as ἐκκλησία (ekklasia). Interesting that that same word appears multiple times in the New Testatment and is translated “Church of God” or “assembly of God”.
            Just what do you suppose Paul means when he says in Galations 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

            If you want the promises of God to apply to you, you ought not to be so quick to separate yourself from the Hebrew people. If you are adopted into the Lords family, then Abraham is your father as well. The promises you seek from God belong to the seed of Abraham.

            Broken church tradition is a hard thing to turn loose of even if it is wrong. Just because they did it that way for 1700 years doesn’t make it right either.

4. RE: Getting out of debt,. Since my brain doesn’t always fire on all cylinders, I want to make sure I get the Getting out of Debt part correct. So, let’s say the debt is $14,400 and the person will tithe 400 per month. So 1/5th of 400 is $80. We know that $14,400 divided by $400 will take exactly 3yrs to pay off. We know that $80×36= $2,880. So on that next tithe the redemption would be $2,880+400=$3,280 Is that correct?

   1. @Mongo

      no, it would be $14,400 + $2,880.

      The advantage of the system is that you learn to become disciplined. Most people will not pay their tithe when they are deep in debt. Some even feel that they can’t as they are just getting by. But if you adopt the sytem and keep track, budgeting along the way, you’ll find that you make much wiser choices. It’s not about saving money. You are obligated on your debts and you have to pay them. It’s about learning to be a good steward of your resources. Today’s society is so far into the debt culture that they can’t grasp owning a home free and clear and paying cash for a car with no debt. When you hear most say they are “debt free”, they are usually excluding their home mortgage. To truly get debt free and be a good steward of God’s resources, you have to be a good steward of what He has given you. The Tithe redemption is simply a method that loads the payment toward the end of the three years to give you time to get your finances under control.

5. Hugh,
   Thank you for the response. Your answer is what I thought was correct. It sure is a blessing to tithe.

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