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19. Arguments to Non-Tithers

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In Your Bible Read This Out Loud: 1 Corinthians 16:1-2

Memorise This Verse: Leviticus 27:30 ‘A tithe of everything from the land…belongs to the Lord it is holy to the Lord’

Afterwards Talk About This: The arguments you could use to persuade a believer to start tithing.

Something To Do Before Next Time:  In prayer, ask God to show you if you should be tithing.

Written Diploma Work: List the main arguments for tithing and try and refute them.

Meditate Word By Word On This Verse: Proverbs 3:1

Not only are there arguments that non-tithers will raise against tithing which have been looked at in the previous section, but there are also arguments for tithing that can be put to non-tithers and these will be considered in this section. If someone is simply not interested in tithing then no real amount of arguing will ever persuade them but it is hoped that those with a serious desire to consider tithing will be won over by not only the answers given to the arguments against tithing in the last section and also the arguments for tithing in this section.

Does a non-tither give more than a tither. It would be conceded that if non-tithers gave more than those who tithe then certainly it would be a good argument as to why people should not tithe. However, how much do non-tithers generally give?

Can they honestly say that year in, year out they consistently give as much, if not more than 10% of their income? Perhaps you are not tither why not think about what percentage of your income you have given over the past 3 years – does it come any where near 10%. If it doesn’t then your way of handling your finances has been unsuccessful in comparison with someone who has faithfully tithed.

Why do so many non-tithers claim they can’t afford to tithe? This is by far the biggest argument that non-tithers give for not tithing yet it actually is one of the strongest arguments to show that they should be tithing. Suppose someone has been a Christian for 10 years and has never tithed and they claim they cannot afford to tithe.

They are basically saying that ten years of not tithing has only produced poverty and lack in their finances and ten years of non-tithing has been so unsuccessful in filling up their bank accounts that they claim they cannot afford to give!

When someone who hasn’t been tithing for years says they cannot afford to tithe, they are saying they have literally proved to themselves how unsuccessful all the years of non-tithing have been. If you are a non-tither who claims that you cannot afford to tithe and you want something to happen in your finances that has never happened before, then you are going to have to do something with your finances that you’ve never done before. If years of not tithing has only produced a financial situation of poverty such that you claim you cannot afford to tithe, then you must change the way you handle your money. If all the years of non-tithing has only brought you poverty then why carry on not tithing – surely carrying on not tithing will give you the same sorry results.

Moreover, how many people say they cannot afford to tithe yet definitely wouldn’t want you to see their bank statements or credit card statements!. How many non-tithers are working undercover in the shadows of darkness, secretly spending much more than 10% of their income on expensive, luxury items on the one hand, and then pathetically claiming not to be able to tithe on the other. What darkness the non-tither must live in if they have a secret spending habit on worldly possessions and luxuries that no one knows about, whilst claiming to not be able to tithe and give to extend God’s Kingdom.

Perhaps you are claiming that you would like to tithe but you simply can’t afford to. Can you honestly say that 100% of your income is being spent on purely essential items and that not one penny is being spent on unnecessary luxuries? Are you really saying there are no areas in your spending habits you could cut out to enable you to tithe, or are you in reality not prepared to give them up. When you say you would like to tithe if you had the money, do you really, honestly mean that or is it the case that even if your income increased 10% overnight you would still argue that you couldn’t afford to tithe.

I tried tithing for a while and it didn’t work. Is it not the case that those who are only half heartedly trying tithing will look for any reason to show that tithing doesn’t work so they can say they have tried it and it doesn’t work for them? let us consider again the previous example of someone who has been a non-tithing Christian for the past 10 years. Since it has taken ten long years of non-tithing to get you into such a poor financial situation do you honestly believe that 2 months of tithing will instantly solve all your financial problems! A good rule to follow is to tithe for at least as many years as you didn’t tithe after becoming a Christian and see which of these periods has been the most blessed – surely this is fair and you give tithing as much of a chance in your life as you gave not tithing.

I’ll tithe once I can really afford it. Unless you start tithing now then there is very little chance that you will tithe even if you’re income did dramatically increase. The bible constantly says that unless we are faithful in the small and little things we will not be entrusted with bigger things, by choosing not to tithe on your current income you could well be blocking God’s ability to release a greater income. Moreover, what specific level of income is enough to cause you to start tithing? have you promised God that as soon as it is hit you will start to tithe? or is it the case that you would have to be a millionaire before you felt you could afford to tithe.

If God’s people worshipped him with 10% in the Old Testament, why should we under the New Covenant worship him with less especially since the resurrection of Jesus should make us worship him even more. If the people of God worshipped him with 10% of their income before Jesus, then surely we dare not worship Jesus with anything less than 10%. Those who argue that we shouldn’t be tithers are left in the impossible position of arguing that we who live under the New and superior Covenant, and have the divine love nature of Jesus imparted to us, should give less those who lived under the Old Covenant. Surely New Covenant Christians with the love nature of Jesus in their hearts should be even more generous than Old Covenant people who didn’t have this nature.

Listen to the testimonies of those who tithe. There are doubtless multitudes of Christians who will testify that tithing has revolutionised their Christian lives – emotionally, spiritually and materially many will testify of the joy of tithing and will encourage others to do so. However, how many Christians do you know who testify that years of constant and systematic tithing has ruined them spiritually and they try and convert all their Christian friends away from tithing? It has been the constant experience of the author that whenever he talks to tithers they have a joy, happiness, peace and testimonies as to the benefits of tithing.

A House of Prayer for the Poorer Nations

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This study contains the personal beliefs and practices of of the author who recommends them to the reader. The author takes no credit for their success where applied and likewise takes no responsibility for any failure or disappointment.

The House of Prayer for the Poorer Nations at the end of each section is based on Operation World 21st Century Edition © Patrick Johnstone, Jason Mandryk. Published by Paternoster. All scriptures are NIV © Hodder & Stoughton.

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