You still have an admixture in different texts of moral laws and ceremonial laws.
Even if it is in the genre of ceremonial law, you may note that my argument has been from the beginning that it is not part of the ceremonial law ALONE.
The point being, the tithe was specifically to support the sacrificial system that Christ abrogated. When Christ abrogated that system with His once for all sacrifice, He abrogated ALL of it...not just the convenient parts.
The Temple is gone, the sacrifices are done...it is exegetically inconsistent to say the tithe remains.
Yea, but all this proves is that the law existed before the official giving of the law.
One would expect the ceremony that points to Christ's atonement to predate the law.
The tithe was given to God before the law, during the law (even if as part of the ceremonial law) and affirmed by Christ.
No, it proves you are using an inconsistent interpretation. You freely admit that priests preceded the law, in the same way the tithe did. You freely admit that sacrifices were normative before the law. Yet you SWITCH interpretive methods with the priesthood and animal sacrifices, so that these are suddenly done away with, but not with the corresponding tithe.
It is a patchwork, inconsistent theology which you are holding to.
But here is the big thing (because I understand the testamental overlap that existed during the days of Christ's earthly ministry) The NT never says to STOP giving a tenth to God.
Nor does the NT say "Stop anointing priests" or "stop animal sacrifices." Nowhere in the NT does it prohibit priests or sacrifices. We get this from
#1 The theological understanding (from places such as Hebrews) that Christ did away with these "shadows" of ceremonial law, which included the Temple, the priestly class, and the tithe that supported them
#2 The fact that there is no physical temple at which to sacrifice, nor to take take the tithe TO>...
No, your word is not enough. There is not a shred of Bible to support your position. Nowhere are we given a command that we may now tithe money, or that the tithe is now to be taken to a church, or that there is now only one tithe instead of three. Unless God specifically commands a change, God's people are not allowed to change the way they do things...
The playing of musical instruments in worship was a ceremonial practice in the OT. The Church of Christ uses this same kind of argument from silence to say that since the NT does not SAY to play musical instruments then we should not HAVE musical instruments in church.
Its not an argument from silence. The NT text speaks of singing to God, and the cultural context shows these words refer to singing with accompaniment. Moreover, we CAN obey the OT on this. It is impossible to give a tithe. There is no temple, and no Levitical system.
Our argument against that has always been- the Old Testament is still VALID. The NT does not have to TELL us to keep doing these kinds of things. Same God both testaments.
UNLESS there is a change. There was a change. We were commanded to bring grain and livestock to the Levites. The Levites are gone. The temple is destroyed. We have no grain. Thus, we cannot give a tithe.
Further, the Ceremonial system, the ENTIRE ceremonial system, was abrogated with Christ. You don't keep bits and pieces....
We cannot just alter God's commands to suit our purposes.
The only things you stop are those things that Christ fulfilled- those things that shadowed his work because the shadow ends at the feet of the one who casts it.
Which included the entire Levitical system,...including the tithe which supported them.
And one final thing. The NT never requires less of us than the old.
More "proselyting" (evangelizing).
More praying.
More loving your neighbor.
More acts of compassion.
etc,etc, etc...
And MORE GIVING.
So not only would the tithe not be abrogated by the NT, it would be expanded.
And yet you are diminishing it. The Israelites were commanded to give 33 percent (Three tithes, plus a periodic tithe).
The New Testament demands ALL of our money. Everything we do, eating, drinking, entertainment, etc., is to be dedicated to Christ....not just ten percent.
One ought to feel like this. "The tithe is a light expectation of my giving. If I am not even doing THAT, then I am REALLY failing in my duty to Christ and his work on earth!!!"
No, they shouldn't. That is ridiculous. I say 50 percent. If someone doesn't give fifty percent, they are failing in their duties. ...
I can make stuff up, too.
You are inventing things.
No, it really is not like that.
The tithe existed BEFORE the law.
HERMENEUTIC SWITCH ALERT!!!
So did sacrifices, circumcision, and priesthood. ALL abrogated under Christ.
You are being completely inconsistent. God commanded us what to give. We should not just make stuff up. NEVER in the entire Bible is MONEY commanded to be given to God.
A tenth to God.
God could not have been clearer that to fail to do this was to "rob God," not the Levites.
The tenth went to God.
The tenth went to the Levites. Robbing God was disobeying His command. Had they brought money, they would have been equally disobedient.
Now you're getting ridiculous.
Saying the Word of God is irrelevant... My stars! C'mon man. Let's keep it together.
You are completely dismissing the actual commands regarding the tithe! YOU ARE saying the Word of God is irrelevant.
Yes, but it was still wealth. It was still giving a tenth of the wealth that God had blessed the people with. The principle is unchanged.
You have COMPLETELY changed the principle!! The principle was "Bring your grain." If you couldn't bring your grain, you were NOT ALLOWED to bring money. You were to sell the grain, and NOT bring the tithe....
Bringing money was not allowed. You keep skimming over that. God gave specific commands. You cannot just ignore those commands, because they are inconvenient.
The monetary system in America may VERY WELL dry up in the next few decades.
We will still be expected to give. It may be chickens, eggs, vegetables or whatever- but we will still be expected to give- and in this NT era, MORE, not less than a tenth.
Tithing is not allowed to be money. We should give...but it is NOT a tithe. You cannot tithe. Its not possible. You might like to call it a tithe, but its not. A tithe was a portion of grain, specifically excluding money, brought to a Levitical class that has been disbanded, to support a sacrifical system that is no longer needed, in a temple that no longer exists....
Christians give. They do not tithe.