A coworker and I had a discussion on tithing.  He is a member of the Church of God (not the biblical one).  Well, he was saying 1 Cor. 16:2 is referring to the support a congregation gives to mission work; he says that Paul was doing mission work going town to town.  Now, I told him I would have to get back to him on that.  To me, it kind of seems like that MIGHT have been the case.  I understand that the Old Law died with Jesus.  What is good Scripture to show that we do or do not tithe?  How much do we give if a certain amount is not commanded?

Sincerely,
Signing The Check

Dear Signing The Check,

The New Testament and Old Testament teachings on giving are similar… but not the same.  The Old Testament was very specific that giving should be a minimum of ten percent (Deut 14:22).  The word ‘tithe’ means ‘one-tenth’.  However, we don’t obey Old Testament laws because we are no longer under that law (Gal 3:23-25).  If your coworker wants to teach that you must tithe, he needs to provide you with a New Testament verse for that teaching.  It is his responsibility to provide a command or example for specific giving amounts, not your responsibility to disprove it.

In the New Testament, we see a more generic teaching on giving.  Though ten percent is a good rule of thumb (after all, the Old Testament is given to us as an example – 1 Cor 10:11), christians are simply told to “give as they have prospered” (1 Cor 16:1-2) and to be cheerful givers (2 Cor 9:7), but God never specifically says how much christians should give.  That is an issue of wisdom and is left for each individual heart to work out for itself (Php 2:12).  The specific rule of giving one-tenth of our income no longer applies; instead, we are told to examine our hearts and give thankfully.  1 Cor 16:2 does deal with collecting money for the needy saints in Jerusalem, but it is also the only New Testament pattern we have for when and how the church should collect money, so the principles would apply.

     Does God hear or answer an unsaved person’s prayer?   I am saved but have been wanting some Scripture to answer my question.

Sincerely,
Is He Listening?

Dear Is He Listening,

God recognizes the prayers of the faithful only. There is no doubt that God hears the prayers of christians (Jas 5:16). God hears the prayers of the righteous, but He is far from the wicked (Pr 15:29). God is constantly listening to hear the prayers of christians, but He sets His face against those who do evil. God says that even a christian who isn’t treating others well (specifically their spouse) will have their prayers hindered (1 Pet 3:7).

God does not answer the prayers of those who are ungodly. When Israel turned away from God, He stopped answering their prayers (Micah 3:4). When Judah became wicked and followed false teachings, He stopped hearing their prayers and accepting their worship (Isa 1:13-15). The same would hold true for those who fall away today. God will stop listening to and answering their prayers. It isn’t that He doesn’t hear them – He simply ignores their requests. Those outside of Christ are promised that if they seek God, they will find Him (Lk 11:9). All of mankind has the ability to ask for truth and find it, but only christians can ask God as a child asks a father (Mat 7:11). The ability to seek God’s help through prayer is a blessing given only to those who serve God (Jhn 9:31).

     Is it alright to give money through the mail to a church for a prophecy?

Sincerely,
Paying The Price

Dear Paying The Price,

Televangelists that promise healing miracles, local preachers that profess to have visions, and any others of their ilk are charlatans and liars.  They are no different than Simon the magician who tried to buy the gift of God for money… they are diseased in heart and enslaved to iniquity (Acts 8:19-23).  The word of God is in the Bible and free and available to everyone… anyone that tries to sell it to you is a false teacher.  Accept nothing but the Bible; don’t let anyone add to it, and don’t let anyone take away from it (Rev 22:18-19).  We have everything we need to know about life and godliness within the pages of the Scriptures (2 Pet 1:3).  There is no need for additional prophecy because God has handed down to us once and for all His Word to the saints (Jude 1:3).  Don’t give a penny, or even a greeting, to those who would use the Gospel for greedy gain (2 Jn 1:10-11).

     Being in church, we (or at least I) have always been told I don't deserve anything and that only God's grace keeps me up every day.  I have been reminded of this several times and try to utilize it to make me humble.  I'll try to be brief and as candid as possible but... how am I to pray if I am so undeserving?

Yes, I know Jesus reached out to sinners more than anyone else, but what do we sinners pray about?  Am I deserving enough to everyday pray for others’ help?  Is it vanity that makes me pray to better myself everyday?  Let’s say I have the blackest soul alive; what do I actually deserve to do?  What am I allowed to pray for?  Would working out and wearing makeup hurt God as vanity?  Would determination to do my very best at work and school (fully aware that I'm doing it to get a good job financially) hurt God as greed?  Would never cursing out loud once in my life and acting the caring person when I have had inner monologues of foul language and can't seem to ever help judging every single person I meet and know every day hurt God as hypocrisy?

Basically, if I know I don't deserve the life I live and shouldn't deserve it, how can I live it?

Sincerely,
Unworthy

Dear Unworthy,

It is true that we have all sinned and don't deserve to go to heaven (Rom 3:23), but what you are talking about is more than just being undeserving; you are saying that everyone is totally depraved, and even when we do good things, it is all just a sham.  The idea that we are all deeply and totally depraved and don't have a single shred of goodness in us is not from the Bible; it is a teaching called ‘Calvinism’.  Calvinism teaches that you are born sinful and always are sinful and that nothing you can do is ever good enough – this is not true.  After all, God made us in His image... that is a good thing!  Sin is something that you do, not something that you are.  Sin does separate us from God, and Christ's blood is a gift that gives us a chance to be reunited with the Father.  We could never earn what Christ has given us, but that doesn't mean that in your heart of hearts, you are a bad person.  Christ specifically came to save those people that wished to be good but still made bad choices.  Paul dealt with this inner struggle that faithful people have as they fight the battle against the flesh in Rom 7:22-25.  People aren't born inherently bad at the core – we choose to want evil or to want good.  Calvinism is wrong, and we recommend you read the article "Calvin And Sobs" for a complete breakdown of this false teaching that has befuddled quite a lot of good people.

Why do we still struggle when we give tithes and offerings?

Sincerely,
Giving Up

Dear Giving Up,

The teaching that we will never struggle if we give enough money to God is called ‘The Prosperity Gospel’ and it is a false teaching.  The prosperity gospel doctrine teaches that the more faith you have, the more money, health, power, etc. you will receive.  They teach that all sicknesses, poverty, and suffering are caused by a lack of faith.  This is simply wrong.

Jesus suffered more than anyone – and yet He was perfectly faithful and never sinned (Heb 4:15).  When Jesus was asked why a certain man was blind, His answer was, “That God’s works could be revealed in Him” (Jhn 9:1-3).  That blind man wasn’t blind because He had sinned, He was blind because it gave God an opportunity to use him.  The apostle Paul had a “thorn in the flesh” (some sort of sickness) that God gave him… even though Paul was exceptionally faithful (2 Cor 12:7).  Job suffered at the hands of Satan BECAUSE he was so faithful (Job 1:8).  And last, but not least, God clearly states that we must suffer in order to enter the kingdom of heaven (Acts 14:22).

The idea that serving Christ will provide you with every physical blessing you could ever want is a perversion of the Scriptures.  It is a preaching that is based upon selfishness and the love of money – both of which God abhors (2 Tim 3:2, 1 Tim 6:10).  Christians should condemn and flee from this kind of false teaching.  Don't let anyone rob you of your hope by feeding you a teaching that says you only suffer because you aren't giving enough money.