While preaching on the subject of giving during a church service on
Sunday, February 25, the Senior Pastor of Daystar Christian Centre,
Samuel Adeyemi, shared his thoughts on the growing debate on tithe and
offering, describing the law on tithe as recorded in the Old Testament
as an expired law which has no relevance in the New Dispensation.
According to Church Times Nigeria, the influential cleric urged his listeners and congregants not to entertain any guilt for not paying tithe adding that “People should not give out of fear”
He said he personally took interest in the tithe debate, did a lot
of study and came to the conclusion that God is not angry with anybody
that does not pay tithe neither is the person under any form of curse.
He said, “I have been following the tithe debate. I discovered
that it has been an age long debate and it will be on for a long time.
My first observation is that church people are behaving as if we own the
word tithe.
"We don’t own the word. It is an English word. I want to say
clearly that tithe as practiced under the law of Moses has expired. The
death and resurrection of Jesus has put paid to it. It has expired.”
While explaining that there are different types of tithe he said, “All
the requirements of the law were satisfied under Christ. It is a gamble
to say Jesus never paid tithe. The fact that it was not written that
Jesus paid tithe does not mean he did not do it.
"I can also claim that Jesus did not go to the toilet because
it is not written. 18 years of his life were not recorded in the Bible.
When he was born his parents satisfied the requirements of the law. John
21v25 says there are many things he did that were not recorded. Jesus
did not say it was wrong to pay tithe in his day.”
Pastor Adeyemi however stressed again at the risk of repeating himself that Tithing as it is in the law has expired.
He noted, “The law of the spirit of life in Christ has made us
free. Romans 8 clearly tells us that we are free. No Christian should
feel guilty for not paying tithe. There is nothing you can add to what
Jesus did to be qualified before God. When Jesus said it is finished it
was finished. Gal 3v13 says Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the
law.
"A Christian is not cursed because he or she did not pay tithe.
A Christian should not give out of fear. A Christian should give out of
love. We are free from guilt, from fear. We are in a dispensation of
grace.”
He however warned that though we live under grace man will have to bear the consequences of his action.
“If you commit murder, you realise what you did and you repent God will
forgive you. But bear in mind that Police will arrest you and prosecute
you. The forgiveness of God does not remove the consequences of our
action.
“You are free to decide what to give. But if you sow sparingly
you will reap sparingly. Tithing as practiced under the law has expired
but tithing as a general principle cannot expire. A Christian is free to
give any percentage of his money. But just bear in mind that 10 percent
is still part of the number. If somebody chooses to give 10 percent he
should not be condemned and if he gives less or more than that he has a
right to decide on what to do”
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