Money and power….or rather, money is power.

[...] you should willingly give to the reason why we all exist. You can’t earn your way to Heaven by giving and you won’t be excluded from Heaven by your lack of giving. Nonetheless, be sure to [...]

Colossians 2:14 “Blotting out the handwriting of Ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross. The word Ordinance (requirements was used in Malachi 3:7)

Ephesians 2:15 “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to make in himself of twain one new man so making peace”.

Acts 15:10 “So then why do you now want to put God to the test by laying a load on the backs of the believers which neither our ancestors nor we ourselves were able to carry?”

Acts 15:19 ” We should not trouble the Gentiles who are turning to God.

Acts 15: 28 “The Holy Spirit and we (the Apostles) have agreed not to put any burdens on you beside these necessary rules (instructions were given without commanding Gentiles Tithe)

2nd Corinthians 9:7 “Each one should give then as he has DECIDED, not with regret or out of a sense of duty, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Acts 20:33: You yourselves know that I (Apostle Paul to the Gentiles) have now wanted anyone’s gold, silver or clothing. You yourselves know that I have worked with these hands for everything that my companions and I have needed.

1Thessalonians 2:9 “Surely you remember our brothers (Gentiles) how we worked and toiled!
We worked day and night so that we would not be any trouble to ou as we preached to you the Good News from God.”

If you could find you reference and share it with me, I would be interested in that information.

What I do understand and believe about Mat. 5:17 above is this. We and all other men could not keep or fulfil the law and the Prophets because we were born in sin and shapen in iniquity which disqualified us from the origin of our birth. Therefore; God had to send his sinless Virgin born and Only begotten Son who would take our place on Calvary’s cross and die in our place and he was fully qualified to do that for us because he was sinless (he did not destroy the law or the Prophets he came to fulfil them).

But I have a problem following the reasoning that he came to destroy the Law. God’s Law is like God it is eternal. It is unchangable. It is good. It is right. It shows us God. The Book of Galations tells us the the Law was our school master to bring us to Christ? The reason many know so little about God today is that they do not like his school master which is the Law (The Ten Commandments). No mortal human being will ever really love God and see a need to die to himself and live in Christ until he realizes how horrible sin really is. To God it is so horrible that we were utterly condemned and headed to hell until Jesus the Living Son of God came as the sinnless lamb of God and paid our sin debt by taking the old sinful man’s place and Nailed our old lawless
and sinful lives to Calvary and Offered us a new life in Christ Jesus which is Christ in you the Hope of Glory. So from that judicial transaction God offer us not a permit to go on sinning and breaking God’s law, but to live a new life of victory over sin and transgression over breaking God’s law.

Consider this; The new testament tells us that if a man looks on a woman to lust after her in his heart that he is guilty already. In light of this statment we need to consider that what God has really done in the New Covenant is to place the blame for law breaking right where it lies; in a man’s heart. Under the Old testament the law was in tablets of stone and man being born in sin could not keep the law because his heart was not right with God. God in the Old Testament promised to give man a new heart. Much teaching and preaching today does not change or convert the heart it leaves man still violating and transgressing God’s law. Much teaching tries to do away with God’s Law. but you know What? The more I have observed man with out God’s law down here on earth the More I am amazed that God truly only gave us 10 Simple Commandments to Follow and we despise and refuse to live by them and we think that we are smarter than God. Just look at all the foolish laws that man has come up with and can we live by them and do we have peace and Blessing on us because of them or are we cursed because of man’s law. I have to ask this question: If God’s has no law to live by them who is a man trying to make a law and require others to live by it? I know that is foolish thinking; but we need to be real. Man needs good and just laws to govern his life; and without a law to live by how could we survive as a nation? We would not. Men can only walk together and have peace among themselves when they have agreement (a law) among themselves to guide them.

I really hate being so wordy, but this is an important question.

So; why does every thing in this physical world obey laws except the one thing that God make in his image and in his likeness which is man?

It is because we are still ignorant of God’s Law and we are still sinners and we should be figuring out that God is smarter than we are and since he is that His Law is so much better than ours and we need to be living by it and if Calvary work has been acomplished in our hearts like Jesus came to do then the old man with the stony heart who was a rebellious sinner from birth was put to death in Jesus and if we have been truly repented and been born again and found the new life which is in Christ Jesus we know that the law that was not in the old man’s heart but on tablets of stone is now written on the table of the new heart which has been given unto us being born again in Christ Jesus. So In Christ Jesus we do not go on breaking God’s law but we like him who now live our lives in Him will obey his law. So it is this we understand the New Testament did not do away with the Law it just took our deliverance to the Jesus Level and pointed out that the reason a man is guilty of adultery when he looks on a woman to lust after her in his heart is because till his heart is changed he will never obey a law because he is lawless like the devil that subverted him.

I hope that I did not bore you.
I enjoyed your comment, and If you can find your reference to Jesus coming to abolish the Law; I certainly would love hearing from you.

Thanks; In Christ Jesus,
Larry S. Gooden

What you receive from God is based on what you give. Basically, you give depending on your faith. The more you feel able to give, the more God gives you in return for the simple fact that that is where the level of your faith is. God can’t give you above and beyond your level of faith. If you tithe the 10% based on the rules of the church all the while thinking you don’t have it to give to begin with and worried about where the money is coming from to make up for it then God can’t bless you. Where is your faith? If you are going to tithe you will have to find a way to rejoice in your tithing and trust God for the rest.

[...] more on tithing, check out the series “The Bible and Tithing: to Give or Not to Give” over at Bible Money Matters (where this post was originally [...]