It's been hundreds of years since the old Jewish laws and ordinances that were established to bring us to the knowledge of our sins have been done away with. The coming Messiah who was foretold many times in the Old Testament, came and died on the cross for all of humanity. Because no man is able to fulfill the righteous requirement of the law, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law," (Gal 3:13-14). Christians are to live in the new way of the Spirit, not in the old way of the written code. Therefore, to impose the old Jewish law of tithing which wasn't for Christians in the first place on believers is way out of line. When Christian values are practically non-existent around the world and believers are wanting to live according to the truth, it's not a time to lead people astray! Telling them that they have to abide by the ancient law of tithing before they can belong to a church is not only terribly misleading, but guides people away from the Gospel truth and potentially away from God...
There are no laws, or ordinances, nor any sum of money that can rid us of our suffering at times in our lives when we need spiritual help. While having a personal relationship with God is the only way He can meet our personal spiritual needs, it is also beneficial and necessary for Christians to worship together as a local body of believers. Unfortunately, churches that don't adhere to the Jewish law of tithing are few and far in between. As a result, more and more Christians are beginning to take a stand for what the scriptures really say about giving. Another issue, closely related to the issue of tithing that has to do with equal standing among believers, is the matter of clergy and laity which came about some two hundred years after Christ died on Calvary. This is when a full time paid clergy began to emerge in church history which later paved the way for tithing to re-enter in the support of an unscriptural exclusive "priesthood" (clergy) in the church. It's unscriptural for there to be class distinctions among Christians! For true believers, discrimination, partiality, and favoritism are heavily discouraged. (Jas. 2:1) Christians, or the "priesthood of believers" need to worship together in the Spirit of togetherness, and in truth with Jesus as the high priest in the heart of every believer. Money shouldn't be an issue, or a requirement for anyone to belong to a body of believers who worship together. Unfortunately, today's churches have been preaching a false doctrine and have led many people astray. Sadly, most of them don't allow you to become a member unless you agree to give them ten percent of your gross income... The only membership important to a Christian is to the family of God which is freely given "to those who are of the household of faith..." (Gal. 6:10).
Without personally trying to find the simple truths about God on their own when they need answers, most people just start attending a church of their choice, hoping they'll get some spiritual guidance. The church buildings themselves are usually very attractive. Many of them have steeples and stained glass windows with pictures of Jesus, Joseph and Mary on them, giving the impression that what goes on inside is of a pure and holy nature. Some believers see caution signs with churches in the elaborate buildings and blacktop parking lots that had to cost someone a lot of money. On the other hand, those who go to church for other reasons don't pay attention to the signs and go to church because it's the socially acceptable thing to do...
In a country where prosperity is the sign of success and the prescription for happiness, spirituality in the truest sense of the word, is practically non-existent. Some churches actually preach a prosperity gospel!... By grossly over inflating the value of material things, we've been led to believe that they're the remedy for all of our sorrows. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. Material success may bring a little comfort for a while, and perhaps a temporary joy here and there, but has nothing that can begin to repair one's brokenness. Nevertheless, most people use material things and money, or anything else that will help them forget about their spiritual needs.
For some strange reason, the majority of people want to take the easy way out and go to a psychiatrist, or to a family counselor, or someone else other than God, to get help with their inability to understand their problems. With the institutional Christian church being so well represented in our society, it is where the rest of the people go for individual and family support. With all of the nice looking church buildings and prominent people attending the services, we're led to believe that these are credible organizations that can be trusted to represent the bridge between man and God. The churches themselves are very well organized and have all of the bases covered when it comes to addressing people's needs. They have a program for this and a program for that, and one for whatever a person's need may be. Pastors, assistant pastors and elders are on hand to provide the necessary support for individuals needing spiritual help. The problem is, they don't provide spiritual help. Instead, they suggest that after attending a number of church services, you may get the help you need. Unfortunately, the majority of church services consist of church activity announcements, church news and an abundance of other non-spiritual related things that take up practically all of the service. Holiness churches, which preach sanctification as well as being saved, put more of the church service time into preaching, praying and singing than most churches which I think is good. Still, however, even in the midst of a good sermon, or church service, the plate is passed and money is called upon time and time again as something crucial to the existence of the church...
Now days, a lot of people just go to their therapist for the least little problem, thinking that because the person is supposed to be a "professional" with a PHD or whatever, they'll mysteriously have the answers to problems that only God can unravel. We all have our own identity, our own set of finger prints, and there's no way that another human being can know exactly how to rid us of our own heartfelt need. Only God, our creator, is capable of understanding such things. Every other individual will give us a different answer to our problems, because everyone is different and they're not God. I believe most church leaders realize the natural tendency in people to want to choose the easy way out, rather than go to God with their problems. This is all the more reason for them to operate under the assumption that if they look good on the outside, people will automatically want to come in. They'll want to come in, not for the integrity of a particular church, but because of the social acceptance that the church organizations have within the community.
There are things to be gained by belonging to a respectable church, one that's attractive on the outside and very comfortable on the inside. It's the socially acceptable thing to do. Attending weekly church services provides opportunities to meet others and to make yourself known within the community. Entrepreneurs, dentists, doctors, lawyers, etc., are undoubtedly more apt to gain the respect of potential customers if they attend weekly church services. In addition, the money you give to church is tax deductible! To a lot of people, attending church is an indication that a person is more apt to be praiseworthy, with characteristics such as honesty, fairness, a conscience, trustworthiness and other Godly attributes...
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