ch27 Tithe Is it biblical to tithe? v2

ch27 Tithe Is it biblical to tithe? v2 makes the biblical case for giving to God’s work. Topics: The Principle of Giving to God | What is the Tithe? | Why do we tithe? | Is Tithing for the NT?

Is it Biblical to Tithe? v2

Tithe: Is Giving a tithe a NT Obligation?
By David Cox
[ch27] v1 ©2008 www.coxtracts.com
This tract can be reproduced for non-profit purposes




There are people who attack the work of God from without, and there are those who attack the work of God from within. The two most critical points of God’s work which have been seriously attacked from within is the role of pastor in taking care of the church, and the economic sustaining of the church. If convince the ministers to work a secular job to support themselves (see 1Cor 9:14; Mat 10:10; Gal 6:5; 1Tim 5:17) then you will cause an economic poverty within the work of God, basically making it impossible for ministers to accomplish anything more than just keeping their doors open.

There are groups who wish to “free” or unlink the tithe from being a NT Christian’s obligation. If we accept their arguments for a moment, then this means that God doesn’t want his children to support the work of God? What is the biblical alternative? This makes no sense that good Christians don’t want to support the work of God. The rejection of the tithe for the NT Christian has to be a teaching of the devil.




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fam26 Wise advice for youth version 2.1

Wise Advice for Youth
By David Cox
[fam26] v2.1 ©2023 www.coxtracts.com
You may freely photocopy and print this for non-profit use

_______________

The Way Things Are

Genesis 8:21… for the imagination of man’s heart [is] evil from his youth

Even God Himself recognizes that in this stage of life, the wickedness of the heart begins and really gets going strongly in the human heart.

Youth is a difficult time, whatever the person or his situation. At the age of 13 to 18, the human body undergoes a lot of changes. The hormones start kicking in, and a child becomes an adult. It is a time of transition to an adult which is when the body grows (height) as well as becomes fully functioning. Youth begin to have a sexual life in that they are physically mature enough to have sex, have babies, and they begin to think about this (again their hormones are at work).




Psalms 129:1-2
Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth, may Israel now say:
2 many a time have they afflicted me from my youth: yet they have not prevailed against me.

The Bible speaks to Israel as “from their youth”, afflicted with many things, but fighting to not be drown by them. The remedy for this is the same that God gave Israel, to trust in God, and to seek Him with all their heart, and the frustrations will leave, or they will turn into blessings.

A Time when Everything is New

Job 13:26 For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.

When one is a child, their parents decide everything for them, and there is really no problem. But when the person enters the teen years, he thinks he is an adult, and resents everything that others decide for him, from what he is to eat, to what clothes he is to buy and wear, to what household chores he is to do, and all this causes many strong battles between the teen and whatever adult is supervising. It is a pity, but youth is a time of “bitterness and … iniquities” (sins) (Job 13:26). It is important for both the teen and those adults responsible for the teen to recognize this process of becoming an adult, and that both work together as the teen takes on more responsibility and makes their own decisions. One is not without the other.

Proverbs 20:29 The glory of young men [is] their strength: and the beauty of old men [is] the gray head.

Youth is a time of much energy, strength, and activity. They “get bored” very easily because they always want to go, move, have experiences, and do things (but they do not include work in these desires as a rule). To be quiet, calm, and have patience is not normal for youth. On the other hand, the “beautyof age is its experiences and understanding (wisdom). (They have been down life’s road before and made all these mistakes themselves, in their own life.) Ecclesiastes 11:10bfor childhood and youth are vanity. Teens wrongly invest their energy and life in vain things, which have no eternal benefit, and the aged have wisdom, but don’t have the energy to apply it and use it in their old age. Teens live to experience life, and usually what they invest their lives in is total vanity. What they live for doesn’t have spiritual substance that really is a benefit for them neither here and now, nor in eternity. They want entertainment.

Ecclesiastes 11:9 Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these [things] God will bring thee into judgment. 10 Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart and put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth [are] vanity.

God wants teens to be happy (rejoice) in their youth, and to enjoy their youth. But God also calls each teen to always remember that God will judge everything that every person does whether they do good or evil. Those things that are good in His sight, God will reward the person, and for the things that are not pleasing in His sight (vanity and emptiness of spiritual value are the same as sinful here), God will punish.

Ecclesiastes 12:1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them;

God calls each teen to remember that his life is a trip, and as this pilgrimage begins, then it will run, and then it will be over. In the end, life is not so beautiful and “fun” as it was in the beginning. In the end, we will have to face God our Creator, who gave us this life and all in it, and then we will have to make an accounting with Him. Also notice that there are specific sins for youth, and these are to be afflicted (frustrated), bitterness, sorrow (vexation or anger), etc. These specific sins are what commonly occur among teens in their road to adulthood. These come from not wanting to accept or receive the spiritual guides God has set in one’s life, counselors which God has established to care for and guide teens, counselors like parents, teachers, and pastors that have experience, wisdom, and the principles of God to help them. God commands teens to get rid of these sins, to submit themselves to God, to His principles and commands, and to respect the authorities which God establishes in their life to safely guide them into the ways of God.

Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right 2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) 3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

God has put your parents in your life as a divine authority to protect and guide you until you gain sufficient wisdom and experience to make all of your decisions for yourself. This is not to say that they are dictators in your life forever, but your parents are spiritual guides to guide you in the way of God, and to protect you from problems and dangers, especially spiritual ones. When you pay attention to this authority and obey them, then God promises you “wellness” and “long life”. The attitude itself of seeking wise counsel from older people, people who are wiser and have more experience than you in a matter (even though you may be an adult) is a wise character trait that permits God to help you by wise and godly counsel.  Proverbs 11:14 “Where no counsel [is], the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors [there is] safety.” Proverbs 15:22 “Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.” Many teens live frustrated lives in agony because they refuse to accept that they simply don’t know about things, they are not all wise, and they refuse to seek sound and wise counsel before making decisions or acting.

Proverbs 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors [there is] safety.”




The Main Problem of Teens

A teen’s main problem is that in a way, they are adults with adult problems at times, and consequences that are fully adult problems, and yet in another way, they are children, because they lack the wisdom and experience to deal with these adult tasks. For example, in Proverbs 7, Solomon presents us with the picture of a young man who passes by a harlot, all pretty and advertising herself with offers of sex, and he is easy prey to her. In reflection, it is observed in Proverbs 7:7, that he was “void of understanding.” The teen is marked with the state of “opening his eyes to the world” but still not understanding how all this works, especially the dangers, tricks, traps, and the deceitfulness of sin and sinful men. Proverbs 7:10 And, behold, there met him a woman [with] the attire of an harlot, and subtil of heart. Teens are tripped up because of their own character. They see, they want, they take immediately, and without reflection of the consequences or problems that may come of their actions, they act. If something is new, attractive, or desirous for a teen, he wants it, and his reasoning stops right there. God counsels teens that they go slowly with life, analyzing everything in the light of the Word of God to find wise counsel from wise Christians who have experience, wisdom, and personal victory in their own lives.




Be Wise and Learn

Proverbs 1:4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.

The book of Proverbs is a book of pure wisdom, given specifically from God to youth, so that they are intelligent and have discretion. Discretion is to handle a thing with a plan, closely examining and thinking through the wisdom or folly of doing it, not just taking things as they happen, but with principles, guidance, and with the purpose of it ending well (for his own benefit and in God’s will).

Proverbs 12:1 Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof [is] brutish.
Psalms 119:98 Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for they [are] ever with me.

It is possible that a teen may be wiser than the most intelligent and wisest adult, but this will only happen when he is totally saturated with the Word of God, and he understands it very well, and follows it with all his heart. Temper tantrums and wild rebellious actions work against this.

Psalms 119:99 I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies [are] my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.

Obeying the Word of God and the will of God are where true wisdom and understanding begin. This commitment to obeying God’s will in all things allows God through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to guide a person into all wisdom.

Psalms 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed [thereto] according to thy word. 10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. A wise teen is highly occupied and busy about knowing God’s will and not sinning, obeying God, and following the morality that God imposes over us, and being found pleasing in His sight.




Youth, Trust in God

Psalms 71:5 For thou [art] my hope, O Lord GOD: [thou art] my trust from my youth. 17 O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.

What gives the blessing of God on somebody is his faith in God. This faith also includes your confidence in God’s counsels, positions, standards, and commandments, that they are wise and useful (beneficial) to you every moment of every day. It is a grave problem of youth (and older people) when they see their own judgment and will as better than God’s instructions on a matter. They see Christianity as a product of their parents, and “that generation” which is not “their generation.” They don’t understand that Christianity is really a relationship with God, with Jesus Christ their Saviour, and that many adults that have no such relationship pretend to be Christians and ruin their own lives and the lives of others around them. Also, they forget that everybody can make mistakes. This happens when one is responsible, but they forget to seek God’s will and wisdom before acting. They forget that everyone, young and old, will have to make account with God one day for everything they have said and done. (Romans 14:12) You are not responsible for other’s actions, but for your own. Trust God, follow Him, believe in the goodness of God, and God’s ways, and you will be happy and blessed always.

Version 1 – 2011

More Tracts from the Family Category

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Author Pastor David Cox

Pastor David Cox

evc01 Darwinism

Darwinism

The Theories of Charles Darwin
By David Cox
[ec01] v1 ©2005 www.coxtracts.com
This tract can be freely copied for non-profit purposes.

Evolution did not begin with Darwin but with the Greeks. The biologist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1809) proposed the foundations that Darwin later made popular. Lamarck believed in the existence of a force in each being that pushed it to be more complex, and that the parents could pass the abilities and qualities that they learned on to their children so that their children would be benefited. When the 20th century science discovered DNA and began to study it, Larmarck’s theories were concluded to be impossible from a genetic viewpoint. The giraffe’s long neck used to eat from the tops of trees could not genetically be passed to its descendents according to science. Any benefit or detriment from a bodily character is not transferred to the being’s descendents.

Evolution says that it took 3.8 billion years, and that organisms began simple, then later changed and formed complex multiple cells, always moving from the simple to the complex. It teaches that there are two principles that control this process in order to achieve the simple to the complex goal: (1) Natural selection, and (2) mutations. But neither natural selection nor mutations produce any beneficial thing to a species that results in a permanent character trait that stays with the creature’s descendents for generations.




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fam13 Polygamy: Is it biblical to have multiple spouses?

Polygamy

Polygamy: Is it biblical to have multiple spouses?

By David Cox

[FAM13] v1r ©2008 www.coxtracts.com/fam13
This brochure can be freely photocopied and printed

This tract, Polygamy, examines the practice and thinking of some groups that espouse multiple marriage partners as being biblical. While the practice is found in parts of the Bible, it is not condoned by God. TOPICS: The Plan of God | The Attack Against Marriage | Polygamy among the Patriarchs | God overlooked Man’s Disobedience | The New Testament Pattern | Adultery, Two wives at the same time




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SSTeen1-02 Sexual Purity Joseph and His Difficult Life

Joseph and Sexual Purity, we study the life of Joseph, looking at his purity of spirit in the face of sexual temptation.

Sexual Purity – Joseph and His Difficult Life
By David Cox © 2010

In this Sunday School Class, Joseph and Sexual Purity, we study the life of Joseph, looking at his purity of spirit in the face of sexual temptation. His attitude is especially important, as he did not get discouraged, nor did he seek vengeance against the evil that his brothers did to him.




Bible Reading: Genesis 37:3-11 Continue reading

ch34 Brethren, we must not fight!

ch34 Brethren we must not fight!

ch34 Brethren, we must not fight! explains why Christians should not be contentious, especially between brethren.

Brethren, we Must Not Fight!

By David Cox

[ch34] v1r © 2009 www.coxtractscom
You can freely photocopy and print this brochure




But about brotherly love you don’t need me to write to you, because you yourselves have learned from God that you love one another; 1Thes. 4:9

The Bible speaks of a Christian as a person who has a different personality. This person who is saved is someone who seeks to impose brotherly love in his life, in that he loves his brethren. This is a change from the carnal life he was in before he was saved, “living in malice and envy, loathsome, and hating one another.(Titus 3:3).




Because it is important?

1Jn. 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another; because love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God; because God is love.

Perhaps it is not very obvious why brethren should not fight, but God hates brethren when they are fighting. First, we have to understand that God in his essence is love. Aggression, friction, strife, and fighting are things that God opposes. They are from the Devil. When two brothers get into a fight, then they are lending themselves to the Devil’s purposes. It is not God. But much more than “God doesn’t like it,” God says his children have to learn, understand, and practice love.

1Jn. 2: 9 He that says he is in the light and hates his brother, is still in the darkness. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no stumbling. 11 But he who hates his brother is in the darkness, and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

God proposes a union and friendship between His children, in which a brother helps and supports his brother in what he does in life. When two people are brothers and fight, then God says that they walk in darkness and that they stumble.

1Jn. 3:10 In this the children of God are manifested, and the children of the devil: everyone who does not do justice, and who does not love his brother, is not of God.

If a person does not love his brethren, then it is manifested that he is not a child of God.

1Jn. 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers and sisters. He who does not love his brother remains in death.

The mark that a person is truly saved is that they love their brother, they do not fight, and they tend to not enter into conflicts and in contentions with their brethren. The Christian understands that God commanded that we have brethren, to have a relationship with them. In demonstrating the love of one brother to another, reveals his faith in Christ. Resistance in fighting or seeking to contend with your brethren is something that draws attention to whether one is saved or that one is still unconverted.

1Jn. 3:15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has permanent eternal life in him. 16 By this, we have known love, in which he laid down his life for us; we too must lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?

God puts love, being friendly, ignoring, hating, and murderous all on the same line. They are actually degrees of the same thing, your relationship with your neighbor is a reflection of your relationship with God. At one extreme is love, in which one dies for the other. At the other extreme is the murderer. Everything between the two is degrees from one extreme or the other. In addition, brethren share what they have in this life.

Mat. 5:43 You have heard that it was said: You shall love your neighbor, and you shall hate your enemy. 44 But I say to you: Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who abuse and persecute you;

When a person understands (1) the love of God,
(2) what the moral character of God is like, (3) that God is love, (4) that God is not aggressive, and contentious, then one understands God and our common salvation. It is very important to understand that everything is based on two points, as Jesus emphasized.

Mat. 22:37 Jesus said to him: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is similar: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

Salvation and the whole Christian life is based on our relationship with God, and on how we demonstrate this spiritual relationship, especially on how we accept and imitate him (Eph. 5:1 Be imitators of God as beloved children“) i.e. nature and moral character of God, and then how we manifest this change of moral character in us to be like God through how we relate to other people (our neighbor, especially our brethren).



Irritating one another

1Co. 13:5 Love is … not irritated.
Gal. 5:26 Let’s not become boastful, irritating each other, envying one another.

God commands us not to irritate each other. The idea here is to provoke, to call for conflict and contention. A Christian is a person who seeks peace, not conflict. As Christians, we sometimes have to face even our brethren when they disobey the will of God the Father, but in general, we must be people who love their neighbors and brethren, forgetting and covering up their offenses and not seeking conflict and contention with them.

Biting and wasting away

Gal. 5:15 But if you bite and eat one another, see that you also do not consume one another.

Between the brethren, when they start attacking and destroying each other then they end up killing each other. The idea is taken literally from one animal that attacks and turns against another to such an extent that it consumes the other.

The Relationship Between One Another

Jn. 13:34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
Jn. 15:12 This is my commandment: that you love one another, as I have loved you.
Jn. 15:17 This I command you: Love one another.
Rom. 13: 8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

It is essential to see the importance that Jesus placed on his children having a loving relationship with each other. This relationship defines and reveals the moral character of God, and one announces God living within them by living in this way.

Upholding one another and putting up with one another

Col. 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. As Christ forgave you, so do you.

Simply put, if one is saved, he supports and endures his brethren. We seek peace, forgiving each other if we are children of God.

Forgiving one another

Eph. 4:32 But be kind to one another, merciful, forgiving one another, as God also forgave you in Christ.

If you seek and want to be forgiven by God, then He gives you the test of someone offending you so He can see if you really want forgiveness IN YOUR OWN LIFE. If you want to be forgiven by God, then you will also forgive others, bearing their offenses, not holding a grudge and envy against them. God sees the sincerity of your heart toward the salvation that God gives you through how you forgive other people who offend and annoy you.

Exhorting and teaching you

Col. 3:16 The word of Christ abundantly dwells in you, teaching and exhorting one another in all wisdom…

When we understand the Bible and the will of God, then we understand that it is our task as children of God to be those who proclaim the virtues of God (“that you proclaim the virtues of him who called you 1Pet 2:9). In this, we explain and live God’s word (God’s will in words and actions) for others. We encourage and teach, but we do not litigate or be aggressive and conflictive in nature.

Cheer up and build yourselves

1Thes. 5:11 Wherefore encourage one another, and build one another up, just as you do.

The truth of a saved person is that he encourages and edifies his brethren instead of fighting with them.

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ch34-cox-brothers-must-not-fight.pdf (2302 downloads )

More Tracts from the Church Category

Author Pastor David Cox

Pastor David Cox

See also Why People leave your church (posts November 6, 2020)

ch44 Why we don’t charge for Ministering

Why we don’t charge for ministering

By David Cox

[ch44] v1 ©2011 www.coxtracts.com
You may freely reproduce for non-profit purposes

Matt 10:8 freely ye have received, freely give.

Part of the instructions that Jesus gave his disciples was to not put the Gospel or ministering on a give-if-you-pay basis. Serving if somebody pays, and not if they don’t is to commercialize the ministry. The principle behind this phrase, “freely ye have received, freely give.” is that everything we do in the ministry for God should be free, and should be given irrespective of financial giving by who gets the benefit of that works. God designed the ministry in such a way that the spiritually mature brethren pay for things, they teach the financial obligation to give to the spiritually immature, but leave giving as a free-will activity free of coercion or pressure. What cannot be done that way, should not be done at all.

We should seek our reward from God in heaven. When a people are unthankful, and finances don’t come in to support something, it should be stopped.




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fam01 Biblical love: How Christians should love

Biblical Love: How a Christian should Love
By David Cox
[Fam01] v1 ©2006 www.coxtracts.com
This tract can be freely reproduced for non-profit purposes.

There are at least 4 different Greek words for love that identify different types of love. Each one puts an emphasis on a different sense in the general concept of love.




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ch49 The Biblical Pastor: The Biblical Duty

The Biblical Pastor: The Biblical Duty

By David Cox

 [ch49] v2 ©2013 http://www.coxtracts.com/

You may reproduce this tract for non-profit purposes.

Jer 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.  




God has prepared the life of each believer in relation with a congregation and local community of believers, where there should be at least one man of God that “pastors them”. To pastor is to spiritually take care of the believers.

This is the heart of God, and it is his promise (Jeremiah 3:15). But the problem with many churches is that they do not understand nor know what are the duties of a pastor (and at times neither does the pastor), so we need to search the Scriptures to understand God’s teaching on this matter, what are the duties and responsibilities of a pastor.

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bs09 Clarity of Scripture

Clarity of Scripture

bs09 Clarity of Scripture I explain how God designed and guarantees that his Holy Scripture is clear for us to understand. This we can bank on.

The Clarity of the Scriptures (Perspicuity)
By David Cox
[BS09] v1 ©2012 www.coxtracts.com
You may reproduce for free distribution


Deut 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

The doctrine of the clarity of Scripture or by its other name “perspicuity”, affirms that Scripture’s message is actually clear to understand, and this is by divine design. Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for not understanding the Scriptures, reaffirming the concept that Scripture is easy and obvious to understand. The problem of not understanding them is not in the nature of Scripture, but in the sin of man’s heart. Continue reading