"The false tithing doctrine"

In history of the protestant church several ideas and concepts concerning money and finances have passed along in time.

With the video underneath, which is understandable without reading the underneath, we are responding to the prosperity position. While treating this position, many will think we are thus for poverty... But this is far from the truth.
There is a position that has been darkened...The stewardship position.

This position is not against giving. But is for giving in the New Testament order of God, not with the misleading, sincerely meant or not, that we have found in the prosperity and poverty churches.

But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. (1 Timothy 5:8, KJV)

To run in a few sentences through history: Catholicism has preached poverty, with Franciscus of Assisi for instance. Protestantism with Luther came against the indulgences. But kept priests, while at the same time proclaiming to believe in the priesthood of all believers. And thus they were still unable to give their position form. But still the state church led to the administration of paying church leadership and their buildings by taxes that were dealt with far better than in many Medieval times.

With the free-evangelical churches like Baptist and Methodists they started to preach tithes to keep their buildings and 'priesthood', (with which I intent to indicate their full-time workers) payed. Though they kept believing in poverty often mixed with principals of stewardship...

This did not change when Pentecostal movement began at the beginning of the 20th century. But in expensive places the ground prices grew during the century. It was A.A. Allen that first named poverty a spirit and was the beginning of the prosperity movement. The large sums of money that they were given made it possible to have large conferences. The problem that later occurred was that this idea of faith growth was brought to the churches, with asking for a big offering every Sunday, with a short preaching about money and giving that was before only done in conferences.

In the end this has led many charismatic Churches being set up like businesses. But church is not a business and it is build by faith not by a well planed business plan!

The fast growing churches in places like Singapore and the Netherlands and other big cities face the enormous amount of ground prices. With the temporary economic crisis buildings are unplayable for many churches. We therefore have to be wiser... rather rent or organize smaller meetings in homes...

To talk about my personal live, I heard the tithes doctrine first in the poverty church in which I grew up. Although there were many rich, I assume it was mostly because of principles of stewardship they applied. Later the Lord in His wisdom allowed me to believe in prosperity for a while... Knowing that as a Pentecostal, and Charismatic Christian I had to learn more than just finances. If I knew what God showed me now concerning finances, I probably never had grown in the Lord as I have, nor in spiritual wisdom and insight.

For now I just want to state that I still believe in a form of investment of one of the tithes as means of getting financially balanced live, but not as a must, this is another study that differs from as most christian know the doctrine of tithes... It is not what I agreed upon giving you here in a publical way, so I will not explain this here. We will allow the clip to just attack the Old Testament interpretation that has led to a strange way of step by step making church a business... that perverts the gospel and the intent of God to bless and prosper you for blessing and prospering the nations!

Clip: Exposing the false doctrine of tithes and the so-called "prosperity" teaching.

by Pastor G. Craigt Lewis - 24 Jul 2012 or before