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Sunday, February 19, 2017

Russell Kelly Rebuts Come Let Us Grow Together on Tithing



Come Let Us Grow Together tithing

Russell Kelly Rebuts cpministries
Feb 18, 2017, Come Let Us Grow Together

Grow: A crucial topic that many Christians do not understand is that paying tithes is a commandment of God and does not cease under the New Testament Covenant. 

Kelly: Not a single statement in this article applies to the church today.

Grow: Something many overlook is that tithing was instituted before the Law of Moses came to be. 

Kelly: The tithing which existed before the law in Genesis 14 and 22 was pagan in origin and practiced by many pagan religions before  2000 BC.

Grow: Therefore tithing is outside of the Law.

Kelly: Abram’s and Jacob’s tithes from pagan sources would not have been classified as holy tithes under the law by Moses, Nehemiah, Malachi or Jesus.

Grow: Tithing was also in the Law.

Kelly: According to Leviticus 27:30-34 and 15 other pre-Calvary texts, holy tithes (as the word is used by Moses, Nehemiah, Malachi and Jesus) were always only food from inside God’s holy land of Israel. The first whole Levitical tithe went to the servants of the priests (Numb 18:21-24) and ministers only received one per cent (Numb 18:25-28). Tithe recipients could not inherit land in Israel or amass wealth (Numb 18:20). None of this is followed today.

Grow: Jesus Christ is after the order of Melchisedec.

Kelly: Yes, the “order” of “priest-king” and not the literal historical person of Melchizedek.

Grow: Heb 7:2 first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

Kelly: Notice that Jesus was literally the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace. The literal historical person of Melchizedek was only such “by interpretation.”

Grow: Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek. …  Tithing was being instituted here.  

Kelly: Not holy biblical tithes as the word is used by Moses and Jesus. The Bible does not tell us why uncircumcised Gentile Abram tithed.

Grow: 7:3 tenth of the spoils.

Kelly: Yes.  Not holy tithes from inside holy Israel. Spoils were from pagan sources. Not an example.

Grow: 5  And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law

Kelly: Heb 5 controls the words “commandment,” “tithes” and “law” in Hebrews 7.

Grow: Heb 7:7 Melchisedec who was God.

Kelly: No, the literal historical Melchizedek was only a type of Christ --- by interpretation of his name – by a similitude. His unrecorded birth, genealogy and death makes him a type.

Grow: Heb 7:8 

Kelly: The temple was still operating and its Levites and priests were still receiving Christ as His representatives.

Grow: There are two orders.  The order of Aaron and the order of Melchisedec. 

Kelly: Since Israel had no king-priests, it was necessary to go outside of its structure to find a typical “order” among the Gentiles who had many king-priests.

Grow: Romans 3:19-20

Kelly: Romans 3:21-23.

Grow: Hebrews 8:6-8
6  But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7  For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.

Kelly: Now every believer is a priest before God and priests did not tithe. They gave sacrificially.

Grow: Heb 8:8

Kelly: Heb 8:9 The New Covenant is not the Old Covenant repeated.

Grow: Hebrews 7:12

Kelly: It was necessary to change the Old Covenant priesthood and the law governing it.

Grow: Heb 7:18  For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.

Kelly: How was the law (of tithing from Heb 7:5) changed? Read your own text; it is clear. It was abolished, annulled, abrogated. It was not transferred to the gospel ministry.

Grow: Heb 7:26-28

Kelly: This is the lesson of Hebrews 7 --- not tithing. Aaron’s priesthood was replaced by Christ’s according to the “order” of Melchizedek. Unlike Aaron, Jesus’ priesthood is that of a king-priest.

Grow: Remember that when you pay tithes, you are not tithing unto men but unto God.

Kelly:
A.          You define holy tithes wrong.
B.          You give them to gospel workers instead of their (Levite) servants.
C.          You allow so-called tithe recipients to own and inherit much property and amass much wealth.
D.          Nothing you teach about tithes can be defended in context from God’s Word.
E.          I invite an open public discussion of this subject but none will do so because they lose at every point.

Grow: Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

Kelly: And how do you interpret this text? What is the difference between the Old and New Covenants?

Grow: Malachi 3:8-11

Kelly: In Mal 3:1o tithes are still only food from inside Israel 1000 years after Leviticus 27:30-34. TEACH THAT. In 1:6-14; 2:1-10; 2:13-17 and throughout God curses the dishonest ministers for stealing the tithe (1:6-14 and Neh 134:5-10).

Grow: 1 Corinthians 9:9-14

Kelly: Each vocation has its own principles of support: soldier, farmer, herdsman, temple worker and gospel worker. The gospel worker is to live by principles of the gospel – grace and faith.

Russell Earl Kelly
russkellyphd@yahoo.com
Russ K

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