Are Christians Always Obedient?

God gives His Spirit to those who are obedient! (cf. Acts 5:32).    The point is that believers are obedient to the faith (cf. Acts 6:7, Romans 1:5; 16:26).   Nonbelievers are referred to by Paul as "sons of disobedience." The writer of Hebrews equates unbelief with disobedience in Heb. 3:18. John MacArthur says that faith is only manifested in obedience. Paul referred to the "obedience of faith." Martin Luther and Dietrich Bonhoeffer said that only he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes. But Uzziah disobeyed God by offering a sacrifice and God made him a leper. King David disobeyed God by committing adultery and conducting a census. Moses even disobeyed God and was kept from entering the promised land. And so all believers are disobedient in some sense.

But Luther said we are sinners at the same time justified. We obeyed the gospel and are considered obedient. Heb. 5:9 says that God gives eternal salvation to all who "obey" Him. Acts 2:39 says, "He gives the Holy Spirit to all who obey Him." And so, if we are Christians who have salvation and the Holy Spirit; consequently we have already "obeyed Him." We are forgiven of all our sins of omission and commission--if we were remiss God filled in the gap in our stead.

When Jesus says, "Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?" He is talking to unbelievers who didn't obey the gospel to repent and believe in it. There are no believers to whom Christ will say this--we don't just call Him Lord, but we have Him as our personal Lord and Savior. There are no such creatures as "carnal Christians" who have not accepted Christ as Lord; nevertheless, there are Christians who are in the flesh and living defeated lives.   CAVEAT:  CHRISTIANS ARE JUSTIFIED SINNERS (CF. GAL. 2:17).     Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Tithing Mandatory?

You will not find a Protestant sermon on tithing until the nineteenth century. The early church Fathers said that Christians don't tithe, they give offerings. The Roman Church, however, taxed its members but this is not the same thing. The interest in tithing began when the church became more evangelical and needed money for missions, which really got jump-started in the 19th century.

Now, most fundamentalist churches preach tithing, though the mainline denominations, by and large, don't. There are some scholars, even today, that preach against tithing as mandatory. However, Congress outlawed mandatory tithing.

Now, why would anyone be against tithing? Firstly, no one can out-give God and the principle of giving an orderly amount that is commensurate with your income still stands. But, and this is an important "but," the tithe was a tax on Israel as a theocratic state to support the temple. They had no choice and it was duly collected. It is parallel to us as we pay our taxes. Sure, God is going to bless the individual who gives selflessly, but not because he thinks he is obligated to.  God is no man's debtor.  "For God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:7). We are not to give by compulsion or because we "have to"--we should give because we "want to."  Soli Deo Gloria!