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QUESTION: I am a Baptist but lately I have been drawn to the Primitive Baptist ways. I truly like what I am reading and their ways and practices. I am having trouble with the part about Tithing. Please explain what was the true intent of the tithe both old and new testament. ANSWER: (Elder Vernon Johnson, Denton Primitive Baptist Church) We thank you for visiting our web site and in your interest in the Primitive Baptist. Your question about tithing is a very good question and very little understood among most of the Lord's people today. The tithe was an Old Testament practice established by the Lord for the welfare of the Levites, the strangers, the fatherless, and the widows. The word, tithe, means a tenth. God gave possession of the land of Canaan to the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Eleven of the tribes were given physical inheritance of the land of Canaan. The tribe of Levi was given no physical inheritance for they were chosen of the Lord to serve the Lord about the tabernacle and the offerings and worship of the Lord. Also the priesthood and its service came from the Levites. In lieu of a physical inheritance, the Lord instituted a tithe of the other eleven tribes of Israel to be given unto the Lord: Lev. 27:30 "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD'S: it is holy unto the LORD." Lev. 27:32, "32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD." The Lord gave this tithe to the Levites in Num. 18:24 "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance." The tithe was also to provide for the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow as stated in Deu. 26:12 "When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled." The tithe was an Old Testament practice. When the New Testament went into effect, it did not include the tithe. Furthermore, the Old Testament practices were not be brought into the New Testament practices. This principle is set forth in the example of the Old Testament practice of circumcision: Gal. 5:1 "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law." Thus the principle is set forth that we are not to bring Old Testament practices into the New Testament worship. Giving in the New Testament is to be done cheerfully, and as the Lord has prospered us, and as we purpose in our hearts: 1. 2 Cor. 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. 2. 1 Cor. 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. Again we thank you for your interest and if we can further assist you in your search for truth, please let us know.. QUESTION:
I was wondering if elect have
to believe in Jesus while on earth in order to get to
heaven, or could they not know of it and still be
regenerated. As opposed to the idea that if one is of
the elect then he WOULD hear the gospel and know of
Jesus, due to God's sovereignty. ANSWER: (Elder Vernon Johnson, Denton Primitive Baptist Church) Thank you so much for visiting our web site. Your question is a very good one. The elect are the same as those that God foreknew in the covenant of redemption (Rom. 8:29-30). The elect were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The election was by grace and not by works (Rom. 11:5, 6; Rom. 9:11). I am attaching an article that explains the relationship between belief and the spiritual birth. Also I call your attention to the following individuals that by all evidence were born of the Spirit prior to ever having heard the gospel preached: the thief on the cross; Saul of Tarsus; John the Baptist (while yet in his mother's womb); and Cornelius. The thief on the cross never did hear the gospel preached, yet the Lord said, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise!
Not all the elect hear the gospel, yet
they are all born of the Spirit
If you are interested in knowing more
about these subjects I would also Again I thank you for visiting our website and if we can further assist you in your quest for the truth please feel free to contact us. QUESTION: I'm having trouble understanding the language - the repetition in Acts 3:16. Particularly the first eight words. Why is this so strangely worded? It's similar to the way 1 John 5:13 is written. Can you help? Act 3:16 And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
The name represents the authority of the person named. For instance, we are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. That is we are baptized in the authority of the Godhead. Also see Acts 2:38; 3:6; 9:27; and 16:18. In Acts 3:6 we read, "Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. It would seem that Peter was saying that by the authority of Jesus Christ (in the name of Jesus) through faith in the authority that Jesus gave to the apostles (thru faith in his name) that the man was healed. The faith under consideration was the faith that Jesus gave to the apostle. We read of this authority to heal given to the apostles in Mark 16:15-18. Peter was pointing out among others things that it was not by any power he possessed that the man was healed, but the power was of Jesus Christ and the authority was of Jesus Christ. QUESTION: Paul tells us throughout the New Testament how the old Jewish laws were fullfilled in Christ. What's going on here: Acts 21:24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. ANSWER: (Elder Vernon Johnson, Denton Primitive Baptist Church) The question the above verse seems to raise is, "If we now worship under the covenant of grace, then why did Paul and the disciples at Jerusalem keep the law and advocate keeping the law?" The answer lies in when the covenant of grace was instituted and when the law was done away with. According to Luke 16:16 the covenant of grace began with the preaching of John the Baptist. It was at this point that men began to press into the kingdom of God. However, the Lord came to fulfill the law and the prophets and for three and one half years, he fulfilled the law and the prophets to a jot and a tittle. With his death, burial, and resurrection the law and the prophets were fulfilled. However, the law as a covenant of worship was not done away with until the destruction of Jerusalem (See Matt. Chapter 24). This is further verified with what Paul said in Heb. 8:13 "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." This book was written just a short time before the destruction of Jerusalem and showed that the law covenant was old and ready to vanish away, which it did at the destruction of Jerusalem. The Gentiles disciples were never under the law covenant of worship, which was the question raised in Acts 15 and answered by the council at Jerusalem. This explains why Paul refused to have Titus circumcised who was a Greek, but had Timothy circumcised whose mother was a Jew. For forty years from the preaching of John (30 A.D.) until the destruction of Jerusalem (70 A.D.) the covenant of law and the covenant of grace ran concurrently. The destruction of Jerusalem as the Lord said ended the world (age) of the law covenant. The destruction destroyed the temple and the priesthood. Without a priesthood there can be no law service. No Jew today can trace their lineage so as to prove that they are of the tribe of Levi. |
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