I was reading the Bible the other day in the Old Testament in the prophets, and I noticed something a little new to me. Jer 31:31ff talks about a "new covenant" that God will make with His people and that it "will not be like the old covenant..." and that God will "put the law in their minds and write it on their hearts..." Now all this doesn't sound so new (and you may already know what I am getting at), but what intrigued me was the idea of the new and old covenants. What does "new covenant" mean. And likewise "old covenant." It may be obvious, but the new covenant is the time of the church, i.e. post resurrection. Naturally, then, the old covenant would be pre-resurrection. In the old covenant, we had to sacrifice certain animals at certain times of the year, and after certain events (see Leviticus, esp. Ch. 16). Now, we all know that Christ is the eternal sacrifice, and He fulfilled all the requirements of the law (the old covenant). We can now eat pork without fear of spiritual uncleanness. We are free to eat it. (This is just one example). We are now liberated from the law through Christ's fullfilling sacrifice. Now, here is where it gets a bit messy. We have all heard for the entirety of our church-going experience that it is necessary to tithe or give 10% of our income to the church...because God's law is good and it still works. (This goes for pork too, but bacon tastes sooo good). But where does the Bible--the Bible--speak of tithing. That's right--the old testament (most quoted in the pulpit from Malachi). To clarify, the term testament and covenant can be used interchangeably. (In Exodus, it is called the ark of the covenant, and also the ark of the testament). Is tithing mentioned in the New Testament (Covenant)? Only in the gospels: pre-resurrection, and thus, still old covenant. In the New Testament, Paul talks about giving without compulsion. In Acts, followers of the Way gave to needs according to what they had decided in their heart to give. Am I saying that we should not give? NO! We should definitely give (most likely even more than 10%). What I am saying is that the principle of the tithe is an old covenant principle, and if we are truly "free" from the law, then we are not required to give any specific amount before we can receive God's blessing (as is commonly preached today).Have you ever missed tithe or only given 9% and felt a surge of guilt? "It is for 'guilt' that Christ has set us free." NOOO! "It is for 'freedom' that Christ has set us free." We are free from the law. We are free from the law and under the new covenant ushered in by the death and resurrection of Christ. Is the tithe necessary for God's blessing, or is it a Phariseeical burden that "you yourselves are not able to bear."?What do you think?