God's Holy Spirit and the Circumcision of the Heart

This post is a continuation of the previous article, Becoming Circumcised as a Christian. As noted there, every Christian must be circumcised, but the meaning of "circumcision" is spiritual: physical circumcision is symbolic of the spiritual process of cutting out and putting away our inborn sinful nature. This post will elucidate the intimate connection between circumcision and receiving the Holy Spirit. Just as physical circumcision was rendered useless for a Jew who did not keep the law, so also spiritual circumcision is rendered useless for a Christian who does not keep the law.

Becoming Circumcised as a Christian

Thus far, I have examined the relationship of circumcision to the New Covenant in two parts: that it is the sign of the Abrahamic covenant, which is the foundation of the New Covenant, and that it was an outward sign intended to mirror an internal spiritual process. In this article, I would like elaborate on how Christian circumcision, which is spiritual, differs from the physical circumcision undergone by Israel under the Old Covenant.

The Nature of Circumcision

In a previous article, I explained that both the Old and New Covenants have the covenant with Abraham as their foundation and that the practice of circumcision originally began as the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant. It was decided in Acts 15 that the physical act of circumcision is not required for an uncircumcised man who becomes part of the New Covenant; however, there are other NT scriptures which simultaneously assert that every person of God is required to be circumcised, and these concepts need to somehow be reconciled.

The purpose of the present article is to examine the nature of circumcision. As I will show, God viewed circumcision as a spiritual matter from the beginning, and this is precisely the point that the NT writers were striving to convince the Jewish converts of.

Does Numbers 18 Prove Tithing Isn't on Income?

After the discussion of tithes in Leviticus 27 in the context of redemption, tithing isn't discussed again until Numbers 18. Here, the main theme is that tithe was to be the wages and inheritance of the Levites.

Again, we find absolutely no instructions saying "you shall tithe on the following items." Rather, the only indication in this chapter that tithe was to be received in the form of food comes in verse 31:

Numbers 18:30-31
Therefore you shall say to them: ‘When you have lifted up the best of it, then the rest shall be accounted to the Levites as the produce of the threshing floor and as the produce of the winepress. You may eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your work in the tabernacle of meeting.

Does Leviticus 27 Prove Tithe isn't on Income?

One of the foundations of the anti-tithing argument is that the bible gives very specific lists of those things which are to be tithed on and that these lists do not include (among many things) money earned for one's labor. While they are correct in asserting that the lists do not include monetary income, they are incorrect in assuming that these lists were ever intended to be an exhaustive guideline. In the interest of not having an excruciatingly long article on the subject, I've decided to do a series of posts dealing with each relevant passage. If you're just stumbling upon this tithing discussion, an overview and summary of the articles I've written on tithing can be found on the tithing page.

Is Circumcision Merely Part of the Old Covenant?

In the early history of the New Testament Church, a controversy arose over whether Gentiles in the Church needed to be circumcised. The controversy is formally settled in Acts 15, although there are indications that certain Jews continued teaching this heresy. Most people wrongly conclude that the entire system of Old Covenant law was abolished as a result of the decision of the Acts 15 conference regarding circumcision. As an introduction to the topic of circumcision in the New Covenant, I'd like to examine the origin of circumcision and establish its significance as more than just a part of the Old Covenant law.

Scripture Typer - the Value of Memory Verses

Recently, I stumbled onto Scripture Typer, a website that helps you memorize scriptures by typing them. Scripture typer keeps track of the verses that you memorize and prompts you to periodically retype verses that you haven't been over in a while to ensure that you retain them. I've never been a fan of flashcards, and Scripture Typer helps me memorize bible verses whenever I get a few free minutes in front of the computer. You can add verses in a variety of translations, and they have lists of popular verses if you can't decide where to start.

The main purpose of this article is to plug Scripture Typer because I think it's a great tool for memorizing verses, which I've always found to be difficult. The secondary purpose is to give you some motivational reasons to actually go there and use it!

Arguments Against Tithing Debunked - Part 7 - God's Increase, or Man's Labor?

In the previous post, I began a discussion of whether biblical tithing is restricted to agricultural products.  I acknowledged and discussed the fact that there is no scripture that plainly states to tithe on monetary income, but I also pointed out that the logic involved in executing some of the commands suggests that monetary income should be tithed on. In particular, I examined the implications of 2nd tithe to this effect. My central points were: (1) that God said that we are to rejoice at the feasts "in everything that we put our hands to that God has blessed us in" (Deuteronomy 12:7), (2) that God's blessing on our work is clearly not limited to agriculture, and (3) that because God's blessing on our work is not limited to agricultural products, neither is tithing. With that in mind, I'd now like to discuss the concept of work as it relates to tithing.

The Product of Man's Work
One criticism built into the anti-tithing argument, as I noted last time, is that tithe is limited to agricultural products because these are the product of God's miracle rather than man's work.

Acts 15: Did They Abolish the Law?

Acts 15 tells the story of how the early church resolved a doctrinal dispute concerning whether or not the Gentiles needed to be circumcised in order to be saved. The misunderstanding of this account has contributed to the modern day confusion about the question of whether Christians should observe the law or not. I'd like to examine the account and give a clear answer for why this chapter does not free Christians from keeping God's law.

Let's begin by looking at the statements made by the Pharisees that caused the dispute to begin with:

Acts 15:1
And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

Arguments Against Tithing Debunked - Part 6 - Is Tithe Only on Crops And Animals?

Today I will begin to address what is probably the most interesting argument against tithing. As I have explained throughout this series, this question is only relevant if you first accept that the law (which includes tithing) is valid for Christians and that ministers of God's Church are eligible to receive tithes (see parts 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the series.) If you fail to accept these, for whatever reason, then the topic at hand is a moot point.

Allow me to first state the argument that I will be refuting:

God commanded that the Israelites tithe on crops grown in the Holy Land and on herds and flocks raised in the Holy Land. The law required the tithe to come only from God's increase - not man's; therefore, it is wrong to tithe on any form of income other than crops or livestock that were raised in Israel.

Last time, I addressed the part of this argument which claims that tithing was geographically restricted to the land of Israel, and I will now be addressing the claim that tithing was restricted only to agricultural products (thereby not applying to monetary income today).