The Covenant Connector: How to Get Connected to the Promise of God Through the Tithe

Rating:
Summary: Faulty Major Premise?
Review: Creflo Dollar has written a book praising the importance of the tithe; however, I believe that the level to which he raises the tithe is biblically inaccurate.

Ministers have taught about the tithe for years and its importance for the spiritual well-being of the church at large. Dollar takes this one step further and makes the tithe, which is one of many subjects in the Bible, THE subject.

Problematic is the title itself. Tithing couldn't be the "covenant connector" when it was FAITH that justified Abraham--not tithing.

Secondly, we who are Gentile believers were never under the Law to begin with so how can a New testament, Blood-bought child of the Living God, filled with His Spirit and righteousness be cursed for failing to do something that wasn't even written to them --at least directly?

Finally, Creflo states that we won't even be healed if we don't tithe. This isn't surprising seeing that he makes tithing the doorway into all of the promises of God. Tithing may be a principle but we must never make it THE vehicle through which God blesses us. It is always through faith in what He has already done that brings the fulfillment of the promise--NOT the giving of a certain percentage of money into the local church.

Creflo makes a distinction by saying that tithing is not a money issue but a covenant issue. OK, fine. But Abraham was blessed and had a covenant with God BEFORE he ever tithed. And the tithe that is recorded is the only one Abraham ever gave according to the Biblical record. And even then, Abraham tithed off of the spoils of war and not off of his personal income.

I believe that Dollar has a faulty major premise in making tithing the central focus when Jesus didn't even make it a central focus.

When Jesus told the scribes and pharisees that they should tithe and do what the Law commanded, He made an interesting statement to them. Jesus said that these Jewish men had focused on tithing even of their spices yet they where omitting thw WEIGHTIER matters of the Law: Justice, Mercy, etc. By implication, Jesus Himself was saying that tithing was not as weighty as some of the other demands that the Law had placed on them. So how can we make tithing "The Covenant Connector" when Jesus never considered it so?

The first time I heard this preached by Creflo, a red flag went up in my spirit as to the incorrectness of the teaching.

Tithing has a place in principle--but not in a legalistic way and certainly not as THE thing that connects us to the Covenant. Only faith is the Connector--NOT tithing.

To make the promises hinge on what I do or don't do with my money is to make the biblical promises subject to Mammon which they are not.

In the end, Creflo is probably sincere but is wrong when examined in light of the rest of the Word of God. Hence, a low rating.

Rating:
Summary: My house is paid in full... praise God...
Review: This book is great for people who are "afraid" to tithe, because they might not make thier house payment, or for any other excuse. The Bible says tithe 10%. If you can you can, give offerings above that, but do it with a giving and joyfl heart, it's a way of praising God, He will provide your every need. He always keeps His word. Read this simple and easy to read book by Vreflo Dollar Jr., and start tithing and see what God has in store for you, and get in the perfect will of God, by reading and applying the Bible to your life.