Crystal Clear

A friend of mine said to me once that there isn’t really a prohibition on pre-marital sex in the Bible. No adultery allowed (extra-marital) is clear. In Deuteronomy it says if you have pre-marital sex, you then have to get married.

So this would rule out being promiscuous, since after have one pre-marital sex encounter, you’d then have to get married, which would mean you then can’t have extra-marital sex as that is adultery. (cf. Deuteronomy 22)

Interesting.

As I was reading through Deuteronomy I also found some references to tithing, which was the giving of 10% to God. Christians often then extrapolate this to say giving to the church should also be 10%. Yet, most of the New Testament references encourage generosity, but no set percentage or amount. Deuteronomy 14 says the following:

• All must set aside a tenth of the crops, and then bring it to the designated place of worship and eat it in God’s presense. A great feast, it sounds like, and one you share with the Levites (priestly clan) since they don’t have land.
• Once every three years, the full tithe goes to the Levites (who have land) and also to the foreigners, orphans and widows in the town.

I guess I just find it interesting how common practises are deemed to be right and moral, and maybe even “what Christians should do”, but which may not resemble much what you find in the Bible. And I’m not talking about those who deliberately twist the meaning. I mean even those who really are trying to live out their faith.

The more Christians read the Bible, the more we will know what it says. Let us all be encouraged to do it more and more!

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