Oh, the spiritual abuse going on in modern mega-churches (religious Babylon).  People have been conditioned to “go to the pro from Dover” when they need any kind of goods and services, including getting their spiritual needs met.  Christians don’t like to feel all alone in their faith.  Christians sometimes  feel insecure and look for somebody “more spiritual” to lean on.  Just as surely as modern people head for the biggest, fanciest mall in town when they need new clothes, they’ll go for the biggest and fanciest “church” in town to get their spiritual needs met.  Instead of directly trusting Christ Himself and looking unto Him alone to meet their inner need, they’ll go to some big-name preacher in a fancy suit, and the louder and bigger the guy is, the more attractive that preacher is to them.

I read of one lady who attended “Brother Baggy’s” church for several years.  She and her husband faithfully paid tithes.  Her husband developed an emotional problem and sought counseling for it.  The spiritual butchers at Brother Baggy’s church told this lady her husband was a loser and she ought to divorce him, contrary to I Cor.7:13.  Funny how Christ’s own alleged disciples kick someone when they’re down!

What evil, pigheaded viciousness, the way those cruel “counselors” badmouthed her husband and advised her to leave him!  Those who mercilessly judge others are in for it themselves (James 2:13). Those “Job’s Comforters” should get down on their knees and thank God they’re enjoying life while others are suffering! 

After attending that church for SIX whole years, the couple found themselves standing in front of the Big Cheese who exacted ten per cent their income and roared God’s Word from the pulpit.  The lady told Brother Baggy what an honor it was to finally get to meet him. Instead of thanking these sacrificial tithers Baggy just mumbled at them and hurried away. I Thes.5:12 clearly instructs Christians to KNOW those who labor among them. How on earth can you manage that in a huge mega-church setting where there’s many thousands of others who want to say hi to the pastor, and he’s surrounded by a squadron of protective ushers?  The fact this lady and her husband didn’t ONCE get to meet the great Brother Baggy during all that time begs a couple of questions:

1. Are modern churches too big to foster an atmosphere of spiritual connectedness with other Christians?  From what I’ve heard about them, I get the notion that mega-churches are nothing but money-mooching religious institutions.
2. Why should that lady pay Brother Baggy tithe taxes (commanded NOWHERE in Scripture!) if he doesn’t give a hoot about her and her husband? A psychiatric patient wouldn’t pay his head shrinker a dime if he didn’t at least PRETEND  to care about his personal problems.  So it’s amazing that millions of Christians take money which could have met their families’ needs and shower it on spiritual quacks who don’t even KNOW the problems of individuals “out in the pews”!
3.  

Baggy can’t produce even ONE scripture to justify monetary tithing.  God NEVER commanded religious ministers to take one cent of tithes from people’s  paychecks, not even under the Old Covenant!  Every time Baggy tells people to wave their tithe money in the air to boast of their generosity and shame non-tithers, he violates Jesus’ admonition to give in secret ONLY (Matt.6:3-4). He turns Christians into proud Pharisees who barge into God’s Presence and boast: Look what I’m sacrificing for you, God, while this rotten reprobate next to me is withholding his tithe!”  That’s just like the story in Luke 18:9-13 where the Pharisee thanks God he’s way better than the rotten tax collector.  Furthermore, Paul rebukes those who humiliate poor people (I Cor.11:22). Today’s “name and shame” money grubbing techniques spring from the “pride of life” spirit, not the Holy Spirit (I John 2:16).  John plainly calls pride a WORLDLY sin, not a “success secret” from the Lord.

Baggy calls poor people losers.  He tries to pry money out of people through public shaming for non-tithing.  That’s a spirit of satanic witchcraft control whenever some preacher manipulates somebody else’s conscience for personal gain. Only the Holy Spirit is to be the Lord of His people’s conscience. Brother Baggy is sinning against the Lord by putting condemnation and shame on those redeemed by the Blood of Christ.

Religious tithing is part of the old Law of Moses for the Jews ONLY (Lev.27:30-34).  The Law clearly stipulates that only AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE of the LAND OF ISRAEL is a tithable commodity (Deut.14:22). Verse 26 instructs the tither to sell his tithed produce and buy whatever HE wants to eat or drink with the proceeds, including wine or alcoholic beverages!  What would Baggy say about Joe Blow Believer buying a six-pack of Bud with his tithe money? Jesus called tithing a MATTER OF THE LAW (Matt.23:23) when He mentioned the Jewish law of tithing fruits of the earth such as MINT, ANISE AND CUMIN (not the fruit of the Federal Mint!)

Many testify to becoming destitute (or having their marriages break up from stress) after years of tithing. People don’t prosper when they tithe because LEECHER PREACHERS are gobbling up their livelihood (Prov.30:15). If you’re covered with blood-sucking parasites it will make you sicker, not healthier! More importantly, Paul warned that those who come back under the Law of Moses or any part of it automatically fall under the CURSE OF THE LAW (see Deut.chapter 28) for failure to keep the whole Law perfectly. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! Whenever you change the terms and conditions of God’s perfect Law to suit yourself (i.e. substituting money for produce as a tithable commodity) you’ve kept the Law imperfectly and fall under its curse.  To make matters worse, you have to keep all other 612 regulations of the Law of Moses because it comes as a package deal and you can’t just pick the parts you like and reject the rest.  Keep one part of it and it ALL has to be perfectly kept!

Gal.3:10: For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in ALL THINGS which are written in the book of the law to do them.  For all Baggy’s bellowing about how you better fatten his bloated bank account with un-Biblical monetary tithes, does he even  ONCE warn his flock that tithing will bring them under the Curse of the Law? So long as Baggy  lives in hog heaven, he’s happy and to heck with everybody else!

Whenever preachers give even passive acceptance to hero worship from Christians they’re manifesting a spirit of Antichrist (instead of Christ).  By lording it over their flocks as gods, they’re promoting IDOLATRY in God’s people and causing Christ’s little ones to stumble (Matt.18:6). Peter instructs true ministers of God to have a humble attitude, not to be greedy of carnal gain, and not to exalt themselves as lords over God’s heritage (I Pet.5:2-4). 

Lust for power and money has caused the spiritual ruin of many a preacher and shipwrecked many souls who invested time and treasure in his message.