There is only ONE Covenant

1st John 2:26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that would lead you astray.

One of the issues we were presented with recently was tithing, for which a church spokes person gave a good cover story from the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. On the surface it really sounded reasonable.  It might inspire someone to do likewise, especially anyone who blindly accepts whatever they are taught by their leaders.

This unusual approach  was presented based on a vow from Genesis 28:
 ²⁰ Then Jacob made this vow: "If God will indeed be with me and protect me on this journey, and if he will provide me with food and clothing, ²¹ and if I return safely to my fathers home, then the Lord will certainly be my God. 22 And this memorial pillar I have set up will become a place for worshiping God, and I will present to God a tenth of everything he gives me."

You must give credit to those that use Jacob's vow to justify the tithe.
Doesn't that sound reasonable?
Make a deal with God in exchange for protection and provision, just make a pledge or vow to give 10% of everything God gives. It's even in the Bible, and a godly man did so. 

The use of pulpit-influence would then be another way to keep the churches' cash-flow healthy and pay for the new electronics and their pastor's frequent travel and dining out. 
Paint it over with some emotion-evoking phrases like gratefulness to God and it sells good week after week. 
Some churches go to the extreme of making it a heaven or hell issue.  Either way, guilt and shame can become a form of manipulation and those in the pew that trust and believe what is said from behind the pulpit are led astray by what we hope, are good-intentioned leaders..

Jacob's Vow in LIGHT of the New Covenant

This is a great opportunity to not only look at the small issue of Jacob's vow to give 10% (BTW, 10 is a number associated with Law),  but also compare the NEW Covenant with several of the ones found in the OLD Testament.  -There were actually a handful of them, some greater and some smaller.  

Let's ask ourselves the following:
1. Jacob's vow. Does anyone in the New Testament scriptures make this vow?
    Answer:  Easy, no one did. zip, nada, zilch.
2. Does the New Covenant lack in promises that we need to go back and follow Jacob's vow in order to be blessed and provided for?   Answer: What ARE the New Testament promises?
3. Do we need to go back to Moses' Law and try to do some or all of that body of law? (The OLD Covenant)
4. Should we observe Abraham's Covenant?
5. Should we go back to the Covenant God made with Adam?

Aren't there some good things here and there we could pick and choose from?

There is a tragic error committed by many Christians who love God. They do not know or understand the Covenant God made with us in Jesus Christ.  I would dare say the majority of us pew sitters were in that category as we let our leadership define what Christianity is.
  So in ignorance and confusion, scripture is misapplied, cherry-picked, misunderstood and worse yet, mis-taught to the trusting folks in the pew.

Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he (Jesus) obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises.

Hebrews 7:22 By so much also hath Jesus become the surety of a better covenant
"surety" a surety, a sponsor,  a guarantee
"better": stronger, -, that is, (figuratively) better, that is, nobler: - best, better
"covenant" (specifically) a contract (especially a divisory will): - covenant, testament.
 
Jesus is the guarantor of a better contract-testament-will-covenant than ANY of the previous ones. It is a better one than the one that included tithing, the Law of Moses, Jacob's vow, Noah's Covenant, Abraham's promised blessings, and the one God gave Adam.

The NEW COVENANT supersedes, overrides, disannuls, makes void, and replaces the ones that went before, and gives us the promise:

Romans 10:4 "For Christ is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth."

Colossians 2:20 If ye died with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do ye subject yourselves to ordinances,  (tithing, feasts, circumcision, dietary laws, etc)

Hebrews 9:10 being only (with meats and drinks and divers washings) carnal ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation

Romans 4:16 For this cause it is of faith, that it may be according to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all

Our SALVATION Covenant in Christ is in the Greek word "SOZO" which means: Saved, Healed, Made Whole, Delivered and Preserved.
(sozo is the Greek word from the original scripture writings that the writers gave us)

We don't need to go back under an old vow and try to make a deal with God.
ALL the promises are in Christ  -better promises and "a better covenant." 

HERE are some scriptures declaring the superior promises of our covenant. We don't need to make a deal with God by making an oath or promise based on an OLD covenant; in fact, there is a sin commited by making an oath: James 5:12 "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by the heaven, nor by the earth, nor by any other oath: but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; that ye fall not under judgment"

Let's compare some of these "better promises"  with an old one like Jacob's.

2 Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
Is there some thing in "all things that pertain to life and godliness" that is lacking so we need to make a deal like Jacob?

• Philipians 4:20 "And my God shall supply every need  of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
  
  You don't have to "tithe" to have your needs met in our "better covenant", that's ridiculous. We only need to put faith in what God said He would do.
  
• Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? 
  
  You don't need to buy God's favor with a tithe or gift out of a covenant He never made with the church. The blood of Jesus gave us a "better covenant" that surpasses all of the ones found in the Old Testament. They are freely given through faith NOT works... (Can you cast out a demon by quoting the law? )
  
• Ephesians 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
  
• 2 Corinthians 1:20 (NLT) For all of God's promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding "Yes!" And through Christ, our "Amen" (which means "Yes") ascends to God for his glory.
  What part of the previous blessings does "ALL" leave out?
  
• Galatians 3:14 that upon the Gentiles might come the blessing of Abraham in Christ Jesus
  There is no Abraham's tithe,  Jacob's tithe, or Levitical tithe required in our Covenant.
  
• Romans 4:4 Now to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of grace, but as of debt.
  5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.
  
• Romans 15:29 And I know that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ. -Which blessing do you want? Jacob's blessing which did not include a lot of the promises found in the New? Or the "fulness of the blessing of Christ"?
  
  Matthew 6:31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
  33) But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
  
  -You can't buy it with a tithe, earn it by your own works, or manipulate God into blessing you. It is by GRACE, not by works, and ALL the Promises of God are in CHRIST.
  

+++++++ (from the epistle given to the churches from the apostles and elders in Acts)

21:25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. 

 All we are required to do is to BELIEVE in what He said, put our FAITH in Him, TRUST him,  and walk in them accordingly. Jesus gave His instructions to His apostles, who wrote what He said, and they gave the terms of the New Covenant to the churches. (John 17:20)  They wrote what they were given through the Holy Ghost.
  
The CHURCH was never told to tithe, keep a weekly sabbath, observe the feasts and new moons, keep the host of dietary laws, go to Jerusalem 3 times a year, pay a temple tax, or do any of the commands, ordinances, or statutes that are written in the law of the old Covenant.  

The church IS told to repent, live holy, and abide in the Words Jesus gave us through His disciples. 
1 Corinthians 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.
John 17:20
@ 2Peter 2:15-16 Paul also, according to the wisdom given to him, wrote unto you;
16 as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; wherein are some things hard to be understood, which the ignorant and unstedfast wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

?????  Where did the apostles, the foundational writers of the New Testament scriptures, tell us to observe or keep any part of the sabbath day laws, an Old Testament feast, keep dietary laws, circumcision, or a tithing vow like Jacob's?

No dear reader, these are not in even one verse in our New Testament covenant. 
And where was the dividing line?
It was at the death of the testator, Jesus Christ. His death gave us His Will and the apostles and early church did what he told them to do.  It began in the Book of Acts. 

But here is where they said you would come under a curse if you do:

Galatians 3:10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one who continueth not in all things that are written in the book of the law, to do them.

James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is become guilty of all.

(BTW, the curse includes things like sickness, disease, unbelieveing people coming against us, "accidents", debt, broken relationships with family. I wonder if any Christians ever have these happen in their lives or their churches?) see The Curse and Christians  

Here is what they called people who would put you under a law or vow God never made with the church:

Galatians 1:7 which is not another gospel only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

Now in the early church, a problem arose regarding the Old Testament laws and Christians:

Acts 15: 24 Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment;
19 Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to God;

28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
29 that ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.
30 So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle.   31 And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.