Definition of Terms Tithe The custom of giving a tenth part of one's yearly income of the products of the land

and of the spoils of war to priests and kings was a custom among most nations of the ancient Near East. In the secular world it was used of taxes levied by the local king (or other ruler), or it could refer to a share in a business. In 1 Samuel 8:15, 17, for example, the tenth part refers to the standard 10 percent tax on grain, grapes, and flocks by "a king like the other nations." This has been called the "royal tithe". This ambiguity of the tithe, as a royal tax on the one hand and as a sacred donation on the other, is to be explained by the fact that the temples to which the tithes were assigned were royal temples (Amos 7:13). The tithe of garden herbs like mint, anise, and cumin was a later rule of the Jewish rabbis which went beyond the intention of Scripture and made tithing a grievous burden by NT times (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42). The rabbis had elaborate rules for the exact time of the year, as well as for the stage of growth, when produce was to be tithed. Church McCain defines as Ekklesia, as has it origin in Greek word in the New Testament which is called Ekklesia, the word is made up of two words, first kaleo which means to call and the second is the preposition Ek denoting out of these literally means a called out group.[1] The word, "ecclesia" appears in the New Testament approximately 115 times. That's just in this one grammatical form. It appears also in other forms. And in every instance, except three, it is wrongly translated as "church" in the King James Version. Those three exceptions are found in Acts 19:32, 39, and 41. In these instances the translators rendered it "assembly" instead of "church." But, the Greek word is exactly the same as the other 112 entries where it was changed to "church" wrongly. In Acts 19, "ecclesia" is a town council: a civil body in Ephesus. Thus, the translators were forced to abandon their fake translation in these three instances. Nonetheless, 112 times they changed it to "church." This fact has been covered-up under centuries of misuse and ignorance. The Greek word "ecclesia" is correctly defined as: "The called-out (ones)" [Ek = out; kaleo = call] this word was used to indicate a civil body of the select (called, elected) people. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: In the New Testament, "ecclesia" (signifying convocation) is the only single word used for church. It (ecclesia) was the name given to the governmental assembly of the city of Athens, duly convoked (called out) by proper officers and possessing all political power including even juridical functions. Obviously, in Greece an ecclesia had no resemblance to a church. An "ecclesia" was a civil assembly in Athens even before the writing of the New Testament. In the Oxford Universal English Dictionary (considered the standard for the English language) the word "ecclesia" is listed in its English form as used by our English forefathers. (Nowadays, only forms of the word appear - like, "ecclesiastical"). Quoting from the Oxford Universal English Dictionary on the word "ecclesia": Ecclesia [mediaeval Latin, and Greek - from: Summoned] -A regularly convoked assembly, especially the general assembly of Athenians. Later, the regular word for church.

Pastor

Strong's Concordance defines Pastor (poimen), as a shepherd either a literal or figurative one. The work poimaino - is to tend as a shepherd or as a supervisor; to rule. Thayer says that the person is a herdsman, especially a shepherd. He also says, "In the parable of the shepherd, others have committed themselves to his care and control . They follow the shepherd's precepts." He concluded that the poimen is really "the presiding officer, manager, director, of any assembly; Christ the Head of the church is one, so are the overseers of the Christian assemblies pastors." Thayer continues, saying that the pastor's work is "to feed, or to tend a flock, to keep sheep, to rule, to govern ... the church. To furnish pasturage or food; to nourish; to cherish one's body; to serve the body; to supply the requisites for the soul's needs." Bauer, Arndt & Gingrich define the original word shepherd as a sheep-herder; one who leads the Christian churches. They said that a pastor "leads the Christian churches along with other church leaders (that is, the bishop)". By their definition, the work is to "literally tend a flocks... figuratively, the activity that protects, rules, governs, fosters ... the symbol prominently in mind; of the direction of a congregation ... of the administration of a congregation ... protect, care for, nurture." Investigation The word translated "examine" (Gk. 'anakrino') means to "to examine, to investigate, to scrutinize, to question". "It expresses the questioning process that leads to a judgment: to examine, cross-examine, inquire and investigate. Legalism, in brief, attempts to please God with man-made rules that are directly opposite to Gods saving grace in Christ. These human rules often concern disputable matters (Romans 14:1) or issues about which the conscience of different believers allows them to decide in different ways.

[1] Danny McCain, What We Believe: An Introduction To Christian Doctrine Vol. 2(Jos: Capro Media Press, 1996), 124.