|
|
|
|
Short Videos (Sarcastically cute and unfortunately true)
(Courtesy of
A Christian and Tithing? Handout of scripture verses for this teaching PDF format. Click to download
Related Links
by Rick Porritt
by Rory Moore
A Christian and Tithing?
by Doug Cook (George Muller)
Doug, a servant and apostle to the
Lord Jesus Christ, to my brothers and sisters in the body of Christ: Grace,
mercy and peace to you from the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life so we might
be delivered from the shackles of legalistic religion. May He give you the
spirit of wisdom and revelation, so through the knowledge and understanding of
His heart, you will experience freedom from all forms of bondage and there will shine forth a
greater righteousness in the life you now live through Him. I would like to initiate this biblical investigation by quoting the most commonly quoted scripture used during offering exhortations in most congregations today. Malachi 3:6-11 says, “For I [am] the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept [them]. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return? Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven, and poor you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of host.”
Most of the exposés articulated about tithing, proliferating in the Body of Christ today, are for the most part extracted from this Malachi 3 passage. Visit any church building on a Sunday morning throughout the United States and in all probability you will hear some form of exhortation about Christian tithing referring to at lease one phrase in this passage. So, let’s take a deeper look into these verses in the context they were given, as compared to today’s teaching, with the biblical understanding that the tithe literally means one tenth.
This Malachi 3 passage is in the Old Testament, and it is a rebuke associated with the Old Covenant Mosaic law established with the nation of Israel. In fact the statement, “even this whole nation” is pointing the finger directly at the nation of Israel. The lineage of Jacob, with the sacrificial system set up by Moses, worshipped at the temple in Jerusalem, which is where God dwelt in the Old Covenant system. In Malachi, He commanded the whole nation to bring “ALL the tithes into the storehouse.” Under the Old covenant, the tribe of Levi was set aside as a first fruit to God to minister in the temple. The tithes were used to support the tribe of Levi and upkeep of the temple, as they ministered to the other 11 tribes of Israel, because Levi was not given an inheritance of the promised land to support themselves (Numbers 18:24). If one wants to try to compare this to New Covenant religious terminology, the tithe was used to support all the five fold ministers, worship leaders, dancers, administrators, etc. that ministered to everyone else in the nation.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” is commonly quoted during the collection procedures, followed by a statement declaring the storehouse is now supposed to be the local church you are attending. The concordance definition of the word “storehouse” literally means the treasury of the temple. The same Hebrew word is used in Nehemiah 10:38 when He tells the Levites to “bring the tithes … to the chambers, into the treasure house.” Occasionally when Jesus taught, He spoke in the treasury area of the temple, (John 8:20, Mark 12:41, Luke 21:1). Clearly the Malachi passage is not referring to the temple, but a specific area in the temple complex. It is a real stretch to equate the storehouse as a foreshadowing of a New Covenant church building, because there are no other scriptures in the bible that I can find to support that interpretation. In fact, Paul the apostle clearly points out in 1 Corinthians 3:16 that in the New Covenant, our bodies are now the temple in which God’s Spirit dwells. With our bodies being the spiritual temple, I am confident I could formulate a superior biblical defense for the storehouse being my wallet in my back pocket, because it’s a treasury room right outside the New Covenant Holy of Holies. Seriously brothers and sisters, if we apply verses such as Math. 19:21 Mark 10:21, Luke 12:33, and Luke 18:22, where we are told to store up treasures in heaven, we could very easily establish justification that the New Covenant storehouse or treasury is in heaven – a spiritual treasury – not a meeting place on earth, “where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth” (i.e. greedy, corrupt religious leaders).
A favorite quote of the tithe teachers is second part of Malachi 3:10, “Prove me now … if I will not open the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” I could confidently make the declaration that the greatest majority of the Christians that faithfully give 10% or more, under the tithe system, never see a return “blessing” so large they don’t have enough room to receive it. In fact, I find a lot of them having a hard time just making ends meet. And I am not including the Christians that get themselves into financial bondage with large house and car payments trying to keep up with the Jones’, I’m referring to the ones who are having difficulty affording the basic necessities of life (food, water, shelter and clothing). I think we all realize "blessings" encompass a lot more than just money, but money is a part of it, especially if the seed sown is currency, and financial returns are what the tithe teachers emphasize when referencing “blessings.” If this Malachi Old Covenant verse is for a New Covenant believer, why isn’t it working? These brothers and sisters are “proving” God as they are told to do for many years, yet very few see huge returns, financial or otherwise. Could it be because they are not giving to the true temple “storehouse,” or maybe because the money is not going to the actual tribe of Levi as it was supposed to? It seems the majority of the ones seeing the abundant returns are the ones collecting the tithes.
In the first sentence of Malachi 3:10, the statement, “All the tithes” is plural, which means there is more than one tithe. There was more than just a tithe of their money the Hebrews were required to give. In Leviticus 27 it explains that the Lord owns the first tenth of everything, including cattle, oxen, sheep, the seed of the land and the fruit of the tree. If any of the things that were tithed were not of the best quality or unclean, they were required to “add the fifth part thereof” to redeem the tithe. So, on occasion they were required to add 20% more to a tithe to redeem it. This made some of the tithes more than 10%. The law also stated the first tenth of everything belonged to the Lord. If they grew 10 roses in their garden, they had to tithe the first one. I strongly suggest, under these Old Covenant legalistic standards, VERY few Christian have met this standard and given ALL their tithes. Did you tithe on the tomato plants in your garden, or on the value of all your gifts you received on your birthday? If you are one of the few who did tithe on your tomatoes, did you add one fifth more for the ones that had blemishes? If not, you did not give ALL your tithes.
It is easy to see how legalistic tithing can become. Paul warns us about falling back into the law under legalism and the dangers involved for a New Covenant believer in Galatians, chapters 4 and 5. Some of the Jewish believers were trying to tell the church in Galatia that they had to follow Old Covenant Jewish laws, one of which was circumcision, now that they were saved. Paul was refuting this teaching by telling them to cast out the old legalistic system because Christians are now free from it. In Chapter 5 he states, “For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever is justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” In the New Covenant, circumcision is done in the heart, not on the flesh any more (Romans 2:29). God also goes on to say in Galatians 5, “a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.” To amplify his comments in this passage, if we try to adhere to one part of the law, (ie. Circumcision, animal sacrifice, etc.), we place ourselves under the whole law, not just one part of it. In effect we are saying Jesus did not do a completed work for us at the cross (Gal 2:21), so we fall back to the legalistic bondage without His grace. Knowing the lack of grace associated with our entire walk if we fall into one area of Old Covenant legalism, are we completely confident the tithe is a New Covenant requirement as it is preached in churches?
What About Those Tithing Testimonies?
I am quite sure most of us have heard the testimonies for years about the “blessings” that came from tithing. Occasionally selected letters are read or certain people are asked to give their testimony before the offering is collected, with emphasis placed on how a tither was blessed with a new car, an inheritance, or some kind of unexpected income, which on occasion would be a rather large amount. With these powerful testimonies, it’s easy to get caught up in “what God was doing,” as I did for years. It took a while before I realized the number of letters being read was falling way short in proportion to the number of people tithing. As I visited with other brothers and sisters at church, I never seemed to happen across anyone tithing who realistically had an over abundance of financial blessings they “could not contain.” In fact, a lot of these giving believers were having difficulty even maintaining enough income to support their basic needs.
After about 10 years of religiously faithful tithing myself, I began to wonder why there was not an overabundance as the preaching and testimonies were implying. Of course the ministers always had an answer for the what-about-mine thinking saying things like, “Your blessing is right around the corner, so don’t quit right before you receive your miracle,” or “God may have protected you from a car wreck that would have cost you a lot of money.” I was having trouble with the car wreck statement because I could have bought a couple of cars with the money I had given into tithing. Even though I had questions, I didn’t quit tithing because I did not want to stop right before God decided to release the “blessing.”
When we stop to evaluate true grace, which, by the way, is emphasized in most of the sermons immediately following the “tithe” collections, how can skipping an opportunity to tithe a few times short of our miracle, negate 10 years of faithfulness? Better yet, would a God full of grace and mercy allow us to be in a car wreck just because we omitted a couple of tithe checks, or would He protect us even though we fall so short of perfection? The exhortations on giving tithes and the sermons on grace seem to be in complete opposition to each other. Could it possibly be an amalgamation of the god of mammon with the God of grace?
If the devil can't keep us from going to church, don't you think he would settle for the next best thing, such as finding some way to keep us in religious bondage? I'm not that smart, but if I were in his shoes and I knew the tithe was Old Covenant legalism, I would make sure a few baby Christians got a new car, won the lottery or received some kind of windfall finances right after they began tithing. Then I would make sure they got their chance to tell their testimony in church to get the other Christians motivated into giving to the legalistic tithe system so they all would be in bondage. Then I would get a few money motivated pastors to reinforce the windfall "blessing" by saying that "anything that is good comes from God." Contemplate that kind of strategy and tell me it wouldn't work, especially if it was combined with a prosperity gospel message! The devil understands our fallen human nature infinitely more than we do, because he has had several thousand years of practice. Are any of us spiritually enlightened enough to confidently say the devil is not behind some of these testimonies?
To answer all of these questions we need to look a what the whole bible says, not just one passage. So let’s take a look at how many times the tithe is used or referred to in the New Testament.
All New Testament verses using the word tithe or tithes:
Matthew 23:23: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Luke 11:42: "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." Luke 18:12: "I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess." Hebrews 7:5: "And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham: 6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises. 8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he [receiveth them], of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. 9 And as I may so say, Levi also, who receiveth tithes, payed tithes in Abraham."
As you can plainly see, there are very few verses in the New Testament that even mention the tithe. In Mathew and Luke, it is Jesus himself who is using the word, but He is using it to rebuke the Pharisees for their legalistic views of the law. Jesus is explaining how they completely missed the more important ingredients of mercy and faith associated with the law. Although, please notice that Jesus said they should not “leave the other (tithe) undone.” In other words, He told them they should have tithed as well as shown love and mercy. Anyone could use these two verses in Matthew 23 and Luke 11 and declare this is clear confirmation we should tithe in the New Covenant. But, is it really that black and white? The Pharisees He was rebuking were still operating under the Old Covenant law because Jesus had not yet shed His blood to atone for their sins, so the New Covenant was not in place yet. Jesus was the only perfect human who was able to follow all the law, so He would not have told the Pharisees to go against the law for any reason. He came to fulfill the law, not to destroy it (Math 5:17). Jesus also healed a man with leprosy and told him in Math 8, “but go thy way, shew thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded.” He instructed the healed leper to follow the Old Testament law offering a sacrifice for his healing. Do we offer sacrifices today when we receive miraculous healing in the New Covenant? The obvious answer is NO, (Hebrews 10:6-8). The Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery to Jesus to see if He would follow the law and allow them to stone her to death for her sin (John 8). Jesus would not countermand the Mosaic Law for adultery, He just reminded each of the stoners of their own personal sins. Because Jesus did not annul the stoning law, does this give us justification to stone people to death for adultery and picking up sticks on the Sabbath? Again, NO! Likewise, just because Jesus told the Pharisees in the verses in Matthew 23 and Luke 11 they should have tithed, does not mean it is a New Covenant requirement either.
In Hebrews 7 passage, the location of the another New Testament reference to tithes, Paul is speaking to messianic Jews who were trying to incorporate the law into their newfound Christianity. The Hebrews knew the law said only Levites could receive tithes. He uses Melchisedec as an example of Christ to show that Abraham gave tithes to Melchisedec, even though he was not from the tribe of Levi. Paul was using the tithe to show them the priesthood changed from the Levitical priesthood to our new high priest Jesus, who was from the tribe of Judah, not the tribe of Levi, made in likeness and after the order of Melchisedec -- not from the tribe of Levi either. Paul went on to say in verse 12, “there was of necessity a change in the law also.” He was letting them know the change in the priesthood meant a change in laws they were observing, although he did not specifically tell them to quit tithing in this passage. But, he did not specifically tell them to quit offering sacrifices or stoning people for sins either.
There are some church leaders teaching that Abraham tithed to Melchisedec before the law was given, so tithing is for the New Covenant because it was initiated before the law, beggining with Abraham. This is the only time in scripture that anything is said about Abraham tithing, and it was because of his victory in a battle he just fought. He was blessing Melchisedec out of the abundance he received from the spoils of war because God had blessed him with a victory in the battle. Abrahams tenth was a gift out of love (choice), not out of obligation to fulfill a covenant vow. There is not any information given to establish a tithe-was-required-before-the-law doctrine based on this one incident of Abraham giving a tenth. God may have recorded this gift of a tithe in Genesis just because He knew an apostle named Paul in the future would need to use this information, in a letter called Hebrews, with a group of messianic Jews to confirm Jesus’ priesthood. This passage does not give any confirmation that tithing is for the New Covenant.
Actually, the teachers saying the tithe was in effect before the law are probably correct. Where their doctrine falters is when they say it began with Abraham. There was a covenant vow with God that was established by Jacob at a later time. The tenth could have began after Jacob had the dream of the ladder going to heaven with angels ascending and descending on it. When he woke from the dream, he took the stone he was using for a pillow, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on it. Then he made his vow to God in Genesis 28:20-22 saying, “If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.” Jacob dedicated a tenth of all he had and established the site he had his dream, Bethel, to be the location of the future temple. If years later God honored the location of “God’s house” by having the temple built by Jacobs’s descendents in the place he had the dream, then it could stand to reason He also required his descendents to pay the “tenth” Jacob promised. If we go back to the Malachi passage on tithing to the sixth verse, we see that the passage was directed to the “sons of Jacob,” not the sons of Abraham. In several places in the New Testament, Christians are referred to as the spiritual seed of Abraham, not the seed of Jacob (Galatians 3:7). Even though tithing may have been established before the law, it should be tied directly to Jacob, and there is no reference to him concerning giving in the New Testament.
Essentially, every time the word tithe is used in the New Testament, it is used to rebuke a few Jews for getting into legalism and missing the heartier matters of the law. There are no other times that the tithe is mentioned by Jesus or the apostles. If the tithe is supposed to be a major part of the church, as it is today, why didn’t Jesus or at least one of the apostles say we should definitely continue in this form of giving? If it was a New Covenant form of giving, wouldn’t Paul, the Apostle to the gentiles, have encouraged at least one of his gentile churches to follow that form of giving?
New Covenant Giving
At the end of this epistle is a listing of most of the scriptures in the New Testament regarding any manner of giving. This may not be all of the verses that apply, but it is enough to get the full picture. A comprehensive look at all of these passages, reveals a heart for giving to the poor, needy and widows, who seem to capture the majority of focus from Jesus and the apostles. There is also directions for supplying provision for ministers that are constantly studying The Word so they can minister to other saints. New Covenant giving is a heart (spiritual) issue, and out of all the verses I have listed, there is nothing that we can glean that specifically addresses a percentage (tithe) of income.
There are many statements in these passages that advise the person to sell all they have and give it to the poor. We cannot look at the life of Jesus without having a complete understanding of His heart for the poor and downtrodden. If we gave to the poor, in proportion to the number of times Jesus and the apostles told us to, there would be a much bigger percentage of the "church" pie going to the needy than is given these days. If we consider the “storehouse church buildings” today and look at their budgets, on a national average, 93+% of the money is spent on buildings, maintenance, staff, pastor’s salaries, and TV time. The remaining 7% is used for benevolence for the poor and missions.
I have heard, a lot of TV ministers saying the “TV time can reach out to millions more than we could reach in one-on-one personal ministry situations.” They refer to their television ministry as their missions outreach and justify the large amount of “mission” dollars spent by telling how many letters they receive about “changed lives” all over the world. Of course, they neglect to mention how these “missions” dollars are advancing their one-man icon along with greatly enhancing sales of his books, tapes and CD’s that are being promoted during the TV program while he is “reaching the world.” Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m not against TV evangelism, which is a good instrument to get The Word out. We need to use any tools available to reach people. What I’m against is forsaking the Christians that minister physical needs to hurting people to utilize the money buying prime time television slots. If a decision is made to withdraw or decline support for a missionary, that Jesus is using to address the physical needs in the jungles of Africa or South America, so the funds can be redirected to TV evangelism, the heart of that ministry is way out of alignment with Jesus’ desires. If the church only provides meager token amounts (or has to take up special offerings) for the needs of brothers and sisters in Christ, devastated by natural disasters in their own cities, because most all of the "tithe" money is already allocated to building loans, staff and TV ministry, then they are far removed from the very heart of Jesus.
Evangelism is only one part of the great commission. Jesus commanded us to “make disciples,” not just converts. We can repent of our sins and confess Jesus watching TV -- I am a byproduct of that kind of evangelism -- but we cannot be baptized or become an effective disciple watching programs on a screen. As with any baby Christian, there is a need to interact with and be physically ministered to by other more mature brothers and sisters. How can we minister a "glass of water to the least of them" through a television set? This is a quote of a mighty woman of God who understood the phrase "up close and personal" much better than most of us ever will.
“There should be less talk; a preaching point is not a meeting point. What do you do then? Take a broom and clean someone's house. That says enough ... At the end of our lives, we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made or how many great things we have done. We will be judged by ‘I was hungry and you gave me to eat. I was naked and you clothed me. I was homeless and you took me in.’” Mother Teresa
If a TV minister’s response is “I’m called to evangelize; other believers are called to minister to the needs,” then I would ask, why not donate a very large portion of the millions of dollars in generated TV and product sales revenue and give it to the Mother Teresa's who come face to face with people? The amount of resources devoted to television ministries in relation to supporting personal contact ministries, fellow Christians in need, and the poor is way out of proportion compared to New Covenant teachings on giving. The first century church grew at an enormous rate, like the current Chinese home churches are doing now, and all without huge TV mission ministries!
Some of the New Testament scriptures listed at the end of this epistle also support giving to ministers of the Gospel. As stated in the beginning paragraphs, the “ministers” would include all five fold ministry offices, along with the worshipers, dancers and musicians. With the “tithing” system in place today, the majority of the money only goes to one office -- the pastor. The rest of the five fold ministries are left out of most of the fundraising because the current teaching says “the first tenth goes to our local church (storehouse); offerings over and above the tithe are used for building funds and other ministries.” If these churches want to utilize the Old Covenant tithing system, then they need to include all ministry offices in the “tithe,” not just the local church congregation and its one pastor. But if we are not under the Old Covenant tithing system, then how are we supposed to give?
Public or Secret Giving
In the passage in Matthew 6:1-4, we see that our giving is to be done in secret, then God can reward us openly. In other words, if we proudly tell someone how much we are giving, we just received our reward, which was trying to impress our friends. I have seen a few ministers during offering time ask the congregation, “Who is a tither?” causing most of the congregation to instantly raise their hands. Guess what? Most of them received their reward by participating in the self promoting exercise -- not taking into consideration that some of them were untruthful (only 20% - 30% of the people in any given church actually give enough to equal a tenth of their income).
I have also personally witnessed pastors, collecting offerings for visiting ministers, building projects or other causes, place a “chest of Jehoash,” an offering bucket, or a person right in front of the pulpit, then encourage people to give sacrificially for their special cause. The problem with this practice is, anyone who wants to give must walk up in front of everyone else in the church. This creates situations where: 1) the people that don’t give feel guilty or condemned, so some of these give so they wont be looked upon as a non-giver by remaining seated; 2) some people will give primarily so they can proudly show others they are giving; and 3) people who truly want to give anonymously may not because they feel very uneasy walking in front of others, especially if their desire is to give in confidence. This practice goes completely against the Matthew 6 passage concerning giving in secret, and should not be utilized by pastors. Jesus did sit in temple and watched as the people put money in the treasury, pointing out the sacrificial, New Covenant style giving of the widow and her two mites in Mark 12, and He said nothing against the easily noticed, public giving. But, as pointed out earlier in this epistle, Jesus wouldn’t speak against any of the law, and the people He was observing were following the commandment to bring the tithes to the treasury (storehouse). So, I guess, if these pastors, exploiting the public giving method, are operating in Old Covenant laws relying on tithes and soliciting offerings to rebuild their temples (church buildings) like King Jehoash was doing, this practice may be acceptable in their rabbinical religion.
This Matthew 6 passage also contradicts the practice of having our name placed on a walkway stone leading up to the building, a brick on the side of the building, or a plaque in the foyer for some building project the “church” is raising money for. This kind of fundraising is used because of the leadership’s lack of ability to believe for God’s provision. In addition, they may also be using a spare-no-expense, God-wants-us-to-have-the-best-temple extravagance mentality that is not coming from God. So church leaders opt for worldly ways of raising money, promising people they will be noticed if they give to the building fund, which, on most occasions, is taught as an offering over-and-above the “tithe.” This way the church leadership can make sure the building fund donations do not take away from the usual amount received to run the church’s business (including pastor’s salaries). If we give to these building funds out of a desire to join in, or any self motivation to get our name on a brick, our only reward (blessing) is getting our name on the public list. Contrary to the teachings by some of these leaders, God will not bless us because of these so-called “offerings,” if our heart is not in the right place. There are occasions where God specifically tells Christians to give to a building fund, and their sole motivation is to be obedient to God’s leading. These bothers and sisters will be rewarded (blessed) by God, even if their name is displayed on the name-noticing-promotion, because their heart to follow God. Matthew 6 is in essence saying, God's blessing on our giving is dependent on our heart motivation, not a percentage or an outward show to be seen by man.
How Much Should We Give?
At the beginning of the New Covenant church, Acts Chapter 2 and 4 discloses there were none of the Christians that lacked anything because all of them sold everything they had and laid it at the Apostles feet, which in turn distributed it to everyone as they had need. In Acts 5, Ananias and Sapphira were struck dead by God because they lied to the Holy Spirit about their contribution. They sold all their possessions and said they gave everything, but in reality they were secretly holding back part of their possessions for themselves, so God quickly removed them from this earth. This act of divine judgment was under the New Covenant, which means we cannot make an unbiblical stance and say, “God does not pass judgment on His own children under the New Covenant.” What this book of Acts teaching is implying is that everything we have belongs to God and our brothers and sisters in Christ. This coincides with Jesus’ teachings when He told some of the rich people to sell all they had and give to the poor. The new church was displaying an agape kind of love in their heart for one another by giving all of their possessions to provide for each other, and according to Luke 18:22, they were storing up treasures in heaven. Why don’t we hear this kind of sell-all-we-have teaching in the churches today if it was the way of life in the first century church?
After Jesus advised the rich folks to sell all they had and give to the poor, He explained that wherever our treasures are stored up is where we will discover the true desires of our heart (Luke 12:34). For example, if I have a million dollar home, a Cadillac, my wife is wearing a new, latest-fashion-name outfit every Sunday for church (bought on sale, of course), and I faithfully give my 10% tithe plus a little more of my income in building fund offerings every week -- in all honesty, where is my treasure stored up? I bet Ananias and Sapphira could correctly answer that question. Allow me to ask another similar question. If I have a million dollar home, a Cadillac, my wife has a new brand-name outfit on every Sunday, yet I continually give 90% of my total income to the poor, older widows, other brothers and sisters in Christ, ministers of the gospel and overseas missionaries; where is my treasure stored up? It’s not about what you have; it’s about your heart to give and share with others. I have made the statement for many years now; "Show me someone's check book, and I’ll tell you where their heart is."
The New Covenant church met in homes, not in church buildings. The apostles also held many open air meetings where thousands would gather and listen. Overhead for maintaining expensive buildings in this type of setting was non existent. Therefore, if the early Christians were “tithing” to their local church, it had to be the home church they were attending. Most of the money had to be going to the needs amongst themselves, the poor, missions, and provisions for the traveling apostles and elders, which by the way, none of them used the newest 4 horse chariots to travel on their journeys. The apostle Paul also had to make tents to supplement his living while ministering in some of the countries. No doubt there were Jews that were saved during that time that still paid their “tithes” to the temple treasury, trying to be obedient to the law. It was difficult to let go of some of their traditions, as it is for many of us that grow up under legalistic religious practices. But God eliminated the storehouse problem by having the Romans utterly destroy the temple in 70 A.D. If you remember, Jesus said there would not be one stone left upon another, so it was a complete destruction. God made sure the Old Covenant Rabbinical sacrificial system had no place to operate. There was no longer a temple or a treasury, so there is little doubt the Jewish believers were able to continue bringing their tithes to the storehouse.
It was the original apostles and elders that met in a council in Jerusalem (Acts 15) to determine which parts of the Old Covenant ordinances should still be observed by Christians. The outcome of that council, that included Peter, James, Paul, and Barnabus, was they wrote epistles to the churches explaining the united position they agreed upon for the whole church. They also affirmed in Acts 15:28 that not only did all the apostles and elders agree on these requirements, but these resolutions were also given by inspiration of the Holy Ghost. They wrote in the letters to the churches that the only “necessary things” that still applied was refraining from meats offered to idols, abstaining from blood and things strangled, and not committing fornication. Nothing was said about the tithe. If this council of apostles, who wrote a lot of the New Testament, gathered expressly to determine what parts of the Old Covenant laws should still be observed, how come they didn’t mention the tithe, especially if they were in agreement with the Holy Spirit? And if we try to apply a they-didn’t-speak-against-it-so-it’s-okay rule, then why haven’t we reinstated stoning people for picking up sticks on the Sabbath? Brothers and sisters, this council was concerned about the elders of the church speaking as one voice because of the converted Jewish teachers trying to place gentile believers under bondage of the Old Covenant legalistic laws. If tithing was supposed to be followed, it would have been on their list of things to observe. If the tithe applied to gentiles, then why didn’t Paul the apostle specifically communicate this in any of his writings to his churches?
The easily identified conclusion is tithing is an Old Covenant vow that applied to the sons of Jacob, not the sons of Abraham. We have been placing Christians under the bondage of the law, which means our giving is coming under the curse of the law as well. I too was drawn into this bondage for years because I was listening to the false teachings that claimed you were stealing from God if you did not pay your tithes. It was considered to be a sin and would bring us under the judgment of God. I was not reading The Word enough to search for the truth. I believed that if you “robbed God,” you “were cursed with a curse,” so I made sure I always erred on the side of giving too much. But, I knew fellow believers who would look the other way a few times when the offering plate passed by, and sure enough, they later admitted something happened that cost them more money than they would have spent on the tithe. Why? Because they were operating under the law, and the law was working the way it was designed to do. Like I pointed out in an earlier paragraph, if we are justified by the law, we are fallen from grace. Galatians 3:12 says “And the law is not of faith: But, the man that doeth them shall live in them.”
Under the New Covenant, we are no longer under any curse of the law. Gal 3:13 says, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed [is] every one that hangeth on a tree:” Christ has redeemed us from those curses, which means we are no longer under any kind of bondage, including giving. Jesus already fulfilled the law for us, so we don’t have to. We became the seed of Abraham by faith, and due to our new spiritual birth, we are his spiritual descendents and inherited his right to give out of choice, not bondage. We also receive his blessings by faith, Gal 3:9. This is the same way Jacob’s descendents inherited the duty to tithe, except theirs came by natural birth, not spiritual.
When we surrendered to Jesus as Lord, we also received a new spirit “whereby we cry Abba Father,” Romans 8. God is now our daddy and we have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us who knows all things and reveals all things, John 14. We no longer have to go to a temple to see God’s presence, He is right there within us all the time in the new temple, which is our own body. In the Old Covenant, the only people who were given the anointing of the Holy Spirit were the prophets, priests and kings (Psalms 51:11). Every true born again Christian now has access directly to God and His Holy Spirit. This is why the veil in the temple was ripped apart at the same moment Jesus died (Mark 15). It was Gods way of showing us we now had direct access to Him and He no longer lived in the Most Holy Place of the temple. We don’t need a priest to tell us how to give because we are supposed to use the Holy Spirit to guide us in those decisions.
In the Old Covenant, they were given the commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” When Jesus came on the scene, He added a new commandment in John 13 saying “That you love one another, as I have loved you … by this shall all [men] know that you are my disciples.” Jesus actually upped the standard. Now we are to love one another like He loves, not like we ourselves love. I heard another apostle do a great job of describing the difference in the two commandments, so instead of trying to sculpt a situation, I will use his example. In the Old Covenant, if my neighbor was hungry and I had a loaf of bread, I should share an equal amount with them. Under Jesus New Covenant commandment, if my fellow believer was hungry and I had a loaf of bread, I should be prepared to give them the whole loaf, not just half.
In Jesus new commandment, in John 13, He was speaking to his followers, not unbelievers, as discerned by His closing statement “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples.” He did not command us to give everything away to non-believers, just believers, so any skeptic could readily recognize Christians by how they provided for each other. This passage reinforces the giving in Acts 4 describing the sale of all their possessions and laying them at the apostle’s feet to distribute for each others needs. The New Covenant believer was easily distinguishable because all they had belonged to God and was considered to be part of the community of Christians, and no one in the group had lack. They were in a spiritual blood covenant relationship with each other, similar to a natural blood family’s relationship to each other, only the spiritual covenant was much closer (Mark 10:29-30). Can we say this type of giving is occurring in our local church families today?
If we are supposed to pool our resources to provide for each other, what happens when someone does not do their part to contribute? A great question because it did, and will, happen, and that specific problem is dealt with in scripture. Paul addressed this lazy person issue in 2 Thes. 3:10-15, “For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. Now them that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work, and eat their own bread. But ye, brethren, be not weary in well doing. And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet count [him] not as an enemy, but admonish [him] as a brother.” Paul was explaining if a person doesn’t work, they should not be allowed to eat with the brethren and they need to find their own bread. He also advised the believers to treat the busybody as a brother, not an enemy, but not to associate with him.
I know we have all been approached by someone, including Christians, asking for money, and the verse in Luk 6:30 says, “Give to every man that asketh of thee.” So are we supposed to follow this verse to the letter? I made it policy years ago that I will not give money to most Christians that ask, unless the Holy Spirit slaps me real hard and tells me to give. Nor do I give monetarily to some of the un-believers that solicit funds. Although this may sound contrary to Luke 6, I have discovered most of the time I am in line with the Holy Spirit. It is very easy to enable a needy or poor person, which can actually contribute to their poverty, rather than help them out of it. If they are an unbeliever, I use a lot of discernment before I hand out any money. Although I try to err towards giving when I shouldn’t, rather than take the chance of missing the Holy Spirit trying to minister to someone through me, or even worse, meeting an angel in human form sent to test me. I have given monetarily to the people panhandling at street intersections, knowing they might use it on drugs, but where they spend the cash is an issue between God and them. Although, if you pray over those dollars before you hand them one, it provides a means to transfer a prayer anointing, without them even knowing it. As I stressed earlier in this thesis, Jesus heart is for the poor and needy, and He did not limit his exhortations to only poor believers. We need to use great discernment in giving money to anyone that asks, some we need to give to and others we don't.
Some Christians that ask for money, and other items, justify their request by quoting the James 4 verse, “Ye have not because ye ask not.” James is telling Christians they “have not” because they don’t ask God, not other people, so the verse is taken out of context by these needy believers. We as children of God are supposed to trust Him for provision, not man. If we are truly trusting God, we should present Him with our need, then wait for Him to move on someone’s heart to respond to our need. If a believer is suffering from lack, it just may be a position God has placed them in to force dependence on Him. I had a Christian lady at our church solicit me for money, justifying her need with a story about needing to pay a dentist to fix her tooth. I told her I would not give her money, instead I prayed with her for healing in her tooth without the assistance of a dentist (not what she wanted to hear). I would later watch from a distance as she approached others in the church, and would see some of them slip her a little money. Several weeks later, she approached me again with the same story. This time I advised her she needed to begin trusting God for finances and quit looking to man to supply her needs. She withdrew disappointed, but the very next week she tracked me down to tell me she had been a panhandler all her life. She said God was strongly convicting her about begging people for money, so she finally made the decision to quit. That week she found extra money in her purse for a need, and she had no idea how it got there. I no longer notice her soliciting others in the church. What this sister needed was loving, but stern, encouragement, not a hand out. The handouts were actually keeping her in bondage to her old lifestyle and hindering her walk with the Lord.
The question that always arises when the tithe doctrine is repudiated is, “How will the local church be supported without the tithe?” The best answer to that is with the opening statement of this epistle by George Muller, “God’s work, done in God’s way, never lacks God’s support.” If the church building, pastors salary and TV ministry is truly God’s will, there will not be a need for a loan or to solicit donations from anyone other than God. All of the funds needed will be there and be on God's time. George Muller built many buildings and did many mighty (expensive) works for God and he never solicited offerings in any churches. He made his request to God and completely depended on Him to bring in the funds needed.
In my opinion, if a gathering of believers is held in a building, the best way to allow people to give is to provide a receptacle at several easily accessible locations in the main entrances throughout the complex. Ministers should use a brief time before the worship service once in a while, or put the message in a bulletin, advising the saints of the locations of those receptacles. The only exhortations should be to inform them to seek God in prayer and give whatever and wherever they sense God is directing them. No amount or percentage should ever be mentioned, nor should offering buckets be passed. If giving is conducted in this manner, it would be easy to tell if a new building plan was God’s work because the funds would be there when needed. Every effort should be made to maintain the ability of each believer to give as discreetly as possible.
Another practice I have discovered amongst many pastors is the act of placing Christians in volunteer ministry position or on staff with an unwritten rule that they must give monetarily to the pastor's ministry. I understand some of their motivation, as I stated previously that I could tell you where a person’s heart is by looking at their checkbook, but I would never stoop so low as to actually keep anyone away from ministering for not giving to my ministry. Giving is a personal issue between God and the believer. Some pastors need to be reminded a volunteer is giving of their time, which is much more valuable than money. A believer should never be kept out of a volunteer position or denied employment because they are not a “partner” with the ministry. Conversely, someone should not be rewarded with a position because the large amount they give either. If God tells a pastor or ministry leader to place a person in a position, they should do it even if they don’t give a dime to their ministry. The person could have been told by God to give their finances to the poor and give their time to the pastor's ministry, and the hiring minister would most likely not be privy to any of this personal information. Likewise, if God makes it plain a person is not to be given a position, we should follow God even if the risk is alienating the largest contributor in the church. Again, the Matthew 6 passage says giving is to be done in secret, and it did not make an exception for utilizing church ministry databases.
Yes, there will be many so called “Christians” who would take advantage of the New Covenant form of giving, not being coerce by the tithing rules any more, donating only when they feel like it, which may be very little. But, it is no different than the number of “Christians” that are using the grace teachings to keep from following the other New Covenant commandments. It is well know that there are a lot of church goers involved in fornication, pride, greed, corruption, adultery, gluttony and most any other sin we could list, continuing in those sins under the perception that a God of mercy forgives and won’t judge them. If pastors are as consistent in teaching adamantly against these other sins as they are in the "cursed with a curse" tithe teaching, we just may see a few more believers not committing blatant sins any more.
Giving is a matter of the heart and God will judge the heart issues. Ananias and Sapphira are prime examples of God’s mercy only going so far. A lack of obedience on the part of a giver will not keep God from getting the finances into the hands of the people or ministries that are truly following His directions to the best of their ability. If a brother or sister does not give when God tells them to, then God will initiate step 2 and find someone else to use, even if He needs to use a non-believer. And a lack of giving without repentance, like all other sins and acts of disobedience, will eventually lead to God's judgment.
When we become a new Christian, a tenth of our income may be a good guideline to use when God begins to tell us to give, as long as we don’t think we are keeping the “tithe.” I remember when I first began to give and ten percent of my income seemed like a huge amount. I really had to step outside my comfort zone to begin that process. In the beginning of our walk I think God honors that type of commitment. I remember when God told me to begin to fast. I forced myself to fast one day a week like a religious practice, not because I felt like it. After I killed enough flesh where fasting became a desire rather than an act of obedience, I was able to move away from being legalistic, so I cut out the once a week fasts. As God changes me, I find it is occasionally easier to be obedient by being legalistic for a season until I get my flesh under subjection to my spirit. When God begins to deal with your heart concerning giving, some may find it easier to begin by putting themselves under a legalistic amount until the flesh can be crucified. But please don’t plan on staying under bondage for a long time, just long enough to break old habits. If you are unable to give without continually invoking legalism, it may be you are giving to the wrong place, giving the wrong amount, or there may be other salvation issues besides giving involved. Be constantly seeking God on amounts and locations of giving, and He will direct you.
New Covenant giving is simply a matter of the heart. If we have a close relationship with Jesus, our heart will be to give what we have, not hoard it for ourselves. The Holy Spirit, not another minister, will reveal to us who to give to and how much. We should keep our donations secret to the best of our ability, understanding that this is not always possible in all cases. We should be sharing what we have with other brothers and sisters in Christ, and that does not necessarily include our blood family brothers and sisters. All of our fellow believers should not lack for anything, and we should strive for equality among the brethren, not a few of us having super abundance while others barely get by. The poor were always on Jesus heart and should be a part of our gifts. Support for all five fold ministers that study The Word and travel to spread the message of Jesus Christ should also be included as part of our financial contributions. If our heart is in the right place, our finances and time will be distributed in line with God’s will. We should also give of our time which is a more valuable asset than money, and each one of us are equal in this respect having only 24 hours in each day.
The word “tithe” must be eradicated from the New Covenant believers mind and vocabulary. The act of tithing has a tendency to put God in a box. It also limits our thinking to a specific amount and puts some believers under bondage that do not have enough to even provide for the basic necessities of life. Lets get out of this mindset so we can become the church “without spot and wrinkle” that Jesus is coming back for in these end times.
I bless you all, In Jesus Name,
Doug Handout of scripture verses for this teaching pdf format.
Last modified: 03/16/10
| |||||
|
Send mail to
contact information with
questions or comments about this web site.
|
