"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and
cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and
faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
(NAS Matthew 23:23)
"But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of
garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you
should have done without neglecting the others. (NAS Luke 11:42)
'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' (NAS Luke 18:12)
And in this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives
them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. 9 And, so to speak, through Abraham even
Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, (NAS Hebrews 7:8,9)
These are the four places in the New Testament where tithing is
mentioned. In the first two references, Jesus is rebuking the Pharisees for being
meticulous in keeping the letter of the Law in regards to tithing even to the produce of
their herb garden, but disregarding the very heart of the Law which is love of God and
love of neighbor. The third instance is an example Jesus gives of this error of the
Pharisees. The fourth instance is embedded in Hebrews chapter 7, and is part of a
proof from the Law that the priesthood of Jesus is both superior to that of Aaron and
eternal. It is in no way intended to teach that tithing is required of Christians.
So where does the New Testament teach that disciples are to tithe? NOWHERE!
What? What about:
"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have
we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing
Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may
be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I
will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it
overflows. (Mal 3:8-10)
What about it? Malachi is an Old Testament prophet rebuking the
people for neglecting the Law. Teaching that Christians must tithe runs afoul of the
Scripture on at least two points:
1) Our acceptability before God is based on His grace mediated by
our faith in Jesus. We are neither saved nor made perfect by works of the Law.
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the
Law (NAS Romans 3:28)
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall
no flesh be justified. (KJV Galatians 2:16)
In fact, this idea that we are made perfect or complete through keeping
the Law or parts of it was the very error that caused Paul to pen his epistle to the
Galatians.
Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you
receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I
testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under
obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from
Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen
from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for
the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working
through love. You were running well; who hindered you from obeying
the truth? This persuasion did not come from Him who calls
you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (NAS Gal
5:2-9)
The issue is not circumcision, but reliance on works of the Law rather
that the work of Christ. Will those who keep the Law of tithing be saved by doing
so? No Christian can affirm this. Then will God bless those who think by
keeping a particular commandment with a promise attached, they can receive this promise
and blessing? Be warned! If you want any of the blessings of the Law, you must keep
the entire law.
For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is
written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF
THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM." (NAS Galatians 3:10)
Men who teach blessing by tithing are either without understanding of the Gospel, or wolves intent on fleecing the sheep. The wolves are usually the ones who pronounce God's curse on those who don't tithe. Yet if these men teach blessing comes by the Law, then they bring the curse of God on themselves for preaching a false gospel.
2) Teaching tithing runs afoul of the teaching of Jesus.
And when they had come to Capernaum, those who collected the two-drachma
tax came to Peter, and said, "Does your teacher not pay the two-drachma tax?" He
*said, "Yes." And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying,
"What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or
poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?" And upon his saying, "From
strangers," Jesus said to him, "Consequently the sons are exempt. (Mat 17:24-26)
"Consequently the sons are exempt."
So why then is tithing such a common refrain in churches? I think
for two reasons: First, pastors tend to just repeat what they were taught in school
or what they hear other pastors teach. They seldom look to the Scriptures alone as
their source. Second $$$. The institutional church runs on money. It can
survive without sound doctrine, it can survive without godly leadership, it can survive
without the Holy Spirit; but it cannot survive without money. There are the
salaries, the utilities, the mortgage payments, etc. etc. etc.
If the New Testament does not teach tithing, what does it teach about
giving?
Well, for one thing, you can't get away with 10%. We are the bride
of Christ. It was said of a Jewish bride in New Testament times that she was not her
own, that she was bought with a price. This is the very language Paul uses in
1Cor. 6:19,20. In biblical marriage, the bridegroom and all his possessions and the
bride with all her possessions become one. She cannot retain ownership of either
herself nor her things; they become part of the community property of a new creation, of which the husband
is head. So it is with the gospel. The call to come to Christ is a proposal of
marriage. With this in mind, let us look anew at some things Jesus spoke to those
who would be His disciples:
"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and
he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (NAS Matthew 10:37)
"So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up
all his own possessions. (NAS Matthew 10:37)
And looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him, and said to him, "One
thing you lack: go and sell all you possess, and give to the poor, and you shall have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me." But at these words his face fell, and he
went away grieved, for he was one who owned much property. And Jesus, looking around,
*said to His disciples, "How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the
kingdom of God!" (NAS Mark 10:21-23)
Do you see it? Jesus is demanding nothing more than a bridegroom
demands of a bride. You will have to leave your father and mother, your brothers and
sisters, give up all that ties you down, give yourself willingly to Him and follow Him
wherever He goes.
Wilt thou have this Man to be thy wedded husband, to live together after
God' ordinance in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou obey Him and serve Him,
love, honor, and keep Him in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, keep thee
only unto Him as long as ye both shall live?
There is no record that the New Testament Church took offerings for any purpose other than supporting the poor in the Church (the Apostles and traveling ministers were certainly to be counted among the poor brethren). So before you make that check out to some FAT CAT evangelist or preacher, take a look at his lifestyle. Would he qualify for foodstamps? Earned income tax credit? Does he live in a humble parsonage because he can't afford to rent or purchase a house?
This article is not meant to condemn those who choose to freely give God 10% of their income as a token of love. Just make sure you are not doing it because out of guilt or in order to buy a blessing.
