This little booklet I have been referring to, says that tithing (meaning 10 percent of your income), is also a New Testament ordinance. The booklet quotes:
“But woe unto you, Pharisee! 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 11:42)
From this Scripture, the writer of that booklet, deduced that 10 percent off the top was a New Testament teaching. Let us see if this “reasoning” is correct.
Jesus was born under the law. The law would not pass away, not even one jot or tittle until all things be fulfilled. Just because Jesus spoke in Matthew does not mean it is New Covenant teaching. The New Covenant is not the set of books from Matthew to Revelation! The New Covenant was not ratified until Jesus offered up His blood in heaven which was after His resurrection! Prior to that, the Old Covenant, and the Levitical Priesthood was still in effect. Jesus Himself said to do what those who sit in Moses seat said to do. But don’t do what they do (Matt. 23:1-4). (Keep in mind, Jesus was speaking to Jews still under the Mosaic Law which was still in effect. Do not apply to yourselves what was spoken to another people under a different administration.)
Now isn’t it interesting that what these Pharisees tithed was produce from the land. Even in what we call the New Testament, when the word “tithe” comes up, it always speaks of agricultural or animal products. We never see people tithing fish, gems, fabric etc. But even though they tithed even the smallest of seeds (agricultural), the word to them was “Woe” not “well done thou good and faithful tither” (Luke 11:42). The other account of a tither in the improperly named “New Testament” occurs in Luke 18:12-14. Between the tither who “fasted twice a week and give tithes of all that I possess” and the publican, a sinner—it was the sinner who “went to his house justified” and not the tither. So much for tithers being blessed.
It should be pointed out at this time, that Jesus condemned the Pharisee who tithed even the smallest of seeds, but neglected other parts of the law dealing with proper judgment and the love of God. “Woe to you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law; justice and mercy and faith”(Luke 11:42, Matt. 23:23). Keep in mind that when Jesus told the people to do what those in Moses seat commanded that He was not condoning their commands and actions. He was acknowledging the authority that God set up. The Levitical priesthood was the valid agency set up by Yahweh Himself. But when the tree did not produce the fruit of the kingdom, He cursed it. When one studies the fruit of the Law of Moses and the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil, one will find great similarities and powerful truths. The law tells us what is good and evil, but it still can only bring us death for by the law “shall no one be justified.”
The Mosaic Law was til the Promised Seed should come and that was Jesus, the Messiah.
There is one very difficult passage of Scripture in Hebrews which is often taken out of context to prove that the tithe was either pre-Mosaic, and therefore, still in effect or a part of the Mosaic law that we are still to perform. Rarely is this Scripture studied in its proper context. If it were, one would discover the passage does not deal with tithing, but a higher priesthood than the Levitical Priesthood, that is, the priesthood after the order of Melchizedek.
We find a rather confusing discussion about priesthood in the first part of chapter seven in the book of Hebrews. This book becomes a hopeless mass of confusion to most Christians unless they keep in mind who the book was written to (Jews), the time in which it was written and the purpose of the epistle.
First of all, this book was written to Jews who believed that Jesus (Yeshua) was the Messiah. They began to understand salvation by grace through faith, not of works, or genealogy, or nationality. Paul’s gospel of grace was taking root. Although he was always battling the Judaizers who wanted to put the Mosaic law even on Gentiles, Paul’s message of grace through faith, not of works (the law) was making inroads among the Jews. It was a difficult process. Even Peter had to be rebuked for his legalism at Antioch. (Gal. 2:11-16) But Paul was having some success. Then something very tragic happened. Most scholars put the writing of Hebrews in the 60’s A.D. In 64 A.D. the city of Rome was burned and Nero blamed it upon the Christians. Prior to this time, Christians were just another sect of Judaism, which was protected by Roman law as a legal religion. Nero’s wife, Poppaea, was a “God-fearer,” which was a person who had great respect for Judaism, but did not go so far as to become a Jew herself. When Rome burned, many citizens of Rome felt Nero burned it himself. To get the “heat” off of himself, so to speak, he looked for a group of people large enough to make a large display of and satisfy Rome’s lust for blood in the circuses.
The ordinary Jews who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah wanted Christians to be considered a separate religion anyway. They were trying to get these Christians killed wherever they were spreading their poison and so the stage was set to forever separate Christianity from its Jewish roots. Hundreds of Christians were huddled into Nero’s Vatican Gardens known as the Hippodrome. For two days they were made one of the most despicable spectacles this world has ever seen. Read The Flames of Rome by Paul Maier for a graphical account of the butchery of hundreds of Hebrews and Gentiles who believed in the Messiah Yeshua. This event became the turning point at which Christianity was no longer a sect of Judaism, protected by the Roman laws which sanctioned Judaism. Christians now were considered “atheists” by the Romans. A religion without statues and temples was no religion at all. Many awful rumors were spread about the evil wicked things Christians did in their house meetings. For example, from the Lord’s supper, rumors were spread that Christians killed children and drank their blood and ate their bodies. Much like today, these slanderous rumors were believed by many. Even those whose who did not believe them to be true, spread the rumors anyway, because these Christians did not also worship the Roman Gods and the state. The Caesars, at this point in history were also declared gods. Declaring loyalty to the state became synonymous to declaring Caesar as Lord. Most citizens of the Roman Empire had little difficulty with this. But for Christians, it meant betraying Christ.
I cannot go into great depth in this area because it would take too much time. I only bring these points out to show that many times we misinterpret many passages of Scriptures because we take verses out of context and time, which allows us to make them say anything we want them to say. This is perhaps one of the main reasons there are thousands of different sects of Christianity.
Now place yourself in the life of a Hebrew who now realizes that his belief in the Messiah could send him and his wife and children into the circus to be horribly mutilated and then killed. Faith in the Messiah now cost one their very life. Many thousands of believers felt is was safer to hide their belief and practice Judaism. After all, the temple was still standing, the sacrifices were still going on, and there were many Jewish-Christians who practiced the Law of Moses and grace through faith. After all, James, the head of the Jerusalem Church and those associated with him were “zealous for the law” (Acts 21:14-28). Keep in mind, this happened many years after Christ’s resurrection. Jewish Christians following James still practiced the whole Mosaic Law! So it was very convenient for Jewish Christians to slide back into the priesthood, old promises, old hope, and old covenant.
The writer of Hebrews spends a great deal of time explaining that the old system is but a “copy and shadow of the heavenly things” (Heb. 8:5).
“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshippers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire. But a body You have prepared for Me…” (Heb. 10:1-5)
I wish Christians could really grab hold of what the writer of Hebrews was pointing to here and apply it to the whole Law of Moses, they would be free indeed! If Christians not only read, but actually believed in their hearts what the writer of Hebrews meant when he wrote:
“then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat sown at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:9-13)
God knew that the blood of bulls and goats could never clean our conscience of guilt and therefore under the law, we would always be under condemnation (2 Cor. 3:9). We could never be set free in our minds. The Old Covenant sacrificing of bulls and goats was a temporary image of what Jesus Christ would do in actuality, that is, in the spiritual. One righteous act of the Lamb of God Who would “take away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). While many Christians have read this passage dozens of times, few truly understand the power and significance of the Lamb taking away the singular “sin” of the whole world. (This article will not deal with that subject.) However, if one can understand that the blood of bulls and goats were signs and shadows and not what God really wanted, perhaps we could see that the Creator of all could really care less about everything else we try to offer Him that are signs and shadows under the Law. The blood of bulls and goats centered around cleansing our conscience of guilt so that we could enter, not into the shadow Most Holy Place, but into the very Temple of God, sprinkled by His own blood, that is His life (Heb. 10:19-23).
We could spend a great deal of time discussing this topic, but the bottom of the line is that “the life is in the blood” (Deut. 12:32; Lev. 17:11,14). Abundant life is only possible with a pure heart, clean mind and sincere faith. One will only approach the Most High God in a state of sinlessness because sin will drive us away from the presence of God. It is not God driving us away, but our guilt and fear of punishment. Christ came to overcome this problem for us. Unfortunately, most Christians have fallen from grace, placed themselves back under some form of law-keeping and therefore live a defeated life back under condemnation. When we truly understand that we have access to the throne of grace not because of our own righteousness, but because of the righteousness of Christ which is accounted to us, then guilt no longer can keep us from the source of all power and life. My words cannot describe the reality of this—only when one truly experiences this can one understand this mystery. The blood of Abel spoke vengeance. Our Father said, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay.” He said this knowing He could kill and make alive again. Man can only kill. Man’s justice and mercy falls far short of the righteousness of God. The blood of Christ spoke forgiveness and mercy. And it speaks today still making intercessions for all mankind.
With all this in mind, what was the higher purpose of the tithe? What was it pointing to? Was there more to it than provision for the Levites, poor, widows, and the stranger? What was this mysterious 10 percent of the spoils of war given to a priest who had no beginning or ending of days? Is God really interested in 10 percent of anything we have? He makes it clear that while He commanded Israel to kill bulls and goats and offer them up to Him, He really did not delight in sacrifices.
If you go back to the garden of Eden, we discover that when Adam and Eve (and as a result all of mankind) were cast out of the garden and removed from the Tree of Life, the earth became cursed. From the sweat of his brow would man have to eek out a living for himself. In this fallen state, he became prey to fear of lack. From his own labor would come provision. But because of that fear of lack, man began to hoard, steel, manipulate things to have “more than enough” for himself. As man became more separated from God in his mind, he saw himself as the source of his own goods. He earned them, worked for them, wisely invested etc. Man forgot that all really belonged to God. Man forgot that we are just stewards of His possessions. The tithe, or anything offered back to God, whether Mosaic or pre-Mosaic, served as a reminder that the source of all things was God Himself! Giving part of one’s possessions to a person acting as a representative of God, reminded that individual that God is the ultimate supplier of all things.
The grave is a good reminder that a person cannot take any of his earthly possessions with him. The tithe or any offering to a representative of God seems like a healthy reminder, but it failed, and it fails today. Instead, of producing gratefulness, thankfulness, and an awareness of the need for God, it produces pride in many of those who do tithe. It does not produce thankfulness for God’s provisions like a living relationship with Jesus does. Also, under the New Covenant, rather than giving 10 percent of the increase of the agriculture and livestock, and other offerings reminding them of God’s provisions, the believer gives what he is called to give to the people of the world, not to a representative priesthood. Jesus tells us that when we do something for the least of His brethren, we do it unto Him (Matt. 25:38-45).
Here is the New Testament reality of the pre-Mosaic and Mosaic types and shadows. God is the giver and sustainer of all life. He is conforming us to His image and therefore we are also to give of our lives. He has prepared good works for us to walk in prepared from the foundation of the world (Eph. 2:10). We should give of ourselves, which is really God giving through us, to His creation that His creation might be set free from the bondage of corruption. We should give, not from the letter of the law which kills, but from the Spirit Who prepared works for us to walk in. One comes from bondage to a set of laws, the other comes from love, which is the nature of God. The first usually produces pride and self-righteousness, the latter produces joy. The higher ways of God are much better than the lower ways of the Old Covenant. And that is what the writer of Hebrews was telling Jews who were fleeing persecution by retreating back to the law and Judaism. He told them it was no longer a refuge.
The writer of Hebrews was correct. Within a few years of his warning, in AD 70, the whole Mosaic structure was destroyed. The Priesthood, the temple, the genealogical records, and Jerusalem were destroyed even to the tearing down the huge stones in the temple as Jesus prophesied. Judaism lost its special status with the Roman government.
It is sad to note, but much of Christianity has dug up much of the Old Covenant system and replaced the higher ways with the ways of death again. Few Christians are ambassadors of the New Jerusalem, the mother of us all. Most of Christendom has never risen out of the letter of the law and pagan practices. Few ever rise to the higher calling in Christ which the book of Hebrews so beautifully reveals. This is very sad, but true.
In summary then, the New Covenant did not begin with the Gospel of Matthew. It began when the heavenly things which the Mosaic and Solomic tabernacles and temples were just shadow of, were sprinkled by the very (life) blood of the True Lamb of God, Yeshua, the Messiah. Jesus spoke under the Law of Moses and told those in His audiences to keep it because they were still under it. He also told them not to do as those who interpreted the Law of Moses who “made the word of God of none effect by their traditions.” When one studies the priesthood of Israel and its political, religious, and economic connections and practices, and compares them to the ecclesiastical systems of Christendom today, one may be amazed at the similarity. The tithe has certainly produced many physical temples (churches, monasteries, cathedrals, shrines, etc.), but it has not manifested in the true temple of God, his people, what the tithe was only a shadow of, that is, giving out of the spirit of love which does not give based upon percentages of income.
How The Early Church Was Financed
It should come as no surprise that the early congregations of Christianity were financed the same way the early Israelite society was financed—through a free-will offering, which according to Moses, was more than ample to provide that which was needed.
“Men and women, as many as were willing hearted, brought bracelets, and earrings, rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold …the children of Israel brought a willing offering unto the Lord … They brought yet unto him (Moses) free offerings every morning … the stuff they had was sufficient for all the work to make it, and too much.” (Exod. 35:22,29; 36:3,7)
When our Father’s people give according to His heart and do the work He has called us to do in His way, those offerings of the heart will be sufficient and more than sufficient. The keys are the willing heart and the proper work!
Church historians make it very clear, the early Christian congregations were not financed by tithing of any kind. Apparently tithing promoters do not read very much early Christian history. The Encyclopedia Britannica tells us that “The Christian Church depended at first on voluntary gifts from its members.” Hasting’s Dictionary of the Apostolic Church says, “It is admitted universally that the payment of tithes or the tenths of possessions, for sacred purposes did not find a place within the Christian Church during the age covered by the apostles and their immediate successors.” The Americana declares: “It (tithing) was not practiced in the early Christian Church.” Even the Catholic Church, notorious for its many finance raising schemes, says in the New Catholic Encyclopedia: “The early Church had no tithing system … it was not that no need of supporting the Church existed or was recognized, but rather that other means appeared to suffice.”
The recently published Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary tells us that in “the New Testament, the words ‘tithe’ and ‘tithing’ appear only eight times (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42; Luke 18:12; Heb. 7:5-6,8-9). All of these passages refer to Old Testament usage and to current Jewish practice. Nowhere does the New Testament expressly command Christians to tithe.”
It is ironic that the Roman Catholic Church, which brought many Old Testament traditions and rituals back into the church in modified forms, at first did not partake in usury, that is, in interest on money. They felt usury was un-Biblical because of passages such as Exod. 22:25; Lev. 25:35-37; Deut. 23:19-20; Neh. 5:7,10; Ps. 15:5. To finance their building programs and wars, the popes and kings assigned Jews in their court to do that kind of “dirty work.” That was perhaps one of the leading contributors to the Jewish people becoming prominent in banking, that is, through being the Christian’s money lenders.
Isn’t it interesting that those who quote the Old Testament to support tithing for Christians mysteriously avoid scriptures dealing with charging interest as being unlawful? These same tithe promoters usually have plenty of money stashed into all kinds of interest bearing bonds, savings accounts, etc. As a matter of fact, every time a bullet or bomb is dropped to kill someone, thousands of churches across America make a profit. How so, you might ask? Churches and denominational headquarters have billions of dollars which are invested in hundreds of different profit-making or interest-bearing ventures. Most churches invest in conservative mutual funds with portfolios composed of Blue Chip companies such as defense contractors. Some of these same conservative companies are even controlled by religious organizations such as the Roman Catholic Church. When these defense contractors, like McDonnell Douglas, sell their war machines to our government, the stockholders, thousands of which are churches, make a profit. War machines are made to kill people. The church invests in many companies that make all kinds of products that kill or are harmful to humanity. One would be shocked to find out how much Christian organizations earn from the world’s military industrial complex. (For more information on this subject write for the audiotape The Church is a Rich Prostitute.)
It was not until after Constantine (fourth century A.D.) made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire that the free-will offering was replaced with various forceful means of raising money. Constantine began a huge building program, constructing churches and renovating pagan temples for use in what would become Roman Catholicism. Prior to this time, believers did not need ornate buildings. After all, they knew that they were the true temple of God, not some buildings constructed in the very same form as the pagan temples only with some Biblical themes added to them. A study of the things Constantine and his mother did to pervert Christianity would be a very worthwhile study.
So, back to New Covenant financing. Matthew through Revelations is really full of Scriptures that deal with proper giving. There are really too many to put into such a small publication. But a few will suffice.
Throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New, the God of Christianity makes it clear that He is really not interested in our “offerings of sacrifice.”
“Hear, O My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you; I am God, your God! I will not rebuke you for your sacrifices or your burnt offerings, which are continually before Me. I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats out of your folds. For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is Mine and all its fullness. Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats? Offer to God thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High. Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.” (Ps. 50:7-15)
“For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Ps. 51:16,17). “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.” (Heb. 10:5,6; Ps. 40:6-8)
Our Father makes it abundantly clear that we have nothing that does not even now belong to Him already. Offering 10 percent of His goods or 90 percent of His goods or all of it, means nothing to Him. He knows it all belongs to Him. We are the ones who seem to have the problem of forgetting that. What He is really after is our sincere thankfulness, our gratefulness for what He has given us!
Every person knows in their heart that God does not need stained glass windows, steeples, plush carpet, gaudy looking crosses, and a host of others things “tithes” are used to purchase. He would probably prefer a bull to a steeple. At least He made the bull, he didn’t make nor authorize church leaders to make much of the “stuff” those tithes are spent on.
Let me ask you, “How did Jesus send out the disciples? Did He give them a Cadillac or an American Express Card in the name of the ministry like many modern American evangelists do today? No, He sent them out with nothing and they were provided for with all they needed as they went.
“Go your way; behold I send you forth as lambs among wolves. Carry neither purse, nor script, nor shoes … and in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things as they give; for the labourer is worthy of his hire …” (Luke 10:3,4,7)
Perhaps it should be made clear at this point, that Jesus did not use any money in the Treasury of Israel of which tithes on the land and livestock were certainly a part. As mentioned before, Jesus, Himself, being from the tribe of Judah and not the tribe of Levi, could not legally receive tithes. Jesus was financed through free-will offerings from various people.
“And Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, ministered to and provided for Him and them out of their property and personal belongings.” (Luke 8:3)
Sometimes Jesus even provided for Himself miraculously as when He had Peter catch a fish with the Temple tax in it (Matt. 17:24-27).
Paul Did Not Receive Tithes
Paul’s missionary efforts should make it abundantly clear to everyone that the tithe, whether on agricultural products, livestock or 10 percent of income, is not a New Testament teaching. Of all the New Testament writers, Paul of all people should have been able to use the Old Testament Scriptures to get people to tithe to him so that his expenses would be taken care of. But Paul did not quote a single tithing Scripture to make people give, not one. He most certainly could have, because the Temple and its sacrificial system was still going on during his lifetime. But Paul knew only Levites could collect tithes. Paul could have made some Levites his treasurer and then gotten the tithes, but he did no such thing. When he quoted the Old Testament to justify receiving financial help from Christians, he quoted Deut. 25:4, “You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” (1 Cor. 9:9). He quotes it again in 1 Tim. 5:17,18, “Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads the grain,’ and ‘The laborer is worthy of his wages.’” (The words for double honor in the Greek include monetary remuneration.)
Why didn’t Paul just blast them with some real good strong tithe Scriptures and then throw the Malachi “you are robbing God” thing at them like many preachers do? Because Paul knew the Old Covenant much better than modern preachers do! He knew that there was a new temple, a new priesthood, and new covenant, and a new way of giving—out of the love of Christ in your heart! Just as our Father gave—
“For God so loved the world that He gave …” Here is our example of giving.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” (Matt. 5:43-48)
“Remember this—meagre sowing means meagre reaping; generous sowing means generous reaping. Each person must make up his own mind what he is going to give. He must not give as if giving hurt him, or as if the money was being forced out of him. God loves a man who enjoys giving. God can give you more than enough of every good gift, enough for you to have plenty for yourselves always and in any circumstances, and to have enough left over to contribute to every good cause. As Scripture says: ‘He gave generously to the poor; his kindness lasts for ever.’ God, who gives seed to sow and bread to eat, will give you an abundant supply of seed, and he will make it grow into a plentiful harvest, which will be the result of your charity to others.
He will always make you rich enough to be generous to every claim on you, and your generosity will make many people thank God when we have distributed it to those who need it; for this piece of Christian service, which you have accepted as your duty, not only supplies the needs of God’s people, it also overflows in a tide of thanksgiving to God. This service, which you are rendering, will be proof to those who receive it that you really are pledged to obedience when you publicly declare your faith in the gospel of Christ. They will also see how generously you share what you have with them and with all. And, when they see this, they will praise God for it. Because God gave you a superabundance of his grace, their warmest affection will go out to you, and they will be praying for you. Thank God for his gift, which has no price, and which is beyond words to tell of.” (2 Cor. 9:6-15, Barclay Translation)
Can it be any plainer? I suppose for those who have eyes and cannot see, they just will never be made to see. The Pharisee, whether Jewish or Christian will always put burdens upon other people’s backs that they are unwilling to put upon themselves.
At the beginning of Paul’s missionary work, he provided for himself from his tent-making abilities. “Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Many of his early converts were Jews. Surely, if Paul had legal rights to tithes, they would have given them to him. But it was not legal. Paul was a Benjamite.
Later in his ministry, when some churches had been established, he “robbed some churches to preach to others.”
“Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God free of charge. I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.” (2 Cor. 11:7,8)
Some Christians do not give to ministries at all because they believe the minister should also have a job and take care of their own expenses. But they do not really take all the Scriptures into account when they come to that conclusion. Some Christians use the tent-making Scripture as an excuse to not support those who labor in God’s vineyard full-time. This excuse to hide their own selfishness is not supported very well in the Scriptures. All of us, who are Christians, are called to be full-time Christians. Unfortunately, too many Christians are Christians for two hours on Sunday and maybe an hour or so at mid-week. But there are also those who are called into full-time ministering in many different ways. Some of these, Paul says are worthy of “double honor.” This Greek term includes far more than a “congratulations for a well-done job.” The term speaks of financial remuneration as well (1 Tim. 5:17).
“Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” (1 Cor. 9:13,14, NKJV)
Again, please note all of Paul’s references to Old Testament types, and yet he never quoted any of the tithing passages. He didn’t because he knew he was ministering from a different temple. He was a priest after a new priesthood, and he was ministering from a new place, not from the letter of the law that kills, but from the Spirit which gives life. Paul would never use some of the deceptive ways many ministers use to extort money from people.
I have seen ministers use the story of Ananias and Sapphira to firm up their Sunday message to get a good offering. This account in the book of Acts, however, has nothing to do with tithing. They probably gave much more than ten per cent of the sale of the property. It has everything to do with lying to God!
“You have not lied to men but to God.” (See Acts 5:1-11)
Some denominational headquarters even go so far in twisting Scriptures that they say 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 says that church moneys should go to headquarters and then be redistributed.
“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to churches of Galatia, so you must do also: on the first day of the week let each of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.”
Just a little bit of Bible and historical study should show that what Paul was storing up was food for the believers in Jerusalem who were experiencing a famine. Acts 11:27-30 tells us that:
“And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”
Just a little study into history using Bible dictionaries and chronological charts, we find Claudius Caesar reigning from AD 41-54. 1 Corinthians was written, according to scholars at the end of Claudius’ reign. The “collection for the saints” was a voluntary relief program made up of free-will offerings that were to be distributed to other believers in distress! Again, we do not hear the word “tithe.” In fact, if one goes to a concordance and looks up the word “tithe” or “tithes,” and searches through Paul’s pastoral epistles, letters leaving instruction to church leaders on how to conduct church business, he fails to mention these two words even once! That should tell us something. Furthermore, when one looks at the percentages of the tithe sent to oppressed brothers and sisters in third world nations, one will discover that the tithe-taking churches of today are much less humane than the free-will offering churches of the first century.
Jesus Never Received Tithes
The life of Jesus should be an example to us on giving. If He collected tithes, perhaps, a minister could make a reasonable argument for collecting tithes, but He did not. “Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). “Freely have ye received, freely give” (Matt. 10:8).
There are some who reason that since Jesus is the High Priest after the order of Melchizedek, and since Abraham offered him tithes, ministers should receive tithes because they, being a part of Christ, are part of that priesthood. Therefore, they should receive those tithes. While on the surface that may have a ring of reasonableness to it, there are enough holes in this line of reasoning to sink a ship.
As mentioned before, Abraham tithed only the spoils of war and he did not keep the rest. He gave it all away, much of it to the king Sodom. Furthermore, Christian ministers today cannot be called a Melchizedek priest. This priesthood is “unchangeable” (Heb. 7:24). The literal rendering of this passage in the Greek means “a priesthood which passeth not from one to another.” There can be no successor to Melchizedek. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can fill that position. Ministers here on earth, even good ones die, proving their priesthood here on earth has an end. To make the matter even more difficult for those who refuse to let go of their lust for money to finance their kingdoms, Peter tells us that the called-out ones, the ekklesia, the church is a “chosen generation, a royal priesthood …” (1 Pet. 2:9). That’s all of us! You are a priest. Are we all supposed to tithe to each other? I am sure that is not what tithing ministers want. They want your tithes given to them. But according to their own reasoning, you have just as much right to demand that they tithe to you, since you are a part of the same priesthood.
I mentioned at the beginning of this article that those teaching tithing as a New Covenant law or principle are actually the very ones who are robbing God. How so you ask? Well, as many passages of Scriptures make abundantly clear, under the New Covenant, there is a new temple, new priesthood, and a new law. The Old Covenant had Levites and priests, the New Covenant has apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The New Covenant has “gifts of men” (Eph. 4:8). It also gave through the Holy Spirit “gifts to men.” We find some of them listed in 1 Corinthians Chapter 12. This is the main list Pentecostals and Charismatics use to prove supernatural gifts are for today. Unfortunately, too few are aware of another list of gifts equally needful and equally New Testament. We find that list in Romans Chapter 12:4-8. Non-Charismatics and Pentecostals are probably more familiar with this list. One of the gifts listed is the gift of giving.
“Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophesy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.” (Rom. 12:8)
Now if the Holy Spirit divides the gifts as He wills, then different members of the body do different things and are equipped differently to do their job. The tithe demands, according to tithe proponents, 10 percent off the top from everyone. But there are those who are specifically given the “gift of giving.” What if God blesses a man in a business venture that makes that man a billionaire. What if God has given him the gift of giving and he is to give away 99 percent of what he earns? But when he is taught that if you are a tither you are doing great, he will not actually give the full amount of what God called him to give! The man then ends up boasting in giving his ten per cent, is nominated to be treasurer of the church, and yet is not bearing the fullness of the gift he has been given to bless the body of Christ and the world.
Remember the parables about the talents distributed unevenly among people? I believe there have been men and women in the body of Christ who should have given billions of dollars away who, because of this false teaching on tithing, have fallen short in fulfilling their giving. So those who teach the tithe have lead many to live by the Mosaic Law instead of being lead by the Holy Spirit.
I have found that many Christians who do tithe are also self-righteous. Why? Because mixing law and grace produces that—self-righteousness, the spirit of the Pharisee. “I thank God I am not like them. I fast twice a week and tithe even the smallest of seeds. Surely God must be pleased with me.” What should our attitude be like?
“And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’ So the Lord said, ‘If you have the faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat.’ But will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have eaten and drunk, and afterwards you will eat and drink.’? Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:5-10)
When we truly understand “grace,” when we really understand that everything we have, our material goods, our spiritual gifts, our very lives are but a gift from God, then we cease our boasting. Show me a Christian, minister or layman, who mixes the Mosaic Law with Grace, and I will show you a Christian Pharisee. I know. I have been one for a number of years! Tithing, because it is not for the dispensation of grace, (and the tithing modern Pharisees preach is not even Biblical) can only produce self-righteousness. Grace Christians give because that is their nature, the nature of our Father Who rains on the just and the unjust. He is the sustainer of all and we are conforming to His image.
Those who teach the modern day tithe rob God’s people of the rest which He promised them. Christians striving to keep the Mosaic Law while at the same time trying to live the life of Grace are the most miserable of creatures. The torments to the soul are endless.
“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter the rest, as He said: ‘So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,’ although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Heb. 4:1-3)
You see, Christians lead by the Holy Spirit cease from their works and enter into the works of the Lord prepared for them from the foundation of the world. A tither cannot enter this rest. They are always giving to something which will build a man’s kingdom, something which will produce pride instead of the fruit of righteousness.
Any work our Father gives us to do, He also gives us the means to do it. They are His works and we are blessed to partake in them. There is no striving even though the works may be difficult. But the works, which come from this law and grace mixture, of which this modern tithing teaching is certainly a part—these works are laborious indeed—except perhaps for the one who is collecting the proceeds from them and using them for their own kingdom building program—a kingdom made in the image of man that is destined to fall. Babylon is not being built by ancient Babylonians anymore; the building of the tower of Babel has been taken over by christendom.
Most born-again Evangelicals, Pentecostals, or Charismatics feel they are being “lead by the Holy Ghost.” This is the environment in which I have spent much of my Christian life. There is just as much deception, if not more here, than in the mainline denominations, which most “born-again” Christians consider dead. Religious spirits and the Holy Spirit are not the same thing! We need to humbly ask our Father to reveal the difference to each of us.