Posted by
ChaplainStevens on Monday, May 21, 2007 1:11:52 PM
And
all that believed were together, and had all things common; and they
sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all, according as
any man had need. Act 2:44-45
Tithing is Not a New Covenant Doctrine
The
following essay is a summary of my book, Should the Church Teach
Tithing? A Theologian’s Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine. The book
itself is a greatly expanded version of my PH. D. thesis. I challenge
Bible educators to be bold, to open up their seminary level research
and to promote studies on this subject in the Masters, Doctorate and
PH. D. levels. This doctrine is simply too important to ignore.
The
doctrine of tithing, in many churches today, has reached the level of a
modern scandal. While on the one hand, most seminary-level textbooks
and church theologians omit tithing, on the other hand, the practice is
quickly becoming a requirement for church membership in the very
denominations who insist on solid Bible-based doctrines. There is also
increasing evidence that lay persons who question the legitimacy of New
Covenant tithing are usually criticized as being troublemakers or weak
Christians.
Modern Tithing is Based on Many False Assumptions
One
denomination’s statement on stewardship is typical of what many others
teach about tithing. It says that "tithing is the minimum biblical
standard and the beginning point which God has established that must
not be replaced or compromised by any other standard." Let me repeat
this false statement: "tithing is the minimum biblical standard and the
beginning point which God has established that must not be replaced or
compromised by any other standard." They add that the tithe is from
gross income which is due to the church before taxes.
The following points of this essay contrast the false teachings used to support tithing with what God’s Word actually says.
Point #1. In God’s Word, the Tithe is Always Only Food and Never Money!
The
false teaching is that biblical tithes include ALL sources of income.
This is the Webster Dictionary definition and it is not the biblical
definition!
Settle
this question once and for all! Open a complete Bible concordance and
you will soon discover that the false definition is wrong. This is very
important. **True biblical tithes were always only food from the farms
and herds of only Israelites who only lived inside God’s Holy Land, the
national boundary of Israel.**
There
are 15 verses from 11 chapters and 8 books from Leviticus 27 to Luke
11which describe the contents of the tithe. And those contents never, I
repeat, never included money, silver, gold or anything other than food!
Yet the incorrect definition of "tithe" is the greatest lie being
preached about tithing today! (Lev. 27:30, 32; Numb. 18:27, 28; Deu.
12:17; 14:22, 23; 26 12; 2 Chron. 31:5, 6; Neh. 10:37; 13:5; Mal. 3:10;
Matt. 23:23; Luke 11: 42).
Point #2. Abraham’s Tithe to Melchizedek is Not an Example for Christians.
However,
for the following reasons, Genesis 14:20 cannot be used as an example
for Christians to tithe. (1) The Bible does not say that Abraham
"freely" gave this tithe. (2) Abraham’s tithe was NOT a holy tithe from
God’s holy land produced by God’s holy people. (3) Abraham’s tithe was
only from spoils of war common to many nations. (4) In Numbers 31, God
only required 1% of spoils of war. (5) Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek
was a one-time recorded event and Abraham moved often. (6) Abraham’s
tithe was not from his own personal property. (7) Abraham kept nothing
for himself; he gave everything back. (8) Abraham’s tithe is not quoted
anywhere in the Bible to endorse tithing. (9) Genesis 14, verse 21, is
the key text. Since most commentaries explain verse 21 as an example of
pagan Arab tradition, it is contradictory to explain the 90% of verse
21 as pagan, while insisting that the 10% of verse 20 was God’s will.
(10) If Abraham is an example for Christians to give 10% to God, then
he should also be an example for Christians to give the other 90% to
Satan, or to the king of Sodom! (11) Since neither Abraham nor Jacob
had a Levitical priesthood to support, they had no place to bring
tithes during their many moves.
Point #3. The First-Tithes Were Not Received by Priests.
The
truth is that the "whole" tithe, the first tithe, did not go to the
priests at all. Instead, according to Numbers 18:21-24 and Nehemiah
10:37, it went to the servants of the priests, the Levites. Next,
according to Numbers 18:25, 26 and Nehemiah 10:38, the Levites gave the
best tenth of this tithe which they received to the priests who
ministered the sin sacrifices and served inside in the holy places.
Priests personally did not tithe at all.
It
is also important to know that, in exchange for receiving these tithes,
both Levites and priests forfeited all rights to permanent land
inheritance inside Israel (Numb. 18:20-26; Deu. 12:12; 14:27, 29; 18:1,
2; Josh. 13:14, 33; 14:3; 18:7; Ezek. 44:28). Also, the Levites, who
received the first tithe, were prohibited from ministering blood
sacrifices under penalty of death (Numb. 18:3). There is no
continuation to the New Covenant here.
Point #4. The Phrase, "It is Holy to the LORD," Does Not Make Tithing an Eternal Moral Principle.
The
false teaching is that Leviticus 27:30-32 proves that the tithe is an
"eternal moral principle" because "it is holy to the LORD."
However,
these false teachers must ignore the stronger phrase, "it is MOST holy
to the LORD," in the immediate preceding verses 28 and 29. This is
because verses 28 and 29 are definitely not eternal moral principles in
the Church.
In
its context, the phrases "it is holy to the LORD" and "it is MOST holy
to the LORD" cannot possibly be interpreted "eternal moral principles."
Why? Because almost every other use of these phrases in Leviticus has
long ago been discarded by Christians. Similar phrases are also used to
describe all of the festivals, the sacrificial offerings, the clean
food distinctions, the old covenant priests and the old covenant
sanctuary.
Point #5. There are Four Different Tithes Found in the Bible.
In
reality, the first religious tithe, called the "Levitical tithe," had
two parts: again, the whole first tithe was given to the Levites who
were only servants to the priests (Numb. 18:21-24; Neh. 10:37); the
Levites, in turn, gave one tenth of the whole tithe to the priests
(Numb. 18:25, 26; Neh. 10:38). According to Deuteronomy 12 and 14, the
second religious tithe, called the "festival tithe," was eaten by
worshipers in the streets of Jerusalem during the three yearly
festivals (Deu. 12:1-19; 14:22-26). And, according to Deuteronomy 14
and 26, a third tithe, called the "poor tithe," stayed in the homes
every third year and was used to feed the poor (Deu. 14:28, 29;
26:12-13). Also, according to First Samuel, chapter 8, the King
collected the first and best ten per cent for political use. During
Jesus’ time Rome collected the first ten per cent (10%) of most food
and twenty per cent (20%) of fruit crops as its spoils of war.
One
wonders what "churches" are trying to hide when they only single out
the one religious tithe which best suits their purposes and ignore the
other three tithes.
Point #6. Jesus, Peter, Paul and the Poor Could Not Tithe!
The false teaching is that everybody in the Old Testament was required to begin their giving to God at the ten per cent level.
In
reality, the poor were not required to tithe at all! Craftsmen did not
tithe. Fishermen did not tithe. Only farmers and herdsmen possessed
what was defined as tithe increase.
Jesus
was a carpenter; Paul was a tentmaker, and Peter was a fisherman. None
of these occupations qualified as tithe-payers because they did not
farm or herd animals for a living. It is, therefore, wrong to teach
that everybody paid a required minimum of a tithe, and, therefore, New
Covenant Christians should be required to, at least, begin at the same
minimum as Old Covenant Israelites. This common false assumption is
very often repeated and completely ignores the very plain definition of
tithe as food from farm increase or herd increase.
It
is also wrong to teach that the poor in Israel were required to pay
tithes. In fact, they actually received tithes! Much of the second
festival tithe and all of a special third-year tithe went to the poor.
In fact, many laws protected the poor from abuse and expensive
sacrifices which they could not afford (see also Lev. 14:21; 25:6,
25-28, 35, 36; 27:8; Deu. 12:1-19; 14:23, 28, 29; 15:7, 8, 11; 24:12,
14, 15, 19, 20; 26:11-13; Mal. 3:5; Matt. 12:1, 2; Mark 2:23, 24; Luke
2:22-24; 6:1, 2; 2 Cor. 8:12-14; 1 Tim. 5:8; Jas. 1:27).
Point #7. Tithes Were Often Used as Political Taxes.
The false teaching is that tithes are never comparable to taxes, or taxation.
However,
in the Hebrew economy, the tithe was used in a totally different manner
than it is preached today. Once again, those Levites who received the
whole tithe were not even ministers or priests -- they were only
servants to the priests. Numbers, chapter 3, describes the Levites as
carpenters, metal workers, leather-craftsmen and artists who maintained
the small sanctuary. And, according to First Chronicles, chapters
23-27, during the time of King David and King Solomon, the Levites were
still skilled craftsmen who inspected and approved all work in the
Temple: 24, 000 worked in the Temple as builders and supervisors; 6,000
were officials and judges; 4,000 were guards and 4,000 were musicians.
As political representatives of the king, Levites used their tithe
income to serve as officials, judges, tax collectors, treasurers,
temple guards, musicians, bakers, singers and professional soldiers (1
Chron. 12:23, 26; 27:5). It is obvious why these examples of using
biblical tithe-income are never used as examples in the Church today.
When
it came to mission work, Old Covenant tithes were never used for
evangelism of non-Israelites. Tithing failed! In other words, tithes
never stimulated Old Covenant Levites or priests to establish a single
mission outreach or encourage a single Gentile to become an Israelite!
Old Covenant tithing was motivated and mandated by Law, not love. In
fact, during most of Israel’s history the prophets were God’s primary
spokesmen – and not the tithe-receiving Levites and priests.
Point #8. Levitical Tithes Were Normally Taken to the Levitical Cities.
False
teachers want us to think that tithes were formerly all taken to the
Temple and should now be taken to the "church’s" building.
In
reality, the overwhelming majority of Levitical tithes never went to
the Temple. Those who teach otherwise ignore the Levitical cities and
the 24 courses of the Levites and priests.
According
to Numbers 35, Joshua 20, 21 and First Chronicles 6, Levites and
priests lived on borrowed land in the Levitical cities where they
farmed and raised animals. And it is clear from Numbers 18, Second
Chronicles 31:15-19 and Nehemiah 10:37 that the ordinary people were
expected to bring their tithes to the Levitical cities. Why? Because
that is where most of the Levites and priests lived with their families
most of the time. See also Nehemiah 13:9.
Point #9. Malachi 3 is the Most Abused Tithing Text in the Bible.
(1)
Malachi is Old Covenant context and is never quoted in the New Covenant
for the church. (2) In 1:6; 2:1 and 3:1-5, Malachi is addressed to
dishonest priests who are cursed because they have stolen the best
offerings from God. (3) The Levitical cities must be considered and
Jerusalem was not a Levitical city. It makes no sense to teach that
100% of the tithe was brought to the Temple when most Levites and
priests did not live in Jerusalem. (4) The 24 courses of Levites and
priests must also be considered. Beginning with King David and King
Solomon, they were divided into 24 families. These divisions were also
put into place in Malachi’s time by Ezra and Nehemiah. Since normally
only one family served in the Temple for only one week at a time, there
was absolutely no reason to send ALL of the tithe to the Temple when
98% of those it was designed to feed were still in the Levitical cities
(1 Chron. 24-26; 28:13, 21; 2 Chron. 8:14; 23:8; 31:2, 15-19; 35:4, 5,
10; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 11:19, 30; 12:24; 13:9, 10; Luke 1:5).
Therefore,
when the context of the Levitical cities, the 24 families of priests,
under-age children, wives, Numbers 18, Second Chronicles 31, Nehemiah
10-13, and all of Malachi are all evaluated, only about 2% of the total
tithe was normally required at the Temple in Jerusalem.
Point #10. Tithing is Not Taught in the New Testament.
The false teaching is that Jesus taught tithing in Matthew 23:23 which, they say, is clearly in the New Testament.
The
problem here is the arbitrary division of our Bible. The New Covenant
did not begin at the birth of Jesus, but at his death. Tithing is not
taught to the church after Calvary! When Jesus discussed tithing in
Matthew 23:23, he was only commanding obedience to the Old Covenant Law
which he endorsed and supported until Calvary. In Matthew 23:2, 3 Jesus
told his followers to obey the scribes and Pharisees "because they sit
in Moses’ seat." There is not a single New Testament Bible text which
teaches tithing after Calvary – period!
Point #11. Old Covenant Priests Were Replaced by Believer-Priests.
The
false teaching is that New Covenant preachers are simply taking up
where the Old Covenant priests left off and are due the tithe.
Compare
Exodus 19:5, 6 with Second Peter 2: 9, 10. Before the incident of the
golden calves, God had intended for every Israelite to become a priest.
Like other ordinances of the Law, tithing was only a temporary shadow
until Christ. In the New Covenant every believer is a priest who offers
spiritual sacrifices to God. OT priests did not tithe!!! Old Covenant
priests were replaced by the priesthood of every believer. Therefore,
every ordinance which had applied to the old priesthood was blotted out
at Calvary. Therefore, the original temporary purpose of tithing no
longer exists. (Compare Numb. 3:12, 13; Heb. 4:16; 10:19-22; 13:15, 16
and Rev. 1:6 with Gal. 3:19; Heb. 7:12-19; Eph. 2:14-16; Col. 2:13-17).
Point #12. The New Covenant Church is Neither a Building Nor a Storehouse.
The
false teaching is that Christian buildings, called "churches,"
"tabernacles" or "temples" replaced the OT Temple as God’s dwelling
places.
God’s
Word never calls New Covenant "churches," "tabernacles" and "temples"
"buildings" in which God dwells! God’s church, God’s dwelling place, is
within the believers. Believers do not "go to church" -- believers go
"to meet the church." Also, since OT priests did not pay tithes, then
tithing cannot logically continue. Therefore it is wrong to call a
building "God’s storehouse" for tithes. (1 Cor. 3:16, 17; 6:19, 20;
12:12-14; Eph. 1:22, 23; 2:21; 4:12-16; Rev. 3:12). For "storehouse"
compare First Corinthians 16:2 with 2 Corinthians 12:14 and Acts 20:17,
32-35.
Point #13. The Church Grows By Using Better New Covenant Principles.
The
false teaching implies that principles of grace giving are not as good
as principles of law-giving. Which church obeys Leviticus 25:4-7 which
forbids collecting tithes every seventh year?
(1)
According to Galatians 5:16-23, there is no physical law which controls
the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (2) Second Corinthians 3:10 says that
the Old Covenant has "no glory" when compared to the "surpassing" glory
and liberty of the Holy Spirit. (3) Hebrews 7 is the only post-Calvary
mention of tithing and it is an explanation of why the Levitical
priesthood must be replaced by Christ’s priesthood because it was weak
and unprofitable. I encourage the study Hebrews 7 and follow the
progression from verse 5 to verse 12 to verse 18. (4) The manner in
which tithing is taught today reflects a failure of the church to
believe and act on the far better principles of love, grace and faith.
Mandatory giving principles never can, never have and never will,
prosper the church more than principles guided by love for Christ and
lost souls.
Point #14. N. T. Giving Principles in 2nd Corinthians 8 and 9 Do Not Include Tithing.
The
false teaching is that tithing is an assumed doctrine. Yet the early
church thrived through the witness of women, slaves and soldiers who
had nothing to tithe.
The
following New Covenant principles are found in Second Corinthians,
chapters 8 and 9: (1) Giving is a "grace. Second Corinthians, chapters
8, uses the word, "grace," eight times in reference to helping poor
saints. (2) Give yourself to God first (8:5). (3) Give yourself to
knowing God’s will (8:5). (4) Give in response to Christ’s gift (8:9;
9:15). (5) Give out of a sincere desire (8:8, 10, 12; 9:7). (6) Do not
give because of any commandment to give (8:8, 10; 9:7). (7) Give even
beyond your ability (8:3, 11, 12). (8) Give equally. This means that
those who have more should give more in order to make up for the
inability of those who cannot afford to give as much (8:12-14). (9)
Give joyfully (8:2). (10) Give because you are growing spiritually
(8:3, 4, 7). (11) Give because you want to continue growing spiritually
(9:8, 10, 11). (12) Give because you are hearing the gospel preached
(9:13).
Point #15. The Apostle Paul Preferred That Church Leaders Be Self-Supporting.
Yet,
nothing could be farther from the truth. As a Jewish rabbi, Paul was
among those who insisted on working to support himself (Acts 18:3; 1
Thess. 2:9, 10; 2 Thess. 3:8-14). While Paul does not condemn those who
manage to receive full-time support, neither does he teach that
full-time support is the normal will of God for advancing the gospel (1
Cor. 9:12). In fact, twice, in Acts 20:29-35 and also in Second
Corinthians 12:14, Paul actually encouraged church elders to work to
support needy believers inside the church.
For
Paul, "living of the gospel" meant "living by gospel principles of
faith, love and grace" (1 Cor. 9:14). While Paul realized that he had a
"right" to some support, he concluded that his "liberty," or freedom to
preach unhindered was more important in order to fulfill his calling
from God (1 Cor. 9:15; 11:7-13; 12:13, 14;1 Thess. 2:5, 6). While
working as a tent-maker, Paul accepted limited support but boasted that
his pay, or salary, was that he could preach the gospel for free,
without being a burden to others (1 Cor. 9:16-19).
Point #16. Tithing Did Not Become a Law in the Church Until A. D. 777.
However,
even in Acts 21:20-26, several decades after Calvary, the early
Jewish-Christians in Jerusalem were still carefully following the Old
Covenant law and were still worshiping in and supporting the Jewish
Temple. As obedient Jews, logic forces us to conclude that they must
have still been sending any tithes they had to the Temple.
While
disagreeing with their own theologians, most Church historians write
that tithing did not become an accepted doctrine in the church for over
700 years after Calvary. In fact, the early church leaders practiced
asceticism. This meant that being poor was the best way to serve God.
They patterned their worship after that of the Jewish synagogues which
had rabbis who were self-supporting and usually refused to receive
money for teaching God’s Word.
According
to the very best historians and encyclopedias, it took over 500 years
before the local church Council of Macon, in the year 585, tried
unsuccessfully to enforce tithing on its members and it was not until
the year 777 that Emperor Charlemagne legally allowed the church to
collect tithes.
Conclusion:
The false teaching of tithing is driving thousands of sincere
Christians out of our churches today. People are not stupid! They can
read the Bible for themselves, as they should. Almost every day I
receive e-mails from all around the world thanking me for speaking up
for the truth of God’s Word. Tithing is not part of New Covenant
doctrine for Christ’s church. May God richly bless your dedicated and
prayerful study of His Holy Word. Thank you. My web site is: www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com.
BARF TIME: WHY BOOKS LIKE THIS ARE NEEDED.
WCFcourier .com’ Waterloo, Iowa;
The Cedar Valley’s Home Page
Friday, August 5, 2005
Support payments
The
Living Word Tabernacle in Waverly, Ohio, terminated the membership of
Loretta Davis recently, according to a July report by WCMH-TV in
Columbus, because she had stopped paying her tithe. Davis'
contributions ended in January after she was hospitalized the first of
15 times this year for congestive heart failure. The church's founder
said non-member Davis could still attend, but Davis' daughter said, "In
the time of (her) need, (the church) should be caring, supporting,
asking what she needs, help her if she needed help." When healthier,
Davis was donating $60 a month out of her $592 Social Security check.