Posted on 04/09/2006 9:39:42 PM PDT by ScubieNuc
Should Christians tithe?
Recently, I was asked about tithing. Being like most Americans, I don’t tithe regularly. It’s not that I think I shouldn’t, it has more to do with my current debt. I’ve always felt that tithing would be a great thing to be able to do, but sadly, I have never been able to do it on a consistent basis. So, I decided to do a more thorough Biblical study on tithing, so that I could give an answer consistent with what God wants. What I discovered surprised me, so I decided to post what I found to see what Freeper’s had to say.
The first thing I did was look at all the verses with the word “tithe” in them. It occurs 14 times in 13 verses. The word “tithing” occurs 2 times in one verse. The thing that jumped out to me was that the word “tithe” occurs only twice in the New Testament ( Matt. 23:23 & Luke 11:42).
When you look at those events, in Matthew and Luke, Jesus is scolding the Pharisees, who have apparently mastered tithing, but have overlooked more important things such as judgment, mercy, faith, and the love of God. Now, Jesus does imply that tithing is good, but that it should not be done at the expense of more “weighty matters of the law.”
Now, when I looked at the Old Testament verses dealing with tithing, I also saw a familiar theme. Tithing was tied into the ceremonies and rituals given to the Nation of Israel after the Exodus out of slavery.
Tithing was used to build the tabernacle and the Temple. Tithing was used to set aside food. Tithing was to be used by those who would be serving in the Tabernacle or Temple. Tithing was as much a ritual as was the rituals surrounding the Sabbath. So then, how do we Christians today, who are under the New Covenant of Jesus, deal with the rituals given by God under the Mosaic Covenant?
I looked at the rituals of the Sabbath for an example. First, the Sabbath was a sign for the Nation of Israel and not for all people (Exodus 31:12, 13, 16, 17). Sabbath was a ceremonial law for the Jewish Nation. Sabbath was more then just the 7th day of the week, but also dealt with the 7th month (Lev. 23:24) and the 7th year (Lev. 25:4). In the entire New Testament there is not a single command to Christians to keep the Sabbaths. Why?
In short, the ceremonial laws were “nailed to the cross” because they were a “shadow” of Jesus.
Col 2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Col 2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with [him] through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 [And] having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath [days]:
Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body [is] of Christ.
Next, I looked for examples of what the early Christians did. They didn’t give 10%, they gave it ALL!
Act 4:32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any [of them] that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
And
Act 2:44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
Act 2:45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need.
I noticed a few points from their example. One, the church took care of its own house first. Two, it was unanimous. They voluntarily sold all their goods, pooled the monies, and distributed where it was needed among the Church. Once they had their own church finances taken care of, they could then focus on others who were outside of the church. This is not an example of reinstituting the rituals of the Old Testament.
The New Testament Church does give guidelines for leaders in the church, who are “stewards for God.” (Titus1:5-7) The KJV mentions “not given to filthy lucre.” This is translated from the Greek word aischrokerdes. This word means eager for base gain or greedy for money. It is clear that to be a steward of God, finances is part of the picture. However, there is no mention of tithing.
The New Testament church was an example of the following verses…
Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
2Cr 8:5 And [this they did], not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
These verses point out that stewardship involves giving all of yourself.
Finally, I looked at what the Bible has to say about borrowing and debt. Borrowing is always involved whenever there is lending. Since lending is sometimes permissible, so is borrowing. Still, normally it is the righteous who are lenders rather than borrowers.
"The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty . . . to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none." (Deuteronomy 28:12)
"The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously. . . . They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed." (Psalm 37:21, 26)
"Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice." (Psalm 112:5)
There is danger in debt.
"The rich rule over the poor and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7
"You were bought at a price. Do not become servants of men." 1 Corinthians 7:23
"No one can serve two masters. . . You cannot serve both God and Money." Matthew 6:24
The New Testament warns against debt.
Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
There is a penalty for debt.
"All these blessings will come upon you if you obey the LORD your God:
". . . The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to . . . bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none. The LORD will make you the head, not the tail.
"However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
". . . The alien who lives among you will rise above you higher and higher, but you will sink lower and lower. He will lend to you, but you will not lend to him. He will be the head, but you will be the tail. Deuteronomy 28:2,12-13; 15; 43-44
Debt causes desperation.
Some were saying, "We and our sons and daughters are numerous; in order for us to eat and stay alive, we must get grain."
Others were saying, "We are mortgaging our fields, our vineyards and our homes to get grain during the famine."
Still others were saying, "We have had to borrow money to pay the king's tax on our fields and vineyards." Nehemiah 5:2-4
So, what is my conclusion? Tithing was part of the ceremonies and rituals given to the Nation of Israel after the exodus from slavery in Egypt. Tithing was not instituted by the early church examples given in the New Testament. Jesus never commands tithing. Tithing is not one of the “weighty matters of the law.” Tithing was a shadow that directed people toward Jesus.
So what is a Christian to do financially? One, is to recognize that all we have is to be used for God. That is not limited to money, but to our time, our talents, etc. Two, we need to take care of our brothers in Christ, even if it means greater sacrifice by some. Three, we need to take care of others outside of the body of Christ. Four, we need to get out of debt so that we can better provide for others.
Finally, I recognize that I am an un-schooled layman. Plus, I do not have my own financial house in complete order (debts). Therefore, I recognize that my study/conclusions may be biased to support what I want, as apposed to what Jesus actually wants. I am not seeking to attack certain traditions, rather to “speak the truth in love.” (Eph. 4:11-15) I think that 1 Corinthians 4:2 summarizes it best…
“Moreover, it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.”
Sincerely
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 1 CORINTHIANS 16:2
If you want to get your financial house in order and get out of debt, my advice is to tithe. The Lord will open up the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon you. Read Malachi 3 and take a look at what the Lord promises us.
You're free to do what you want. We tithe and we have been blessed time and time again, when we were in the most desperate circumstances.
We don't do it to get the blessings. We do it because everything we have belongs to God anyway; everything we have he has given to us. I find it impossible to be stingy when He has already given me so much.
I appreciate your analysis and careful attention to this matter. I can't speak to whether you should consider tithing a commandment of the New Testament church. I can say that my husband and I tithe and more. We apply the admonition and promise of Malachi 3:8-10 (Authorized King James Version): "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 you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it."
You can argue the legal points and there are many knowledgeable posters who will do so. I will only testify of my own experience that that promise still holds true.
10% of my gross goes to tithing. I pay the Lord first.
Then I do the 401 (just enough to get the match) and then the Roth.
'You are on the right path, comrades!', as the Lenin quote goes. I pay myself first: max the Roth, max 401k, and what's left after the necessities goes into taxable investment accounts.
NO! We are to be cheerful givers whatever God has purposed in our hearts.
I have seen more of God's sheep beat to death with the Mal 3. WHERE WILL A MAN ROB GOOOOOOOODDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
First one has to look at what the tithe was for; it was for the Levites who were without an inheritance in the promised land.
What was the tithe to be paid with an increase of the land of Israel not of money. You actually got penalized if you gave money.
Every seven years there was no tithe have you ever seen a church tell the sheepple we don't need your tithe this year. NO!
Look for a church in your area which offers the program from Crown Ministries (or get your church to start one). http://www.crown.org/
You are on the right track.
Thanks for the link.
Sincerely
God gave it to you, He can take it all back.
Too many people think they can buy God off. I don't think he's going to send you to hell for not tithing 20%.
if you are secular than you don't really tithing in the sense that a believer would?
Nobody's trying to buy off God. Let me rephrase that. I'M not trying to buy off God. As if I could.
Tithing means 10%, not 20%. "Tenth part."
I have no idea what Lenin has to do with anything.
"or a righteous work people try to do to earn salvation or God's favor".
I have seen this where it become a little clik with the pastor and others in church where you get invited to the pastors bbq's the elders Christmas party, ect. I believe that one should not muzzle the ox either, yet I have seen pastors driving new cars and vans and each of their children going to private schools and having the best of everything and I've seen people barley getting by because of the Mal 3 weekly beatings. I've seen churches that were doing fine and then deciding for add on or a new this or new that for the church and people signing pledge cards and life happens and pledges not met and you can figure the rest of the story out for yourself. I personally would rather go to a house church small intimate where needs are discussed and needs are met and this usually happens between the people in the fellowship. This is the closest I have ever cam to where two or more are gathered in my Name I will be there!
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