by Steve Atkerson
“The Bible teaches
it; I believe it; tithing.” Such are the words chanted weekly by
the congregation of a large church. Some career clergymen have
declared that unless God’s people tithe, they are robbing God (Mt
3:8-10)! One mega-church has its members cite the “Tither’s
Creed.” They repeat, “The tithe is the Lord’s. In truth we
learned it. In faith we believe it. In joy we give it.
The tithe!”
The Bible does teach tithing. The Bible also teaches God’s
people not to eat shrimp or oysters. The real question is whether
such Old Covenant laws are still binding under the New Covenant.
Is the law of Moses identical to the law of Christ?
Without dispute the New Covenant extols the virtue of
generosity. In Mt 6:19-21, Jesus teaches us to store up treasures
in heaven. In Mt 19:21, Jesus told the rich young ruler that by
giving to the poor, he could have treasure in heaven. 1 Ti 6:18-19
exhorts us to be “generous and willing to share . . . lay up treasure .
. . as a firm foundation for the coming age.” We are to share with
others, “for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (Heb 13:16).
But how much should we give? The answer depends on how much we
want to reap later, how much we want to be blessed, and how much
treasure we want in heaven. Scripture says to remember this:
“whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he
has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion,
for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Co 9:6-7).
According to the
New Covenant, each man should give “what he has decided in his heart to
give.” That’s all there is to it! Tithing, as required by
Moses, is not a New Covenant practice. Notice that the text
declares our giving is not to be done “reluctantly or under compulsion”
(2 Co 9:7). If some preacher says you must tithe, else you are
robbing God, is that not placing people “under compulsion”?
The OT tithe was compulsory, not voluntary. Its purpose was to
financially support a theocratic government. It was like our
federal income tax. It supported the whole levitical system with
its priests and temple (2 Ch 24:6, 9). Unlike Israel, the church
is not under a theocracy, but human, secular governments. Unlike
Israel, the church has no special class of priests, but rather all in
the church are priests. Unlike the Mosaic Covenant, the New
Covenant has no elaborate temple to build and upkeep. Instead,
believers themselves (both individually and corporately), make up God’s
temple (living stones in a spiritual temple).
Just as there is
no more temple, no more separate priestly class, no more theocracy, no
more “holy” land, no more restrictive diet (oysters, shrimp), so also
there is no more tithing. Tithing is never commanded in the New
Covenant. There has been a “change of law” (Heb 7:12), the former
regulation has been “set aside” (Heb 7:18), and the New Covenant made
the first one “obsolete” (Heb 8:13)!
One objection to this is that the practice of tithing precedes the
Old Covenant. Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, and since the Old
Covenant was not initiated until several hundred years after that event,
tithing must be seen as an ongoing practice that transcends any one
covenant. This argument seems plausible at first. However, once it
is realized that this is an isolated (not an ongoing) event in the life
of Abraham (the same can be said for Jacob’s tithe), and that Abraham
also offered sacrifices and circumcised the males of his household (both
of which are now considered obsolete religious practices by all
Christians), the strength of that argument wanes.
Another objection is based on Jesus’ statement that “you give a tenth
of your spices . . . but you have neglected the more important matters
of the law . . . you should have practiced the latter, without
neglecting the former” (Mt 23:23). The key to correctly applying
this to today lies with the word “law” (Mt 23:23). Jesus was
speaking to the teachers of the law and to the Pharisees–men who lived
prior to the initiation of the New Covenant. The “law” is that of
the Mosaic Covenant, not the New Covenant. The Israelis of Jesus’
day were indeed required to tithe (and, by the way, to make animal
sacrifices). We of the New Covenant are under no such requirement
since that first covenant and its law has passed away. Viva the
law of Christ!
Of course, there is nothing wrong with tithing if that is what God
has led you to do. As was pointed out above, Abraham and Jacob
both tithed voluntarily before the law was given. They serve as
good examples to follow! The key is that our giving is to be
according to how we have purposed in our hearts to give.
Since the house church in which I participate rarely takes up a
collection, how do I give? Every time I get a paycheck, I
set aside a percentage of it into a special “giving” fund. Week
after week funds accrue there, until a need in the congregation
arises. Giving in our church is usually directly from giver to
“getter,” with no middleman involved (though collections are
occasionally taken).
Only two causes in the NT warrant a collection from the church.
They are to help other believers who are in need (Ac 11:27-30; 24:17; Ro
15:25-28; 1 Co 16:1-4; 2 Co 8:1-15; 9:12) and to support apostles
(church planters) in their work (Ac 15:3; Ro 15:23-24; 1 Co 9:1-14;
16:5-6, 10-11; 2 Co 1:16; Php 4:14-18; Tit 3:13-14; 3 Jn 5-8).
Whenever believers in another place were undergoing hardship (due to
famines or whatever), the other churches were called upon to supply
financial aid. It is important to note that such collections were
never ongoing–they ceased after the need was met (Ac 11:27-30; 12:25; 1
Co 16:1-4). Local giving to the poor was done in secret and
directly (Mt 6:1-4, 19-21; Eph 4:28). Evidently a “list” of local
widows who qualified for assistance was kept by a church (1 Ti 5:3, 9,
16).
The church was also obligated to support the sending out of apostles
(church planters). The Greek word for “send” (propempo) is,
in the NT, associated with helping someone on their journey with food or
money, by arranging for traveling companions, means of travel,
etc. (BAGD, 709). It is to “send” an apostle off with material
sustenance (Ac 15:3; Ro 15:24; 1 Co 16:6,11; 2 Co 1:16; Tit 3:13; 3 Jn
5-8).
The same case can be made for the word “welcome” (Php 2:29; 3 Jn
10). To “welcome” a church planter was to provide temporary
lodging for him and to meet his physical needs. NT church planters
were given lump sums to get them to their destinations. Once
there, they would evangelize the area, establish churches, train them in
the basics and move on. En route they might be “welcomed” at
existing churches and then be “sent” along again.
1 Co 9:1-14 states that apostle/church planters have the “right” to
earn their living from the gospel while on mission trips. More is
known of Paul’s activities than anyone else’s, and a look at his
“career” is enlightening. His first mission lasted a year (AD
47-48) and then he was home about a year. His second expedition
lasted around three years (AD 49-52) and then he came back for a short
time. Paul’s third trip lasted some four years, after which he
returned to Jerusalem. The lesson to learn from this is that he
did not spend his whole life in one place or among one people
group. He traveled extensively, and his work was segmented into
specific projects (a one year trip, a three year trip, a four year
trip). Paul was also versatile enough to be able to supply his own
needs when church funds were lacking.
Don’t feel obligated to tithe. Give whatever you have purposed
in your heart to give, and don’t waste your giving resources on career
clergy, special church sanctuaries, janitorial fees, landscaping, fancy
throne-like furniture for hired pastors to sit in, or eighty thousand
dollar pipe organs. Instead, use it as God intended: to help the needy
and to support church planters!
