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By Joshua Goodwin
Since tithing is
definitely a principle taught in the Bible, it is absolutely
shocking to hear the number of people that teach that tithing isn’t
relevant for Christians today. Many of these individuals decry
tithing as an “illegal and abusive practice of the Church”. They
claim that if you practice tithing you are still under “Old
Testament bondage”. The purpose of this article is not to identify
every scripture in the Bible relating to tithing, but rather to try
to refute some of the arguments commonly used to convince people
that Christians don’t need to tithe.
1)
Tithing is not necessary under this current dispensation of grace.
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
once said, “If the ‘grace’ you have received does not help you to
keep the law, you have not received grace.” While it is true that we
now live in a dispensation of grace, that grace was purchased at a
tremendous cost. It did not free me of all obligations to Christ.
Lev. 27:30-32 emphasizes that the tithe is “holy unto the Lord”. We
are commanded to “Be ye holy; for I am holy” (I Peter 1:16). If we
consume upon ourselves that which is holy unto the Lord, then we are
cheapening the grace that purchased our redemption.
‘If the “grace”
you have received does not help you to keep the law, you have not
received grace’.
2)
Tithing was only an Old Testament teaching, and was not applicable
in the New Testament.
Scripture records several ceremonial obligations, such as the law of
animal sacrifices, which are no longer binding upon the New
Testament church (Heb. 9:8–10). These were types that were fulfilled
by Christ at his first advent. However, tithing was instituted for
a specific purpose and not as a type. The Apostle Paul presented no
argument against tithes as he did repeatedly against the ceremonial
issues of the law (ex. meats, holy days, new moon feasts, Sabbath
days, circumcision, etc.).
Jesus himself even
commended people for tithing (Matt. 23:23). There are many
scriptures in the New Testament showing where the ceremonial law of
God was fulfilled and no longer applicable to the church, but there
is no scripture stating that tithing in no longer necessary. It is
very audacious of men
today to take it upon themselves to make changes to
God's written plan for the tithe.
3)
Tithing was only required of Jews, not Gentiles.
The vast majority
of our Bible was written to the Jews. All of Jesus’ words were
spoken to Jews. That does not mean we can disregard them because we
are not Jews. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of
the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
4)
Before the Law of Moses, tithing was done on a voluntary basis.
All true worship
of God is voluntary on our part. That was true before, during and
after the Law of Moses. No one makes you attend church. No one
forces you to be baptized. No one makes you live a holy life.
Similarly, no one can compel you to tithe. That does not mean that
it’s optional either. The grace of God allows us to obey all of
God’s Word and not just the parts we like.
5)
Malachi 3 was only written to the Jews that were under the Mosaic
Law.
“All scripture is
given by inspiration of God...” (II Tim. 3:16). Of course Malachi
was writing to the Jews in his day, because the Gentiles were still
the wild olive branch that had not yet been grafted in (Romans
11:17). If we are to say that the scriptures only apply to the
people that they were originally written for, then we can disregard
the entire Bible. We don’t need to show charity, because that was
only a charge given to the Corinthians.
6)
It
is impossible to give tithes to the one true High Priest and anyone
else collecting tithes under grace is a fraud and a robber.
“Inasmuch as ye
have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me.” (Matt. 25:40) It is true that we are not able to
physically give our tithes to Christ, and he has no need of them
anyway. He owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalms 50:10).
However, he has established a church that bears his name and is his
representation in the earth.
7)
Those that tithe are denying that Christ fulfilled the law of Moses.
There was a law of God in place long before the Mosaic Law was
instituted. For example, God instructed Noah regarding the number
of animals he was to take into the ark. He differentiated between
the "clean" and the "unclean" animals. The Bible does not record the
law defining such unclean animals, until Leviticus 11. Yet, that law
was already in existence in Noah's time.
Similarly, the principle of tithing preceded the establishment of
God's covenant with ancient Israel and it did not cease with the
establishment of the second or new covenant!
8)
A
pagan Roman Catholic Church established tithing centuries after the
Bible was written.
This is a very
weak argument since there are so many scriptures in the Bible that
shows God’s people observing the principle of tithing. The truth is
God himself established tithing in the book of Genesis (Gen.
14:20).
9)
Only
Levites could collect tithes and since the Levitical priesthood has
ended, so has tithing.
This argument is
based on the assumption that God gave the tithe eternally and
unconditionally to the Levites. The Bible does not say that. When we
tithe, we are giving it to the Lord and not to man. Man only uses
it. In Malachi 3, Israel was not robbing the Levites of tithes -
they were robbing God.
The ability to
receive tithes was not just based on ancestral heritage. The Bible
even records some examples of individuals receiving tithes that were
not Levites. Abraham paid tithes to Melchesidek (Gen. 14:18-20) and
he obviously was not a Levite since Levi would not be born until
many years later. There were some who came and brought their tithes
to Elisha (II Kings 4:42).
10)
Only
food products from the land were “titheable”; money was never a
“titheable” item.
There is certainly
no scripture that excludes money as a “titheable” item. In fact, the
scriptures say that you are to give tithes of all your increase (II
Chron. 31:5). In the agricultural society of Moses day, the primary
source of wealth for people was their crops and animals. This was
their source of income. God is laying out a principle that you are
to tithe from your source of income.
11)
Giving offerings has replaced tithing, and you only need to give
what you feel is appropriate for your situation.
“Proportional
giving” is a concept that is impossible for Christians to fulfill.
We can never give back to the Lord in proportion to how he as
blessed us. If we gave everything we had, we would still fall far
short.
In addition,
offerings were not a New Testament creation designed to replace
tithing as some would want you to believe. In fact, the giving of
offerings was taught in the Old Testament in addition to paying your
tithes. The children of Israel were required to bring an offering
when they came up to the Temple three times a year (II Chron. 8:13).
Giving offerings is not to be in place of your tithes, but in
addition to it. The
Israelites had robbed God of “tithes and offerings” (Mal. 3:8). If
they were one and the same, this passage would not make sense.
In conclusion,
people can come up with all kinds of arguments to not do something
that they don’t want to do. Due to space, I have not even addressed
some of the weaker arguments sometimes used (ex. tithes were suppose
to be brought into the storehouse and the New Testament church has
no storehouse). From studying the scriptures, I strongly believe
that tithing is still relevant for our day. It was instituted as a
method to support the work of God and to be a vehicle by which God
could bless his people. Both of which we still need today.
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