Tithing
By M Braam
Many churches around the world teach the
followers of Jesus Christ to give their tithes.Tithing however was not meant for the body of Christ. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law from which tithing was part of. When He said on the cross ‘It is finished’, He proclaimed the end of the laws and decrees of the Old Covenant including tithing and the beginning of the New Covenant signed with His blood.
The New Covenant shows us how to serve God in a different way. It’s based on love. His love for us and our love for Him. The only command we have to fulfill is to love Him and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Out of love for Him we give Him everything. Out of love for Him we support those who serve us with the Word of God, with our money and love.
‘The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the scripture says,” Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and ”The worker deserves his wages.”(1 Timothy 4: 17-18)
In 2 Corinthians chapter 9 Paul lets us know through the Spirit of God how we are supposed to financially support the body of Christ according to the New Covenant. We do not only have to give to those who serve us with the Word of God, but we also have to help the poor brothers and sisters.
He says in verse 6-7:” 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. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Nobody has to force us like in the Old Testament. If anyone disobeyed the Law or did not give their tithes they were cursed by God. ”You are under a curse- the whole nation of you- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into my house.” (Malachi 3:9)
Also nobody has to tell us what the minimum or maximum amount should be of what we have to give. For it is for each person only to decide in his heart what he wants to give. God however promises us a special blessing if we sow generously; we will reap generously. This is a special blessing, because God already blessed us by saying in John 16:23,26-27: “ I tell you the truth, my father will give you whatever you ask in my name.”
‘In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the father on your behalf. No the father Himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
So even if we give nothing, just loving God is enough to ask from Him anything we need and He will give it to us. Of course we will give Him everything also because we love Him.
Nothing we do, could make us righteous enough to receive anything from God, it is all by His grace that we are saved.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
After the disciples were filled with the Spirit, they were able to live the new life. You can see the difference in their way of giving. No longer ten percent of their possessions but some were lead to give a 100%. When Ananias wanted to gain some honor by also giving 100% just like Barnabas, Peter rebuked him by saying that the Holy Spirit did not ask for his money. If Ananias had sold his property, the money was at his disposal. In other words Ananias was free to give whatever he wanted. (Acts 4:36, Acts 5)
Giving to God was transformed. You do not longer have to, but you must want to give, out of love for Him. There is no room anymore for tithing. We have been set free from every burden. If you decide in your heart that you want to give ten percent, 30 or 50 it’s all up to you. Nobody can tell you what to give. But you must not give ten percent in reference to the law.
There is no doubt that all Gods children should support the ones in need of help. God wants us to support His body financially also, so that we all are well provided for and so that we can continue to preach the gospel to the world. Our love for each other will be the sign that we are children of God.
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
(John 13:35)The great deception
Jesus took away the curse on the cross.
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke or a slavery.” (Galatians 5:1)
When Paul spoke these words through the Spirit of God, he was trying to warn the Galatians not to get involved with the Law again. They were trying to make circumcision a part of the New Covenant. Likewise many preachers today try to make tithing part of the New Covenant also.
“ I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to observe the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.” (Galatians 5:2-5)
Instead of circumcision in this bible verse you might as well fill in ‘tithing’. For it is the same with anything you take from the old laws and decrees. Jesus has fulfilled them all and we do not longer have to be burdened by them. Jesus has already set us free and by His grace we are saved through faith. If we however, still want to observe one of the decrees are laws again, we will fall away from His grace because we do not recognize what Christ has done for us on the cross. We become slaves again waiting to be cursed because no one but Christ is able to fulfill the law. We will not be able to take part in the rapture, that will take place before the great tribulations and we will not meet the Lord in the air. We will be left behind.
Why is it then that preachers still teach people to tithe?
The answer is simple; Convenience and distrust.When people are made to give tithes the preacher is sure of a certain amount of money every month. He can just sit back and rely on the principal of tithing to supply the finances for the work of God and for his household. They do not have to put their trust in Gods providence anymore because the whip of the law will make sure that everyone feels compelled to give the tithes. It takes away a lot of pressure, it’s very convenient. So they preach the popular verses of Malachi chapter 3.8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse, the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.” ( Malachi 3:8-10)
If you carefully study these verses you see that these words were never meant for the church of Christ.
In verse 9 God puts a curse on every one who did not give their tithes. Christ however has taken away every curse on the cross. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)
So you clearly see that God was not speaking to us but to the Jews who had to obey the law.
In verse 10 b God says: ‘Test me in this,…’
This is definitely not meant for the believers in Christ. Testing God means you doubt Him.The book of James chapter 1:6-8 clearly states that anyone who does not believe but doubts will receive nothing from God. You are not able to put God to the test in the New Covenant.
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man unstable in all he does.” (James 1:6-8)
Unbelief was the reason why many of the Jews, who were led through the desert by Moses, could not enter Gods rest. “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)
They had put God to the test many a time in the desert and He was angry with this. (Hebrews 3:8-10)
God warns us not to do the same, but to enter His rest by believing and trusting Him. (Hebrews 3:12)
Regarding the last part of Malachi 3:10 I can refer to what I said earlier on page 1; If you love Him, God will also give you anything you ask from Him. You need not give anything in order to receive. However you will give your love and any support that is needed to the body of Christ, because the love of Jesus in you will lead you to do so. And when you do so you will receive the extra blessing I mentioned earlier.” …and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Godly Ordination
Some preachers argue that tithing has to be done still, because it is an ordination made by God when He created the world , so it existed before the Law. To substantiate this claim, they refer to Abraham who gave his tithe to Melchizedek. ( Genesis 14:20)
Nowhere however in the report on the creation from Genesis chapter 1 to Chapter 3 do we read about giving tithes. The only Godly institution that was made there that is still observed by us is ‘Marriage’.
“ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
If we consider tithing to be a Godly ordination that was supposed to go on and on until Jesus returns, then we should consider circumcision to be an ordination of the same category.
For before the law was given to Moses, God ordered Abraham to circumcise himself and his descendants.
Tithing is mentioned in the New Testament. In Luke 11:42 Jesus says:” Woe to you Pharisees, Because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” This is the favorite text of the pro- tithers. They say that this proofs that Jesus wants us to tithe. They overlook the fact that Jesus Himself was living under the law and had to fulfill it. Until the day that He would nail it on the cross along with our sins, He had to teach the people, Jews, also to obey it still. However while He was doing this He delicately tried to prepare them for the coming of a better Testament that would be signed with His blood and that would be based on loving God and loving each other.
So yes the Pharisees had to give their tithes for they were still living under the law. But we give whatever we decide in our hearts. He says in verse(2 Corinthians 9:6-7):” 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. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
In Matthew 8:4b Jesus spoke to the man He had just healed from leprosy:” See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” Again we see here that He taught a man to observe the law of Moses.
But now He is risen from the dead and He speaks to us in a different way. We have been set free from all laws and rituals that were observed before His resurrection.
The early church in Antioch also was confused about what to do with the law.
So at one point they sent Paul and Barnabas along with other believers to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this matter. After much discussion they sent Paul and Barnabas back to Antioch with the answer written down in a letter.
“It seemed good to The Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you avoid these things.” (Acts 15:28-29)
The law was a shadow of the reality in Christ that was to come.
‘The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves.” (Hebrews 10:1)
The only things that we have to observe still, according to the Holy Spirit of God are the ones named above in Acts 15:28-29.
Tithing nor circumcision nor any other thing is mentioned there. Disobeying the Holy Spirit of God is not wise to do.
Conclusion
Jesus gave His life to set us free from sin and from the Old Covenant. Through faith we are made righteous not by giving tithes or anything else. The believers in Christ should support the preachers and the brothers and sisters in need, out of love for them and out of love for Christ. Preachers today should not worry about finances, if they belief in the almighty God He will not disappoint them. They should not burden the church with tithing, because it will cause the curse of the law to be cast upon them.
We must follow Christ not men. Sometimes we want to listen to great teachers and evangelists, who teach people to tithe, because of the miracles they perform in the name of the Lord.
God warns us however:” Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven’ but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:20-23)
The Word of God will judge us at the last day.
“ As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” (John 12:47-50)
May God bless you and keep you always!!!!!
By M. Braam
