Had a discussion with a friend earlier this week about, ‘speaking in tongues.’ I, of course, do not believe that one ought to. Because the bible, I believe, is very clear about it. My friend asked, rhetorically I suppose, why can’t people see the clear teaching in scripture regarding tongues. I replied, that the same reason that Catholics, Lutherans, and such denominations, will heatedly argue for infant baptism out of the book of Acts.
There are likely several reasons for this. One, people are lost. Thus having blinded eyes by the God of this world. Two. People are saved, and do not care, because they are not spiritually discerned. Now I know that those two options are not ‘politically correct’ that most do not appreciate the insinuation given by those two options…but, oh well.
That leads me to my actual issue of this post that I would like to briefly address. Tithing. I read a discussion on Facebook about this subject. Without going back and looking I believe that everyone partaking said that tithing was basically an option for the New Testament Church. I made one comment clarifying for myself to make sure I wasn’t misunderstanding. My comment was approximately thus, “So, if God just ‘leads’ me to give five dollars a week, that’s fine?” The answer? Yes! Well the correct answer is no. You can’t pick and choose how much you want your giving to be.
I began to search on the internet for the biblical arguments for New Testament tithing. I could not find one. Not one. Now, it is likely that there are websites that are correct in this matter, I just couldn’t find any. It leads me to believe that it is a DISAPPEARING DOCTRINE. Why? Because it’s not fun nor cool to tithe. The same reason people forsake any number of other biblical teachings.
Well, I know someone who believes in a God-given obligation to tithe. (There is a novel idea. That we have God-given obligations, that are not given to do only if we feel like it). That would be Pastor Robert Sargent. Pastor of Bible Baptist Church, Oak Arbor, Washington. I was trained under my dad, but the material we used was almost exclusively from this church. I owe much to the time and effort the pastors of this church for their training material they have compiled.
So what about this DOCTRINE OF TITHING. Yes, that’s right, I called it a doctrine. If the bible teaches it its doctrine. Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina) is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system. To some the doctrine of tithing goes something like this.
Tithing: whatever God leads you to give on any given week.
Uhh, ok. I can see the appeal I suppose. But I can’t see the scripture. Which is slightly more important in my estimation. The biblical definition of tithing?
Tithing: giving a tenth of your increase on a weekly basis
Now, I know that is not just loads of fun necessarily. But last time I checked life wasn’t about fun. It was about right.
(!!!Rabbit trail alert!!! I saw someone was looking for people to do guests post on their blog for a while. The word limit was 500. What can you say in 500 words? I haven’t even arrived at my actual blog post yet and I am at almost 600 words.)
Here, in a succinct way is the Biblical argument for tithing.
1. Abraham Commenced It
Genesis 14:18 – And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he [was] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, Blessed [be] Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
The question could easily be asked, “How did Abraham know to tithe?” Did it possibly come from Able? Genesis 4:4
2. Jacob Continued It
Genesis 28:20 – And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, So that I come again to my father’s house in peace; then shall the LORD be my God: And this stone, which I have set [for] a pillar, shall be God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee.
As an interesting aside. See that principle of God’s blessing upon the tither.
3. Moses Confirmed It
Leviticus 27:30 – And all the tithe of the land, [whether] of the seed of the land, [or] of the fruit of the tree, [is] the LORD’S: [it is] holy unto the LORD.
The law did not institute tithing it simply codified it for the nation of Israel.
4. Malachi Commanded It
Malachi 3:10 – 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].
Tithing manifested in the first book, and the last book of the Old Testament.
5. Jesus Commended It
Matthew 23:23 – Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier [matters] of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Jesus was not under the law. And yet he still said that tithing ought to be done.
6. God Commissioned It
I Corinthians 9:13,14 – Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live [of the things] of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.
In this passage we see that the Bible teaches that it is proper for New Testament preachers to be paid by those who benefit spiritually from their ministry (vs 7-11) a continuation of the practice of the Levites to live from the offerings and tithes in the Old Testament.
7. Paul Conformed It
I Corinthians 16:2 – 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.
No, the word tithing is not used in this verse. The unqualified mention of the word ‘store’ is perhaps indicative of what the apostle was referring to. (Malachi 3:10)
There, that is it in a nutshell.
Here is the basic argument against the requirement of tithing.
We are not under the law but under grace.
That is a true statement. The question then becomes a) is tithing a requirement of the Law? b) Is tithing, as directed and exemplified in the Old Testament, excluded from the practice of Grace? c) When did the ‘law’ end and when did Grace start dispensation wise?
To answer the first question yes, tithing was a requirement of the old testament. But that is far to limiting of a question. The better question would be. Was tithing ONLY a requirement of the law? Now the answer is no. Points #1 and #2 of my brief outline above show that tithing was practiced BEFORE the law. Let me explain it another way. “Christ abolished the law” True statement…right? Ephesians 2:15 – Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, [even] the law of commandments [contained] in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, [so] making peace; Yes, that is right. Allow me to draw a distinction. Christ abolished the ceremonial law that was required of the Jews to be right with God. HE DID NOT ABOLISH THE ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT. The principle and practice of tithing was around long before the ‘Law’ (that Christ abolished) was given. It predates the law. Thus, the reasoning that Christ death on the cross absolved us from a responsibility to tithe is truly intellectually dishonest.
Second question. Is tithing, as directed and exemplified in the Old Testament, excluded from the practice of Grace? Let me ask you a question. Where do we find the standard EVER being lowered in the transition from law to grace? Nowhere. Go read Matthew five. Over and over again what we find is Jesus saying something along these lines.
Matthew 5:27,28 – Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
The standard, in what is expected of us, is always raised under grace…never lowered. This is where their whole argument that, “we give from the heart, not a set number” What you are saying is that, “God led me to do less that what he had always expected his people to do in the past.” Interesting, but biblically unsound reasoning. The lean heavy on verses such as these.
II Corinthians 9:7 – Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
It goes like this. “If I cant give ten percent with a ‘cheerful’ attitude, then I shouldn’t give it” Here is a novel idea. Get your heart right. But what about ‘as he purposeth in his heart’? What about it. Let us consider some of the laws of Biblical interpretation.
The Law of First Mention
The Law of First Mention may be said to be the principle that requires one to go to that portion of the Scriptures where a doctrine is mentioned for the first time and to study the first occurrence of the same in order to get the fundamental inherent meaning of that doctrine.
What does this mean? It means the first time a subject/doctrine is mentioned in the Bible is key to understanding its subsequent meaning. I would refresh your mind as to the fact that not only the first time, but also the second time tithing is mentioned in the bible (BOTH OF WHICH WERE ‘PRE-LAW’) the percentage of ‘a tenth’ was giving. Just because it doesn’t give the specific amount EVERY LAST TIME TITHING IS MENTIONED doesn’t mean there isn’t a set amount.
The Law of Progressive Mention
The Progressive Mention Principle: “God makes the revelation of any given truth increasingly clear as the word proceeds to its consummation.”
Let us apply this to the Doctrine of Tithing. In the Old Testament we are simply given the practice and principle of the precept. In the New Testament, the world is opened up a little bit further. The foundations as to the what and why have been laid forth. That is the Law. Now grace. Under grace we add to the ‘what and why’ of the Old Testament Law, and add the ‘how’ of New Testament Grace. That is….
II Corinthians 9:7 – Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
So, to briefly answer question (b)…the answer is no. Tithing is not executed from the Spirit of Grace.
Let us briefly address the issue of when did the Law actually end, and when did grace start. It is important because it has bearing on Christ’s teachings on this matter. Was Christ living under the law? Or had grace already started. Because as seen in #5 Jesus said that “these ought ye to have done.” He was telling us that tithing was something that ought to be done. When did the Law end, and when did Grace begin.
Mt 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.
Christ’s entire ministry took place after the dispensation of living under the law was over. So even under the period of Grace, Christ still said tithing was something you ought to have done. Let me give an example. If I leave my house, and I tell you to mow my yard UNTIL I get back, and you start mowing my yard. I then return in 5 minutes. Are you going to continue to mow? I would think not. Because I told you to stop when I got home. So when the Bible says the law and prophets were until John. How come the same principle wouldn’t apply. When John got here the Law and Prophets were over. Thus, when Jesus said to give your tithe…he was speaking from under grace.
Not tithing is a sign of covetousness….not hyper spirituality.
Don’t agree? Tell me why.
Caleb McEntire
Finishing My Course 
Don
September 15, 2012
This same style of interpretation is used by the adventists to say that the sabbath should still be observed. Jesus and Paul both seemed to practice it. Jesus commended it. And it was started by God right after creation, long before the law.
Finishing My Course
September 15, 2012
I can show from the New Testament the shift to worshipping Sunday. Even by Paul himself using phrases such as ‘the first day of the week’
A correct line of reasoning can be inappropriately applied to many issues in scripture if one so desired.
Tony Isaac
September 17, 2012
Am not so sure about your defence of tithing in the New Testament as you seem to rely more on logic than actual scripture to prove your point.
And just as Don pointed out, your style of interpretation could also be used in support of a mandated New Testament circumcision. It was started by Abraham, continued by Jacob and his sons, saved the life of Moses and made mandatory by the law and also performed by Jesus when He was 8 days old.
No single verse of scripture ever cites Abraham’s tithe as a reason the New Testament church must tithe and no verse of scripture ever associates the tithe with money either. The bible always defines the tithe as the tenth part of crops and livestock alone, never money. Also the command to tithe in the book of Malachi was clearly a reminder of that already issued in the law to the children of Israel; it was not directed at the New Testament church.
Jesus’ words in Mat 23 certainly do not constitute a New Testament Church tithing command. His audience was the Jews who were already given a tithe command and already appeared to be doing it very well howbeit at the expense of more important things.
You have assumed a lot of things when scriptures clearly did not even hint on those things. The tithe was never presented at the altar, some of the other offerings were thus 1 Cor 9 has certainly got nothing to do with tithing. A quick check of the Old Testament shows that much. And lastly Paul never referred to the tithe in 2 Cor 16, you are the one trying to stretch it to fit because of the mention of the word store. The word store here just refers to keeping something aside and has got absolutely nothing to do with tithing.
The New Testament charge on giving is clear and simply; everyone is encouraged to give as they are able and this will be accepted if it has been given willingly and cheerfully.
God bless.
Finishing My Course
September 17, 2012
First thanks for taking the time to read. And further take the time to comment. I appreciate readership.
That being said. I don’t agree with you. As you might as well guessed.
In the interest of full disclosure Mr. Isaac has a blog, of which he has written extensively in the recent past on this issue of tithing. His blog can be found here, http://eliteinchrist.wordpress.com/ To better understand where he is coming from I would encourage you to go read his thoughts on this subject.
So, on to my objections to your reply.
1) You seem to insinuate that logic was over used. As an Independent Baptist, I have been accused by many that do not agree as not using logic. So it is interesting that you would say my post is too heavy on that very thing. That being said…..light on scripture? I used no less than 14 verses in my relatively short post. I as well used nearly all, if not all passages that deal directly with tithe. So, I am not sure what you were expecting, but the subject was tithing….and overall the bible does only talk of it on a fairly limited basis.
2) Circumcision? The problem is with that line of reasoning is the New Testament explicitly abolishes that practice as necessary to be ‘right with God’
Ac 15:1 ¶ And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, [and said], Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
Ac 15:2 When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.
Ac 15:5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.
Ac 15:10 Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?
Ac 15:24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, [Ye must] be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no [such] commandment:
Thus is a small sampling, out of just one chapter and instance of dealing with this in the early church. Not to mention the entire issue of works for salvation. You cannot equate the practice of circumcision, not worshiping on the Sabbath, from the pages of New Testament.
4) Your definition of tithe is much to narrow. A casual perusal of all the Old Testament passages dealing with tithing the emphasis in on the increase…not on any particular article. As an aside, you also argue on your blog that the word ‘tenth’ does not mean 10% you are positively redefining the word. You are in disagreement with the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek word. And with the dictionary. ( Merriam-Webster Tithe: 1; to pay or give a tenth part of especially for the support of the church 2; to levy a tithe on. You are arbitrarily redefined the word….not acceptable, nor convincing.
5) I did not specify to whom Malachi was commanding….simply that he was commanding. I agree that the command was given specifically to GOD’S PEOPLE. I will let you make the application if you think there is any to be made there.
6) You said “Jesus’ words in Mat 23 certainly do not constitute a New Testament Church tithing command. His audience was the Jews who were already given a tithe command and already appeared to be doing it very well howbeit at the expense of more important things.”
In saying that completely overlooking a critical component of my argument. Christ was living in the New Testament Age. He had already established his church (Matthew 16:18) so therefore his commendation of it while, perhaps given to Jews specifically, doesn’t undermine the greater context of all of his teachings. You would seem to imply that simply because the majority of his ministry was to Jews, that what he said has no bearing or impact upon the New Testament Church. I categorically reject that premise. You can not simply pick and choose what of Christs teachings to apply to this day and age. You have take the ‘we are not under the law but under grace’ to an entirely new and unwise level.
7) I Corinthians 16:2 – 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.
This has nothing to do with tithe? Then, pray tell, what is it referring to? You indicate that I ‘stretch to fit’? I think not. In Malachi, the context is clearly tithe/increase/money (whatever term you choose I suppose) and it uses the word ‘storehouse.’ Paul uses the word ‘store’ in relation to giving. I believe that one of the basic laws of bible interpretation is comparing scripture with scripture. That is all that I was doing.
I would reiterate the laws of bible of interpretation that I gave, of which you either ignored or had no answer for. As well the the question, where is the standard lowered in the transition from law to grace? IT is always higher…..if the law was 10%….what would the requirement (and yes, I used the word ‘requirement’ in regards to grace) in this day of Grace?
You see, the problem with the whole, ‘not under the law, but under grace’ crowd, is the standard is practically always lowered….never heightened. For example….Tithing. Under the law…..10% ….tithing under grace….’whatever you want’
Reject. Categorically.
eliteinchrist
September 18, 2012
You totally missed my cynicism on circumcision. I used that to show how wanting hinging this doctrine of the tithe on Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedek is.
I find it a little puzzling that you’ll resort to the Webster dictionary to pull out a definition of the tithe at the expense of the bible. My definition is too narrow? What portions of scripture show a tithe on things other than what I mentioned?
22 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. 23 Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God. Deuteronomy 14
And am almost certain you’ll see they operated a barter system hence a tithe of crops and livestock was commanded. Here are some verses of scripture that say otherwise with the last one trumping the notion of a tithe of money particularly. If one could tithe money, converting money into money is quite silly.
15 When this offering is given to the Lord to purify your lives, making you right with him, the rich must not give more than the specified amount, and the poor must not give less. 16 Receive this ransom money from the Israelites, and use it for the care of the Tabernacle. It will bring the Israelites to the Lord’s attention, and it will purify your lives.” Exodus 30:15-17
24 And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee: 25 Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose: 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household, Deuteronomy 14:24-26
eliteinchrist
September 18, 2012
Again I say you are definitely stretching scriptures to fit your purpose. So Paul’s mention of the word “store” mans a tithe? Then all other similar references to “store” would mean a tithe as well. eg.
Behold, the days come, that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto this day, shall be carried into Babylon: nothing shall be left, saith the LORD. 2 Kings 20:17
Now that which was prepared for me daily was one ox and six choice sheep; also fowls were prepared for me, and once in ten days store of all sorts of wine: yet for all this required not I the bread of the governor, because the bondage was heavy upon this people. Nehemiah 5:18
Have you done a comparison of other versions or considered the original Greek word? Below are some other translations and if Paul meant a tithe then the translators must have missed it.
On the first [day] of each week, let each one of you [personally] put aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken after I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (AMP)
On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside whatever you can afford from what you earn so that the collection won’t be delayed until I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (CEB)
On [the] first of [the] week let each of you put by at home, laying up [in] whatever [degree] he may have prospered, that there may be no collections when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (DARBY)
On the first day of every week, each of you should take some of your money and put it in a special place. Save up as much as you can from what you are blessed with. Then you will not have to gather it all after I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (ERV)
The Greek word “Thesaurizo” is translated as store and it means:
1) to gather and lay up, to heap up, store up
a) to accumulate riches
b) to keep in store, store up, reserve
Again, it appears you are the only one who sees this as a tithe.
There is no tithing under grace.