Are Christians required to tithe?: Difference between revisions

The standard Paul exhorts us to follow is actually a more stringent one than the traditional tithe. Research has shown that even in churches where tithing is taught, church members are giving less than ten percent.  It may be possible that the teaching of tithing actually causes at least some people to give less. Many do not take into consideration that the motivation for not teaching tithing is one of faithfulness to Scripture, not greed.  Our giving is not optional, and it should not “depend on our whim or personal feeling.… [T]he basis of our giving should be our love and devotion to God, in gratitude for His inestimable gift to us.”<Ref>Andreas Köstenberger, “Reconstructing a Biblical Model for Giving: A Discussion of Relevant Systematic Issues and New Testament Principles,” Bulletin for Biblical Research, Vol. 16, 2006, 258–260.</ref>

Many message ministers (as well as denominational pastors) use the argument that, because Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, we are obligated under the Abrahamic covenant to pay tithes to the church.  

Genesis 14:20 states that Abraham “gave Melchizedek a tenth.” Does this offering refer to a pre-Law tithe? Genesis 14 says nothing about a system or pattern of tithing that had become part of Abraham’s worship of God. The remainder of the narrative about Abraham does not discuss him tithing. A few factors are present that argue against this being a reference to systematic tithing:

Gen 14:20 provides no evidence that Abraham continuously or regularly tithed. Abraham was never commanded to give a tenth on a regular basis, and there is no evidence that Abraham ever tithed again. His giving of a tithe to Melchizedek should therefore be considered a voluntary gift for the priestly functions performed by Melchizedek and a thank offering given to God for military victory.  The context of Gen 14:20–24 seems to assume that Abram had the right to keep the spoils for himself. Indeed, if Abram’s tithing is any kind of model for Christians, it provides support only for occasional tithes of unusual sources of income.

In Gen 28:22, Jacob promised to give God a tithe:

'''How could tithing be a law from God when Jacob put a condition on it?'''

The evidence from the period prior to the Mosaic Law suggests that no system of tithing was in place. No command to tithe is recorded, and thus the evidence that any systematic tithing existed prior to the giving of the Law is scarce if not nonexistent. What is more, all giving discussed prior to the Mosaic Law is voluntary. In fact, many passages throughout the OT discuss voluntary giving.

The existence of a practice prior to the giving of the Law as well as subsequent to it does not necessarily prove that it was meant to continue into the new covenant period. The assertion is inadequate that, because tithing existed prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law, it must continue to be practiced by God’s people in later periods. Circumcision is first recorded as a command of God for Abraham and his descendants (Gen 17:10–14). The practice was later incorporated into the Law in Lev 12:3.  However, a pre-Mosaic custom does not, as a matter of course, transcend the Old Testament dispensation, becoming an element of the universal and timeless moral code.<ref>Andreas J. Köstenberger and David A. Croteau, “‘Will a Man Rob God?’ (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments,” ed. Craig A. Evans, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Vol. 16, 2006, 60.</ref>

William Branham taught that the Old Testament tithe was ten percent. '''But that is simply not the truth.''' The Old Testament was at least double that, if not more.

Tithe. In the Mosaic Law, the Levites stood between Israel and God, offering daily sacrifices for sin. Numbers 18:21 and Lev 27:30–33 declare that the Levites will receive the tithe for their services as payment for bearing this burden and for not getting an inheritance of land:

If this tithe is still binding today, are Christians supposed to give a tenth of everything? If someone has a garden, should they bring one out of every ten tomatoes or jalapeño peppers? If not, should they give the value plus twenty percent? If a Christian is a cattle rancher, should he bring every tenth animal to the church on Sunday when he tithes? These questions reveal the difficulty in bringing the tithe into the new covenant period. They should not be overlooked as absurd but dealt with seriously.<ref>Andreas J. Köstenberger and David A. Croteau, “‘Will a Man Rob God?’ (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments,” ed. Craig A. Evans, Bulletin for Biblical Research, Vol. 16, 2006, 61.</ref>

The tithe funded the Levites (Num. 18:20–32).  The Levites were scattered all over the country and were not just in Jerusalem at the temple.  The Levites also included everyone in the tribe of Levi that worked in the temple - the priest, the song leaders and musicians, even the doormen and the janitors. In Nu 13:21–32 it is laid down that the tithe must be paid to the Levites, not just to the priests.

What is clear is that the priests only got a small portion of the total tithe (ten percent of ten percent = one percent of income).

A distinct second tithe is found in Deuteronomy 14:22-27, and happened every first, second, fourth and fifth year of a seven-year cycle. This tithe is different because the person tithing gets to eat it, and not just the Levites or the Priests. The point was to bring the resources to the temple for a party (the festivals). Just in case you couldn't make it to the temple with your harvest, you were supposed to redeem the tithes for money and then go.

So why do Christian ministers teach about the first tithe only, and forget about the party tithe?  

'''Ten percent every third year''' went to help the poor (Deut. 14:28, 26:12-15). That’s 3.33 percent. In addition, there were gleanings for the poor and the alien.  

James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."  What James experienced in the New Testament is believers who gave everything, and shared it with those in need. It was a religion of love for others from the heart. The law, after all, was just a schoolmaster leading to true faith.

Every seventh or sabbatical year the land lay fallow, and was then tithe-free (Leviticus 25:4-5 and Deuteronomy 15:1).  But since you didn't have any income from the land, you couldn't really pay a tithe in any event.

The "multiple tithe" position is held by Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, the Jewish Talmud and most Jewish writers, like Josephus.  Total tithing was either 20% (twelve tithes over seven years) or 23.33% (fourteen tithes over seven years).

:''Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged uon a tree” — so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Ga 3:13–14.</ref>

After the Pentateuch, tithing is mentioned in seven passages: