Are Christians required to tithe?: Difference between revisions

Are Christians required to tithe? (view source)

Revision as of 20:15, 14 November 2022

13,124 bytes added , 2 years ago

→‎What does the New Testament teach?

Admin

Bots, Bureaucrats, Interface administrators, nuke, Suppressors, Administrators

11,153

edits

@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 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>
+==What does the Old Testament teach?==
+=Was the tithe ten percent?=
+William Branham taught that the Old Testament tithe was ten percent. '''But that is simply not the truth.''' The Old Testament was almost double that.
+==The first tithe==
+The tithe was based '''ONLY on the income coming from the land''' and not on salaries or wages:
+:''One-tenth of all the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the LORD. If a man wishes to buy any of it back, he must pay the standard price plus an additional twenty per cent. One out of every ten domestic animals belongs to the LORD. When the animals are counted, every tenth one belongs to the LORD. The owner may not arrange the animals so that the poor animals are chosen, and he may not make any substitutions. If he does substitute one animal for another, then both animals will belong to the LORD and may not be bought back.<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Le 27:30–33.</ref>
+The tithe was not the giving of money.  It was likely only done on an annual basis.  A weekly or monthly giving of tithes of wages to the church is not what this passage is suggesting.
+===The priests only got '''ten percent of the tithe'''===
+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.
+According to Numbers 18:26-28, the Levites paid '''ten percent of the first tithe''' to the priests (who were also part of the tribe of Levi).  It should be noted that according to Heb 7:5, ‘they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood.… take tithes of the people.’  The explanation for this is that the priests, who received from the Levites a tithe of the tithe, thus symbolically received the whole tithe.<ref>Paul Levertoff, “Tithe,” ed. James Orr et al., The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, Volumes 1–5 (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), 2987.</ref>
+==The party tithe (or the second tithe)==
+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.
+Yes, that is right, it was spent on parties and it was mandatory.  Can you even imagine if we all kicked in ten percent of our gross aggregate income for parties?
+:''You shall tithe all the yield of your seed that comes from the field year by year.  And before the LORD your God, in the place that he will choose, to make his name dwell there, '''you shall eat the tithe of your grain, of your wine, and of your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and flock''', that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.  And if the way is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, when the LORD your God blesses you, because the place is too far from you, which the LORD your God chooses, to set his name there, then you shall turn it into money and bind up the money in your hand and go to the place that the LORD your God chooses and '''spend the money for whatever you desire—oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your appetite craves. And you shall eat there before the LORD your God and rejoice, you and your household.'''  And you shall not neglect the Levite who is within your towns, for he has no portion or inheritance with you.<ref>The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2001), Dt 14:22–27.</ref>
+So why do Christian ministers teach about the first tithe only, and forget about the party tithe? You could say it is because Jesus cast out the money-changers, and those that sold animals in the temple. But what Jesus was doing was cleansing the temple from those who were in it for the money.
+==The poor tithe (or third 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.
+If your pastor preaches that tithing is mandatory for New Testament Christians, does this include tithing to strangers, or only to preachers?
+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.
+==Other offerings==
+In addition, there were occasional tithes and offerings as a specific need would come up, i.e., the rebuilding of the wall in Ezra, Nehemiah, or with the creation of the tabernacle in Exodus. If you add that up, the total mandatory tithe was about twenty-five percent of your gross income.
+On top of that, there were specific sacrifices and gifts that you were expected to give just out of joy, as particular needs arose. What that means is, no matter how you look at it, the tithe was well above twenty percent, depending upon the year, of your gross income going to your tithe.  And then, your taxes, and then you live on whatever is left.<ref>Mark Driscoll, Mark Driscoll Sermon Archive 2000-2004 (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2000).</ref>
+What is also clear is that the priests only got a small portion of the total tithe (ten percent of ten percent = one percent of income).
+==The no-tithe year==
+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 total tithing requirement==
+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.
+However, there are a couple of interpretations on tithing as follows:
+===Two tithe requirement===
+Rabbinical Judaism states that the tithes were two-fold; the annual tithe to the Levites and a separate tithe for the party and the poor.  When you add up all of the requirements of the dual tithe system, this is the result:
+*Year 1 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 2 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 3 - First tithe + poor tithe = 20%
+*Year 4 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 5 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 6 - First tithe + poor tithe = 20%
+*Year 7 - no tithing required = 0% (but also no income)
+Over a 7 year period, this amounted to '''20%''' of a farmer's income (but non-farmers were not required to pay the tithe)
+===Three tithe requirement===
+Josephus, the Jewish historian from the first century A.D. states that there were three tithes; the annual tithe to the Levites and a separate tithe for the party and a separate tithe for the poor.  When you add up all of the tithing requirements of the tripe tithe, this is the result:
+*Year 1 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 2 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 3 - First tithe + party tithe + poor tithe = 30%
+*Year 4 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 5 - First tithe + party tithe = 20%
+*Year 6 - First tithe + party tithe + poor tithe = 30%
+*Year 7 - no tithing required = 0% (but also no income)
+Over a 7 year period, this amounted to '''23.33%''' of a farmer's income (but non-farmers were not required to pay the tithe)
+=The requirement to tithe is part of the Abrahamic Covenant=
+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.
+==Abraham did not practice tithing==
+There are some interesting observations that become clear when we examine the scriptural record relating to Abraham and tithing:
+#Abraham was '''not under obligation''' to pay tithes, he paid them freely.  There is no evidence in scripture that Abraham was required to pay a tithe.
+#Abraham only '''paid tithes once in his life''', not every year.
+#Abraham '''didn't tithe on his income''' but just on his plunder from war.
+#Abraham also was '''required to be circumcised''' as part of the covenant, does that mean that circumcision is also required today?
+:''Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, t“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>
+==Jacob also paid tithes==
+The Bible records the following with respect to Jacob:
+:''Then Jacob made a vow to the LORD: “If you will be with me and protect me on the journey I am making and give me food and clothing, and if I return safely to my father’s home, then you will be my God. This memorial stone which I have set up will be the place where you are worshipped, and I will give you a tenth of everything you give me.”<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Ge 28:20–22.</ref>
+The Bible never states that God commanded Jacob to give Him a tithe.  Along with Abraham's example, it appears that the giving of this tithe was voluntary on Jacob's part.  There is no evidence in the text to suggest that tithing was the general practice of Jacob's life.  If he did in fact begin to tithe after God fulfilled His promises to him, Jacob still delayed tithing for 20 years! What is also important is the question of how he gave this tithe to God.  Was it through sacrifice or by giving to the poor?  There is no indication that he ever met Melchizedek.
+In Abraham's life it appears that we have a tithe of the spoils of military victory given to God's priest on a one time only basis. Is the only evidence to obligate believers under the New Covenant to tithe resting on these two passages in Genesis?  That's it?
+==If you want to follow the Old Testament tithing rules==
+If someone truly wants to tithe according to the Old Testament rules, they would have to do the following:
+#Quit their job and buy a farm so that they can raise herds and grow crops.
+#Find some Levitical priests to support.
+#Use their crops to observe the Old Testament religious festivals like Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.  Since they are under the Abrahamic Covenant, the men would also need to be circumcised.
+#Begin by giving at least 20 per cent of all their crops and herds to God for the first six years.
+#Pay no tithes every seventh year.
+#Expect God to curse them with material deprivation if they were unfaithful or bless them with material abundance if they were obedient.
+=How do you pay tithes to Melchizedek?=
+A significant portion of the Old Testament tithes were paid to the Levites and then the priests. But Hebrews 7:12 says,
+:''“For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law”.
+Jesus is then identified as a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. Hebrews 7:23-24 says,
+:''“And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death: But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.”
+And Jesus Christ is alive today, our priest forever.
+This means that '''your pastor is not a symbol of a priest who should receive tithes'''. No, Jesus is our high priest, and he is sitting on His throne in heaven (Hebrews 8:1). So how do we give to Jesus? Do you believe that your pastor fits into the role of '''vicarious fillii dei'''?  Can he receive tithes as a representative of the Son of God, or as a representative of Melchisedec?
+What did Jesus say?
+:''“And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40)
+Jesus was not talking about the least being a pastor in a luxury car, with luxury clothes and a luxury home. He was talking about people who were hungry, thirsty, naked, sick, in prison, and strangers. These are the words of the King.
+And Melchisedec, after all, is the King of righteousness and peace.
+If you truly want to give your tithes to Melchisedec, '''give to those in need'''.
 {{Bottom of Page}}
 [[Category:Doctrines]]
 [[Category:Legalism]]