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Are Christians required to tithe?: Difference between revisions
Are Christians required to tithe? (view source)
Revision as of 21:41, 14 November 2022
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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. | 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. | ||
====Jacob also paid tithes==== | ====Jacob also paid tithes==== | ||
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'''How could tithing be a law from God when Jacob put a condition on it?''' | '''How could tithing be a law from God when Jacob put a condition on it?''' | ||
====Conclusion==== | |||
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> | |||
===Tithing in the Mosaic Law=== | ===Tithing in the Mosaic Law=== | ||
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====The Levitical tithe==== | ====The Levitical tithe==== | ||
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: | |||
:''21 The LORD said, “I have given to the Levites every tithe that the people of Israel present to me. This is in payment for their service in taking care of the Tent of my presence.<ref>American Bible Society, The Holy Bible: The Good News Translation, 2nd ed. (New York: American Bible Society, 1992), Nu 18:21.</ref> | |||
:''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> | :''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 | The tithes were paid only on income from the land and took the form of animals, land, seed, and fruit. There was no tithes that were to be paid on salaries or other types of income. While land, seed, and fruit could be redeemed with money by adding twenty percent, animals could not. This offering was compulsory. These tithes were used for the livelihood of the Levites, who would then give one-tenth of their tithes to the priests. | ||
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 priests only got '''ten percent of the tithe'''===== | =====The priests only got '''ten percent of the tithe'''===== | ||
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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. | 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 | According to Numbers 18:26-28, the Levites paid '''ten percent of the 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 | 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). | ||
====The party tithe (or the festival 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. | 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. | ||
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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? | 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> | :''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> The Deuteronomy 14 tithe remained “the property of the original owner. | ||
So why do Christian ministers teach about the first tithe only, and forget about the party tithe? | So why do Christian ministers teach about the first tithe only, and forget about the party tithe? | ||
====The | ====The Poor tithe (or Welfare 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. | '''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. | ||
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If your pastor preaches that tithing is mandatory for New Testament Christians, does this include tithing to strangers, or only to preachers? | 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." | 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. | ||
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 | |||
====The no-tithe year==== | ====The no-tithe year==== | ||
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However, it is also clear that non-farmers were not required to pay any of the three separate tithes. | However, it is also clear that non-farmers were not required to pay any of the three separate tithes. | ||
:''Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, | :''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> | ||
==If you want to follow the Old Testament tithing rules== | ==If you want to follow the Old Testament tithing rules== | ||