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 | Blogs > PhxHiker > POTPOURRI > Has tithing been Abolished? |
Has tithing been Abolished?
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Some people teach that the New Testament does not teach about tithing and therefore it is no longer required. But is this really true? What is recorded of Jesus’ teaching in our New Testament in general reflects those things that were different and new that His people did not understand and reinforcement of some things they did understand and practice. In general, Jesus did not discuss those things, which were understood and put into practice correctly. His teaching was to correct and get the people to behave and live the way God wanted them to live. Mathew records Jesus stating, “17"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18"For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19"Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5:17)” It was the legalistic manner in which the Pharisees practiced the Law without regard to justice or mercy that Jesus taught against, as both Matthew and Luke record, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. (Matt. 23:23 and Luke 11:42) Notice Jesus talks about tithing here and says they should also practiced justice, mercy and faithfulness “without neglecting the others.” Jesus does not tell them to stop tithing. He tells them to also practice bring just and merciful and faithful. And what does “without neglecting the others,” mean in this context? Part of the others is identified in this verse when Jesus describes them tithing dill and cumin. What Jesus is teaching, is that they are to continue tithing but also practice justice, mercy and faithfulness. In the Hebrew culture, what is not said is often as important and sometimes more important than what is not said. When Jesus “looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury. 2And He saw a poor widow putting in two small copper coins. 3And He said, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them; 4for they all out of their surplus put into the offering; but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on." (Luke 21:1-4)” If the tithe was no longer a valid practice we would expect Jesus to say something like, “go and get those coins and give them back to the poor widow, because she can not afford to give that much.” But Jesus says nothing like this. His comment was not directed at stopping the tithe, but the amount people give from what they have. In fact, Jesus encouraged the practice of tithing when he stated, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (Matt. 2:21) This implies were to give back to God from what He has given us. Matthew wrote, “12And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all those who were buying and selling in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 13And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER'; but you are making it a ROBBERS' DEN." In these verses it is clear that Jesus is against the buying and selling that was happening and it is these people he drove out of the Temple area. But, there is no comment here against tithing. If Jesus was eliminating this practice we would expect to read something like “Jesus told the people that they no longer needed to tithe or make offerings.” But there is silence on this issue and this silence, which Biblical scholars call reticence, This silence in conjunction with what Jesus taught about the Law, underscored that the practice of the tithe and offering were not being eliminated. No where in the Old or New Testament does it teach us not to tithe. If tithing was no longer a valid discipline the New Testament Church was to stop practicing, it would seem that somebody would have written for Christians to stop tithing. But there is no teaching like this recorded in the Bible. Jesus did not teach the tithe was abolished and neither did Paul or any other New Testament author. Paul addressed tithing in his epistles stating, “7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9 vr. 7 ). This teaching encourages the idea of tithing. Paul even suggests that we plan and save to be able to tithe. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, 1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. 2On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 3When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-3)” So what did the early Christian church teach about tithing? The only Scriptures that were available when Paul wrote, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16), in 56 AD were the Old Testament (OT). The New Testament (NT) was not compiled for another 250 years after Paul wrote about the OT being the inspired word of God. Paul wrote this, because some Christians questioned the validity of the OT with the new revelations of Christ. And like Christ had previously spoken, “not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished,” Paul reassures people that the OT is “inspired by God” and that they should still use it to teach, correct and train others. Therefore, the teachings of the OT on tithing were the accepted standards on tithing. The practice of tithing was taught and never challenged in the writings of the Early church fathers (100-300 AD). It has only been in the last few hundred years that people have challenged the discipline of tithing, and we have to wonder if their challenge is more of an attempt to justify not tithing than correctly understanding and doing the will of god. Paul tells us the OT is inspired and profitable for teaching, correction and instruction, but just what does the OT specifically teach on tithing? The OT teaches we are to tithe and neither Jesus nor Paul or any other NT author ever taught that the discipline of tithing had been abolished. The prophet Malachi wrote, 8"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 9"You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you 10"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.” |
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4/20/2007 8:39 am |
I wrote this to answer a question a woman asked me last night about tithing and decided to make it into a post. She told me some of her friends do not tithe because it was part of the Law and since we are now under Grace, and not under the law, it is no longer a discipline which Christians need to practice. In addition, she told me that her friends also justify that the tithe has been abolished by saying the New Testament (NT) does not teach about tithing, so it is no longer a requirement, but we are to give when appropriate. This post is my response to these arguments and also what I think the NT teaches about tithing.
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4/20/2007 8:47 am |
Modern books that contain some of the selected letters of Early church fathers require more than 30 volumes of 300-500 pages each to hold their correspondence. The volumes are writings of Leaders of the church from about 100 AD to 300 AD. No where in these letters is the discipline of tithing discussed as no longer being required. But there are words written that discuss tithing as a discipline practiced in the Early Christian Church.
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4/20/2007 10:45 am |
Thanks Terry for a very comprehensive post on this topic...God's word remains true forever...the idea of tithing and giving proportionately etc...is a discipline in our walk in the Lord...to give cheerfully and consistently into 'God's storehouse' etc. and not just when 'appropriate'...according to whose reasonings???...it would be obedience too to what God wants and thinks... giving requires our ALL...our whole surrendered self...financially too...everything we have belongs to God... our giving is also part of our worship unto God...it will reflect on our hearts unto the Lord...a challenge in my own heart and worship too... just some thoughts  ...thanks againMan can make many plans...BUT it is the Lord who will direct his paths....
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4/20/2007 11:05 am |
Yes, giving unto the Lord is still a part of the New Covenant. However,Paul said "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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." I Cor,16:1,2 Does not say percentage,note. Also,Jesus said "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly" Matthew 6:3,4 In other words do not keep an account...Just give as you are able,when you are able,as much as you are able,to the work of God and not man's work. The body of Christ is becoming tired of the manipulation used by some preachers to get your money.We need to obey God not man.Give to the poor and those who need to hear the gospel and not to rich overfed pastors who flease the sheep! We need to be careful where we plant our seed and YES we are accountable to God for what we do with our money.He is to be Lord over our lives.Passing the buck(pun intended) to the preacher as his responsibility will not cut it on that day folks! "Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD." Jer.23:1 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them." Ezek.34:1-10 Isaiah 42:8 " I am the Lord; that is my name! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images."
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4/20/2007 2:17 pm |
excellent post!! Well done!!
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4/20/2007 3:00 pm |
Yes we need to be wise on how we give. In the business world they talk about ROI (Return on investment). I think in these terms when I give unless the LORD really lays it upon my heart to give to some specific ministry or person. When you look at the overhead of many ministries you will see that 25-40% or even more of the gifts are absorbed as overhead and never even make it to the actual work being done by the ministry to help others. You can find some that have overheads in the 5-10% range and it is these that I choose from to maximize the returns. I think we also need to think in terms of which way of accomplishing a ministry is most effective. There are some Pastors that do emphasize giving too much and even push for gifts in ways that I do not think are Biblical, and this is WRONG! When Jesus said to "not the left hand know what the right hand does: That thine alms may be in secret;" He is saying this because many Pharisees/people would announce or let others know just how much they gave, looking for favorable impressions from others--to project an image. The Pharisees would often do things to let people know they were fasting or what they gave and Jesus lets them know that they have already received their reward when they do this. Neither Paul or Jesus' statements are addressing percentages, just the tithe in general. As far as percentages for tithing as recorded in the Bible there are many places where the percentage is not given, even in the verse I quoted from Malachi it is not specified, and this is because people already knew the percentage to tithe, Giving of the tithe was a big part of their life and something they would not forget. The life of Jew was intimately integrated to the Festivals, which were associated with what the LORD had done for Israel and so was their giving and offerings. The New Testament Church also knew the percentage of the basic tithe so there was no need to specify it. If the tithe percentage changed then I think it would have been specified as what God expected us to give as our tithe. I know of no place in the Bible where it says anything like give what you are able when you are able.
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4/20/2007 5:32 pm |
"Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Luke 6:38 "Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work: As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God; Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection into the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men; And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift. II Cor. 9:5-15 Isaiah 42:8 " I am the Lord; that is my name! And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images."
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4/20/2007 5:42 pm |
I agree that we are called by God to tithe. I was taught as a child to tithe on my meager allowance. It is such a small thing when put in the perspective of all the the Lord does for us. Save the earth. It's the only planet with Chocolate!
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4/20/2007 6:03 pm |
AMEN I AM IN AGREEMENT WITH THE titHE Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also,that in the beginning of the gospel,when I departed from Macedonia,no church communicated with me as concerning,giving and receiving,but ye only. Php 4:16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again,unto my necessity. Php 4:17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. Php 4:18 But I have all,and abound: I am full,having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable,well-pleasing to God.
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4/20/2007 7:11 pm |
Excellent post and very well said! There is another post floating around BC that attempts to abolish all things in the Old Testament as if the author of the New Testament is different than the author of the Old. They are both inspired by God, and God does not change His mind with time! As you said, Christ came to fulfill and not abolish the old! I really enjoy your posts - your balance is a breath of fresh air! God bless, G  “Faith makes a Christian. Life proves a Christian. Trial confirms a Christian. Death crowns a Christian.” Annonymous
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4/21/2007 6:44 am |
Thanks Terry for a very comprehensive post on this topic...God's word remains true forever...the idea of tithing and giving proportionately etc...is a discipline in our walk in the Lord...to give cheerfully and consistently into 'God's storehouse' etc. and not just when 'appropriate'...according to whose reasonings???...it would be obedience too to what God wants and thinks... giving requires our ALL...our whole surrendered self...financially too...everything we have belongs to God... our giving is also part of our worship unto God...it will reflect on our hearts unto the Lord...a challenge in my own heart and worship too... just some thoughts ...thanks again
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4/21/2007 6:45 am |
excellent post!! Well done!!
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4/21/2007 6:48 am |
I agree that we are called by God to tithe. I was taught as a child to tithe on my meager allowance. It is such a small thing when put in the perspective of all the the Lord does for us.
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4/21/2007 6:49 am |
AMEN I AM IN AGREEMENT WITH THE titHE Php 4:15 Now ye Philippians know also,that in the beginning of the gospel,when I departed from Macedonia,no church communicated with me as concerning,giving and receiving,but ye only. Php 4:16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again,unto my necessity. Php 4:17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. Php 4:18 But I have all,and abound: I am full,having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable,well-pleasing to God.
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4/21/2007 6:51 am |
Excellent post and very well said! There is another post floating around BC that attempts to abolish all things in the Old Testament as if the author of the New Testament is different than the author of the Old. They are both inspired by God, and God does not change His mind with time! As you said, Christ came to fulfill and not abolish the old! I really enjoy your posts - your balance is a breath of fresh air! God bless, G
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4/21/2007 9:44 am |
Terry thanks for your comments to my comments  ...good thoughts there, serving Him for His glory...Just want to apologise if my comments have come across a touch off tangent... I mean to say giving financially is also part of our worship unto the Lord and how much we are prepared to give consistently and proportionately etc...may perhaps reflect the condition of our hearts in worship unto Him too...thus our giving financially is important...something to be given due consideration...even if we appear 'unble' to give to the Lord...are we willing to trust in Him to provide all and still give ?!...even the little we have...balancing it with cheerfully too from our hearts... It is a challenge for myself too...an act of worship...in His grace we walk always... Just some thoughts again...thanks so much...your blogs are a blessing to many...God bless! Man can make many plans...BUT it is the Lord who will direct his paths....
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 4/22/2007 8:10 pm |
Old testament is God's Word. So whatever is written in the Old Testament is also applicable to the New Testament believers and to the present day believers....You cannot separate the Old Testament from the New Testament. THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD FROM COVER TO COVER! The teaching on tithing is for our own benefits! What shall we render to the Lord for all His benefits? 10% is just a small portion compared to what He gave up for us! just sharing my thoughts... GREAT POST! Thanks Terry... glo Teach me your way, O LORD,and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify Your name forever. (Psalm 86:11,12)
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4/25/2007 5:44 pm |
I personally have been slack on the monetary 10 percent proposed in the bible, however, there is not a day that goes by that I don't give more in the form of helps without money, food and clothing to those in need. I know that our treasure chest in in heaven and not earth and any helps I can give directly to those in need. A ride when needed to get to a needed appointment and housing when available. I can only hope that this is enough when I enter those pearly gates. Great post Terry! BLOG COLOR FOR BEGINNERS
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