Tithes and Offerings
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That is what everybody always told me, to pay the tithe! I heard it from every "Christian" financial counselor I have ever talked with to almost every church I have ever been a part of in my 30+ years of walking with God. I have heard a multitude of messages on tithing from many preachers. It sometimes seemed that a sermon on tithing would come up every time the building mortgage payment came due. I heard so much on tithing from ministers, that I used to think that God was more concerned with tithing than He was just about anything else. In fact, I used to have the impression that the subject of tithing was all over the Bible and that it was one of the main topics of the New Testament – that is until I studied it out for myself!
So, is tithing for a Christian who is led by the Holy Spirit in his giving or is it just a tradition handed down to us from the teachings of men? ISAIAH 29:13 Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote (thoughtless repetition)." Tradition learned by rote is religious tradition learned by doing the same things again and again as you go through the same motions over and over again without giving any serious thought as to why you are doing it. Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of His day – And He said to them, "Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me. 'But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.' "Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men." He was also saying to them, "You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition; thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that. " MARK 7:6-9,13. So, religious tradition does invalidate (render useless) the Word of God, when it is practiced without correct Biblical instruction as a basis for doing so. So, is it Biblical for the New Testament Church to preach and collect tithes? Or is it just another one of those myths most everyone does without any regard for the Scriptures?
First of all, we need to find out what the tithe is and then why it was needed. LEV 27:30 ' Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord. NUM 18:21 "And to the sons of Levi (priesthood), behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. NUM 18:24 "For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, 'They shall have no inheritance (not allowed to own land) among the sons of Israel.'" DEU 14:22 "You shall surely tithe all the produce from what you sow, which comes out of the fieldevery year. So here it is obvious that the tithe was given to the Levitical priests who served in the tent of meeting and the temple. The Levites were not allowed to own land by which they could raise livestock and crops for food. Therefore, they were to eat from the tithe of the crops and livestock donated each year. Take note of this fact – the tithe was NEVER about money, it was always about crops and livestock. The main purpose was to feed the Levites as they had no land and only served in the temple, but it was also used to help widows and orphans.
But there was another way the tithe was to be used – DEU 14:23-26 "And you shall eat (the tithe) in the presence of the Lord your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the first-born of your herd and your flock, in order that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. "And if the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you, then you shall exchange it for money, and bind the money in your hand and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. "And you may spend the money for whatever your heart desires, for oxen, or sheep, or wine, or strong drink, or whatever your heart desires; and there you shall eat (the tithe) in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice, you and your household. It is obvious that the tithe was not money since it had to be exchanged for money in order to make the trip. And, since some preach the tithe as if it is for today, shouldn't they also tell you about this part – that you don't always have to bring your tithe to them, but sometimes you are supposed to eat and enjoy your tithe with your family?
Did you know that there are 1189 chapters in the Bible? Did you also know that out of those 1189 chapters there are 31,173 verses containing 774,746 words? Consider this, out of 774,746 Hebrew and Greek words, only 35 times do we find the words "tithe, tithes or tithing" in the whole Bible! That is not the impression most preachers leave about tithing. And those 35 words are only found in 16 locations in the Bible. In addition to that, only 4 of those locations are found in the New Testament. And those 4 locations found in the New Testament in no way are instructing us to pay tithes. Did you know that there is no record in the Bible of any New Testament church member ever paying tithes? Did you know that there is no instruction written by any of the Apostles to any of the churches to collect tithes or pay tithes? Why would tithing be needed any longer since the priesthood was abolished with the death of Christ? Why would tithing be needed any longer since everyone is allowed to own land and provide his own food? And since Jesus abolished the priesthood and temple worship, he also eliminated the need for the storehouse to keep the crops and livestock that would be eaten by the Levitical priest. So is it any wonder that no one in the New Testament collected tithes, paid tithes or taught anyone to do either? So why do so many churches teach that we have to pay tithes today? Could it be that the traditions and teachings of men have invalidated the Word of God? Could it be that this teaching is self-serving to many preachers to fulfill their own goals including securing their own income? Maybe to build a big and expensive buildings to bring glory to themselves?
Most all tithe teachers of today use these verses to teach about tithes while leaving out the other ones above – MAL 3:8-10 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. "You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! "Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food (something to eat) in My house (for the temple priest), 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." If the storehouse was at the temple in Jerusalem and the tithe was taken there to feed the Levites who served there, what has that got to do with the church today? Why do ministers still preach law and grace at the same time? Isn't it really about the money? Money for programs and preachers? And since the tithe never was about money to begin with and since the priesthood has been abolished and the storehouse no longer exist – why would any modern preacher teach a Christian believer that he had to tithe?
But are we to give? Of course we are, but not according to the letter of the law, but let each man be lead by the Spirit and give as he as purposed in his own heart. 2CO 9:7 Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. You see, this is a heart thing, not a law thing. ROM 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. If you are being led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Tithing is of the law for the purposes we have already revealed. GAL 3:10-12 For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them." Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, "The righteous man shall live by faith." However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, "He who practices them shall live by them. So, why would you tithe according to the law since it is not of faith and not give according to leading of the Holy Spirit by faith? And who were we taught by Jesus and the apostles to give to anyway? Was it not the poor and the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ who were in need? We should give anywhere and to anyone the Holy Spirit leads us to, but not according to a law imposed upon us by preachers!
Obviously, the modern teachings on tithing are nothing more than falsehood. They are teachings of men that have been handed down to us for the purposes of men. This tradition has robbed many widows and poor people by extorting money from them that they could not afford to pay, by preachers who falsely teach that they must obey the law or they will be cursed. Sadly, many dear souls who struggle to make a mortgage payment and feed their children are under the same false impression that they must give 10% of what they have to the church. This is outrageous and a great lie! Jesus would never rob the poor nor did any of the Apostles.
MAT 23:14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows' houses, even while for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive greater condemnation." How many widows and poor people have been robbed by the tithe teaching? Have you ever wondered if the preaching of the tithe has anything to do with preachers being paid? That raises another question, are preachers supposed to be paid? Is it Biblical to pay preachers?
This is what Paul the apostle did for income – 2TH 3:7-10 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example, because we did not act in an undisciplined manner among you, nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with labor and hardship we kept working night and day (making tents) so that we might not be a burden to any of you; not because we do not have the right to this (to eat food), but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you, that you might follow our example. For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone (anyone includes preachers) will not work, neither let him eat. The right Paul refered to was to eat food, not collect money from anyone for himself. And Paul certainly did not pass a collection plate and collect tithes from anyone!
So, how would you judge the modern teaching on tithing, Truth or Myth? Christian Myths
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