In this post we shall be going over the topic of tithing. I think this is a very important topic that every christian should study thoroughly because many believers today are giving tithes contrary to scripture.
So what are tithes? Tithes were food or livestock that was given to the Levites and priests from their brethren the children of Israel. They gave tithes because when Israel divided up the land of Canaan the Levites were not given a portion to farm, therefore the offerings made to the Lord was their portion. So the question I ask fellow Christians today is why are you tithing your money instead of your livestock and produce? The only time that tithes were turned into currency was when they had to transport it a long distance, but then they would immediately turn it back into produce/livestock when they arrived at their destination.
(Lev 27:30 -33, Deut 12:17, 14:22-26, Jos 13:14, 2Ch 31:4 -12, Neh 12:44 -47, Neh 13:5-12,
Who Received Them?
Furthermore who are you giving your tithes to? Some pastor, right? That's not what the bible teaches. Tithes were to be given to the Levites, I know of no Christian who gives their tithes to a Levite.
The tithes were also distributed to the fatherless, the stranger, and the widow as well. Is this what we are doing with our tithes today? In fact a part of the tithe was kept by the tither to be eaten in the place the Lord did choose. (Num 18:21 -31, Deu 14:25-29, Neh 10:37 -39)
A New Priesthood?
The fact is we aren't under the Levitical priesthood anymore but rather are under the Melchizedek priesthood. Every believer is now a priest and Jesus is the High Priest, therefore there was a change in the law because the priesthood has changed. Jesus doesn't need daily like the Levite priests did because those sacrifices were done away with when Jesus died on the Cross. We are now supposed to give however much we feel led to give and not a set percentage (1 Pe 2:5-9, Rev 5:9-10, Heb 8:1, Heb 7:12, Heb 7:27, Joh 19:30, 2 Cor 9:7)
Some Christians will claim that since Abraham and Jacob tithed, then tithing predates the law therefore we must keep the tithe in this dispensation as well. Let's take a look at how they tithed then. Abraham tithed one-time and it wasn't his own stuff but was the spoils of war. Jacob gave a tenth but it was conditional on whether or not God would bless him. Please note that God didn't command Jacob to do this, but he vowed it instead. Is that how pastors today teach us to tithe? No. Please note that Circumcision also predated the law and yet we do not have to do that to be saved or blessed, we are no longer under the law but grace (Gen 14:20, Gen 28:22, Rom 2:25-29, Rom 4:9-12, Gal 5:6, Gal 6:15, Act 15:24, 28-29, Rom 6:14 ).
How often did they do it?
Many Christians today "tithe" their income every week when they go to church. That's not how it was done in the bible. It was done yearly, after the harvest. There was a tithe that was done only once every three years as well (Lev 14:28, Deu 26:12, Amo 4:4). To those who insist that we tithe the way Jesus told the Pharisees to tithe then why don't I see church members going through their spice cabinets and measuring out their spices, then bringing a tenth to the church? (Mat 23:23, Luk 11:42)
Are we justified by Works?
Those who claim that you are under a curse for not tithing have in fact put themselves under the law because if you offend in one point you are guilty of all. Those who teach one must tithe must also keep all the commandments from the book of the law or else they will be cursed, and since they seek to be justified by the law they have indeed fallen from grace. The pharisee who tithed on everything he had is a prime example of this. The law was until John (Mal 3:8 -11, Jam 2:10, Gal 3:19, Gal 5:30, Luk 18:11-12, Luke 16:16).
Beware of Lying Pastors!
One evil I see among Church buildings is the whole one Pastor system where the church gives all their tithes to him. The pastor then becomes very wealthy and buys 2 Jumbo jets while the congregation struggles to get by (see Eze 34). This is a stark contrast to what we see in the New testament where we see Paul laboring so that he wouldn't be chargeable unto his brethren (1 Thes 2:9, 2 Thes 3:8-9, 1 Cor 9:18). We should be following his example ( 1 Cor 4:16, 1 Cor 11:1, Php 3:17). Peter also instructs us to Feed the flock of God but don't do it for filthy lucre (1 Pet 5:2). Here are just two more examples of people from the bible who didn't take advantage of others (Neh 5:15, 3 Jn 1:7)
The bible speaks of an equality among believers when concerning giving (2 Cor 8:11-15). The whole point of having a Temple in the Old Testament was to burn sacrifices for God; but under the New Testament there is no need for a Temple/Church Building because our sacrifices are spiritual and our body is the new Temple (2 Chro 2:6, 1 Pet 2:5, 1 Cor 6:19)
The responsibility of All.
Another reason why I don't believe we should be forced to pay pastors "tithes" is because it's not just one member of the congregation job to study, obey, and teach/preach God's word but the responsibility is all of ours. (Mat and Luk 4:4, Mat 5:14-16, Mat 28:19-20, Act 8:1-4 , Act 11:19-23 , Php 1:9, Php 2:14-16, Col 4:5-6, 1Th 5:21, 1 Peter 3:15)
So in conclusion i'm not saying that we shouldn't give to our brethren who are in need as this is a good thing to do (Rom 15:27, 1 Cor 9:11, Gal 6:10), just that we shouldn't be forced to give a fixed amount. Furthermore we shouldn't misconstrue and twist scripture to say things that it really doesn't just to suit our interest.
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