TITHING- Part 3

Malachi 3: 8-10

“Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse, the whole nation of you, because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”

This seems to be the most used scripture by the contemporary church when arguing an Old Testament standard for tithing. However, from what I have read, this verse neither gives a curse for not tithing nor sets a standard in the new covenant to tithe. The first thing I have found is that the real issue concerns motive. But before I look at that let’s look at the curse of verse 10. The curse is directed to the nation of Israel. Yes, there can be a strong correlation, but I believe there is no intended connection between the nation of Israel and those under the new covenant. From what I have read, the Jewish scribes believed this verse meant they were cursing God rather than He was cursing them. Even if I have come to a wrong conclusion about this I still can’t help but notice the greater issue was in motivation, even under the Law. The reason I feel this way is that they were not instructed to give to the tabernacle, but the storehouse. This is not a passage on tithing to the church, but rather on the importance of practicing the discipline of giving out of what God has blessed each person with. What we do unto the least we do unto God. We are taught here the importance of giving to the needy and I believe that is all.

In a very brief examination on the Old Testaments teachings on tithing, I can only come to one conclusion regarding them: the main purpose of the tithe was to support the Levitical priesthood. The Levites were responsible to minister to the people, and were prohibited from owning land, which obviously limited the ways in which they could earn income. God’s plan was that their support came from those to whom they ministered. The tithe also provided welfare for widows, orphans, etc. The second goal of the tithe was as a typing of Christ. Again, I will look for closely at this later.

2 Corinthians 3: 6

“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

Turning to the New Testament, there is just as much evidence that the tithe is under the Old Covenant and does not reflect the purposes of the New. However, there is a greater emphasis, or at least clearer one, on the importance of giving as a discipline. Paul is our greatest example in post-Pentecost scriptures on how we as Christians should live. But Paul, as a Christian, rarely baptized, never circumcised, and never collected a tithe. Paul taught very clearly anything that reflected a faith that attempted to replicate the Law was evil. We are called to a higher standard in the New Covenant. Tithing, regardless of how inspirational the sermon, is an evil teaching. That is not to say preachers that preach it are evil. Neither are tithers. In fact, those that tithe out of the goodness of their hearts need to be commended for their sacrifices. But the teaching of tithing needs to be seriously examined in the church if we want to experience the intimacy of a relationship with Christ.

2 Corinthians 9: 7

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Paul makes it clear here that giving is a matter of the heart. In fact, in addition to the numerous other references to giving by the apostles and Jesus, 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 are exclusively about giving. Now it is reasonable to assume if one’s heart is focused on God and that person is being called to give then that person will give significantly. It is also reasonable to assume if that person has found ministry at their local church God will likely call that person to give to their local church. And it is also reasonable to assume if one decides to give 10% because that is easily budgeted and because that seems to be a good biblical number that God will receive that gift graciously. However, there is a significant difference between that type of giving and the model of tithing that is often preached. The best way to distinguish the difference between tithing and giving is not by a percentage value or by evaluating legalism. Rather, the best way, in my opinion, is about motive. In the Old Testament, tithing became about something you did to receive blessings from God, despite the fact that even in the Old Testament it wasn’t about that at all. Ever since tithing has been taught in the church as a foundational practice it has been about something you do to receive a blessing from God. Some do it out of guilt, others obligation, and still others out of goodness, but the “sell” from the pulpit is that it is about opening yourself up to the blessings of God.

Giving is something we do because of what God is doing in us, not as a way to get God to do something. This is probably where understanding the old paradigm is most useful. In the old paradigm we are taught if we do A then God will do B. Despite our intentions, we were taught to be legalistic. In the new paradigm we do A regardless of B. We do it simply because we want to worship God. There is a degree of legalism that is necessary during moral development. Young believers need to be encouraged to practice giving before they even understand the meaning of it, but ultimately that individual needs to be guided out of that stage of development. The New Testament repeatedly attests to this: Matthew 10: 8b says, “Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 5: 42 says, “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” Luke 6: 38 says, “Give and it shall be given unto you.” Again in Acts 20: 35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” And finally in I Timothy 5: 8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Jesus himself is the best person to turn to when looking at tithing. The only times I can find where Jesus specifically talks about tithing is when he is addressing the Pharisees. The point is following the letter of the Law does not reflect the heart. In addition, Jesus didn’t pay a tithe. He was a carpenter/ mason and was exempt from the tithe. Neither did he pay the Temple tax (at least out of his own pocket, it came from the mouth of a fish). He is exempt from that tax because he is the Temple. The king would not need to pay a tax to himself and as His children we are exempt as well (despite the fact that the tax was specifically for the Jews).

I have said already that one of the purposes of the tithe is as a type for Christ. Christ brings us under a new order. There are no more priests for believers and no more Levites. Tithing is a type that reflects the old covenant with a misunderstanding of what the meaning of giving is about. Through Christ and the Holy Spirit we are now able to fully understand the purposes of God and the meaning of giving. Malachi 3 is another type. Both the people and the priests were polluted in their hearts, and it is of the abundance of the heart that determines men’s actions. In the 1st Century church Jesus’ teaching about the tithe were well understood. The Apostle Paul never tithed, never taught Gentiles to tithe, never collected tithes, and never accepted tithes. Although the temple and priesthood in Jerusalem remained until 70 AD, not even Jewish converts were taught to give their tithes to the Apostles rather than to the temple priests. In the Acts 15 Jerusalem Conference, where the first doctrine was established, tithing is not mentioned. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica 1963, volume 22, tithing, as a teaching in the church, did not appear until the 8th or 9th century.

As I stated at the beginning of this chapter, challenging tithing is a dangerous task. But if the teachings about the tithe are as clear as I see them to be in scripture, then one has to ask why it is such a volatile issue. For churches that strive to offer ministry founded on integrity, challenging the congregation to stop tithing and start practicing giving should not be an issue. But here is where I see that even the best churches are still strongly influenced by institutional thinking. Institutionalism drives the modern church. To encourage people to give whatever they want to give to wherever they want to give it is a challenge that I would love to see a church embrace, but unfortunately fear will not happen.