52 Lies Heard In Church Every Sunday - Plain Truth Ministries

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giving a tenth of their income away in ministry (or if it is a meaningful practice for them). The question is whether or not we have to. The teaching I’m challenging is whether God commands believers to tithe. If He does, then those who don’t tithe are living in disobedience to God. Where tithing is taught as a command, this is the passage almost always used in support: “Will a man rob God Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you! Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear,” says the Lord of hosts. “Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the Lord of hosts (Malachi 3:8-12, ESV). The context is God rebuking the nation of Israel for her unfaithfulness to the old covenant. The Lord spoke this message through Malachi, one of the last Old Testament prophets, around 400 b.c. Let’s take a moment to recall how Israel was to live. God separated one tribe, Levi, out of the nation to serve as priests and teachers of the people. From the Levites came the line of high priests who descended from Aaron. They were responsible for the formal worship at the tabernacle and temple. Unlike the other tribes, all of whom received a portion of the land, the Levites were distributed in cities throughout the nation, and they were forbidden to work as the others did (for instance, they were not allowed to farm). How were the Here’s a serious hot potato! There are few ways more guaranteed to get people upset than to talk about their money. Even questioning the validity of tithing can get you into trouble in a hurry. continuous worship system and Levites to be supported It was through the tithes of the rest of the people. That’s why the Law of Moses commands the Israelites to bring tithes of all their blessings to “the storehouse.” The storehouses were literally places to receive the people’s tithes of grain, fruit, wine, sheep, cattle, and so on, for distribution to the Levites and priests—to support the worship and sacrifices at the sanctuary and for the support of the priests and Levitical families. It was a very practical system. But this was a feature of the Law of Moses, the old covenant. And notice, there was nothing voluntary about it. The tithe for Old Testament Israel was no more optional than what you or I must give to the Internal Revenue Service when we pay our taxes. The tithe from Israel was mandatory, not an option. As we have seen so many times in this book, we do not live under the Law. We live in the age of the new covenant, and the New Testament after the cross and resurrection is where we learn principles of living that apply directly to us. I know somebody is going to say, “Now wait a minute, Steve! You’re saying tithing is old covenant, but they tithed even before the Law was given.” Well, that’s true. Tithing was fairly common in the ancient world for the support of one’s religion and to recognize one’s sovereign. There is the well-known example of Abraham giving a tithe to the priest-king Melchizedek following his military victory in Genesis 14:17-20. This is how some teachers argue that, since this was before the Law of Moses, the principle continues after the Law of Moses. But may I point out a few things They also sacrificed animals before the Law was given. I don’t hear anybody at church on Sunday insisting that we ought to be sacrificing animals today. God gave Abraham the practice of circumcision centuries before the Law, but I don’t hear preachers demanding that today. Also existing before the Law were the practices of polygamy and levirate marriage (where a surviving brother must marry his dead brother’s wife). So the fact that something was practiced before the Law means nothing in regard to whether the principle continues after the Law. And one more thing: Did you know that according to the Bible, the tithe actually was not just 10 percent There were additional tithes throughout the year. So if you add up all the tithes that they gave, it amounted to around 22 percent! So if they only gave 10 percent, they were still robbing God, according to Malachi 3:10. Is there any verse in the Scripture that’s been used to beat people over the head more about money than that SPRING 2012 31
The Truth Is So Much Better! The idea that we will be blessed because we tithe—or punished if we don’t—is solidly an old covenant teaching. You will find nothing about tithing in the New Testament. Does that mean we are left without guidance for Christian giving Far from it! The New Testament teachings on giving go far beyond tithing. Let me summarize them in the following points: 1) Giving under the new covenant is responsive. In the same way that the whole Christian life is motivated, we freely and gratefully give because we have first received from the Lord. “We love, because He first loved us,” says 1 John 4:19. You could also say, “We give because He first gave to us.” Those whose hearts have been touched by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ find themselves stirred with the desire to give. 2) Giving under the new covenant is gracious. Unlike the law of tithing, which was mandatory and specific, Christian giving is voluntary and comes from the heart. It is absolutely not a command, which the Scriptures make clear. Paul urged the Corinthians to join him in giving to support the poor at Jerusalem, but he was careful to explain to them what he meant: “Just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also” (2 Corinthians 8:7-8). Paul said that, when it came to this matter of giving, he had no “command.” The motivation for the Corinthians to give would be “the sincerity of [their] love.” He even called the act of giving a “gracious work.” It is a work of God’s grace operating in us that motivates us to give, not an external demand to tithe. He wrote, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). As you can see, this is totally different from the command to tithe, with curses or blessings tied to disobedience or obedience. And there is no specific amount Christians are told to give. Paul says each person should give “as he has purposed in his heart.” It’s between you and God. 3) Giving under the new covenant is purposeful. That means it is thoughtful and intelligent, and is aimed at specific objectives, chiefly two: (1) To advance the cause of the gospel through supporting people and ministries, and (2) to meet the needs of people, the poor, hungry, and needy. To the first point, Paul says, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Galatians 6:6). To the second, Paul explains some The Old Testament tithe was a tax, not a gift. A lot of times today, people have that same legalistic attitude about giving... They believe that if you don’t tithe, your refrigerator will quit, or your car is going to need repair, or your kids are going to need braces. of the positive results that happen when God’s people give generously: “The ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you” (2 Corinthians 9:12-14). Genuine grace giving meets the need of people, motivates the recipients to honor God and give thanks, proves the reality of our faith, advances the work of the gospel, and builds unity and love in the body of Christ. What more reasons do we need If you need one more, the Lord Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). Clarify Your Thinking The Old Testament tithe was a tax, not a gift. A lot of times today, people have that same legalistic attitude about giving. They think they have to give 10 percent of their income. They believe that if you don’t tithe, your refrigerator will quit, or your car is going to need repair, or your kids are going to need braces. You know the kind of thing. They’re really paying insurance premiums more than anything else when they give that way. Sometimes I’ve said that the way people pay their tithes, you would think they’re being held hostage by God. They’d better pay up that ransom, or God’s going to allow some bad thing to happen to them. What nonsense. Others have said that the matter of tithing is a “revelation” that must come to you. If by that they mean that God’s Spirit will reveal that everybody needs to give 10 percent, I strongly disagree. The Holy Spirit won’t reveal something that contradicts what the Bible teaches, and the Scripture teaches grace giving, not tithing. THE PLAIN TRUTH
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52 Lies Heard In Church Every Sunday - Plain Truth Ministries

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