I ran across a person’s website who I never really got to know, but from what I know is a passionate follower of Christ. Gray and I went to church together for a time and is a very intelligent man who is asking some really great questions on his blog.
On this blog post I left a comment about tithing
I know tithing is a sensitive subject, but I thought I’d open up the conversation to see if we can learn from one another. I’d love to hear about your perspectives that you came to out of your personal study of God’s word.
(* Note: I usually don’t monitor my comments, but because of the nature of this post I will. So play nice!)
NO ONE, absolutely NO ONE pays the Biblical tithe today.
Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18: The First Tithe – a tenth of crops and animals and commanded to take the tithe to the Levites.
Deuteronomy 14:22-27: The Second Tithe aka The Festival Tithe – a tenth of crops, plus add to that the firstborn animals, and take for the yearly feast.
Deuteronomy 14:28-29: The Third Tithe aka The Three-Year Tithe aka The Poor Tithe – a tenth of crops, kept at home, and invite the Levites, widows, orphans, stranger to eat.
Now, tell me. Which of the above three tithes commanded by God does anyone follow today?
The ONLY people in the Old Testament that were commanded to tithe were those who INHERITED THE PROMISED LAND WITH EVERYTHING ON IT. They got the land, house, animals, crops, etc. ALL FREE AND CLEAR. No mortgage payment or rent to pay. And THEY were commanded to tithe on the crops and animals and take it to the Levites who INHERITED the tithe INSTEAD OF the promised land with everything on it. No one else tithed. Wage earners did not tithe. Jesus didn’t tithe. Paul didn’t tithe. Peter didn’t tithe.
HOW CAN YOU COMPARE THAT WITH CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENT OR RENT, INCOME TAXES, PROPERTY TAXES, SALES TAXES, ETC?
There is no way to justify making some “principle” out of the Biblical facts and then apply it to Christians today. It is just flat out wrong and makes no sense at all.
p.s. I’d like to download your book, but the link on your site is broken.
Thanks for letting me know the link to my book doesn’t work. I have changed the link to download the book from my site instead of a third party, so it should work. You might have to reload the page to get the new link.
The first time tithe is mentioned in the Bible is Abraham’s tithe of pagan spoils of war, and Abraham kept NOTHING for himself. This was NOT an act of worship. The goods that Abraham gave the tenth from didn’t even belong to Abraham:
Genesis 14:21 (NIV) – The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
Notice in verse 21 the king of Sodom didn’t ask Abraham if he would give back to him the people, but rather said GIVE ME the people and keep the goods for yourself. The way that is worded indicates that the king of Sodom was claiming that the people and the goods belonged to him and those he represented.
Genesis 14:22-24 (NIV) – 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
Notice in verses 23 and 24 Abraham also acknowledges that the goods belonged to the king of Sodom and those he represented.
Therefore, it is clear that both the king of Sodom and Abraham acknowledged that the spoils of war did NOT belong to Abraham, yet he gave a tenth of the spoils to King Melchizedek. This would seem that Abraham did something wrong, if not even illegal, but Biblical historians agree that it was custom in Abraham’s day to give the king a tenth of the war spoils. Had Abraham not given the tenth, he would have gone against custom.
Conclusion: Abraham did NOT give a tenth of his income, or his wealth. Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils of war that didn’t belong to him. That is NOT an example for Christians to follow today. Furthermore, the law did NOT require a tenth of war spoils to be given, but rather 1.1%, so to say that tithing was before the law and then in the law is not true. What Abraham did was NOT codified into the later law.
Thanks for joining the conversation Gary. I can tell you’re really passionate about this subject! 😉
I don’t disagree that the “popular” thoughts on tithing should not be challenged. I would take the time to point out that in your statements of absolutes (i.e. “Never”, “Only”) remember that Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedeck – this was before Moses penned The Law.
True, this was not the same “tithe” that some Christians think of today, but if you are arguing about the word “tithe” (ma’aser) then you need to be strong about all points of scripture.
Since you asked some questions, (assuming you really wanted to ask me questions and not just cut and paste pre-fabricated text) I’ll try to answer them:
Q: “Now, tell me. Which of the above three tithes commanded by God does anyone follow today?”
A: I can’t speak for ANYONE. I’m not that all knowing. I can’t possibly know that there is one person or there is no one. Can you? If so, can I get some of your super powers? (I’m just having a little fun…sorry if you are offended)
Q: “HOW CAN YOU COMPARE THAT WITH CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE TO PAY THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENT OR RENT, INCOME TAXES, PROPERTY TAXES, SALES TAXES, ETC?”
A: EASY. PEOPLE COMPARE THINGS ALL THE TIME. DOESN’T MEAN IT MAKES SENSE! PEOPLE ALSO WRITE IN ALL CAPS AND DON’T THINK IT’S ANNOYING.
I’ll close with this:
You said, “There is no way to justify making some “principle” out of the Biblical facts and then apply it to Christians today. It is just flat out wrong and makes no sense at all.”
ok…here is a biblical fact.
The bible says Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” and “NO ONE can come to the Father” except through him and that we all must repent of our sins and turn to Christ, placing our faith in him to save.
Here is a principle from that truth:
God wants all people to be saved. In order for that to happen there must be repentance and a rebirth.
How does that apply to Christians?
We must live a life that represents we are deeply sorrowful for falling short of God’s standards, that we have turned to Christ and trust him, and now live by his biblical truths as principle guidelines for our life.
Is that flat out wrong? Does that not make sense?
I totally agree with everything you said. that’s basic information you can find it any good bible commentary.
the question I have for you is what do you believe are the principles for Christian generosity and stewardship that the bible teaches?
My book has a whole section on New Testament giving.
But to put it in a nutshell……..
The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice, while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, ONLY the farmers tithed, and it was equal percentage (a tenth). The New Testament teaches the principle of equal sacrifice instead of equal percentage. Equal sacrifice is much harder to achieve, if not impossible, than giving ten percent.
Again…totally agree!
Thanks for investing time on my blog that no one reads! lol…
Awesome testimony by the way. It’s great to see how careful study of God’s work can transform someone’s perspectives! Let me know when the link to your book is back up.
Anyone else have any feedback?
You agree with Gary?
Do you have a differing perspective?
Link is up and working. Had to update the link on well over 50 Christian websites I have on tithing.