A Closer Look At Tithing 3

Let's examine the following passages:

*Deuteronomy 26:1-4: When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name and say to the priest in office at the time, "I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our forefathers to give us." The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the alter of the Lord your God. (NIV)

*Nehemiah 10:37: "Moreover, we will bring to the storerooms of the house of our God, to the priests, the first of our ground meal, of our grain offerings, of the fruit of all our trees and of our new wine and oil." (NIV)

*Nehemiah 12:44: At the time men were appointed to be in charge of the storerooms for the contributions, firstfruits and tithes. From the fields around the towns they were to bring into the storerooms the portions required by the Law for the priests and the Levites, for Judah was pleased with the ministering priests and Levites. (NIV)

*Ezekiel 44:30: The best of all the firstfruits and of all your special gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give them the first portion of your ground meal so that a blessing may rest on your household. (NIV)

Take note that Deuteronomy 26:2 says "some" rather than "a tithe" or "a tenth". Furthermore, notice that Nehemiah 12:44 makes a distinction between tithes and firstfruits. If firstfruits were already synonymic with tithes, there would be no need to allude to tithes in this verse. Appropriately, the Israelites were to bring their firstfruits to the priests, whereas, their tithes were payable to the Levites. Subsequently, as previously mentioned, the Levites were required to pay a tithe (the tithe of the tithe) to the priests. Thus, according to Numbers 18:29, it was the tithe given to the priests by the Levites that was considered the "best" of the tithe. In this case, the "best" of the tithe was not referred to as firstfruits.

To summarize:

1) Levites received tithes from the Israelites.
2) Priests received firstfruits from the Israelites and tithes from the Levites.

WHO'S ROBBING WHO: A CLOSER LOOK AT MALACHI
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Are you a Christian who has been badgered and judged as a "God Robber"? Have you been sentenced to Hell for failing to tithe? Do you tithe money in order to elude a curse; or do you live a life in fear of being cursed because you cannot afford to tithe? Have you been judged as undisciplined and made to feel like a second class Christian because you were unable to tithe? If you answered "Yes" to any of these questions, then I have some good news. Let's now take a closer look at the most popular tithing passage used by most teachers in the church:

*Malachi 3:6-11: "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed . Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the Lord Almighty.
"But you ask, 'How are we to return?'
"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. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the Lord Almighty. (NIV)

This passage has become a source of great wealth for many of those who teach tithing. It is the nucleus in their arsenal of mind control techniques. Their goal is threefold: To motivate fear of retribution; to inflict guilt and shame; and to promise blessings for those who tithe. For some pastors, their psychological attack can sometimes be subtle, while others may take a more threatening approach.

For example, Word-Faith teacher, Creflo A. Dollar, pastor of World Changers Church International stated: "To not tithe is worse than committing adultery." He then proceeded to ridicule one non-tithing Christian by calling him a "nappy-headed Negro." (Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, "The Riches of God", John Blake [Staff Writer], Aug. 23, 1997, p. F01).

Sadly, in these last days, this type of ungodly abuse is often applauded rather than rebuked. For those of you who would prefer sound doctrine over entertainment, and worship God rather than personalities, I prayerfully hope to convince and remove from the legalistic bondage those who have become victims of predacious charlatans. Let's now uncover the errors in Malachi as taught by many of those who claim to have been called by God.

Error # 1: Church leaders use verse six to support the continuation of tithing under the new covenant. They allege that since the Lord does not change, then tithing must still be valid today.

Rebuttal: Firstly, this verse is referring to God's nature and character. It does not signify that God cannot change his mind or modify his laws (Genesis 6:6,7, Exodus 32:14, Jonah 3:10, Hebrews 7:12). Secondly, the prophet Malachi is not addressing the Church, but rather the nation of Israel ("So you, O descendants of Jacob....") who were under the Mosaic Law.

Error # 2: Church leaders use verse nine to allege that Christians will be cursed for failing to tithe.

Rebuttal: The "curse" mentioned here applied only to the nation of Israel ("the whole nation of you") for their actions of robbing God of the tithe. The Mosaic Law was never applicable to the Christian Church. Furthermore, Christ removed the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us on the cross (Gal. 3:13).

Error # 3: Church leaders use verse 10 to claim that the "storehouse" is equivalent to the local church; and "food" is analogous to the Word of God. Those of the Word-Faith camp, who teach their perverted "prosperity theology", use this verse as a promise of large monetary blessings.

Rebuttal: There is no longer a Levitical Priesthood nor the Old Testament temple. Under the new covenant, the priesthood consist of all Believers (2 Cor. 3:6, 1 Peter 2:5,9); and the body of the believer is now the temple of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 26:61; 27:40, 1 Cor. 3:16). Because the tithe consisted of food substances, the word, "food", is literally referring to edible materials (fruit, grain, herd, flock). The expression, "floodgates of heaven", is in reference to rainfall (Genesis 7:11,12) that would produce an over abundance of crops. This verse is neither a guarantee nor an insinuation that tithing Christians will encounter "high yielding money making opportunities" that will result in a large bank account.

Error # 4: There are some church leaders who link Malachi 3:11 with 1 Peter 5:8 to suggest that Satan will wreck havoc on our finances, personal possessions, and health for failing to tithe.

Rebuttal: This will be addressed in two parts.

This is another classic example of taking scriptures out of context for the purpose of implanting fear in the minds of incognizant Christians. In the context of this passage, the word "pests" is precisely suggestive of insects that devour crops. It is not metaphorically indicative of Satan. Several other passages which demonstrates insects devouring crops can be found in: Exodus 10:4-6,12-15; Amos 4:9; 7:1, Deuteronomy 28:38-39,42; 2 Chronicles 7:13; and Joel 2:25.

Now ... in the first book of Peter, chapter five: Verse eight is an actual reference to Satan. Verses eight and nine indicate that his goals are to devour Believers through temptation, persecution, discouragement, and deception. Because Satan is known as the Deceiver, he can potentially wreck havoc on our finances and personal possessions by our failure to discern rather than tithe. Among many other false teachings within the church, tithing is a false and deceptive doctrine that has caused financial hardship for many Believers. With a doctrine of greed, Satan's ministers have infiltrated the church for the purpose of cleverly exploiting unsuspecting Christians for material gain (2 Cor. 11:13-15; 2 Peter 2:3). Thus, the real question is, "Who's robbing who?"

THE NEW TESTAMENT: WAS TITHING COMMANDED? (PART III)
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After unmasking the deception in the previous segments, it should now be evident that Old Testament tithing laws are not applicable to Believers today. However, the chicanery doesn't conclude there. Not only have numerous pastors twisted Old Testament tithing scriptures, they have also contorted New Testament tithing passages. Moreover, they continue to mirror the same stratagem of employing scriptures that have no relation to tithing to incorporate monetary tithing into the new covenant. Let's now expose these deviations by continuing our study in the New Testament.

THE TEMPLE TAX
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In their endeavors to validate monetary tithing for Christians, many pastors use the following passage as proof that Jesus paid tithes:

*Matthew 17:24-27 -- After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"
"Yes, he does," he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes -- from their own sons or from others?"
"From others," Peter answered.
"Then the sons are exempt," Jesus said to him.
"But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours." (NIV)

Because this passage illustrates money being collected for the support of the temple, the church has found it advantageous to presume that the two-drachma tax is a tithe. Nothing could be further from the truth. In actuality, the two-drachma tax was equal to a half-shekel (two days wages) that was paid each year by every Jewish male 20 years of age and older for the support of the temple (Ex. 30:12-14). Under Nehemiah, the temple tax was equal to one third of a shekel (Neh. 10:32). Nowhere does the Bible indicate or suggest that the temple tax was a tithe of money.

"The basic Greek coin was the drachma, roughly equivalent to a Roman denarius, or one day's wages. The Greek didrachmon (two drachma piece) was used by the Jews for the half-shekel Temple tax (Matt. 17:24). The silver stater, or tetradrachma, was a four-drachma piece, used to pay the Temple tax (Matt. 17:27)." (The Illustrated Dictionary of The Bible, Money of The Bible, p. 725, Herbert Lockyer, Sr. [Edititor])

Let's now examine the above passage further and postulate momentarily that the temple tax was a tithe. Many teachers of tithing point out that since Jesus paid the temple tax, it is therefore the responsibility of every Christian to pay tithes in the form of a "religious" tax. While it is true that Jesus paid the temple tax, most Believers are not cognizant of the fact that this passage discloses that God does not obligate Christians to pay taxes for the support of a church facility.

In verse 25, Jesus says to Peter, "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes -- from their own sons or from others?" In verse 26, Peter replies, "From others." What Christ is indicating to Peter is the fact that earthly kings do not collect taxes from their own sons but from the citizens. Therefore, in like manner, our Heavenly Father does not tax his sons. This is affirmed by Jesus, "Then the sons are exempt". On account of Jesus being the Son of God, and Peter, a son of God (Matt.16:16), both were exempt from paying the temple tax. Since Christians are in a covenant relationship with God, they are also sons of God; and thus exempt from paying any such taxes, much less a tithe as a tax (Gal. 3:26; 4:4-7, Rom. 8:15-17). Jesus paid the temple tax merely not to cause offense to the tax collectors (v.27).

TAXES PAID TO CAESAR
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Another well-known passage the church adopts for the support of paying tithes as a tax involves the following:

*Matthew 22:17-21: "Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"
But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?"
"Caesar's," they replied.
Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's." (NIV)

The church zeros in on verse 21 ("Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's.) to prescribe the payment of governmental and religious taxes --- with the latter in the form of tithes since allegedly this is what belongs to God. Again, as in previous examples, this endorsement of tithing is taught based on presumptions rather than facts.

In this passage, Jesus raises the question regarding the coin, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" Since Caesar's image is engraved on the denarius, Jesus is pointing out that the monetary coin belongs to Caesar. In the same manner, today's currency is owned by someone as indicated by the inscriptions on it -- the Federal Reserve System (Government). From the money we earn, we pay back a portion in the form of taxes.

Now ... following the dialectic of Jesus, we must ask the following questions: "What belongs to God? Where has God placed his image? Is it on the first ten percent of our earnings?" The answers to these questions are indicated below:

*Genesis 1:26-27: Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness ..." So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (NIV)

*Romans 12:1: Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God -- this is your spiritual act of worship. (NIV)

*1 Corinthians 6:19-20: Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body. (NIV)

*2 Corinthians 8:5: And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will." (NIV)

As noted earlier, Caesar's image is inscribed on the coin. According to the above passages, God has His image engraved on us. This is what Jesus was referring to. It is the body of the believer -- our total self, which belongs to God. Therefore, the Christian prime directive is to, "offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God...."; and to utilize the spiritual gifts the Lord has bestowed to us.

PHARISEES AND TITHES
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In the previous two segments we discovered that the God does not require taxes from his children. Furthermore, we learned that God does not demand tithes, but rather He expects us to dedicate our bodies ... our total self to be used for His service. On the contrary, however, the church teaches that Christ did indeed command tithing in the New Testament.

*Matthew 23:23: "Woe to you teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices --- mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law --- justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former." (NIV)

Church leaders maintain that Jesus had the perfect opportunity to refute tithing. Instead, however, he validated tithing for the New Testament. While this argumentation may seem reasonable, it is nevertheless incorrect. How so? This author's rebuttal is of little difficulty. While this passage is located in the New Testament, the old covenant law --- the Mosaic Law was still in effect at that point in time. Therefore, the teachers of the law and Pharisees were required to tithe. The new covenant was not initiated until after the death of Christ in 33 A.D. Consequently, the old covenant law was fulfilled; and the temple along with the Levitical Priesthood was replaced by the bodies of all Believers. With this transition, tithing became a nonessential.

Let's now observe what was tithed. As indicated in the above verse, the teachers of the law and Pharisees were not tithing money, but rather food items -- mint, dill, and cummin. As we learned previously, the old covenant tithing law required food substances -- more specifically, fruit, grain, herd, and flock (Lev. 27:30-32). While roughly 1,600 years had transpired from the time God initially commanded tithing in Leviticus 27, there had been no allusion or indication of the definition of tithing to include money.

THE PRAYER OF A PHARISEE
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We will now inspect another scriptural reference that the modern church exerts for the purpose of validating monetary tithing.

*Luke 18:11-12: "The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men -- robbers, evildoers, adulterers -- or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' " (NIV)

Many pastors tend to strongly underscore the latter portion of verse 12 to confirm that money was a tithable commodity. Again, what we have here is another case in point where teachers of tithing selectively "cherry pick" parts of scripture that fit their preconceived notions or agenda. Moreover, their incomprehension and disregard of the dispensational periods in the Bible exacerbates the misinterpretations of scripture. This is how many traditions and false doctrines are induced.

As in the previous section, at this period of time (dispensation) the old covenant Mosaic Law was still in force. Therefore, the Pharisee was required to tithe. This particular Pharisee, however, was a prideful and self-righteous person who gloated about his works. While the Mosaic Law stipulated fasting only for the Day of Atonement (aka the day of fasting [Jer.36.6]), this man surpassed what the law required by fasting twice a week. Similarly, the law of Moses entailed tithing on produce, herd, and flock; and again, the Pharisee exceeded the law by tithing on all his possessions.

There are some people today who are afflicted with Pharisaical Pride Syndrome. "I go to church every Sunday, sometimes twice a week; and I pay my tithes.", they say. Others boast about the ability to far exceed the tithe by occasionally giving their entire paychecks to the church. These Christians believe they are highly favored, first class worshipers who stand apart from non-tithers. One element that provokes such self-righteous absorption is the pastor who praises tithers and condemns those who do not tithe.

Now if tithing is valid today, do church leaders also teach their congregations to fast twice a week? Are Christians required to calculate everything they possess and give a tithe from it to the church? Are we required to tithe the interest on savings accounts, mutual funds, etc.? If a person sells his home, does he tithe on its increase in value? Are Believers obligated to tithe from gifts received? In addition to the evidence previously brought forth, these questions should raise further concern about the application of monetary tithing in today's church.