A CLOSER LOOK AT TITHING
EXPOSING THE ERRORS
By: Victor T. Stephens
"People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up."
~ George R.R. Martin
WAS TITHING COMMANDED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT? (continued)
The Prayer of a Pharisee
We will now inspect another scripture reference that the modern church exerts to validate monetary tithing.
"The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men --- extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'" (Luke 18:11-12)
Many pastors tend to strongly underscore the latter portion of verse 12 to confirm that money was a tithable commodity. That is another case where tithing proponents selectively "cherry-pick" parts of scripture that fit their private theological presuppositions.
During this period, 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 bragged 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. 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.
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? These questions should raise further concern about the application of monetary tithing in today's church.
While many Christians sincerely believe in tithing and wish to please God, others are afflicted with the ancient Pharisaical Pride Syndrome. These tithe payers "par excellence" blatantly display their arrogance by using tithing as a litmus test to impress others of their deep devotion to God and their local church. "It's Showtime" at the church as these self-adulators make an ostentatious exhibition of their generosity. They announce, "I go to church every Sunday, sometimes twice a week; and I pay my tithes," they say with a zealous temperament. Rather than maintaining a humble attitude and giving anonymously, others boast about their ability to far exceed the tithe by sacrificially donating their entire paychecks to the church. These Christians believe they are highly favored, preeminent, super-saint worshipers who are spiritually superior to non-tithers (Luke 18:9). In their judgment, some label themselves "Christians," and then there are authentic "tithing Christians." What a disgraceful detachment from reality! Ironically, if their motives for giving are to gain bragging rights or receive blessings from God, they are functioning from a position of selfishness.
One element that provokes such supercilious self-righteous absorption is the pastor that teaches tithing as a core tenant of faith. He praises tithers and unashamedly condemns those who do not tithe, leaving some Christians feeling guilty or fearful of a curse.
A few pastors go to the extent of encouraging tithers not to form personal relationships with those who do not tithe. I read a statement some time ago by a woman who commented that she does not date men unless he is a "ten percenter" (a tither).
This form of narcissistic spiritual ascendancy is a chief aspect that contributes to the obstinate blindness of many vainglorious tithers. Without a tithing yardstick, there is no stage to stand on to differentiate their feats from the remnants of those "under-achieving non-tithers."
Spiritual exhibitionism and ungodly chastisement of this kind are repulsive to Christ, as well as to fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. The act of self-glorification brings to mind a poem I read some time ago. Ruth Harms Calkin speaks on this issue through her work entitled, "I Wonder."
She writes:
You know, Lord, how I serve You
With great emotional fervor
In the limelight.
You know how eagerly I speak for You
At a women's club.
You know how I effervesce when I promote
A fellowship group.
You know my genuine enthusiasm
At a Bible study.
But how would I react, I wonder
If You pointed to a basin of water
And asked me to wash the calloused feet
Of a bent and wrinkled old woman
Day after day
Month after month
In a room where nobody saw
And nobody knew.
I wonder too how faithful we would be if we had to practice unselfish and anonymous works. Would we stop giving of ourselves?
The Righteousness of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law
To defend their pro-tithing thesis, some church leaders use the passage below to combine the gospel of grace with the observance of the Mosaic Law.
"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matt. 5:17-20)
Here, Christ indicates that he did not come to destroy the Law or the Prophets but came to complete (satisfy) the old covenant law and prophecies by bringing them to their designed eschatological conclusion.
Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." (Luke 24:44)
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."
(Rom. 10:4)
For Jewish and Gentile Christians (The Church of Christ) who live under the new covenant, there are no obligations to live under the laws of the Mosaic covenant.
"For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace." (Rom. 6:14)
"Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another... to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter." (Romans 7:4,6)
"But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." (Gal. 3:25)
That does not mean, however, there has been an abolishment of all laws. The old covenant moral law is still pertinent to the unrighteous.
"...knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine," (1 Tim. 1:9-10)
Believers who live in today's age of grace are under a new law --- the law of love, aka the Law of Christ.
"So he answered and said, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and 'your neighbor as yourself.'" (Luke 10:27)
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)
Also, see Galatians 5:13-14 and 6:2.
Now, based on Matthew 5:20, how many times has a pastor mentioned that you will go to Hell for not giving at least ten percent of your income to the church? Leaders in the church assert that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law paid tithes. Thus, unless we exceed their standards of giving, heaven is not attainable. Such a threat is just another intimidation tactic that many professing pastors employ in their extortion scheme. This tactic is analogous to what Jesus confronted in his encounters with the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Some Pharisees and teachers of the law were very zealous and meticulous observers of the Mosaic Law as they interpreted it. In effect, many of their renditions of the law developed into man-made traditions (Mark 7:7-13). Rather than having the right motives, their actions were "showcase religion" appended with stringent practices designed to conceal their malicious aspirations while concurrently attracting the praise of men (Matt.6:1-2; 23:5-7, 23-28). In addition, they trusted in their own merits, believing they could gain righteousness by following the Law of Moses (Luke 18:9). But the old covenant law could not impart righteousness (Rom. 3:20, Gal. 2:16; 3:21).
The righteousness Christ is calling attention to comes from a pure and changed heart based on faith. That was something usually absent among the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Faith in Christ surpasses the rules and regulations of the letter of the law. Thus, Christians gain righteousness by their faith in Jesus Christ, which is superior to the righteousness of the Pharisees and teachers of the law.
Now... someone may ask, "If the Pharisees and teachers of the law paid tithes under the old covenant law, shouldn't we as Christians who are under a new and better covenant give more?"
That is a common question, but it is, in fact, inapplicable since the legislation of tithing in the Old Testament significantly differs from the believer's moral principles of giving under the new covenant.
For example, Abram gave a tithe of spoils of war to Melchizedek because tithing was a cultural practice. Tithing under the Mosaic Law consisted of food items, not money. Furthermore, Israel paid their tithes every three years. Thus, the yearly average was 3.3 percent. And the Levites, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow were the recipients of the tithes.
We should also consider such a question/viewpoint diametrically opposes 2 Corinthians 9:7. Everyone is to decide in his heart how much to give. No one has the legitimate right to dictate or suggest a "starting point" or a minimum percentage to give. If we read Numbers 31:25-31, it indicates that the Levites received two percent of the spoils of war. That disproves the perspective that tithing should be the minimum standard or "starting point" of giving.
Next: Did Jesus Collect and Pay Tithes?
