Spiritual Pride in Giving

"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you."  Matthew 6:1-4

     Beside the fact that tithing is not commanded in the New Testament, there is another reason why it should not be taught, and that reason is spiritual pride. Like the Pharisee in the story of Luke 18:12, too many tithers fall into the trap of self-righteousness and spiritual pride.

     In Matthew 6:1 Jesus tells us to beware of practicing our righteousness before men to be noticed by them; yet, I have heard numerous church leaders announce that not only do they pay tithes, but they "tithe on the gross," meaning that they calculate the ten percent on the amount of their paycheck before taxes are deducted. Usually, these people are not the ones who are struggling financially, and usually their reason for tithing on the gross is the old adage, "better safe than sorry," implying that God is going to punish them somehow if they don't tithe on every penny, just like the Pharisees tithed on every mint leaf (Luke 11:42). These kinds of comments, especially when made by leaders in the church, can really put the fear in believers who are not tithing. Is that really what God wants? Is that the kind of relationship He wants to have with His children?

     Jesus said don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, but that your giving should be in secret. Should any one else know what you give? Should the pastor know what everyone in the church gives? Wouldn't that tend to make him think twice about offending certain people in his messages? There is really no reason for anyone else to know what you give. Just give what the Holy Spirit tells you to give to whomever He tells you to give it, and don't let someone else steal your joy of giving because according to them you don't give enough. That is between you and God alone. No one else has a right to know what you give or tell you what to give.

     "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." II Cor. 9:7

Tithing in the New Testament?

     Does the New Testament teach that believers are still under the law of tithing? There are only seven places in the New Testament where the word tithe is used.  Let's look at each one of them and see what they mean for us today. 
 
     First of all, the references to tithing in Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 are both referring to the same instance in which Jesus rebukes the Pharisees because they tithe down to the last penny, and yet, their hearts are not right.  Some use these two scriptures to justify tithing today because Jesus told the Pharisees "these are the things you should have done (tithe) without neglecting the others." What these people seem to forget is that Jesus was speaking to Jews who were still under the Law because Christ had not yet gone to the cross. The New Covenant was not yet in effect; therefore, to apply Jesus' rebuke to Christians today is erroneous.        

          Another reference to tithing in the New Testament is in Luke 18:12 where Jesus is telling a parable about a Pharisee who is boasting before God that he paid tithes of all that he got.  God was obviously not impressed because Jesus tells us that the other man in the story, a repentant tax-gatherer, went away justified rather than the proud Pharisee.  Again, this story does not justify tithing for today. The people in this story were still under the Old Covenant.

          The only other references to tithing in the New Testament are all in the book of Hebrews, chapter seven, where the priesthood of Christ is compared to that of Melchizedek.  The writer of Hebrews is not trying to say anything about tithing in the New Testament church.  He is merely trying to make a point about the superiority of the priesthood of Christ to that of Melchizedek by pointing out that even Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek while he was in the loins of Abraham. Please keep in mind that the tithing mentioned here all took place under the Old Covenant.  This passage is certainly no justification for carrying the law of tithing forward to the New Covenant.

        If the Apostle Paul believed that the new gentile converts were subject to the old Jewish laws of tithing he would certainly have made that clear to us in at least one of his letters to the churches.  As it is, even when discussing the subject of giving he made no such assertion. In fact, in the book of Acts we have a ruling from the council at Jerusalem regarding what was to be required of the gentile converts to Christianity.  In a letter to the churches from the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, it says in Acts 15:28-29, "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well."  Please read the whole chapter to get a clear picture of what was going on here. If tithing were as important an issue as some try to make it seem today, surely it would have been mentioned here.

     These are the only scriptures in the New Testament that speak of tithing. None of them state that Christians today are under the law of tithing. Of course, Christians should give, and should desire to give generously, but not because someone says that they have to. There is much joy in giving, but Satan loves to steal our joy by putting us under the Law.

     "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."  II Cor. 9:7

     It is difficult to give cheerfully when someone tells you it is mandatory.

Cursed for Not Tithing?

     Am I cursed if I don't tithe, based on Malachi 3:8-9?  Is that really what the scriptures teach? I have certainly heard that very thing from lots of pulpits, or heard it implied. I have a problem with this.
    
     Since I am not under the Old Covenant, I am also not under the Law. Galatians 3:24-25 states, "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." I am not an Israelite, I am not under the Law, and there is no longer a Levitical priesthood, a physical temple, or a storehouse, so why would I be cursed for not tithing?

     Since I am not under the Law, I am also not under the curse of the Law. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law when He hung on the cross. Galatians 3:13-14 states, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us-- for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'-- in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."

     Ironically, quite the opposite of what I have been told is true. If I choose to, I can put myself back under the curse of the Law by trying to be justified with God by keeping the Law. "For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, to perform them.' Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident; for, 'The righteous man shall live by faith.' However, the Law is not of faith..." Galatians 3:10-12

     Does this mean I am free to just do whatever I want to?  Paul answers this question in Galatians 5:13-14. "For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'"

     "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law." Galatians 5:18

    

Tithing, an Old Covenant Command

     "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you!" Malachi 3:8-9

     Have you ever had someone tell you that you are cursed if you don't tithe based on the Old Testament scripture I have just quoted?  This scripture is used a lot to scare people into giving ten percent of their income. There are numerous problems with doing this which I will try to address in the next few posts.

     The first problem with using this scripture to justify a tithing message is that this is an Old Testament scripture referring to the curse of the law for the nation of Israel if they failed to be obedient to God. The blessings and curses of the Old Covenant that God made with Israel are enumerated in Leviticus, chapter 26. Leviticus 26:46 states, "These are the statutes and ordinances and laws which the Lord established between Himself and the sons of Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai." Notice that this was an agreement between God and the nation of Israel. It had nothing whatsoever to do with anyone else.

     When Jesus instituted the New Covenant in His blood by dying on the cross, the Old Covenant became obsolete. See Hebrews, chapter 8, especially verse 13.  If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you are not under the Old Covenant, but the New. If you still think you are under the Old Covenant, then a study of the Book of Galatians should be very enlightening and liberating!

     Please keep in mind that I am not telling anyone not to tithe! You are free to give as much as you want to whomever you want. Give 20 percent, give 50 percent, give it all! Listen to the Holy Spirit and do whatever you believe He is leading you to do. Give it to whomever He tells you to give it. My disagreement is with the twisting and manipulating of scriptures to pressure other people to give under compulsion, contrary to the New Testament model for giving which is in II Cor. 9:7. "Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."

     "...who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."  II Cor. 3:6

     "Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."  II Cor. 3:17

     "and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." John 8:32



    

Did Jesus Tithe?

     The statute or ordinance of tithing for the Israelites was established in Numbers, chapter 18. Here, God set apart Aaron and his sons as priests and the rest of the tribe of Levi to serve the needs of the priests and the tabernacle. Because of their special consecration to the Lord, the Levites were not allowed to own or inherit any land; therefore, they were given the tithe of the land of Israel from the other eleven tribes for their support.

     "And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform the service of the tent of meeting." Numbers 18:21

     The tithes consisted of oil, wine, grain, and animals, the produce of the land. (Numbers 18:12, 15) Never in scripture will you see anything else being tithed besides the produce of the land. The tithe was never of wages or money. It was always only the fruit of the land; therefore, the only Israelites who tithed were the farmers and herdsmen. The people who did not own land and did not farm or raise animals were not expected to tithe.

     "Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy to the Lord." Leviticus 27:30

     Did Jesus tithe? No, since Jesus was a carpenter and not a farmer He did not tithe.