by Staff writer
It’s probably suicidal for a pastor to preach on why you should not tithe!
Considering most of the so-called pastors we have today are just out for the money than do God’s work, telling members not to tithe would prove risky for the business.
Many churches promote a concept called “storehouse” tithing, based on Malachi 3:10, where God told Israel to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.”
They teach that the local church is the storehouse, the tithe belongs to God, and His blessing is conditioned upon faithfulness in tithing.
But the real truth is that tithing was part of the law of Moses, and we are not under that law.
Romans, Galatians, and other New Testament passages make it clear that Christians are not under the law of Moses.
That does not mean that we are lawless, because we are now under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:20-21; James 1:25; 2:8, 12; Rom. 13:8-10).
Those aspects of the Mosaic law that reflect the moral character of God are valid under the New Covenant and are repeated as commands in the New Testament.
But the church is never commanded to enforce tithing.
Some who argue in favor of tithing point out that Abraham and Jacob both tithed prior to the Mosaic law (Gen. 14:20; 28:22). Thus tithing supersedes the law, they argue.
If the New Testament gave no further guidelines, that might have been a valid point.
But it does, as we all know.
There are other practices, such as circumcision and sabbath-keeping which pre-date the Law and yet are not binding on us.
If you examine the references to Abraham’s and Jacob’s tithing, you will see that God did not command them to tithe and there is no indication that this was their regular practice.
On one occasion after a victory in battle, Abraham tithed the spoils from that battle, but nothing is said regarding his other possessions or his regular income (Gen. 14:20).
To follow Jacob’s example of tithing would be wrong, because he was making a conditional vow before God, promising that if God would keep him safe and provide for him, then he would give God a tenth (Gen. 28:20-22).
That’s hardly a good example to follow in giving! More so, it was only a personal promise, not a demand from God.
Tithing was required under the Mosaic Law, but believers are not under that Law.
In the Old Testament, there was both required and voluntary giving.
Tithing was a required giving. It was commanded for every Israelite to fund national worship and help the poor.
In actuality, there was not just one tithe, but rather two or three ([1] Lev. 27:30-33, Num. 18:20-21; [2] Deut. 12:17-18; [3] Deut. 14:28-29), so that the total was not 10 percent, but more like 22 percent (see Charles Ryrie, Balancing the Christian Life [Moody Press], p. 86).
Thus if we are required to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse today, we had better up the percentage from 10 to 22 percent!
But then the real truth is that believers are not a part of the theocratic nation of Israel.
The read duty you owe your country now is not a church tithe but your regular tax.
That’s what the law we are now under says and approves!
