Q & A:
Q: How many tithes were in the Old Testament?
A: There were three tithes in the old testament. Levitical tithe, Festival tithe, and the poor tithe.
Q: Which of these three tithes apply today to the New Testament believer?
A: Civil and ceremonial laws were abrogated at the onset of the New Covenant. No old covenant tithe laws are applicable to the NT believer.
Q: But didn't the tithe predate the giving of the law?
A: Yes it did, however if we must practice every Hebrew custom that predates the law, we must also practice circumcision. Circumcision was much more emphasized than the tithe before the Mosaic law was given.
Q: Didn't Jesus affirm the tithe?
A: Yes he did. He also asked lepers who were healed to "offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded". This sacrifice involved the blood of animals being shed. Should we continue this?
Q: Didn't believers in the book of Acts give more than 10%?
A: Yes they did. However some gave and others received assistance. All giving was freewill giving, not of necessity.
Q: What is the historical interpretation regarding tithing?
A: Numerous reformers affirmed the abrogation of the tithe as well as the most ubiquitous commentaries and notable early church fathers.
----
The following is an excerpt from a modern 95 theses that I have been working on for the past 10 years. It's a rough draft so it may have some grammatical errors.
Regarding Giving
68. Tithing is a part of Mosaic civil law and cannot be required of the New Testament believer.
There are three types of Mosaic Law – civil, ceremonial, and moral law. Ceremonial laws including animal sacrifice, festivals, and dietary laws were abrogated when Jesus died on the cross.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2:13-17
Secondly, Civil laws cannot be applied to the New Testament church. Israel was a theocracy; the Pentateuch provided the system of laws for their country to abide by. Stoning disobedient children is an example of a civil law that should not be practiced in the New Covenant. Another civil law required a virgin daughter who was raped to marry the criminal. Furthermore, they were never permitted to divorce (Deut 22:28,29). Tithes were collected, in accordance with civil laws, as a type of theocratic tax to meet various needs including feeding the poor, providing for Levites, and food for festivals.
Lastly, moral laws were contained in the 10 commandments and the two great commandments, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. These moral laws have not been abrogated. God writes these moral laws on the hearts of every born again Christian. Even if a new believer has never read, “you shall not bear false witness,” he feels guilty if he lies. Furthermore, this moral law is the “schoolmaster that leads us to Christ.” Gal 3:25
We cannot pick and choose ceremonial or civil laws that we like and teach them in the New Covenant. James teaches us that, “whosoever will offend in one point, is guilty of all.” Either all of the civil and ceremonial laws apply or none of them apply. It is equally wrong to teach tithing today as it is to demand a girl who was raped in the church to marry the perpetrator.
Some may contest, did not Jesus affirm tithing when confronting the Pharisees?
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matthew 23:23
I find it humorous that tithing proponents are so desperate to find a passage promoting tithing that they would use this passage. Yes, Jesus is telling the Pharisees (in a rather backhanded manner) to continue tithing. However we must remember that at this time ceremonial laws had not been abrogated. Jesus participated in temple worship where there were regular animal sacrifices. When Jesus taught to, “make amends with your brother before you brought your gift to the altar” or “offer the gift that Moses commanded” does that mean that we should continue blood sacrifice?
Some would suggest that because tithing preceded the giving of the Law that it perpetuates the Mosaic law. If that is the case, we should still practice circumcision since it was practiced before the giving of the law as well.
69. In the old covenant, giving included three different tithes totaling a minimum of 23% of their annual increase.
Most commentaries suggest there were three different tithes in the Old Covenant (total of 23%). This includes Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, and Jewish writers like Josephus.
a. Festival tithe (annual) - Deuteronomy 12:17,18
b. Levitical tithe (annual)- Lev 27:30 Num 18:21 Deut 14:22
c. Poor tithe (every 3rd year) - Deut 14:28,29 & Deut 26
Which one of these tithes apply to you (the New Testament believer)?
If you asked Wesley or Luther or Wycliffe or Huss or Bunyan or W.E Vine or A. Clarke or Ryrie they would tell you that none of the above apply to the NT believer...
Acts 15 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" In this passage, Paul is speaking in reference to abrogated Mosaic laws.
How can a pastor rob God? When he tells his members that they are REQUIRED to give ten percent of their income to the church thereby robbing them of the joy of giving willfully and joyfully- and thereby robbing God of the glory He is due.
70. When Paul preaches on giving in the Epistles he makes no mention of tithing.
There are several times in the New Testament where Paul solicits the church to give generously (1Cor9, 2Cor9, etc). There is nothing inherently wrong with preaching these texts or even using them to gently encourage the church to give. However Paul never demands or threatens any believer to give, neither does he ever specify an amount. He merely states, “he that sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he that sows bountifully will reap bountifully.”
71. Paul taught that we are to give as we purpose in our heart, not of necessity.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity 2Corintians 9
All giving in the New Testament is “free will” giving. There should be no giving under compulsion or obligation.
72. In the book of Acts, those who had an abundance distributed to those who had need. There is no mention of tithing.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Acts 4:32-35
In this example of giving in Acts, we see that some gave generously and others received financial assistance. Many churches gladly receive money from their members but few offer assistance to those in dire need of help. Ironically, they teach their poor members to give money to pastors who live in relative opulence.
73. Pastors will use any means necessary to coerce and manipulate those who attend their assembly to give a minimum of 10% of their income to his church.
Perhaps the greatest heresy regarding the teaching of tithing is when pastors threaten the church that they are “under a curse” if they don’t give 10% of their income. God will severely judge any man who binds his children with this false burden. Let no man put his hand to the ark of grace and if he does may God strike him down. Amen.
74. The primary reason pastors teach tithing on a weekly basis is to generate funds and coerce the members to give.
Many pastors will solicit members to tithe under the pretense that they want the members to be blessed, “If you want money then give ME money!” They will quote Malachi 3 with passion and use it to coerce their members and induce ungodly guild upon them. The truth is that these pastors do not preach this for God’s glory. It takes a great deal of resources to pay for the ministries they run and they will use any means necessary to keep the finances coming.
75. Preaching that the “storehouse” in Malachi 3 refers to the church you attend is eisegeses1 in its grossest sense.
“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will start to believe it.” -Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister
Unfortunately, Malachi 3 has been misused so often in modern church history that ignorant believers readily accept it as truth. You will not find any notable commentaries promoting this heresy. Storehouse is the Hebrew word “owtsar” which means: treasure (gold, silver, etc); storehouse (store, supplies of food or drink); treasure house, or treasury.
1 Eisegeses is the process of misinterpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one's own ideas, reading into the text.
Most commentaries suggest there were three different tithes in the Old Covenant (total of 23%). This includes Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, and Jewish writers like Josephus.
Which one of these tithes apply to you (the New Testament believer)?
1. Festival tithe (annual) - Deuteronomy 12:17,18
2. Levitical tithe (annual)- Lev 27:30 Num 18:21 Deut 14:22
3. Poor tithe (every 3rd year) - Deut 14:28,29 & Deut 26
If you asked Wesley or Luther or Wycliffe or Huss or Bunyan or W.E Vine or A. Clarke or Ryrie they would tell you that none of the above apply to the NT believer...
Hey, as long as we are picking abrogated ceremonial or civil Mosaic laws how about this one - If someone rapes your virgin daughter, they are forced to marry and can never divorce. Oh yes, and he owes you 50 bucks. Deut 22:28,29
2Cor9 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity"
Acts 15 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (referring to abrogated ceremonial laws)
How can a pastor rob God? When he tells his members that they are REQUIRED to give 10% thereby robbing them of they joy of giving willfully and joyfully- and thereby robbing God of the glory He is due.
How many pastors dedicate just 10 or 20 hours of their study time to research tithing before they teach it?
Q: How many tithes were in the Old Testament?
A: There were three tithes in the old testament. Levitical tithe, Festival tithe, and the poor tithe.
Q: Which of these three tithes apply today to the New Testament believer?
A: Civil and ceremonial laws were abrogated at the onset of the New Covenant. No old covenant tithe laws are applicable to the NT believer.
Q: But didn't the tithe predate the giving of the law?
A: Yes it did, however if we must practice every Hebrew custom that predates the law, we must also practice circumcision. Circumcision was much more emphasized than the tithe before the Mosaic law was given.
Q: Didn't Jesus affirm the tithe?
A: Yes he did. He also asked lepers who were healed to "offer the sacrifice that Moses commanded". This sacrifice involved the blood of animals being shed. Should we continue this?
Q: Didn't believers in the book of Acts give more than 10%?
A: Yes they did. However some gave and others received assistance. All giving was freewill giving, not of necessity.
Q: What is the historical interpretation regarding tithing?
A: Numerous reformers affirmed the abrogation of the tithe as well as the most ubiquitous commentaries and notable early church fathers.
----
The following is an excerpt from a modern 95 theses that I have been working on for the past 10 years. It's a rough draft so it may have some grammatical errors.
Regarding Giving
68. Tithing is a part of Mosaic civil law and cannot be required of the New Testament believer.
There are three types of Mosaic Law – civil, ceremonial, and moral law. Ceremonial laws including animal sacrifice, festivals, and dietary laws were abrogated when Jesus died on the cross.
And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. Colossians 2:13-17
Secondly, Civil laws cannot be applied to the New Testament church. Israel was a theocracy; the Pentateuch provided the system of laws for their country to abide by. Stoning disobedient children is an example of a civil law that should not be practiced in the New Covenant. Another civil law required a virgin daughter who was raped to marry the criminal. Furthermore, they were never permitted to divorce (Deut 22:28,29). Tithes were collected, in accordance with civil laws, as a type of theocratic tax to meet various needs including feeding the poor, providing for Levites, and food for festivals.
Lastly, moral laws were contained in the 10 commandments and the two great commandments, love God with all your heart, mind, and soul and love your neighbor as yourself. These moral laws have not been abrogated. God writes these moral laws on the hearts of every born again Christian. Even if a new believer has never read, “you shall not bear false witness,” he feels guilty if he lies. Furthermore, this moral law is the “schoolmaster that leads us to Christ.” Gal 3:25
We cannot pick and choose ceremonial or civil laws that we like and teach them in the New Covenant. James teaches us that, “whosoever will offend in one point, is guilty of all.” Either all of the civil and ceremonial laws apply or none of them apply. It is equally wrong to teach tithing today as it is to demand a girl who was raped in the church to marry the perpetrator.
Some may contest, did not Jesus affirm tithing when confronting the Pharisees?
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Matthew 23:23
I find it humorous that tithing proponents are so desperate to find a passage promoting tithing that they would use this passage. Yes, Jesus is telling the Pharisees (in a rather backhanded manner) to continue tithing. However we must remember that at this time ceremonial laws had not been abrogated. Jesus participated in temple worship where there were regular animal sacrifices. When Jesus taught to, “make amends with your brother before you brought your gift to the altar” or “offer the gift that Moses commanded” does that mean that we should continue blood sacrifice?
Some would suggest that because tithing preceded the giving of the Law that it perpetuates the Mosaic law. If that is the case, we should still practice circumcision since it was practiced before the giving of the law as well.
69. In the old covenant, giving included three different tithes totaling a minimum of 23% of their annual increase.
Most commentaries suggest there were three different tithes in the Old Covenant (total of 23%). This includes Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, and Jewish writers like Josephus.
a. Festival tithe (annual) - Deuteronomy 12:17,18
b. Levitical tithe (annual)- Lev 27:30 Num 18:21 Deut 14:22
c. Poor tithe (every 3rd year) - Deut 14:28,29 & Deut 26
Which one of these tithes apply to you (the New Testament believer)?
If you asked Wesley or Luther or Wycliffe or Huss or Bunyan or W.E Vine or A. Clarke or Ryrie they would tell you that none of the above apply to the NT believer...
Acts 15 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" In this passage, Paul is speaking in reference to abrogated Mosaic laws.
How can a pastor rob God? When he tells his members that they are REQUIRED to give ten percent of their income to the church thereby robbing them of the joy of giving willfully and joyfully- and thereby robbing God of the glory He is due.
70. When Paul preaches on giving in the Epistles he makes no mention of tithing.
There are several times in the New Testament where Paul solicits the church to give generously (1Cor9, 2Cor9, etc). There is nothing inherently wrong with preaching these texts or even using them to gently encourage the church to give. However Paul never demands or threatens any believer to give, neither does he ever specify an amount. He merely states, “he that sows sparingly will reap sparingly and he that sows bountifully will reap bountifully.”
71. Paul taught that we are to give as we purpose in our heart, not of necessity.
Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity 2Corintians 9
All giving in the New Testament is “free will” giving. There should be no giving under compulsion or obligation.
72. In the book of Acts, those who had an abundance distributed to those who had need. There is no mention of tithing.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. Acts 4:32-35
In this example of giving in Acts, we see that some gave generously and others received financial assistance. Many churches gladly receive money from their members but few offer assistance to those in dire need of help. Ironically, they teach their poor members to give money to pastors who live in relative opulence.
73. Pastors will use any means necessary to coerce and manipulate those who attend their assembly to give a minimum of 10% of their income to his church.
Perhaps the greatest heresy regarding the teaching of tithing is when pastors threaten the church that they are “under a curse” if they don’t give 10% of their income. God will severely judge any man who binds his children with this false burden. Let no man put his hand to the ark of grace and if he does may God strike him down. Amen.
74. The primary reason pastors teach tithing on a weekly basis is to generate funds and coerce the members to give.
Many pastors will solicit members to tithe under the pretense that they want the members to be blessed, “If you want money then give ME money!” They will quote Malachi 3 with passion and use it to coerce their members and induce ungodly guild upon them. The truth is that these pastors do not preach this for God’s glory. It takes a great deal of resources to pay for the ministries they run and they will use any means necessary to keep the finances coming.
75. Preaching that the “storehouse” in Malachi 3 refers to the church you attend is eisegeses1 in its grossest sense.
“If you repeat a lie often enough, people will start to believe it.” -Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Propaganda Minister
Unfortunately, Malachi 3 has been misused so often in modern church history that ignorant believers readily accept it as truth. You will not find any notable commentaries promoting this heresy. Storehouse is the Hebrew word “owtsar” which means: treasure (gold, silver, etc); storehouse (store, supplies of food or drink); treasure house, or treasury.
1 Eisegeses is the process of misinterpreting a text in such a way that it introduces one's own ideas, reading into the text.
Most commentaries suggest there were three different tithes in the Old Covenant (total of 23%). This includes Adam Clarke, Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Bruce Metzger, Charles Ryrie, and Jewish writers like Josephus.
Which one of these tithes apply to you (the New Testament believer)?
1. Festival tithe (annual) - Deuteronomy 12:17,18
2. Levitical tithe (annual)- Lev 27:30 Num 18:21 Deut 14:22
3. Poor tithe (every 3rd year) - Deut 14:28,29 & Deut 26
If you asked Wesley or Luther or Wycliffe or Huss or Bunyan or W.E Vine or A. Clarke or Ryrie they would tell you that none of the above apply to the NT believer...
Hey, as long as we are picking abrogated ceremonial or civil Mosaic laws how about this one - If someone rapes your virgin daughter, they are forced to marry and can never divorce. Oh yes, and he owes you 50 bucks. Deut 22:28,29
2Cor9 "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity"
Acts 15 "Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (referring to abrogated ceremonial laws)
How can a pastor rob God? When he tells his members that they are REQUIRED to give 10% thereby robbing them of they joy of giving willfully and joyfully- and thereby robbing God of the glory He is due.
How many pastors dedicate just 10 or 20 hours of their study time to research tithing before they teach it?
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