From the book "Pagan Christianity" by Frank Viola."Does the Bible teach us to tithe? and .....are we spiritually obligated to fund the pastor and his staff? The answer to these two questions may shock you.
IS TITHING BIBLICAL?
Tithing does appear in the Bible. So, yes tithing is biblical. But it is not Christian. The tithe belongs to ancient Israel. It is essentially their income tax. Never do you find first century Christians tithing in the New Testament.
Numerous Christians do not have the foggiest idea about what the Bible teaches regarding the tithe. So let's look at it. The word "tithe" simply means the tenth part. The Lord instituted three kinds of tithes for Israel as part of their taxation system.
They are:
(1) A tithe of the produce of the land to support the Levites who had no inheritance in Canaan.
(2) A tithe of the produce of the land to sponsor religious festivals in Jerusalem. It the produce was too burdensome for a family to carry to Jerusalem, they could convert it into money.
(3) A tithe of the produce of the land collected every third year for the local Levites, orphans, strangers, and widows.
This is the biblical tithe. God commanded Israel to give 23.3 percent of their income every year, not 19 percent. These tithes consisted of the produce of the land - which included the seed of the land, the fruit of the land, and the herd or the flock. It was the product of the land, not money.
A clear parallel can be seen between Israel's tithing system and the modern taxation system present in America. Israel was obligated to support their national workers (priests), their holidays (festivals), and their poor (strangers, widows, and orphans) with their annual tithes. Most modern tax systems serve a similar purpose.
With the death of Jesus, all ceremonial codes that belonged to the Jews were nailed to Christ's cross and buried, never to be used again to condemn us. For this reason, we never see Christians tithing in the New Testament, just as we don't see them sacrificing goats and bulls to cover their sins.
Paul writes. "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.............therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."
Tithing belonged exclusively to Israel under the Law. When it comes to financial stewardship, we see the first-century Christians giving cheerfully according to their abiity - not dutifully out of a command. Giving in the early church was voluntary. And those who benefited from it were the poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers.
We can hear someone making the following objection right now. "But what about Abraham? He lived before the Law. And we see him tithing to the high priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20). Does this not overturn your argument that the tithe is part of the Mosaic law?
No, it does not.
First, Abraham's tithe was completely voluntary. It was not compulsory. God did not command it as He did with the tithe for Israel.
Second, Abraham tithed out of the spoils that he acquired after a particular battle he fought. he did not tithe out of his own regular income or property. Abraham's act of tithing would be akin to you winning the lottery or a mega jeackpot, or receiving a work bonus, then tithing it.
Third, and most important, this is the only recorded time that Abraham tithed out of his 175 years on this earth. We have no evidence that he did such a thing again. Consequently, if you wish to use Abraham as a "proof text" to argue that Christians tithe, then you are only obligated to tithe once.... (From me, "Isn't that refreshing?!")
More to come.
IS TITHING BIBLICAL?
Tithing does appear in the Bible. So, yes tithing is biblical. But it is not Christian. The tithe belongs to ancient Israel. It is essentially their income tax. Never do you find first century Christians tithing in the New Testament.
Numerous Christians do not have the foggiest idea about what the Bible teaches regarding the tithe. So let's look at it. The word "tithe" simply means the tenth part. The Lord instituted three kinds of tithes for Israel as part of their taxation system.
They are:
(1) A tithe of the produce of the land to support the Levites who had no inheritance in Canaan.
(2) A tithe of the produce of the land to sponsor religious festivals in Jerusalem. It the produce was too burdensome for a family to carry to Jerusalem, they could convert it into money.
(3) A tithe of the produce of the land collected every third year for the local Levites, orphans, strangers, and widows.
This is the biblical tithe. God commanded Israel to give 23.3 percent of their income every year, not 19 percent. These tithes consisted of the produce of the land - which included the seed of the land, the fruit of the land, and the herd or the flock. It was the product of the land, not money.
A clear parallel can be seen between Israel's tithing system and the modern taxation system present in America. Israel was obligated to support their national workers (priests), their holidays (festivals), and their poor (strangers, widows, and orphans) with their annual tithes. Most modern tax systems serve a similar purpose.
With the death of Jesus, all ceremonial codes that belonged to the Jews were nailed to Christ's cross and buried, never to be used again to condemn us. For this reason, we never see Christians tithing in the New Testament, just as we don't see them sacrificing goats and bulls to cover their sins.
Paul writes. "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.............therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day - things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."
Tithing belonged exclusively to Israel under the Law. When it comes to financial stewardship, we see the first-century Christians giving cheerfully according to their abiity - not dutifully out of a command. Giving in the early church was voluntary. And those who benefited from it were the poor, orphans, widows, sick, prisoners, and strangers.
We can hear someone making the following objection right now. "But what about Abraham? He lived before the Law. And we see him tithing to the high priest Melchizedek (Genesis 14:17-20). Does this not overturn your argument that the tithe is part of the Mosaic law?
No, it does not.
First, Abraham's tithe was completely voluntary. It was not compulsory. God did not command it as He did with the tithe for Israel.
Second, Abraham tithed out of the spoils that he acquired after a particular battle he fought. he did not tithe out of his own regular income or property. Abraham's act of tithing would be akin to you winning the lottery or a mega jeackpot, or receiving a work bonus, then tithing it.
Third, and most important, this is the only recorded time that Abraham tithed out of his 175 years on this earth. We have no evidence that he did such a thing again. Consequently, if you wish to use Abraham as a "proof text" to argue that Christians tithe, then you are only obligated to tithe once.... (From me, "Isn't that refreshing?!")
More to come.
