For
more information about this topic, check out
Bob Yandian’s CD series "The
Economy of the Tithe".
Gary,
Thanks for the question. The web site has received many requests
for information along this line of study, and, in fact, I responded
to one a few weeks ago (Where should the
senior Pastor pay his tithes?). I realize there is quite
a lot of interest in this subject—and much confusion. Because
I do not desire to repeat the former principles, please refer to
the earlier article.
A Covenant Based Upon Grace
In summary, the basis of salvation revealed by the New Testament
(NT) is “grace.” Simply defined, “grace”
is God’s decision to use His power
to save man by the sacrificial work of His Son, Jesus Christ.
This “grace” must be received into the life of every
person by “faith.”
ROMANS 4:16:
All depends on faith, and for this reason—that
acceptance with God might be an act of pure grace…so that
the promise should be made sure to all… (Weymouth)
All the demands of the “Law” necessary to establish
a person’s righteousness, and thereby obtain God’s blessing,
have been removed—to be replaced by faith in Jesus Christ.
ROMANS 10:4:
For Christ
is the end of the Law [the
limit at which it ceases to be, for the Law leads up to Him Who is the fulfillment of its types,
and in Him the purpose which it was designed
to accomplish is fulfilled. That is, the purpose of the Law is fulfilled in Him] as the means
of righteousness [right relationship to God] for
everyone who trusts in and adheres to and relies on Him. (Amplified)
The Old Testament (OT) Law was meant to show mankind his need for
a “Redeemer / Messiah,” a substitute that could perfectly
fulfill God’s demands of holiness. It was meant to show God’s
righteousness—how good He is. Mankind, however, used it as a measure of their own righteousness—how
good they could be.
Under the Law, God blessed those who followed His commands (recognizing
their failures and offering the appropriate sacrifice), or
who brought their required gifts in order to obtain blessing (dedications,
tithes, offerings, and firstfruits). This was the pattern
of the OT. Men had to perform first, then God would bless. It was: Law—Works—Blessing.
The NT pattern is all together different. Jesus Christ has performed—perfectly. And, He has
offered His perfect life as a substitution for our inability (grace).
Through the agency of faith, we accept His work on our behalf, and
thereby receive the blessing of “right standing” with
God. And, having received “blessing from God” we work
to declare His glory—not ours. The New Covenant is: Grace
through Faith—Blessing—Work.
The Law Required…
Your question reveals the very heart of the issue. The Law “required.”
That’s it. The essence of blessing during the dispensation
of the Law was fulfilling what God required.
The Law established a very intricate, and complicated, system of
tithes and offerings. There are literally hundreds of lines of scripture
that deal with these subjects. And, all of it was required! The blessings of
abundance and provision were directly tied to these “laws/commands.”
But, that was not all there was to this system. All of the demands
of the Law were inter-related. You could not simply keep the dietary
laws and expect to be blessed without also keeping the social laws.
Neither could you follow the regulations of the tithe and receive
blessing without also keeping the civil, social, ceremonial, sacrificial,
and Sabbath laws. There were no special blessings for tithes and
offerings that did not also require one to fulfill the whole of
the Law.
Did the Law require tithes? Oh, most definitely yes! But, it also
required absolute obedience to all of the Law. (see Deuteronomy
28:1 and 15)
Does the NT require tithing?
Well, that is the real question:
does it require…? The principles
of “grace and faith” have removed the requirements of
the Law as a means of receiving the blessings of salvation / righteousness.
A study of Romans chapters 3, 4, and 5 clearly presents the fact that God has done for us what we were
unable to do, and has blessed us in Christ Jesus. Galatians
3, 4, and 5 echo the same points, but are more directed at our foolishness
in thinking that our “works” can replace what God has
provided in Jesus Christ. In Ephesians
chapters 1, 2, and 3, Paul presents the facts of what God has done for us in
Christ—because we could not—and has saved us “by
grace through faith.” It is all about God: His Love—His
Work—His Grace—His Glory.
That doesn’t remove mankind from a responsibility to live
by God’s standards. In Ephesians
4:1 and on through Ephesians 6 Paul then pleads with the believer to live a life that “balances-out”
the weight of God’s investment in our salvation. Our living
follows His giving. He gives us spiritual gifts / abilities and
we invest them in others (teaching, ministering,
encouraging, helping). God gives us natural abilities and
graces, and we use them to bless mankind, to do good works upon
the earth, and to bring glory to the God who gave them. He gives
us power, and we witness. He gives us the boldness and opportunity
to speak, and we proclaim the Gospel. In our doing these things
we use what He gives, His work is accomplished, God is glorified,
and we are rewarded—sometimes in this life; sometimes in eternity;
sometimes both. Paul writes:
1 TIMOTHY 4: 6b–7:
Train yourself in godliness. Exercise
for the body is not useless, but godliness is useful in every
respect, possessing, as it does, the promise of Life now and of
the Life which is soon coming.
Godliness is living in such a manner
that God is “revered” or worshipped, both in our life
and by those who observe us. The New Covenant does not require that
we do something to in order to obtain from God, but that we
have received from Him, thereby we live in a certain manner,
and we are rewarded for our “works of faith.” And, this
is where “tithing / giving” enters into the life of
the believer.
Tithing is a response to God’s blessing—not the access
to it. I make little distinction between tithing and giving, for
the “tithe” simply means, the “tenth.” It’s
just a measure. It is a way to respond to the blessing we have received
from God—beginning with the reality of salvation and reaching
on to every dimension of our lives. When tithing is approached from
the NT perspective of “grace,” it is not to be seen
as a “requirement” but as a “gift.” Tithes
aren’t “paid” they are “given.” Hebrews
7:1–10 is the only passage in the NT Epistles that
refers to tithes. And, in this passage Paul says Abraham “gave”
tithes, whereas Levi “paid” tithes.
Some may consider the words insignificant, or simply a matter of
semantics. But, the Bible is clear on the fact that under the Law
tithing was an obligation accompanied with blessings for obedience
and a curse for disobedience, whereas in the NT tithing/giving is
freewill decision accompanied with blessings of reward.
Under the Law there was no option—the tithe was “taken”;
it was “collected”; it was “paid”. Under
Grace we are to give as we desire. Consider:
- 1 CORINTHIANS 16:2:
On the first [day] of each week, let
each one of you [personally] put
aside something and save it up as he has prospered [in proportion
to what he is given], so that no collections will need to be taken
after I come.
- EPHESIANS 4:28:
Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious,
making an honest living with his own hands, so that he
may be able to give to those in
need.
- 1 TIMOTHY 6:17:
Charge the rich in this world that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but
in the living God, [the One] offering to us richly all things
to enjoy, 18) that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready
to share, to be generous, 19) laying up in store for themselves as a good foundation against
the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.
- 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6:
But I say this, He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully
shall also reap bountifully. 7) Each one, as he purposes in his
heart, let him give; not of grief,
or of necessity, for God loves
a cheerful giver. 8) And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that in everything,
always having all self-sufficiency, you
may abound to every good work; 9) As it is written, "He scattered; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness remains forever."
These are just a few references, but they present my point well.
We give because it is our desire. We give to honor God, to help
those in need, to further the work of the ministry. But, it is our
decision—our desire. When we realize how greatly we have been
blessed by God (in all dimensions, not
just financially), our response should be to give back to
him in any and every way that we can. There is no “basic”
requirement—neither is there a limit! It is all free will:
“As much as you want; as much as you can, as often as possible!”
Abraham’s Example
That brings me to Abraham, who serves for us as a model of our faith—and
our tithing/giving. The NT in many places sends us to Abraham as
an example. He lived before “The Law:” he lived under
a covenant made by God for him; he was declared righteous by the
act of faith. These are principles that are applied to us in the
New Covenant. And, when we consider his act of tithing, we see that
it was made as a response to God’s provision and covenant—not
in order to obtain it. You can read the account in Genesis
14:17–24. This passage is full of principles that can
be directly applied to the New Testament believer.
- Melchizedek serves as a type of Jesus Christ—the true Priest of God
(Hebrews 7);
- He brought Abraham a memorial meal of bread
and wine—a covenant celebration;
- He pronounced “Blessing” from
God-Most High upon Abraham—the God who possesses Heaven
and Earth;
- He proclaimed that God was the One who delivered
Abraham’s enemies into his hands;
All of this was because of Abraham’s simple faith in accepting
the covenant offered to him as he left his land to follow God. There
were no rules; no regulations; no laws—there was no curse
for disobedience. Abraham was Blessed!
How did Abraham respond to the arrival of Melchizedek, the celebration
of Covenant, and the pronouncement of blessing? He gave Melchizedek
tithes of all the spoil he had taken in the battle. This is the very first reference to tithing in the Bible. It should serve
for us as the primary example of how we are to give to God: Freely;
Liberally; Joyfully; Thankfully.
Here are some principles and insights we should gain from this example:
- Melchizedek did not demand a tithe,
a gift, or payment – That’s the principle of
grace. God gives to us freely—because of who He is, not
who we are.
- Although at least one quarter of the
spoil belonged to Abraham (you could even argue that all
of it did) Abraham gave one tenth.
- He did not give all that belonged to him. He selected a “portion”
to set it aside and declare that this was in gratitude for God’s
goodness.
- Abraham gave what he desired, as he desired—not what was demanded – This is
an important principle that is repeated in most of the passages
of the NT that deal with the issue of giving.
Why did Abraham give a tithe? Because, that is what He wanted to
do!
There are some who say that Abraham must have learned this from
someone else, and that it was the expected thing to do when you
go to the priest—that a “Law of the Tithe” existed
all the way back to Adam. No! That’s bad scriptural interpretation.
We have no right to “read into” the scriptures what
is not there, and then establish a doctrine based on what we added.
If so, all scripture would be meaningless, for anyone could alter
the interpretation at any time.
Others say that New Testament believers should not tithe because
it was under the Law. That’s wrong too. Abraham established
the principle—hundreds of years before the Law was given.
Although Paul never uses the word tithe when he is writing to believers
about their giving, he does talk about giving according to what
we have, “as God has prospered you.” This is a good
pattern to follow, but isn’t that what a tithe is anyway?
You could call it a “starting point” if you desire.
But, whatever it is, it is NOT the “tithe” referred
to in the Law—that ended with Christ’s death on the
cross (Romans 10:4).
Is God pleased when we tithe/give? Of course! It is one manner by
which we glorify God. The standards of what pleases, and honors
God have not changed from the OT. It is only that doing / not doing
these things is not a means of attaining or losing “righteousness.”
In the New Covenant, it is “faith.” That said, it still
pleases/honors God when we live in such a manner as to declare our
faith, to separate ourselves from worldly actions/words, and show
forth His praise through our life. Tithing is one of those things
that honors God.
Proverbs 3:9:
Honor the LORD from your wealth And from
the first of all your produce 10) So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine. (NAS)
That’s a glorious truth. But, it’s from the OT? Yes!
As are all the other principles and promises of Proverbs, Psalms,
and the rest of the OT books. The “end of the Law” was
not the end of God’s desire for mankind to glorify Him. It
was the end of man’s attempts to show himself righteous. But,
God still rewards obedience; sacrifice; dedication; commitment;
giving. When we have given liberally unto the Lord, then we can
rest in the declaration: “And my
God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory
in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)
Blessings!
Geof W. Jackson, read
bio
Director of the Grace School of Ministry/Director
of Pastoral Care
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