Transcription
Okay, I'm just going to come right out and say it. I think that many Christians are very, very misunderstood as it relates to this idea of tithing. And so, in this video, my goal is to try to hopefully clear up all of this confusion once and for all.
Okay, so I know this is very, very basic, but the word "tithe" simply means a tenth. I know many people know that, but I want to just get that out of the way before we jump in. So, what I want to do is I want to give you several reasons why I do not believe that Christians are required to tithe in any way, shape, or form. All right, so here we go.
Okay, reason number one is that tithing was a command given under the Old Testament law, specifically to the nation of Israel. Well, you may ask a very, very valid question. You might say, "Hey, Brother Allan, if we do away with tithing from the Old Testament, then why is it that we still observe many other things in the Old Testament as well? I mean, at the end of the day, it's so confusing. How do we discern what we should still follow and which things are outdated and we no longer need to follow those?"
Okay, great question. So, before we jump into this, let me just first and foremost say that the Old Testament law, the Mosaic law, was made up of at least three parts. You had the ceremonial law, then you have the moral law, and then you had the civil law. Okay?
Now, what's the difference between all three of these? Well, the ceremonial law involved things like offering sacrifices and giving offerings and, um, observing certain feasts like the Passover or the Day of Atonement. Uh, also things like certain, uh, dietary restrictions, clean and unclean animals, h-a woman having to go through certain purification rituals after she gave birth or after she was on her menstrual cycle. And tithing, tithing was part of that ceremonial law.
So, the question is, if you and I don't observe all of these other things that I just mentioned, the pure, the, excuse me, the clean and unclean animals, uh, the, uh, restrictions in terms of what you can and cannot eat, uh, uh, uh, offering sacrifices for our sin, then why would we say, "Okay, we don't follow all these things, but we're going to go ahead and say that we're still required to tithe, even though it's under the ceremonial law of the Old Testament, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ?"
And then, of course, there is the moral law, right? Stealing, cheating, murder, honoring your parents, uh, lying, cheating, all these different things. And by the way, all these things were things that were, uh, communicated and reiterated again in the New Testament, which is how we know these things are still in force for us because it's a general moral law that is timeless and true for all people of all time.
And then there was this civil law, right? And this involved basically having laws that would make the community run smoothly, like what do you do whenever somebody wants to get a divorce, or, uh, how do you handle slaves and things like that, or what do you do when somebody gets injured? Let's say you have a, I don't know, donkey, and that donkey injures somebody, or what do you do? How do you make restitution for that? How do you treat people right whenever they, uh, are working for you and things of that nature? All of that was part of the civil law, of which we have our version in our society today.
So, since the Old Testament ceremonial law has been fulfilled in Christ, we are under no obligation in any way to be observing any part of the Old Testament ceremonial law. How do I know? Because Colossians says this: "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, that's the law, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."
Notice that the Old Testament law has been nailed to the cross of Jesus, has been taken away, it is, was against us, it's wiped out, right? It is gone. It's obsolete.
Okay, the second reason is that tithing was never taught before or after the law. Now, I know some of you are saying, "You're like, well, hey, Brother, I don't know about that. What about that scripture in the Book of Genesis? Didn't Abraham give a tithe of all that he had?" Okay, let's look into that.
All right, what you're, uh, the scripture that you're thinking of is Genesis 14:20: "And blessed be God Most High, who has defeated your enemies for you." Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of all the goods he had recovered.
Now, I'm just going to say this. If you have ever used this scripture as a proof text to prove that tithing existed before the Old Testament Mosaic law was given, that's horrible exaggeration. And let me tell you why, guys. Nowhere in this passage does God make it known or command that Abram is to give a tenth. This is a one-time voluntary act that Abram did on his own. There is no reference or allusion anywhere in this text that says this came from God. This is Abram making up his mind, "Hey, man, I just want to give you a tenth of the spoils from coming back and winning the war, uh, the battle, rather, uh, against the enemies who took my nephew Lot captive." That's it. God is not setting a precedent for how everyone in the land was supposed to give before Moses gave the command. This is a one-time voluntary act.
Okay, the third reason why we are no longer required to tithe is that tithing was given for a different purpose, right? So, when you look at the purposes for why they tithed in the Old Testament and compare them to the reasons why we give today, there's some very, very big differences, right?
So, uh, what are some differences? Well, one of the reasons why they tithed, it was to support the Levites and the priests because, uh, they were not able to work regular jobs like others in the community were, and so they were able to get their support from the tithe. Okay, this is similar, a little bit of a crossover today, because pastors are hopefully expected to work full-time and dedicate themselves to working at the church. All right?
But also for provision for religious festivals, right? So they wanted to make sure that everyone in the community could participate in these religious festivals, these holy days, these feast days, and so to make sure that that was something that everybody could take part in, some of their tithes went towards that. Also, some of their tithes went to assisting the poor, the needy, the orphans, the widows, the foreigners, basically caring for the needy people within their community. And then finally, another part of their tithe lives went to maintaining the temple, ensuring that the place of worship was in good condition.
So, I want you to notice here that the tithe in the Old Testament was used for the good of the community, essentially, very similar to what our taxes are used today. Which is the reason why in the Old Testament, God didn't just say, "Bring the tithe." He said, "Bring the what? Tithes and offerings." The tithe was to take care of all the community stuff. The offerings, which there was no percentage given on, that was their way of thanking God and giving back to God a portion of what God had done for them, which is equivalent to what we are supposed to do in the New Testament. I'll get to that in just a moment.
And so, in other words, these tithes extended beyond supporting merely religious activities, but also extended into the community activities as well. Which is the reason why if you say that you want to tithe, well, according to the Old Testament, if you want to tithe, you need to be giving 23.3% of your income to the church. And if you did not do that, it's then in the Old Testament that the Bible says you were cursed with a curse. 23.3, not 10. How did we get to that? Well, there were different tithes that the people were required to give. Here they were. There was a Levitical tithe, that was once again given to support the Levites. There was a, a festival tithe, once again, to provide for the festivals and the different religious, uh, celebrations and things like that. And then once every three years, there was a poor tithe, right? So, if you notice, 10% for the Levites, that's 10%. Another 10% for the, uh, for the festival tithe, that's now 20% of your income. And then 10% for the poor, but only every three years. So, 10 divided by 3, simple math, is 3.33 every year. So, 23.33333 repeating is the taxes that you, or excuse me, the tithes, rather, that you were required to bring in the Old Testament.
Fourth, tithing is never, ever taught in the New Testament. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "Well, hey, Brother, just because something wasn't restated in the New Testament doesn't mean it's automatically null and void from the Old Testament." You are right, unless a new commandment in the New Testament is given, in which case that new commandment in the New Testament supersedes or overrides the commandment that was given in the Old Testament, which is exactly what we have in the Gospels and in the New Testament Epistles.
I want you to think about something. Jesus taught or alluded to the concept of money or money management more than any other subject in the Gospels. Do you not think that if Jesus expected, desired, or required for his followers to tithe after he died, that he would not have made that clear in all of his teachings on money?
You may say, "Well, wait, wait, wait, Brother Allan, yes, he did. What about Matthew chapter 23?" Well, let's take a closer look at that. All right, it says here: "What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things."
So, some people will be like, "See, Brother Allan, there it is. Jesus said you should tithe." But we're missing something very, very important here. When did Jesus give this statement? If it was before he had died and offered sacrifices for his sins, which means at the time that Jesus said this, the people were still under the Old Covenant. They were not under the New Covenant yet. And so, yes, of course, Jesus was still encouraging the people to tithe. He wasn't there to start a revolution, right? So, yes, he was saying, "Hey, by all means, continue doing what the Old Testament says, but understand the heart behind it, right?" And that's the idea behind what Jesus is saying here. He's not laying down a command for all people to tithe because, once again, when he said this, he had not yet given his life as a payment for sin, and we were not under the New Covenant yet.
But I want you to notice that when Jesus did die, and we were transferred to the New Covenant, what did the New Testament writers have to say about tithing? Well, let's look at the Apostle Paul. Out of all of the books that he wrote in the New Testament, do you not think that if tithing was something that he expected and required for people to do, that the Holy Spirit would not have given him the insight to at some point in his letters to say, "You must tithe like they did in the Old Testament"? No. He had ample opportunities to teach on the concept of tithing, but instead, he says this in 2 Corinthians 9:6-9:
"Remember this: A farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop, but the one who plants generously will get a generous crop." So, what is he saying? He's saying, "Hey, I'm laying down the basic law of sowing and reaping." Notice he does not give a percentage. And this is not like the prosperity, basically, he says, "Hey, the more you sow, the more you're going to reap." It's the basic law of sowing and reaping. But here's where our prosperity brothers and sisters get it wrong. They'll say, "Well, if you sow $10, it's going to come back to you $100 or $1,000." No, God doesn't say that. He doesn't say it's a give-to-get system where if you give this much money, you're going to get this much money back in return. However God decides to bless you in return in response to your giving, that's His decision. He can do that.
Now, let's keep going. "You must each decide in your heart how much to give." Notice Paul doesn't say, "You must give 10%." He says, "No, you decide how much you can give. I'm leaving it in your hands. It's up to you." But he says, "You give, don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure." Man, in other words, don't give in response to somebody who's pressuring you, making you feel like if you don't give, you're not going to be blessed, or you need to sow a seed in somebody's ministry and if you do, you're going to get blessed, or you, you really don't want to give it, but you're giving reluctantly. God says, "No, no, no. I don't need your money. I own the cattle on a thousand hills and the hills themselves, right? I don't need your money." So, if you're giving to me from a place of reluctance, keep it because I don't need your money. I can create money, right?
Uh, and then he says, "For God loves a person who gives cheerfully." In other words, it's not the amount that we give, it's the attitude that we have when we give. "And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others." As the scriptures say, "They share freely and give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever."
So, I want you to notice here in this passage, nowhere here does it say that you and I will be cursed with a curse like Malachi chapter 3, right? That, uh, because we don't give exactly 10%. I say that because many ministers are guilty of reading Malachi 3: "Will a man rob God? Well, you've robbed God in your tithe and offering. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this and see if I don't open up the floodgates of heaven and pour a blessing so, so large that your, your, your, uh, house will be overflowing and into out all this stuff, right?" Uh, I misquoted that verse really bad, but you know what I'm talking about, right? Look, that passage is, is connected to the Old Testament law, right? I'm not saying that God can't bless you and He won't bless you anything, but my point is, often times we read that and people feel like, "Well, man, I don't want to be cursed, and I do want God to protect me from harm, right? Uh, and so therefore, and I do want to be overflowing, I want to have a blessing overflowing so much I can't even receive it." Guys, that's for the Old Testament.
Okay, so what does this all mean for us? Well, listen, guys, if you want to give 10% and that's your goal, that's a great goal, all right? By all means, there's nothing wrong with that. But what's wrong is when you feel condemned, or somebody makes you feel condemned, if for whatever reason you are not able to give 10%, and you are being treated like a second-class JV Christian because you have not yet gotten to the place where you tithe.
So, we need to avoid both extremes. First, we need to make sure that we're not walking in condemnation just because you're not giving 10%. And then, we also need to make sure that we don't feel like, "Now that I'm giving 10%, I never need to give anymore." Because the reality is that in every other area of our spiritual lives, in our prayer time, in our Bible study time, and our evangelism time, and our service, and our spiritual gifts, and walking in purpose, and fasting, and praying, and all this stuff, right? What's the expectation? Is we are to grow, and we never just arrive once we get to a certain law that we have fulfilled. No, because it's a matter of our hearts.
So, if God expects us to continue to grow in every area of our lives, why would He then set a cap at 10% of giving and say, "Okay, I don't expect you to grow anymore. Once you reach 10%, you're a tither, and you don't have to give anymore"? No, that's not consistent with what Jesus taught in the New Testament. You see, the Pharisees are the people who want a law. They want something to say, "Okay, if I do this, I'm good with God. If I don't do this, I'm not good with God." But it never penetrated their hearts. And that's why Jesus came along and said, "Okay, I'm not going to tell you anything about not killing. I'm going to say you need to check and see if you're angry with somebody. I'm not going to tell you that all you have to do is go through life and not commit adultery. I'm going to go a little bit further and say, if you've not lusted." So now you can't just check off that box at the end of the day.
So, quickly, to say, "Oh, you know what? I'm good with God because now you have to check your heart." And everything in the New Testament points to the fact that Jesus was basically saying, "If you want to get into heaven, if, if you want to be righteous, should I say, your righteousness needs to actually what exceed that of the Pharisees?" Notice what he says: "But I warn you, unless your righteousness is better than the righteousness of the teachers of the religious law and the Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven." What is Jesus saying? He's raising the bar. He's not lowering the bar. Because some of you might think, "Well, if I don't tithe, that's, that's, that's, that, I can give 2, 3, 4, 5%, and God is lower." No, He's actually raising the bar. And He's saying, "Hey, your righteousness needs to exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees."
All right, so once again, I hope that the Holy Spirit has set some of you all free as it relates to this issue of tithing. Do not walk in condemnation, but at the same time, don't feel like you've arrived. And understand that we are no longer, uh, obligated to observe the Old Testament, uh, law of tithing for all the reasons that I stated in this video. All right? Instead, give in proportion to what God has put on your heart, and always make sure that you are able to give with a generous and cheerful spirit, and don't let anyone try to coerce you into giving when you may not want to. All right? So, I'll see you in the next video.
What are your thoughts on tithing and giving? Let me know in the comment section below. Bye-bye.
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