NO COMMENT?
Question: DOES JESUS WANT YOU TO TITHE?
As you probably know, there is strong controversy regarding tithing ten percent of one’s income to the local church. Is tithing a Bible decree or is tithing an invention of christians? Does Jesus want you to tithe or does Jesus not want you to tithe?
This is a most serious issue. Why? The tithe has been used for many years to finance evangelicalism, including the building of millions of church buildings, the subsidizing of most pastors’ salaries and many etceteras. If the tithe is nothing more than chicanery (deception, fraud), what would that tell you about evangelicalism? To better illustrate that point let’s do a bit of supposing….
Suppose you bought a watch from a guy selling watches on a street corner. And then someone told you that all those watches had been stolen; wouldn’t you consider your timepiece repulsive? Or suppose you were given an expensive gift that you later discovered was stolen from a destitute widow; wouldn’t you consider that gift objectionable?
There are millions of congregations that have been convinced that God demands them to surrender ten percent of their income. Now let’s suppose these congregations were suddenly made aware that this evangelical tithe was actually a nasty embezzlement, something Jesus detested. What would they think of the buildings that were built, fully or in part, with their tithes? Would they not be considered equally repugnant? And what about the pastor’s salary?
Hopefully I have convinced you that the question “DOES JESUS WANT YOU TO TITHE?” should be thoughtfully examined. I have given the matter much consideration over several decades and feel qualified to give a review of both sides of the tithe issue. Are you ready for this?
Perhaps Pastor Whoever has many times referred you to Malachi 3:8,9: “You have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are CURSED WITH A CURSE, for you have robbed Me.” Lately, it seems, the threat of being cursed by God for not surrendering one’s tenth is finally being realized as preposterous (not by all pastors, but by most). Galatians 3:13 declares: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’).” Also there is the indisputable reality that these words were directed by God to believers living under the Old Covenant law of Moses, and not to New Covenant believers. Nonetheless, it is shameful that evangelicalism has in the past (and to a lesser degree in the here-and-now) embezzled millions of evangelicals out of billions of dollars with the threat of them being “cursed with a curse”. Next….
It is often taught by pulpit-people that Jesus Himself endorsed the tithe when He said to the pharisees, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” “See there!” says Pastor Whoever. “Jesus confirms the tithe IN THE NEW TESTAMENT!” But, but, but….
It is always necessary to determine who Jesus is speaking to – the jew, the christian or the pagan. In this case Jesus was directing His words to jews still bound by Old Covenant law. (And notice Jesus used the past tense “ought to HAVE DONE”, not the present tense ‘ought to DO’. Why? Jesus was about to bring the law of Moses to an end by the sacrifice of Himself.) Next….
It seems that pastors have adopted another argument to coerce their congregations to surrender their tenth to their supervision. Let’s look at it….
The writer of Hebrews (was the writer Paul?) is expressing the greatness of our High Priest, the Lord Jesus. Jesus was not made a priest “through the Levitical priesthood” as was every priest. No, Jesus was not a Levite. Hebrews tells us that Jesus was of “the order of Melchizedek”. Who was Melchizedek?
The writer reveals the greatness of this man, so exceptional that Abraham gave to Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils from his victory over an enemy. So what does this have to do with the evangelical tithe? The salaried’s contention is this: Since Abraham gave (on one occasion!) a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek, evangelicals are therefore continuously obligated to give a tenth of their income to Jesus who is of “the order of Melchizedek”. And how does the evangelical give a tenth to Jesus? He gives to Jesus, the local church teaches, by giving to the local church! So there it is! That’s the chief argument the salaried use to extract a tenth from the non-salaried.
Does Scripture verify this dubious logic? No way! Then why do pew-people accept it? They accept it because they have been conditioned by the salaried to trust evangelicalism and evangelicalism’s executives. They comply to this preposterous rationale (to give a tenth of their income to finance evangelicalism because thousands of years ago Abraham, on one occasion, gave a tenth of his spoils to Melchizedek) for the same reason catholics accept the teaching that (one example of dozens) the mother of Jesus was a perpetual virgin; they have likewise been conditioned to trust catholicism and catholicism’s executives.
The letter to the Hebrews is not giving a teaching on tithing; no, Hebrews is teaching us the greatness of our High Priest, the Lord Jesus. Tithing was merely mentioned to emphasize that greatness. The writer tells us that Abraham gave a tenth of his plunder to Melchizedek to accentuate his eminence, thus accentuating the eminence of Jesus!
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NOTE: I invite you to visit my library of books, articles and videos at www.larryjones.ca to get a perspective of a fifty-year plus christian who has no attachment to a religion. My most notable qualification is never having attended a seminary or Bible school. Jesus Christ is my “first love”. Religion is my enemy. My heart is to help christians recover lost devotion to Lord Jesus. I consider myself a New Testament christian, one who struggles to live by New Testament teachings and precedents.
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Now I submit what I consider irrefutable proof that Jesus does NOT want you to tithe….
If Jesus wanted you to tithe He would have said so. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “To not speak is to speak.” Jesus spoke by not speaking. Jesus never spoke of the evangelical tithe because it was not part of the New Covenant. (“He is also Mediator of a better covenant.” Heb.8:6) And consider….
Jesus gave strong correction to most of the seven churches (Revelation, chapters 2 and 3), exhorting them to repent for various transgressions, but He never scolded them for not tithing. And He did not commend the few obedient churches for tithing. Does anyone believe that the seven churches tithed?
Paul likewise spoke by not speaking; there is not the slightest hint that he endorsed (what I call) THE AWFUL EVANGELICAL TITHE. Does anyone believe the unruly Corinthians tithed? Yet there was no rebuke from the apostle. And why didn’t Paul speak of the tithe in other letters to various churches? You know there is only one answer. And consider….
2 Timothy 3:16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” The Bible teaches us the will of God by what it says AND by what it doesn’t say. God gave no man the right to add to His Bible. (Jesus: “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”) And now, more supposing….
Suppose you lived on a deserted island by yourself and were determined to dutifully study your Bible to learn God’s will in every aspect of your christianity. Remember, you have been given the most Holy Spirit to “guide you into all truth”. Do you think that you would ever come to the conclusion, from your intense study, that God requires you to tithe? And consider Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.” Do you think God would have deposited the tithe into your heart and mind? (I have been a christian for fifty plus years; the Holy Spirit has never placed the tithe in my heart.) If tithing has gained entrance into your heart and mind it is only because the salaried planted it there through constant chiding and coercion. So all this leads to obvious questions….
Why have the salaried dragged the tithe from the Old Testament to the New Testament while leaving all other Old Testament requirements behind? And why are denominational pulpit-people, who clash on most issues, are strongly united on the tithe? After much consideration, my answer to these questions is….
The love of money. 1st Timothy 6:10: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Money buys “treasures on earth”. Money buys security. Money buys esteem. Money buys power. That’s why “the Pharisees…. were lovers of money.” (Lk.16:14) If compelling a congregation to deposit a tenth of their income to the supervision of evangelical officers really is an evil practice, the root of that evil practice must be “the love of money”. What other explanation is there? If these words offend, let them offend!
Naivete is unbecoming. Jeremiah 17:5: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength.” You must realize, my sibling-in-Christ, that pastors have two chief motivations. One, they have an earnest desire to minister to you, mostly through the pulpit. And two, they want your money. All religions desperately need the peoples’ money to survive and expand, and this most certainly includes the evangelical religion. To me, this is the only reason the fraudulent, non-Biblical tithe is imposed upon most evangelical congregations. If these words offend, let them offend! Now consider….
Paul berated the Galatians because they submitted to the demand of the jews to be circumcised. (“If you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.”) Would he not say the same regarding tithing? (“If you [tithe], Christ will profit you nothing.”) All this leads to further questions….
Question: Why aren’t pastors satisfied to quote 2 Corinthians 9:7 before Sunday’s collection? (“Each one must do as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” NASB) Is it because tithing is a compulsion?
Question: Why don’t pastors admonish the congregation to give only when and where the Holy Spirit so directs? Is it because they know the Holy Spirit could direct them to give elsewhere?
Question: Who gave pastors the right to take collections? (There is no such New Testament teaching or precedent.)
Question: Who gave pastors the right to be salaried? (there is no such New Testament teaching or precedent.)
Question: Why won’t ONE salaried pastor respond to this article and defend his right to impose the tithe onto his congregation? Is it because Scripture gives no such defence?
Question: Why will many who have been convinced that Jesus does not want them to tithe will nonetheless continue to surrender their tenth to evangelical lords? Does man’s approval and acceptance mean that much to them?
Question: Since promoting the tithe is self-serving (the salary consumes much or most of tithes collected), isn’t the pastor’s motive suspect?
Consider these words of Jesus: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Your heart follows after your treasure, your money. The one who captures your money captures your heart. Giving as christians so direct will cause your heart to follow after christians, instead of Christ. Is that how the evangelical became an evangelical? If so, would redirecting your treasure to Jesus cause you to become, once again, His disciple?
You give to Jesus by giving as the Holy Spirit so directs. True worship onto Jesus is sensitivity to the One He has sent. Giving your treasure as the Holy Spirit directs assures your devotion to Lord Jesus is protected. (“There your heart will be also.”) Again, the one who gets your treasure gets your heart (your obedience, your devotion).
Listen to Lord Jesus: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” How much of your total giving is directed toward Christ’s Great Commission? I suggest that if most of your donations are directed to and through your local assembly, the Great Commission gets leftover change. But you can reverse that! All you have to do is redirect your givings.
Have a talk with Jesus. “Lord Jesus, how do you want me to direct my donations?” Your obedience to Christ could result in THOUSANDS (yes, I said thousands!) of people being relocated from the roadway to perdition to the roadway leading to eternal life.
On behalf of the mass of humanity on their way to that place we get squeamish thinking about, I implore you to give the matter of where you direct your generosity serious consideration. Okay?
And I also ask that you bring another issue before Lord Jesus: the SHARE button. ONE CLICK could result in many people being rescued from eternal anguish! How? Sending this message to your friends could cause some to redirect their donations to Christ’s Great Commission, thus getting His precious gospel to multitudes.
Now one more time: In your opinion, DOES JESUS WANT YOU TO TITHE?