Tithing In the New Testament

[Pastor Arlee Turner Jr.]

I was doing some research on tithing, earlier today, and came across some very interesting observations. If anyone wishes to comment on these, let the sparks start flying:

Abraham and Jacob gave a tenth of what they had - once. It was not a repeated deal. The Tithe has specific rules and is reserved for specific purposes, none of which can be obeyed in the church since none of the circumstances exist. If you choose to give 10 percent in faith, in response to what God has done in your life, that’s fine. But the instant you make it a demand and a requirement, you have passed from grace to law. If you want to give 30 percent or your income, that’s fine. But the instant you make it a demand and a requirement, you have passed from grace into law. And the two simply do not mix.

A church might not get “enough” money if they don’t require tithing? Hey, maybe that church shouldn’t exist. Or perhaps the pastor should be willing to - oh, I don’t know - GET A JOB like paul, to support himself. You don’t have a building? Rent a hall, as small a hall as the offerings will support. And if they are enough to support one at all, then maybe the group SHOULD cease to exist.

Most folks who push tithes generally promote the ideas that a church has to have a building, the pastor has to be full time, and they (the church) has to have a lot of money to do things in the neighborhood as a church organization. I suspect you would be hard pressed to show me any of these ideas in the New Testament. Sure an ox should be fed, but it doesn’t say he has to be fed vintage hay.

The tithe comes in the form of pressure…..

Prior to accepting the offering….”All the tithers please stand”…..

Now how is a novice to articulate what is occuring before them when the are sitting and those whom are giving are commended to stand?

So this is not some store front-church type of pressure tactic.

The pressure comes when the pracher reaches series’ on the tithe, preaching “first-fruits” or God won’t bless you….you will be cursed with a curse……

Pressure comes in the form of churches NOT assiting individuals monetarily unless they access their financials and tithe records prior to considering such……

Pressure comes in the form of conforming to the church “vision” or agenda…..or be left behind and chastised among your leaders/peers accordingly (to their interpretation of the Word)……

Now for the last time, the Bible instructs us to give to support the ministry. I’m not sure how many times that have been mentioned. And yes, if a person has the MEANS to give, but doesn’t, then they are acting in rebellion against God. But please lets not limit this to not tithing or giving to the church. What about the poor? What about folk that are less fortunate than yourself that are outside of the church building? Doesn’t that hold some relevance?

Pastor Arlee Turner Jr.

[Child of the Kingdom]

Hello Toni,

You can get the full article from Fugett's reply at the following link.

http://churchtithesandofferings.com/

There is a lot more on their page in the article.

[Toni]

EW, thank you

[Child of the Kingdom]

Sure, no problem.

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

It's on the link that EW gave, I liked it because it was neither pro/con, it leaves you the liberty of following the Spirit, no legalism one way or the other, THE TRUE SPIRIT OF GOD

[A.W. Bowman]

No problem - and thank you. That is the goal of all of my comments (teaching, commentaries, etc.) - to drive one to the study of scripture for them selves, and not to become disciples of me. That would be a disaster..

[Pastor Arlee Turner Jr.]

Thank you for your comment and support on this Toni. I have been busy, but I am going to address the issues that have been brought forth here. There is something very disturbing about all of this. I can preach the truth on a variety of spiritual issues that affect the body of Christ, but when it comes to MONEY, I end up getting hundreds of responses. That is very interesting.

[Rest Of God Ministries]

Is Tithing required by the New Testament?

Commonly quoted scriptures:

Matt 23:23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought
to have done, without leaving the others undone.

Luke 11:42 But 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. Christ spoke these words during His ministry and this teaching was in harmony with the directives of the Old Covenant.

The following verse explains the position of Christ in relation to the existing Old Covenant Law.

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, :5 to redeem those who were under the law, ...

Christ planted the seeds of the New Testament while acting and speaking in harmony with the law of the Old Covenant. It is for this reason that He also commanded a cleansed leper to obey the law of Moses.

Matt 8:3... And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 See that you tell no one; but go your way, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.

The physical offering of animals does not apply under the New Testament, so why did Christ compel this compliance with the Law of Moses?

For the same reason he compelled tithing in Matthew 23:23. The Law of Moses was still in force during the life of Christ. It would have been 'sin' for Christ at this time to have taught against the Law of Moses!

In the Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 verses Christ was not teaching that tithing was required by the New Testament, but rather was just re-enforcing that this was a requirement under the Old Covenant!

OTHER NEW TESTAMENT VERSES

Looking for other tithing verses in the New Testament we do not find any requirement for Christians to tithe.

A) A PHARISEE'S PRAYER

Tithing is mentioned in the parable of the prayers of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, where the Pharisee states; Luke 18:12 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' In this illustration we have the teaching that strict obedience to the law, and the self righteousness it can produce, amounts to less than the
display of humility by a sinner seeking mercy.

B) THE TITHING OF ABRAHAM

The following verses discuss the example of Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek and how the Levites under the Old Covenant were to receive the tithes of the people. Heb 7:4...Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives
them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so as to speak, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.


This text and the subsequent commentary is discussing the identity of Melchizedek and the changing of the
priesthood under the New Testament. The issue of tithing in the time of Abraham and in the Old Covenant is covered, but the question of tithing in the New Testament is not clarified. However, should the analogy of the transfer of authority to receive tithes be extended along the lines of the priesthood change, then this text would be suggesting we in the New Testament would be required to tithe directly to Christ (and not to any type of representative).

EXAMPLE OF THE APOSTLES

If we wish to see the New Testament position in respect to tithing the logical place to look is in the writings of the apostles. We do not find any specific commandment for the newly converted Christians to tithe so we have to consider verses which may suggest this teaching prevailed at that time.

Acts 20:33 I have coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak.

2Corth 11:8 I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you. 9 And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what was lacking to me the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied.

2Corth 12:13 For what is it in which you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burdensome to you? Forgive me this wrong! 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

2Corth 9:1 Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you 2 for I know your willingness, ..5. I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your
bountiful gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation. 6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

2Corth 8:12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack - that there may be equality.

1Cor 9:11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? 12. If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more? Nevertheless we have not used this right, but endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ.14 Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

Gal 6:6 Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.

OBSERVATIONS:

1) In these verses the apostle Paul both accepted wages from other congregations and also worked to supply his own needs.
2) Paul had avoided placing a monetary burden upon the Corinthian congregation, but this apparently had not favorably altered their disposition toward giving.
3) We encounter in the letters to the Corinthians considerable references to the collection of food Paul was organizing to assist the brethren in Jerusalem, due to the famine they were experiencing. Refer Acts 11:27-30 and Romans 15:26.
4) Giving should be balanced by the goal of 'equality', that is one party should not be unnecessarily burdened.
5) Those involved in preaching the gospel should be financially rewarded by those receiving the message.

Despite the existence of a need to assist in supporting the ministry these verses do not clarify if the factor of 10% as suggested by the tithing principle is applicable. In fact, from the example of Paul's handling of the Corinthian church, we can see that the New Testament leadership did not always request monetary assistance.

SUMMARY

We can conclude from reviewing the New Testament scriptures that although there is support for the sharing of material wealth with the ministry, there is no conclusive proof in the New Testament to support the inclusion of the Old Covenant tithing principle in Christian teaching.

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

It still all boils down, to the individual's attitude, BEING A CHEERFUL GIVER, if you don't want to tithe, or give monetary assistance by all means don't. It profits you nothing.

The same arguement applies to ones sewing seeds, if your attitude is wrong, don't lie about it with a dollar. God knows your heart.

Support is support wether it's through tithing or offerings, if the church you belong to (if you belong to one) ask for tithing, be obedient, if you are not comfortable with it, get out from under that ministry. If you are not over a church or belong to a church, do your thing, and leave church affairs to those that attend church

[A.W. Bowman]

Thank you, dear sister!

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

Be Blessed my Brother, good to hear from you

[Rest Of God Ministries]

Evangelist:
You are very immature about the fact that everyone doesn’t attend local assemblies but may assemble outside of buildings. Every opportunity you get to attack that fact you take it which is fine, but don’t assume that you know anything about our pattern of giving. If you choose to support your church, more power to you, but there are some who would rather put food into the mouths of hungry children or help someone put gas in their car to get to work, or pay a bill that is in shut off. I am sure God sees that type of giving as acceptable, though YOU MAY NOT. No one’s giving is measured by whether it is applied to the church bills or a poor person’s bills.

Church business is our business just as much as yours because we are apart of God’s church. Do you even know what God’s church is? It is not these assemblies as you suppose but his people who are all over the world. Much of God’s church don’t even have access to these nice elaborate buildings that you praise so much. Many meet in fields, in homes, under tents, in small villages and even underground if need be. Don’t think for one minute that God punishes these people who don’t go to these buildings but choose to worship him in any place that they can.

And as for being obedient to your pastor, if he is telling you something different than what the word of God says then you better obey God because many pastors are leading God’s sheep astray as STATED IN HIS WORD. Lastly, everyone who attends church is not in the will of God so you need to check your facts and leave your opinions at home. In all thy getting, get UNDERSTANDING.

God Bless You.

[Evangelist Altha Fugett]

ROG, I was not talking about anybody in particular, my grandmother use to say "step on a cat's tell and he will holler"

Understanding is something all need, YOU as well, if you are cheerfully giving,then my post should not have bothered you.
and just a little insight, just because ones follow the bibles instruction of fellowshipping does not mean they don't put food in the mouths of the hungry, or put gas in their cars... the ministry my husband and I do is financed by us and the team members, the churches sow seeds into it as well because of the networking we do, to be able to send the ex-imate to a local church of his persuasion when he re-enters society.

My point was that if YOU interpret that tithing is wrong, DON'T tithe, and don't come against a man of God's fellowship, because of something that you are convinced in YOUR heart about,that's maturity!