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Tithing is one of those strange Christian traditions that many Christians take for granted, without having any understanding of its origins or lack of Biblical foundation.  Many Christians would be shocked to learn that tithing — that is, the practice of giving one-tenth of your income to the church — is not a universal Christian practice at all.  For that matter, it’s not even a “Christian” practice.

Here are a few truths about the practice of tithing:

1. The word “tithe” means “tenth.”
2. A tithe was not money (except in the event the food tithe could not be transported to where it needed to go).
3. The Law of Moses includes more than one tithe.
4. Tithing only applied to farm goods; people like fishermen, carpenters, and merchants did not have to pay a tithe.
5. Tithing did not apply to income, it applied to what you had at the time.
6. Someone with only 9 sheep did not tithe, as he had no “tenth” to give.
7. Only Levites could receive a tithe.
8. A farmer under the Law of Moses “tithed” approximately 23% per year for various causes.
9. The early church did not practice tithing.
10. The practice of tithing taught in many churches today has no resemblance to any tithe in the Old Testament.

 Very Superstitious…

When you believe in things that you don’t understand
Then you suffer
Superstition ain’t the way – Stevie Wonder

The current practice of tithing is nothing more than a superstition. Whether you believe that you’ll be blessed if you keep the rule or punished if you don’t, or if you’re troubled by the question “net or gross,”  you’re acting out of superstition. And where there’s superstition, there’s no faith.

Seriously, you might as well be concerned about spilling salt or having your path crossed by a black cat.

When pastors teach that tithing is a New Covenant directive (whether they use the word “law” or the modern “principle”), either they really suck at Bible study (in which case you should critically consider everything else they teach), or they are motivated by a fear of not having enough money.  Either way, you’ve got to wonder, and you should be concerned.

New Covenant Giving

Now, there’s nothing wrong with giving. In fact, it’s encouraged. But, giving in the New Testament is based on the idea of reciprocity: we all give, and we all receive, according to our gifts and needs. This is not socialism (a forced redistribution of wealth), or having everything in common (which was done by some in the NT, but not by all and never mandated by anyone). It’s simply relational.

The bad news for pastors (or what seems like bad news to those who lack faith) is that there is no Biblical mandate to pay a pastor or leader, or to funnel all of your offerings to a local church.  There’s also nothing precluding these things, but giving should be based on relationship and good stewardship, not on a few out-of-context Bible verses and a boatload of guilt.

Personally, I think the 10% guideline is good; however, I generally prefer to give to charities and other non-profits rather than to a church.  If I thought a church really needed the money, I’d have no problem giving it to them, but it’s not my first choice. When choosing between a) a church with a new $20,000 sound system, and b) some orphans, I’ll tend to go with the orphans. But that’s just me.

Party On, Dudes

Today I discovered a really good series of teachings on tithing, which is one of the things that prompted this post, by Joel Brueseke over at Grace Roots. It’s entitled “Freed from Tithing, Free to Give,” and I encourage you to check that out. I particularly enjoyed part 5, where he quotes from Deuteronomy 14:

“24But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry the tithe, or if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 then you shall exchange it for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.” (emphasis mine)

You don’t hear that preached too often.

Grace, and Peace

Christians shouldn’t have to live in anxiety about whether or not they are about to suffer 7 years of bad luck because they didn’t tithe, or tithe properly.

[6] The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. [7] Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. [8] And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. [9] As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”

[10] He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. [11] You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. [12] For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. [13] By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, [14] while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. [15] Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

(2 Corinthians 9:6-15 ESV)

Grace, and Peace.

To clarify the title, I am referring to my returning the the New Covenant Law series I began a while back. It has always been my intention to continue, but I’ve been distracted by many other good things.

A little story

Before I go any further, let me share a little story, at least as much as I know of it.  We have, locally, a church or churches that would, I guess, be called “Messianic” churches. Basically, they are non-Jewish Christians who have fallen for the same lies that Paul was dealing with in his letter to the Galatians. There’s a local radio station, even, which broadcasts all kinds of legalistic nonsense. Essentially, the teachers can be described simply as “Judaizers.” It is their intent to get Christians to follow the Law of Moses, or Torah. They insist on church on Saturday, they preach against Easter and Christmas celebrations, and always refer to Jesus as Yeshua.  Every time I hear anything from these people, I think, haven’t these folks ever read Galatians?

Well, as you might know, a couple of years back I co-authored the book The Gospel Uncensored, which unpacks Galatians a bit. A friend gave a copy of the book to someone they knew that was involved in this church, and they realized they had been mislead, and left the church. Then they gave the book to someone still in the church, and they left. If I understand correctly, three families have now left.

It’s hard for me to believe that people could get involved in this kind of heresy. I mean, pretending to be Jewish sounds like it could be fun for a week or two, but to throw out the Gospel to follow laws?

Revelation time

I think before we go any further with looking at how the Law impacts the New Covenant believer, I should point out one very important fact: The Law was never given to Gentiles. That’s right. Never.

In the Old Testament (post-Law), when a Gentile wanted to become a Jew, they had to begin following the Law. Today, if you want to become an Orthodox Jew, I think you have to begin to follow the Law.  But if you want to become a Christian, I’m sorry, there is no Law for you.

That’s what Paul was saying to the Galatians when he wrote, “Are you crazy? I gave you the gospel, and now you want to follow the Jewish Law?  Even I realized that was a waste of time, and I’m a Jew!” (My interpretation)

Let’s get one thing straight: If you are a non-Jew, you simply have got to get over the fact that you were never given or told to keep the Old Testament Law. You can look at it, appreciate it, and maybe even understand it, but that’s as involved as you ever get with the Law.  It’s got nothing to do with you. This would be like a Californian suddenly obeying the laws of England and start driving on the left side of the road; it’s insanity.

Covenant reality

Now, as Paul explained to the Galatians, the Abrahamic Covenant is another thing entirely. The Covenant predated the Law by 430 years, and the only rightful heir of the Covenant is Jesus. When we become connected to Jesus (through faith only, not by following the Law), we’re adopted into the Covenant family, because the inheritance is Jesus’ to share. The non-believing Jews have in fact been cut-off from the inheritance, again, because Jesus is the heir.

A lot of Christians get confused over this, probably because they’re confused about what it means to be adopted because of faith in Jesus.  The inheritance flows through the Covenant, through Jesus; it does not flow through the Law, which Paul tells us is no longer in effect (for anyone). It’s been completed. Jesus closed the book, so to speak. The Jews’ only inheritance comes through Jesus. To believe that there’s another inheritance somewhere, or another avenue for Jews to be saved is to challenge the notion that Jesus is the only way to salvation.

There are, it seems, only two options, whether you’re a Gentile or a Jew: 1) try to keep the law and die trying, or 2) accept the Covenant inheritance as a gift and live.

Paul and the Law

As we can readily see when we start reading Paul, he uses a plethora of metaphors to make his point, so we have to be a bit flexible to get the entire story. Also, we need to realize that at time Paul is talking to Jews, sometimes to Gentiles, and often to both. He himself was both a Jew and a Roman. So, we need to allow Paul the freedom to use multiple metaphors and contexts to relate to his audiences, and not become too entrenched in any one over another.

In Romans, where we’ll pick up in the next post, Paul does his best to level the playing field between Jew and Gentile, a point missed by many, many Christians. And, he talks a lot about the law.  So, this will be a good place to start, beside conveniently being the first of Paul’s letters to appear in the New Testament.