Texts: Gen 14:18-20, Mal 3:6, 10. Heb 4:14, Heb 7:17,
INTRODUCTION: There have been serious attacks on tithing in the recent times and different views are being expressed. While some hold that it is a biblical obligation that should be performed today, others assert that it belonged to the OT times, but obsolete now. There are those who hold that it can be paid but it must be made optional and not compulsory. Yet there are people who hold that it is a means of exploitation of the dupes that enrich the insatiable quest for superabundance of the Church leaders. Which should we believe? It is fitting for us as GOFAMINT members – the Church with the Word for the World – to have a firm grip of the biblical position so that we are not confused, and that we may assist the people who want a honest response to the ongoing agitations. This study is meant to help us understand why the church is under attack, the wrong premise for the attack, what the Bible teaches about tithing especially in the NT, as well as why we believe what we believe as a church on tithing in this era. We will not spend much time on the history of tithing, especially in the OT since the argument is in favor of OT as against NT. This teaching is apologetic in nature.
The Conceptual Meanings of Tithe Simply defined, tithe is one tenth of our total income or harvest set apart for God as His own portion and used for the service of those who labor in the temple and for caring for the poor. It originally started with Abraham and later became an institutionalised way of giving to God and Kingdom service in the Bible. Abraham, the father Of faith became the first to give his tithe in the whole Bible (Gen. 14:20). He gave a tenth of ALL that he got! See Hebrews 7:4. It is holy and sacred to the Lord. See Leviticus 27:30 Did Tithe Start With the Law? Tithe Started before the law came. Abraham, the father Of faith (not the father Of law) who gave the first tithe in the Bible, lived over a thousand years before MOSES, the law giver was born! So, it is wrong to say that tithe was based on the law. You will soon discover that, Jesus who came to fulfil the law even did not condemn it but warned those who abuse it! See Mathew 23:23. We give tithe by faith because it started by the FATHER of faith and perfected by Jesus who is older than Abraham! Hallelujah! Purposes of Tithe and Tithing When you search through the Scriptures, we can infer that tithe payment serve the following purposes: 1. Affirmation of God’s ownership and man’s tenancy. Ps. 24:1 2. The care of the Levites, Priests and other tabernacle workers. Lev.27:30-34 3. The care of the less privileged. Deuteronomy 26:12-13 4. A means of blessing to the faithful. MALACHI 3:10-11 5. Sponsorship of other kingdom concerns. I Cor. 16;1-2 The Basis of Attack Against the Church The church of today has been under severe persecution ranging from physical killings of pastors to physical destruction of church buildings, especially in the Northern part of Nigeria. This attack is taking new and sophisticated dimensions by the day with different people joining including some unthinking Christians albeit ignorantly. Unfortunately, the instrumentality of the social media has made this attack spread very fast and far. The latest and most sensitive of all the attacks is the recent one that targets the finances of the church with the aim of reducing the influence of some men of God whom they believe are becoming more powerful than expected. Before now, there was no serious argument about whether the church should collect tithe or not. What is, then, the basis for the attack? Here are a few of them. Seven Reasons for Attacking Tithing. Why Church is Under Attack 1. Perceived abuse or misuse of church tithe. This is the main contention of the attackers 2. Increase in poverty in the land. This is the second painful reality that we all face 3. The threat of some church leaders being too influential 4. Wrong method of tithe collection, disbursements, etc 5. Satanic inspiration 6. Wrong Biblical teaching 7. Jealousy, hatred and personality issues. Unfortunately, some churches (usually new generation churches) that attack tithe do so inorder to win the sympathy of younger generation believers to themselves, swaying them away from older churches who hold on to Biblical Tithing. Yet, the later usually use other means to demand huge financial resources from their followers in order to fund their heavy budgets. This attack is unfair to the body of Christ universal. Note: Inasmuch as we cannot deal with each of these reasons in detail, we will focus on no 6 and address the rest in passing. Let us deal with this erroneous believe that tithing is not a New Testament way of giving. Tithing in New Testament Period Even though not much is said in the New Testament about tithe and tithing. However, FOUR facts can be established: i. Tithing was not condemned by Jesus Luke 11:42, Matt 23:23 ii. Tithing was not cancelled by the Apostles. I Cor 16:2 iii. The early church had givings that involved tithing Acts 2: 44-45, Acts 4: 34-35 iv. There was increase in quantity and quality of giving by God’s people beyond tithing. Acts 4:34 – 35. Jesus Did Not Condemn Neither Did He Nor the Apostles Cancel It These are attested to by the statement from the very mouth of our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint, and anise and cumin and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy and faith; these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone.’ Matt. 23:23. (Emphasis mine, but note it) In the above Scripture, Jesus condemned the hypocrisy of these religious leaders and affirmed they should have upheld the weightier matters of the Law, justice, mercy and faith and continue with collection of tithe referred to as a lesser matter of the law. So, this passage teaches that Jesus did not condemn tithing neither did he abolish it. We know how Jesus condemned some Old Testament practices; very sharply and directly with clear alternatives. In this passage, Jesus main point was to help us maintain a balance in our teaching ministry by not neglecting one aspect at the expense of the other. Most ignorant people quote this to abolish tithe. It is wrong to use this passage against tithing. The Early Church Giving Included Tithing—The Apostles did not cancel it! As we know, there are many forms of giving both in the OT and NT. Tithe is only form of giving that is proportionate to one’s income. Other givings are either based on family size, age/time, need or based on purpose. Tithe is not based on age, time, location, tribe or clan. It is based on a particular portion of your income or harvest regardless of your age, location or time. It is proportionate giving. Read 1 Cor.16:1-3. From Here we can deduce that: 1. The early church received clear instructions about giving, which was passed on to many churches including the Galatians. As we can See in verse 1a, Most probably Paul was doing this as his response to the question of how to give their tithe 2. It was an order from an Apostle, yet it is meant to be observed joyfully and freely. Vs 1b “As I have given order to the churches in Galatia, you must also do” This agrees with the principle of tithing. 3. The purpose was for the “Saints” (See Vs 1a) which primarily refers to the paid ministers (full time Pastors, Evangelist, etc). This agrees with tithing through all ages 4. This mode of giving is proportionate (See Vs 2b) as opposed to other forms of giving that Paul instructs or commends in his writing. See 2 Cor. 8:3. This agrees with tithing through all ages 5. In verses 2c and 3, it shows the collection is sent to their International Headquarters through an approved source. Again, this agrees with the principle of tithing 6. It is given on the “first day of the week”, which is Sunday. It means whatever income they made from Monday to Saturday, as God has prospered them, they will bring it to church on Sunday. This agrees with tithing also, especially as we practiced in our church today. 7. It was not given to an individual person, not even to Paul himself. Vs 3. There are other givings that Paul received directly from church members but not tithe (See Philippians 4:15-19. Records were kept and process was approved. Wow! This is exactly what we practiced as tithing in GOFAMINT Can you see now that Tithing is not condemned in the early church? The Early Christians Gave More Than Tithe The period immediately after the statement of Jesus in Matthew 23:23 was the beginning of church in Jerusalem. The record available to us about their giving shows that they did not stop at the level of a tenth of their income, they gave above tithe. Some of them were selling all their possessions and giving the total proceeds to support the communal living of the church. Ananias and Sapphira the hypocrite givers face the judgement of death Acts: 5:1-10 simply because they tried to manipulate their giving. In 2 Cor. 8:3, Paul commended the church in Macedonia for giving more than their ability. Apparently he was challenging the Corinthian Christians to follow suit! It is absolutely correct to say that the early church had many generous members who never argued about tithing the way the church of today does! CONCLUSION Let us summarise this apologetic teaching thus: 1. Tithing started way before the law; so it is wrong to say that tithe is of the law. If Abraham the father of faith gave his tithe and Jesus called us the seed of Abraham by faith, we must follow his obedience in order to receive his kind of blessing 2. Tithe is a covenant, holy giving that secures our blessing, provokes favor, destroys devourer in our lives and open our business for breakthroughs unlimited. Why would you stop your channel of blessing? 3. Jesus did not condemn tithing neither did the Apostles cancel it as a legitimate way of giving. Other OT practices that Jesus condemned were very clear but tithe was not included 4. Our church’s mode of collection and distribution is VERY Biblical and prudent. No Pastor is allowed to receive tithe directly into his account or spend church tithe singlehandedly in our church. This is why you can trust your leaders with your tithe! 5. From inception till date, GOFAMINT leaders are generous givers who don’t use church money for selfish gain but rather sacrifice their comfort for the sake of the church. 6. It is wrong for any NT church to condemn other churches on tithing or any form of giving that does not contradict the Bible. We are one body with different parts. We must teach the whole TRUTH and live in TRUTH 7. Believers who are spiritually discerning should resist the insinuations against tithing coming from the devil by committing themselves to the TRUTH. The attack is against the next generation of believers so as to pitch them against their prosperity and bring back poverty into the church. The church is a threat to some people and they want to weaken the church financial capacity. Jesus said, “I will building my church…” In the light of what have been discussed above we hold that people who attack the payment of tithe are either ignorant of the scriptures or seeking cheap popularity. They are probably using such attack to get the followership of uncommitted members of other churches. We affirm that tithe payment is ageless and timeless for lovers of God’s kingdom. It is more blessed to give…Acts 20:35. Payment of tithe should not be a debatable issue. The practice of tithing is not only supported by the Patriarchs, Pentateuch characters and the prophets of the Old Testament period, it is equally practiced in the early church. It is equally noted that payment of tithe is not prohibited by the Lord Jesus Christ but affirmed by Him. The Apostles and those who succeeded them didn’t cancel it; there is no record to establish its’ cancellation. It is evident that tithing has been serving as one of the sources of receiving blessings from God. Therefore, any teaching contrary to the payment of tithe is unbiblical and misleading, no matter how strong and sweet the teaching is. May you NOT join those who fight God By fighting His church! Who can fight God and win? Lead Special Prayers in this direction: Let everyone bring their tithe envelope up. Give to those who have none. Call on those who are not faithful in tithing, especially those who have doubts about what to do on tithing Pray for those who are faithful and invoke God’s covenant blessings upon them Make this proclamation. Say after me… I believe in the word of God. I believe in Biblical Tithing as practiced in my church. By God’s grace, I renew my covenant of giving my tithe faithfully and promptly. The Lord who blessed, Abraham, ISAAC and Jacob will surely blessed me. He will fight all cancer worms, devourers and Caterpillars on my finances. By this covenant of tithe giving, life will NOT be tight for me again. Resources that I need for prosperity shall flow into my hands unhindered in Jesus name! By my tithe, doors of good job, houses, cars and other spiritual blessings are opened to me now in Jesus name! I move from poverty to prosperity, from small level to greater level, form borrowing to lending, from debtors lists to creditors list. I am connected to the reservoir of heaven where supplies never dry nor end. I become a source of financial blessings to my church and no longer a burden. My hands are blessed and no curse will work against me in Jesus name. As from today, the wealth of the heathen from the east, the west, the north and from the south are transferred into my hands. I am therefore a blessing to my generation. Amen.