Giving vs.
Tithing
A lot has been
said and a lot of questions have been raised about the legitimacy of tithing in
the church age. Is tithing (as an obligatory action) a bona fide function for
the church-age believer? How are believers in the Church to give? What is the
foundation of Christian giving? This article will attempt to address each of
these questions, while providing a Biblical foundation that supports the proper
mindset and function of giving in the church-age.
When addressing
the issue of giving and its function within the life of believers, it is
important to understand a couple of very important facts. First, God engages
mankind in unique and distinct ways during different periods throughout
history. In theology, these periods are known as dispensations. A dispensation
is a specific period in the history of mankind that can be defined in terms of
divine revelation. In each dispensation, God has chosen specific ways to
interact with His people. There was the Age of the Gentiles, The Dispensation
of Israel, The Dispensation of the Hypostatic Union (The Period in which Christ
walked the earth), the Dispensation of the Church, The Tribulation, and The
Millennium.
These
dispensations can be sub-categorized for the purpose of anatomization, but the
knowledge of their existence is all that is needed here. We simply want to
bring a sense of lucidity to the framework being presented.
Secondly, God
deals with His people through covenant. From the beginning of time, God has
instituted and administrated covenants with mankind. Each covenant is distinct
and exclusive in relation to those with whom God initiates the covenant. It is
a mistake for Bible students to apply covenants from one dispensation and group
to another. For instance, God’s covenant with Israel is often applied to the
Church, but this is an erroneous concept. God’s covenant with Israel has great
value to Church age believers because it reveals His essence and His character.
God’s essence never changes, for the Bible tells us that he is immutable.
Understanding this, we are able to observe His dealings in past dispensations,
through previous covenants and ascertain how He will deal with us.
The covenant
presents the specific details that outline what is expected between both
parties. Some covenants are conditional while others are non-conditional
(meaning that God will execute is promises regardless to what the believer
does).
Analyzing what
has been presented thus far reveals that giving has to be understood under the
light of the current dispensation and active covenant between God and His
people.
Giving for the
church-age believer is an act of worship that is executed through grace. For
giving to have any intrinsic value, it must be done from the platform of grace.
Tithing
There have been
many arguments for tithing (the giving of a tenth of one’s earnings) being a
church-age requirement, but there is no biblical support to substantiate this
claim. Some argue that tithing existed before God’s command to the nation of
Israel. This is true. Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth, but this was not of his
earnings. It was a tenth of the spoils that he claimed in battle. It is
important to understand that Abraham did not do this because he was commanded
by God to do so. He did it because it was the custom of that time to pay the
King a tenth of all the spoils claimed in battle within the boundaries of his
kingdom. Melchizedek was the King of Salem, so Abraham was paying homage to
him.
Tithing as an
obligatory action, was commanded by God to the nation of Israel (Lev. 27:30-34).
This was done as a form of taxation. There were several tithes commanded. There
was a tithe allocated for the maintenance of the Levites because they did not
receive an inheritance of the land of Canaan (Num. 18:21, 24). There was a
tithe allocated to support the national feasts and the required sacrifices
(Deut. 14:22-27). There was also a tithe collected every third year for the
purpose of providing for those that were poor and destitute (Deut. 14:22-27).
Those that
teach tithing as a bona fide Church-age requirement teach it in an all
encompassing fashion. They apply the requirement across the board; however,
this is not how the command to tithe was presented in the Old Testament. Not
everyone was commanded to tithe and a tithe was not demanded of all possessions
or earnings. The tithe was specific to cattle and crops (Deut. 14:22). The
ancient Jew calculated and paid his tithes only once every year. Tithes were
paid on the annual increase not on all transactions throughout the year.
Another point
of interest is the historical point of view of the Church concerning tithing.
Historically, there is no indication of the early Church paying tithes. Also
you would have to consider the teachings of the Apostle Paul to be a valuable
indication of where the early church stood on tithing. No one planted more
churches during the infancy of the church-age than Paul, and his ministry was
primarily directed towards gentiles (Non-Jewish believers). This is important
because the law was never given to gentiles; meaning that they had no advanced
knowledge of the requirement to pay tithes. Paul, who insisted that grace had
replaced the law, never taught obligatory giving. As we will soon find out,
Paul taught against giving out of any type of compulsion.
Here are a few
facts to ponder concerning tithing:
·
Tithing as commanded in the Mosaic Law was never
10 percent of all you earn.
·
The Temple (which would be the church now) did
not receive all of the tithes that were paid by the Jews.
·
The early Church did not command or observe
tithing.
·
Because tithing is commanded by the law, the
prosperity associated with it can only be experienced by those that desire to
be justified under the law.
Grace Giving
The most
extensive teaching on giving can be found in 2 Corinthians chapters 8-9. In
chapter 8 verse 3, Paul tells the Corinthian believers of how the church in
Macedonia gave out of their lack, but they gave of their own accord, not out of
compulsion or legal requirement. Paul then tells the Corinthians that they
should follow the example of the Macedonians, but he insures them that this is
not a command (verse 8).
When these
chapters are examined closely, you will be able to see that Paul did not have
confidence in the Corinthians to give graciously, so he laid out the principles
of grace giving. Step by step he presents the power in giving and its
relationship to the grace plan of God. The Corinthians were the recipients of
God’s grace and it was important for them to express that same grace through
their free-will giving. Giving is an act of worship, and worship cannot be
commanded or legislated, it must be freely given.
Even in the Old
Testament where tithing was commanded, there was also the bringing of a free
will offering.
Proper giving
requires the proper mental attitude toward giving. When the believer’s mindset
is antagonistic toward giving, their giving has no intrinsic value, because
true giving is a function of grace.
 |
| Dr. Rick Wallace |
It is in verse
6 of chapter 9 that Paul comes to the meat of the matter; when you sow sparingly
you will reap sparingly. No one can expect to reap a harvest beyond the seed
that has been sown. When you sow bountifully you will receive a bountiful
harvest. Verse 7 closes the door on the matter as Paul tells the believers in
Corinth that they are to give as their heart purposes, not out of compulsion or
begrudgingly. When a person gives out of compulsion their heart may not be in
agreement, and God is looking at the heart. The motive behind giving is more
important than what is given.
Paul goes on to
inform his readers that as they pour out into the lives of others through
grace, God is able to take what they have sown and multiply its return.
When Christian
leaders teach obligatory giving with the amount specified, as in a tithe
(tenth), they rob the believer of the blessings associated with free-will
giving.
Does this mean
that believers are to give less than a tenth? Church-age giving is based on
grace and grace is the higher standard in comparison with the law. So, if the
law required a minimum of 10 percent, how much more should be given under
grace?
For the sake of
clarity, there is nothing wrong with establishing a 10 percent baseline for
giving, as long as it is not based on a compulsion to adhere to Old Testament
law. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace
