Should Christians Tithe?

When we, as Christian, look at an issue, our entire doctrine should be based not on what man says, but on what God says. And he gave us his words in the Bible.  Many churches preach tithing.  But what does God say? Should Christians tithe?
The fact is that not only are we not required to do it, but it’s sinful to tithe.


Why?  Tithing is old testament law. In Galatians chapter 5,  Paul said, “Whosoever of you are justified by the law are fallen from grace”.  When a person goes back  to the law - to keep the law in any part as an obligation or a duty - he’s stepping away from grace.  It doesn’t necessarily mean he’s lost, but he’s stepping away grace. He’s falling from his position in grace.


How does tithing cause a person to fall from their position in grace?


Let me ask you this: if you’re tithing and you don’t tithe, would you feel guilty?  Would you feel like you’re cheating God or robbing God? (As the preacher said in Malachi 5).  If you say, “Yes, I would”, then you are doing a work in order to please God and make yourself right with him.  That’s all the law is:  doing what God said to do in order to make yourself right with him.
When Paul came back from his third missionary journey to Jerusalem, the Jews there were keeping the law.  They continued to keep every aspect of Moses' law.  And they accused Paul of teaching Jews in outer areas that they didn’t have to keep the law.
And so Paul explained to them that he was NOT telling the Jews  that they shouldn’t keep the Sabbath or that they shouldn’t tithe and obey all the laws.  He was telling the Gentiles that God didn’t give those laws for Gentiles, he gave them just for Jews. 
So the church considered he matter, with all the apostles present, and they decided what a Gentile should observe out of the old testament.  They outlined exactly four things: they should abstain from fornication, idolatry, from eating anything that was strangled, and from drinking any blood.  Those were the only four things.  All those things existed as law to mankind in general before the flood, before Abraham, before Moses.  And so those were not part of the law. 
Now, if tithing was something a Christian ought to do, then they would have said to the Gentile churches, “You need to collect on the first day of the week, 10% of your income and give it to God, to the church.”  But they didn’t say that. 


If Sabbath keeping were part of it they would have said, “You need to worship God on the Sabbath" (or on Sunday - whenever they chose to do it).” But they didn’t do that.


That burden was never placed on the gentile churches – ever – anywhere in scripture.  
Read Ephesians, Collosians, Phillipians, I & II Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James. Of all the times Paul wrote to the churches, you have all kinds of exortations to righteousness and duty for a Christian.  But you never, never, ever have Paul suggesting that they tithe.
In Corinthians, we even have Paul saying when you gather together on the first day of the week, to “set aside” and he tells them how to collect an offering.  But he never tells them to tithe in collecting that offering.  They’re to give willingly from a willful heart – he didn’t say how much.
One of the sins of tithing would be that it wouldn’t be enough.  In other words if you’re a Christian and you really believe the world is lost, and you want to get the gospel out, would you just give 10% of your income to God and feel like you’ve served him?  I would think that you’d arrange your lifestyle so that you could give much more to missions than 10 %. 
There is a big problem today wherein preachers with churches worth 1 million, 5 million or 40 million preach tithing simply because they need the money and have big bills to pay.  These preachers will use any method they can to keep money coming in.  This is a the deplorable motive of that Bible doctrine these days.
The Bible is clear.  The question is, will we believe God's words or will we be followers of men?  Will we base our beliefs and subsequent actions on mens philosophies and teachings while we sit ignorant of what God teaches us from his Bible?  Or will we study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman (and woman) that needeth not be ashamed? 


It is amazing what happens when you just read the King James Bible apart from every doctrine of man, every denominational pull and practice. The truth emerges. I hope that you will do just that.  And soak in the words of God. 


Comments

Anonymous said…
We completely agree!!! Although this is rarely taught from the pulpit, it certainly is the truth. Thank you for your boldness in sharing this.
I love your blog!
Kate
(my word verification is "funds", which I thought appropriately funny!)

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