The Truth About Tithing Part 2

In my last post we started a discussion about tithing – what is it and how does it relate to believers today? We saw that in the Old Testament in both the Mosaic and Levitical Law we were to give at least 10% of our “first fruits” to the Levitical priests, the Temple, and every third year we were to give tenth of our possessions to the needy in the community.

From the passages I referenced (and others), many preachers will make the claim that God therefore demands that each and every believer give a minimum of 10% of their (often pre-tax) income specifically to their local church which they say is today’s “Temple.” I won’t go into the plethora of Scripture that refutes this idea. We today are under a new covenant. We are not under law but under grace. The church building in NOT the New Testament Temple! We, believers, are now the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We, believers, have taken the place of the physical structure. We no longer have priests to mediate between us and God. Jesus is now our great High Priest, mediating on our behalf and we have direct access to him. You simply cannot find the directive to give 10% (or any amount for that matter) to the local church in the New Testament.

I’ve tried to understand how evangelical preachers can say we are free in Christ in everything BUT the tithe. Bottom line – we live under a new covenant in Christ. The entirety of the Old Testament Law was fulfilled in Christ. Jesus is now and forever the Lord of our lives, the Lord of the Sabbath, the Lord of the tithe – the Lord of all! This means that we are truly free in Christ in every way.

Paul makes this very clear in 1 Corinthians 6:12 when he says, “Everything is permissible for me – but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me – but I will not be mastered by anything.” This kind of radical freedom from the Law makes many people uncomfortable but it doesn’t make it less true. We are free – free to NOT attend church, NOT study our Bible, and – yes – not tithe! But, listen closely…Paul says he’s free…BUT…he realizes that some things are not beneficial. Paul understands that freedom from the requirements of the law leave him to voluntarily submit to the authority of God in each area of his life.

If you are thinking right about now, “I’m not under compulsion to give any more! I free not to give.” You’re missing Paul’s entire point. You may indeed be free NOT to give, but you are also free TO give now. What is beneficial to each of us as believers is to give. Giving is what we do. Givers are who we are.

Paul gives us what I call the New Testament “law” for believers in relation to money. He writes the following passage to the church at Corinth: “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) Here, with the word “should,” Paul shows us that we are now free to give “what we have decided in our hearts to give.” Compulsion is no longer the motivator, but our hearts now guide us!

Some of the questions that might be running around in your head right now:
How much do I give?
Where do I give?
Are there any guidelines in the Bible for a specific amount now that we’re under the New Covenant?
Are there any guidelines in the Bible for where to give my money?
What’s wrong with me NOT giving?

I’ll answer these and other questions as we move through this series together!
Until then…
Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)

Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

For those of you who are still reading Colossians with me, here’s the next passage:
Colossians 3:1-11
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.