Tithe: Prescribed or Proscribed?
Does the command to tithe apply to the New Testament Believer?
Tithe simply means tenth. The principle of tithe stipulates that ten percent of someone’s increase (arising from earned and unearned incomes and gifts) belongs to God and should be given to the church. It was a legal requirement in the Old Testament under the Levitical priesthood.
As we understand it, this command to tithe is not carried over to the New Testament revelation. The Old Testament is a temple-based, high-maintenance, worship model that requires many animal sacrifices and the celebration of many festivals. The temple also doubled as a storehouse for the less privileged in the community such as orphans, widows and the destitute.
The priests’ roles were diverse, providing many services including teaching, blessing, praying for the people, arbitration, mediation and to a limited extent public health protection by identifying and isolating sufferers of communicable diseases. For example, “when anyone has a swelling or a rash or a bright spot on his skin that may become an infectious skin disease, he must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on his skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is an infectious skin disease. When the priest examines him, he shall pronounce him ceremonially unclean” (Leviticus 13:2-3 NIV).
All these activities, a mix of spiritual and civil, had to be supported by the tithes of the people and various offerings, which were more like taxes than donations. The local church does not have the same function as the temple did. Secondly the Mosaic Law was expressly set aside for Christians.
At the birth of the church, some of the Jewish believers insisted that unless the Gentiles (non-Jewish people) conformed to the custom of Moses, they could not be saved. The apostles and church leaders met to discuss this problem (Acts 15:6). The outcome of the council, as recorded in verses 24 – 29, was: We have heard that some went out from us without our authorisation and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said…It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. In other words, the New Testament believers should not be burdened by the requirements of the Mosaic Law.
Paul, an apostle of God to non-Jewish believers, who wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament, gave very broad outlines on giving.
Principles of New Testament Giving
Giving in the New Testament is based on the principle that the believer belongs to the LORD who has given us all things to richly enjoy. This therefore means that giving one’s money to the Lord is an extension of the prior gift of one’s own self.
Secondly, whatever one gives should be made in the recognition that everything the believer has belongs to God
Thirdly, one’s attitude is more important than the amount. New Testament giving should be characterised by joy, cheerfulness, liberality, sacrifice, eagerness, willingness, perseverance and integrity.
The value of a gift is not determined by its amount but by its cost. The question should not be, how much can I spare? But rather how much can I sacrifice?
NOT how much can I give? But how much can I give up?
Are you giving enough?
The Bible describes giving as sowing. He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (2Corinthians 9:6). The measure you use for others is the one that God will use for you. (Luke 6:38 GNB); It is more blessed to give than to receive (Act 20:35 NKJV).
The opportunity to give should be regarded as a privilege, not a compulsive obligation. The greatest threat to generous giving is not poverty, but covetousness. Giving should be habitual, regular, systematic, and proportionate (1 Corinthians 16:1-2)
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First published on 14 June 2009 in my Making Sense of Life column in The Nation on Sunday, a major Nigerian newspaper.
