TITHING

(Sermons, List 6)

Text: Genesis 14:18-20.  Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said;  “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”  And he gave him a tithe of all.

Introduction

This article is about “tithing,” the Christian practice of paying ten percent of ones income to ones church. Don't worry. I am not trying to get into your pocket.  On the contrary, I may present you with reason to quit tithing - if your money has been going only to demanding religious institutions as a result of a law that does not apply to you. Many of those institutions, which claim your tithes belong to God, spend them as if they were their own.

Although I practiced “tithing” for many years I no longer feel compelled to comply with church dogma concerning the issue. As a Christian, I am no more subject to tithing than I am to circumcision, to ceremonial hand washing before meals, or to keeping Saturday as the Sabbath. (Galatians 5:6).  However, although I no longer call it “tithing,” I still give at least ten percent of my earned income to God in one-way or another, simply because I believe it to be a reasonable thing to do. I am anxious to please my Lord with a generous heart and I know He blesses cheerful givers. I am also aware that everything I have belongs to Him. He is entitled to all of it at His discretion.

I know of no New Testament rule that requires Christians to pay tithes. Old Testament laws and traditions concerning tithing applied only to the Hebrews. The law was meant, primarily, to teach them of their need for a Savior. When the Savior appeared, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, He set about fulfilling the law. All who accepted His payment for sin (their failures in regard to the law) became free from the requirements of the law. Truth is liberating. Jesus said knowing it can “make you free.” (John 8:32). In this case, truth brings freedom from coercion – enabling you to tithe, if you wish, simply because you believe tithing to be a legitimate function of your personal service to God and to His ministers.

Hear the Apostle Paul

How many times did the Apostle Paul tell Christians it is impossible to improve on God's grace?  His Epistle to the Galatians should make that message clear.  He told them, in effect; that it was “foolish” to get entangled in trying to keep any part of a law the Israelites had not been able to keep. He asked who had “bewitched” them “that they should not obey the truth. (Galatians 3:1). According to him, the law was a “tutor to bring” men “to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” (Galatians 3:25-25).  Paul also said, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:17), and  “with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Romans 10:10).

Our debt is satisfied. “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one who believes.” (Romans 10:4). “Jesus paid it all:  “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” (Galatians 2:16). All to Him we owe: He has “become for us wisdom from God – and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” (1 Corinthians 1:30).   Don’t “frustrate” God’s grace by trying to earn it, “for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2:21, KJV). “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1).

The Age of Grace

Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 contain almost identical records of Jesus' only statement concerning tithing. Those passages were not addressed to Christians (people who are free from Moses Law as a result of Christ's sacrifice). They were addressed to Hebrews who forfeited the freedom Jesus provided from the Law’s requirements when they rejected Him.

Although the Paul ordered the churches at Galatia and Corinth to contribute to a “collection for the saints,” he did not use the word “tithe.” The funds were not intended for the churches that collected them either. Paul said, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, so you must do: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approved by your letters, I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.” (1 Corinthians 16:1-3).

Modern day Christians are not automatically in debt to their churches. If they become so, by submitting to applicable membership rules, it has to be by choice. God may well bless their giving to their churches, whether or not those gifts represent a tithe of their income. However, He does not demand that we give anything to any organized church. We are free to be as generous, or as stingy, as we choose when we contribute to their support. Of course, we are also free to live with the consequences of our decisions. We should not expect to be blessed in a measure greater than the one with which we give. (Luke 6:38).

Intent

The Levitical tithe was not intended to fund institutions; it was used to feed people. Deuteronomy 26:12-15: “When you have finished laying aside all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, then you shall say before the LORD your God: ‘I have removed the holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten them. Look down from Your holy habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”’”

You may be familiar with Malachi 3:10 without understanding how badly the institutional church has misused that Scripture. Malachi 3:10 spoke to the Hebrews at a particular time in history. Tithes were necessary then for feeding Temple workers (Priests and Levites not employed elsewhere). “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, And prove Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such a blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”

Informed generosity

The promise of Malachi 3:10 is as good as ever; God still blesses people who feed His workers. But the Israelite Temple “storehouse” no longer exists. Priests and Levites who might have served there are employed elsewhere. We don't need them to represent us anyway. As Christian’s, we are all temples of God and His priests. (2^nd Cor. 6:16; 1^st Peter 2:5 & 9).

If we want God’s special blessings we must learn to be cheerful and generous givers as King David was when he said, “For all things come from You, And of Your own we have given you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14). David recognized, as we should, that God, who gives us “power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:18), is worthy of the gifts we return to Him. However, God does not want us to direct all of our giving to our churches. When Jesus told those who heard His “Sermon on the Mount” to be careful where they laid “up” their “treasures” (Matthew 7:19-21) it isn’t likely He equated men’s houses of worship with heaven. Those earthly structures are certainly subject to the corruption of moths and rust.

Danger zone

There is an inherent danger in this teaching. Some of you, who tend to be stingy already, may become more so after hearing it. Don't do that.  Stinginess is a very mean trait, one that will eventually damage you more than it does the persons you refuse to help. Remember Proverbs 3:9-10:  “Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.” Remember this too: if you are a church member, you are duty-bound to fulfill whatever obligations you assumed as a member for as long as you intend to remain one.

Personal

Perhaps I should tell you I usually avoided the subject of tithing when I was a pastor. I believed in tithing. I knew, from experience, that God blesses generous giving and I tried to teach that concept alone. I know I might have been paid more often if I had stressed tithing. But I was not completely dependent on the support of my congregations and I did not want to appear grasping. I was not deterred by either stingy Christians or those who used their tithes as a weapon to try to control me. I simply wanted to avoid any suspicion that I might covet the blessings of my congregation’s money more than I wanted God to bless those who gave it willingly.

Obligation

Although Christians are not automatically obligated to tithe to religious entities, the Bible encourages generosity to ministers of the gospel who are “worthy of their hire.” (Luke 10:7). It also says, “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.” (1 Corinthians 9:14). So we should be fair about giving to pastors who minister faithfully, especially when we expect them to devote all of their time to church affairs. We are not obligated to sacrifice in order to provide them a higher standard of living than we enjoy. But, I suspect, some of us may forfeit expected heavenly rewards to pastors we neglected.

Be careful where you direct your “tithes” (if you use that term for your monetary giving), and be sure the money is used wisely. The institutional church has been fleecing the sheep for much too long, using commandeered funds to finance questionable projects (including unnecessarily ornate buildings) and to reward people who often do more to hinder than to help Christian evangelism. Don't support that nonsense. Don't allow your treasure to be wasted on earth. Send some of it, at least, to heaven - in the form of bread shared with the hungry and souls won for Jesus' sake.

Text or Pretense

Nathaniel M. Van Cleave used to say, “A text without a context is a pretense.” The text I quoted (Genesis 14:1-20) is often used, quite apart from the requirements of the Mosaic Law, to encourage Christians to tithe. Look at it again: “Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.  And he blessed him and said; ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’” And he gave him a tithe of all.

When I used Genesis 14:1-20 as my text, in a sermon on tithing very early in my ministry, I approached the subject considering the “law of first mention.” Many Bible Scholars insist the first mention of an important Biblical subject usually includes the fundamental truths of that subject. However, although the “first mention” concept may be valid ordinarily, Abram's one-time gift to Melchizedek occurred more than four hundred years before the Mosaic Law demanded tithes from the Hebrews. And it is not valid for promoting the notion that Christians must pay tithes as the Hebrews once did.

The Hebrews were required to feed members of the Levitical Priesthood and their families. The practice was rooted in Moses Law.  If you want to know and understand the Biblical concept of tithing begin your search with Moses Law rather than with Genesis Fourteen.  When you do, try to remember two things: First, only Hebrew Priests descended from Levi were authorized to receive tithes. Second, Christians are not obligated to obey any part of the Levitical law. As you might also discover, the Levitical Law actually demanded much more than ten percent from the Hebrews - so your ten percent would not meet the Law's requirement anyway.

Obey God

Christians should always try to be good stewards of the material things God allows them to use. We should not be stingy when He prompts us to share our bounty with the less fortunate.  And the Ten Commandments provide an excellent guide for Christian deportment. However, the Ten Commandments are best served, as Jesus said, by loving God whole-heartedly and loving our neighbors as ourselves. Doing that may require us, at least on occasion, to bypass the church collection plate in favor of sharing directly with a needy neighbor.

As you should know, real faith in God generates obedience to His commands. And, although Christian clergymen are not authorized to demand tithes they are free to receive whatever gifts God inspires us to give them. Mark 6:7-13 does encourage them to rely on us for support, and God is entitled to receive everything He asks of us, no matter where He directs our giving. It's foolish to be stingy with God and it isn't possible to out-give Him. Besides, the ways in which we either give of our resources for God's work, or withhold them, for any reason, is a good indication of the depth of our consecration to Him.

Misused resources

One reason why the Christian community has failed to evangelize the world successfully concerns how we have used, or misused, our personal resources over the years. We have allowed, if not encouraged, the use of our money to build and to maintain buildings and organizations that God may not even appreciate. As a result, monies which could have supported multiplied thousands of Christian workers around the world were wasted on lesser causes. (This is not meant to be a blanket condemnation of all Christian organizations.  Some have contributed to real evangelism and might be able to do much more in the future - if they were to abandon their business enterprises and dispose of some of their real estate holdings. It is meant to condemn the building of structures that are more expensive than necessary. If you have paid attention you must know of several that were eventually abandoned for one reason or another). 

It beats me how people who proclaim Christ’s soon return can ask Christians to fund buildings and organizational structures that won't be needed after He arrives. Priorities change. Neighborhoods disintegrate. Buildings decay (buildings that are seldom used enough for God's work to justify construction and maintenance costs).  All organizations are composed of people, some of whom lose sight of their purpose, choosing rather to perpetuate themselves and their own selfish ends.

You and I might have served our Lord much better in the past by investing our time, our energies, and our money in ways that equip and support people who actually share the gospel with the lost in places where the lost will hear it. Consider, for a moment, how well Christian evangelism might be funded today if the billions of dollars tied up unnecessarily in church structures (buildings and organizations) were released for evangelism. Consider, too, how many church and organizational employees could be freed from the busy work of maintaining those structures in order to do the real work of ministry - if that is, in fact their real aim.  

Abram’s story

In the scene described in my text, Abram had just returned from a great military victory over the armies of five Canaanite kings.  That group took Lot prisoner when it terrorized Sodom and four other cities. Later, after Abram heard about those events, he armed 313 of his own servants in order to find and defeat the enemy. In the process Abram freed all of the prisoners, recovered all of the stolen property, and looted the goods of the four defeated armies. When he returned to Sodom with the freed captives he was met by a group of people that included the Kings of Sodom and Salem.  As the account in Genesis 14 indicates, Melchizedek, the King of Salem  (also called the priest of God Most High) served Abram bread and wine. After receiving both the food and a spiritual blessing, Abram gave Melchizedek “a tithe of all.”

Abram’s gift

The word “tithe” means “a tenth.”  Abram must have given Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils amassed during his military campaign, a booty not limited to the food products required of Levitical tithers. The Bible does not say Abraham ever “tithed” again. Jacob is the only other man known to have even considered the practice before Moses received God's Law for Israel. And who knows whether Jacob kept his promise or how he went about doing so? 

I cannot say other men did not tithe before the Law required it. Several, including Abel and Noah, did offer specific sacrifices to God.  Although that should not preclude our giving God at least ten percent of our resources, in ways He directs us individually, it cannot be construed to demand adherence to the practice of "paying tithes" as taught by most Christian organizations today.

Abram did not “pay” tithes. It isn’t even likely he actually gave away anything of his own. His “tithe” consisted of goods taken from a defeated enemy. He did not keep any of the loot for himself. The remaining nine tenths went to men who obtained it at the risk of their lives so it was actually an assessment against them. The real lesson here is not about Abram tithing his possessions; it is about who Melchizedek was, and whom he represented when he received tithes at the hand of Abram.

Blessed are those who’s God is the LORD

Although ten percent of our income seems a reasonable amount for Christians to plan on giving God regularly, His word to us does not demand it. Actually, He wants us to be willing to give Him all, or any part, of whatever we possess whenever He directs it.  Salvation is free. We will never be able to pay for it, or for the other blessings He provides us. We can respond to His leading by offering gifts to be used for His purposes. So don’t “pay tithes” to men who build personal empires; give “gifts” in the Name of the Lord. Give them to people who need help surviving, and to people who actually promote God's kingdom among the lost. Allow God to prompt your giving without regard to church rules and regulations.

Of course “The Church” is Christ's body. We can give to Him by channeling our gifts to “His Church.” But neither your local congregation nor the organization it represents is either the sum total of the Ekklesia (Christ's invisible body), or the sole administrator of God's funds. Christ's Church consists of all of the redeemed. You can give to Him through any member of that elite group, regardless of the member's title, job assignment, or denominational affiliation. (I can remember a specific occasion when a prominent official of my denomination gave me money he thought I needed. He told me it was his “tithe,” which he gave, regularly, to pioneer pastors.

Who was Melchizedek?

Melchizedek was a type of Christ. Some Bible Scholars believe he was King of the territory that became Jerusalem. Others believe he was the preincarnate Christ. (The Genesis record does indicate our Lord appeared to Abram, seemingly in the flesh, more than once). The Old Testament records very little about Melchizedek. Genesis 14:18 calls him “king of Salem,” which means “king of peace” and “the priest of God Most High.”

Chapter Seven of Hebrews uses the fact Abram gave tithes to Melchizedek to indicate the greatness of this pre-Levitical Priest. Verse Three says he was  “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.”  Since Melchizedek did not descend from Levi, he was not eligible to receive the Levitical tithe (which had not been established anyway). But he did receive a gift, directly from Abram, and indirectly from the Levites (since Levi was in Abram's loins at the time). 

Why compare Christ to Melchizedek?

Psalm 110:4 compares Melchizedek to Israel's future Messiah, indicating Christ's Priesthood would be modeled after Melchizedek's. Hebrews 6:20 says Christ did become, a “High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”  Hebrews 7:24 says He “continues forever,” having “an unchangeable priest-hood.”

Christ's priesthood, like that of Melchizedek, was by divine appointment, with no ties to Levi or to the Levitical priesthood, without beginning or end. God made Jesus Christ a priest forever. His reign did not cease with death, as did those of all Levitical priests. And Jesus Christ fulfilled the Law, leaving us with the single requirement of believing on Him for redemption. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by his grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”  Titus 3:5 says it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit.” 

As you should see, Melchizedek's priesthood was compared to Christ's because the first was a fore-type of the second. As Abram honored Melchizedek, we should honor Christ. In fact, Christ is worthy of greater honor than Melchizedek received from Abram. He is certainly worth more than a tithe to us; He is entitled to all we have.  We should not withhold anything He asks of us. We should also look carefully to Him to discover ways to give Him of our time as well as our resources.

Forget the Law and honor Christ

Trying to keep the Mosaic Law is an exercise in futility. It may give you a good workout but it usually generates an awful lot of frustration.  Salvation is by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ at Calvary. As I mentioned earlier, Galatians 3:11 put it like this: “But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for ‘The just shall live by faith.’” So forget the Law, as such.  Live in the freedom Jesus Christ provided.  Let Him decide what you should do with your time, your energy, and your disposable income. And let Him determine how much of each is actually disposable.

As a Christian you are not obligated to tithe to anyone anywhere. God has not licensed any Christian, or any Christian organization, to compel you to support them. You are not obligated to fund wasteful projects, to make preachers and television evangelists rich, or to spend your hard earned money in ways you cannot condone. As a Christian, you may give to anyone you choose, remembering that some Christian workers are entitled to support from those to whom they minister, and that God may want you to minister to the poor through much of your giving. Galatians 6:10 tells us: “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”

I won't tell you to give up on the local churches, as a lot of people have done already. Some church congregations provide helpful Christian fellowship. Some offer opportunities for engaging in sincere corporate worship. And some actually equip saints for the work of ministry.  If you are a member of one that does those three things you should consider helping to fund it. But don’t call your gifts "tithes,” and don't be pressured into giving to people with ulterior motives. Why should you allow anyone to steal your blessings?  (In case you didn't know, some preachers who promise large returns on gifts given to them are liars. The rest may be sincerely ignorant). 

One thing more

 Don't allow your church to condemn you when you obey God's promptings to divert your gifts elsewhere, especially when a member of your own family is dependent on your assistance. First Timothy 5:8 says, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

In Mark 7:9-13, Jesus told the Pharisees, who insisted on keeping tradition to the detriment of needy parents, “All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.  For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother;’ and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’  But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or mother,  “Whatever profit you might have received from me is Corban  (that is, dedicated to the temple)"; and you no longer let him do anything for his father or his mother, making the word of God of no effect through your tradition which you have handed down.”   

Preachers, churches, and organizations that usually agree Christ was right to condemn the hypocritical Pharisees in Mark 7:9-13 are equally guilty when the tithe they demand makes it difficult, or impossible, for committed tithers to help needy friends and relatives.

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David E. Beneze, 1006 Fairview Ave., Canon City, CO 81212-2873. First prepared sometime in 1990 by revising a sermon I delivered in the 70’s. Latest revision 03/06/2007.