Giving vs Tithing Archives - New Vision Ministries

Not Everyone Tithed Under the Law of Moses

adminwpnvm — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:34:38 +0000

Most believers assume that all the Israelites were required to tithe on their full income or increase. However, this is not true; there were only two types of income/increases that required a tithe under the Law of Moses. The first was required of farmers, it was a tithe of agricultural produce, or crops; the second was a tithe of ranchers, or herdsmen, it was a tithe of animals (Leviticus 27:30-33). Only the land owners of the produce and the owners of the animals were required to tithe and not the hired hands. Herdsmen were not required to tithe if they only had nine, but only the tenth. Notice, they were not required to tithe the first animal, but only the tenth animal, “the tenth one shall be holy to the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:32) Since the Law of Moses only required tithes on the increase of landowners and those who owned flocks or herd animals, tithes were not required from those who gained their increase from the air, sea or things made with their hands. Occupations such as fishermen, carpenters, priests, and merchandisers were not required to tithe. Jesus was a carpenter and a preacher; both occupations were not required to tithe according to the Law of Moses.

Many Christian are unaware that the Law of Moses required three tithes from the Israelites. The first tithe of 10% is called the Lord’s tithe and is also known as the Levites tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:21-24).The second tithe of 10% is called the festival tithe (Deuteronomy 12:6-7; 14:22-27; 16:3, 13, 16).The third tithe given at the end of every three years is to be stored up at home and shared with the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow that the Lord may bless the work of their hands (Deuteronomy 14:28-29; 26:12-13). Although some scholars have argued over the third tithe being a substitute for the second tithe the historian Josephus documents that in fact there was a third tithe saying, “”Beside those two tithes which I have already said you are to pay every year, the one for the Levites, the other for the festivals, you are to bring every third year a tithe to be distributed to those that want; to women also that are widows, and to children that are orphans,” (Josephus, Antiquities, bk. 4).

In order to fulfill the Law of Moses a believer would have to tithe 20% every year and another 10% every third year, totaling 30% for the third year, this is not including additional offerings to the Lord. This averages out to a tithe of 23.3% a year, again not including additional offerings unto the Lord, that the Israelites were required to pay according to the Law of Moses (Nehemiah 12:44; Mal. 3:8-12). Those who have attempted to keep the Law of Moses regarding tithing have failed to do so if they have not tithed 20% every year and tithed 30% every third year. However, Gentiles have never been subject to the Law of Moses and therefore, were never required to tithe. The apostles never taught Gentile believers to tithe, we have two New Testament examples of the Gentiles not being required to tithe in Acts 15:22-29 and in 21:15-30. For Example in Acts 15:28-29 it says, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

In Acts 21:15-30 Paul visits James and all the elders and they counsel him regarding the Jews in Acts 21:20-24 saying, “And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; “but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.”What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. “Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.” Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.” But notice in Acts 21:25 what they had written specifically regarding Gentile believers, “But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Tithing was not mentioned.

Gradually, over time there was a departure from the apostles’ faith, teachings, and practices. The departure of the Catholic Church from the apostles teaching on giving to tithing is documented in their own history. The Catholic Church documents their own departure from the apostles’ doctrine in the Catholic Encyclopedia 1912 edition concerning tithing,

“In the beginning [provision] was supplied by the spontaneous support of the faithful. In the course of time, however, as the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of the conscience. The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the Canons of the Council of Macon in 585.” [For more conformation on the history of the tithe check out the Encyclopedia Americana, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia.]

In fact Martin Luther, the founder of the Protestant Christian faith, rejected the idea of tithing and taught against tithing as it pertained to the Gentile believers. Martin Luther in his sermon on August 27, 1525 titled “How Christians Should Regard Moses” spoke of the Law of Moses as being only for the Jews and not for the Gentiles. Martin Luther states in his sermon, “The Law of Moses binds only the Jews and not the Gentiles. Here the Law of Moses has its place. It is no longer binding on us, because it was given only to the people of Israel. And Israel accepted this law for itself and its descendants, while the Gentiles were excluded.” “Moses has nothing to do with us. If I were to accept Moses in one commandment, I would have to accept the entire Moses.” “We will not regard him as our lawgiver – unless he agrees with both the New Testament and the natural law.” “For not one little period in Moses pertains to us.” Martin Luther’s viewpoint in this sermon was due to the fact that the Jews were subject to the Law of Moses, and the Law of Moses included the tithe.

Unfortunately today, most Christian believers do not follow the same apostolic traditions handed down by the apostles. James Hudnut-Beumler, Dean of Vanderbilt University, in his book “In Pursuit of the Almighty’s Dollar”, states that tithing was not taught, practiced, or even suggested in the United States of America until 1873. He also goes on to reveal that tithing was first introduced to the Southern Baptist Convention on May 11, 1895, and was rejected by the believers at that time.

This is a call for us as Christian believers to be like the Berean believers who searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so, and then return to the apostles’ teachings (Acts 17:11).

The post Not Everyone Tithed Under the Law of Moses appeared first on New Vision Ministries.

Abram’s Tithe was 100%

adminwpnvm — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 01:00:56 +0000

Often, the example of Abram’s tithe to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:17-24 is used as an attempt to show that Abram tithed by faith before the Law of Moses was given to the Israelites. Many have tried to use this example to justify tithing as being required by Gentile believers. However, it has been taken out of context by failing to mention that Abram tithed to both the king of Salem and the king of Sodom. In context Abram also tithed from the spoils of war and not on his personal income, which would have been similar to tithing on a once in a lifetime event like the winnings from a Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes.

Abram gave a tithe, of 10% of the spoils of war to Melcizedek king of Salem, yet most have failed to mention the fact that Abram also tithed the other 90% to the king of Sodom. These amounts of course did not include what the young men had eaten and the portion for the men who went with Abram. So in context, Abram gave a tithe, or 10%, to Melchizedek king of Salem and also tithed to the king of Sodom the remaining 90%, with the exception of what the young men had eaten and a portion for the men who were with Abram. If Abram would have tithed 100% of his personal income that he had earned, he would not have anything to live on.

Most would agree Abram’s tithe of 10% to Melchizedek king of Salem represents our tithe to the Lord Jesus Christ. However, Abram tithed the other 90% to the king of Sodom. Who does the king of Sodom represent? You probably thought, the devil, Satan, or maybe the world under the sway of the wicked one. Remember, Abram’s tithe did not come from his personal income he had earned, his tithe came from the spoils of war, and he kept none of it for himself. This was a once in a life time event in which he gave it all away to the king of Salem and to the king of Sodom. As believers following the same principle on tithing, we would not tithe from our personal income, because if we did we would not have any money to live on. We would tithe 100% from our once in a life time event such as winning Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, a lottery, or receiving an inheritance, keeping none of in for ourselves.

Jesus spoke to the Jewish scribes and Pharisees regarding paying their tithe’s in the book of Matthew 23:23 saying, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.” It is clear that Jesus was speaking to the Jews who were under the Law of Moses when He said, “These you ought to have done”. Jesus was not speaking to the Gentile believers who were not subject to the Law of Moses. However, the Gentile believers who wanted to accept and commit to the Jewish religion could do so by becoming a proselyte. The Gentile proselyte was baptized, circumcised, and would have been obligated to obey the Law of Moses which included tithing (Matt.23:15; Acts 6:5).

However, Gentiles have never been subject to the Law of Moses and therefore, were never required to tithe. The apostles never taught Gentile believers to tithe, we have two New Testament examples of the Gentiles not being required to tithe in Acts 15:22-29 and in 21:15-30. For Example in Acts 15:28-29 it says, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

“In the beginning [provision] was supplied by the spontaneous support of the faithful. In the course of time, however, as the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of the conscience. The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the Canons of the Council of Macon in 585.” [For more conformation on the history of the tithe check out the Encyclopedia Americana, the Encyclopedia Britannica, and the Roman Catholic Encyclopedia.]

The post Abram’s Tithe was 100% appeared first on New Vision Ministries.

Tithing Was Not Taught by the Apostles

adminwpnvm — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 17:07:33 +0000

Many believers have accepted the tradition of tithing as being for believers without realizing and understanding that the apostles’ taught believes to give and not to tithe. Gradually over time the early church departed from the apostles teaching concerning giving as tithing became more widely accepted. The Catholic Church departed from the original apostolic faith, doctrine, and practice of willful and cheerful spontaneous giving making tithing a requirement to support the clergy. Most believers have never been informed about the Catholic Church departing from the apostles’ faith, doctrine and practices concerning giving. The Catholic Church documents their own departure from the apostles’ doctrine in the Catholic Encyclopedia 1912 edition concerning tithing,

“In the beginning [provision] was supplied by the spontaneous support of the faithful. In the course of time, however, as the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law, and early writers speak of it as a divine ordinance and an obligation of the conscience. The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the Canons of the Council of Macon in 585.”

The Encyclopedia Americana confirms this concerning the “tithe.”

“It (tithing) was not practiced in the early Christian church but gradually became common (in the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe) by the 6th Century. The Council of Tours in 567 and the 2nd Council of Macon in 585 advocated tithing. Made obligatory by civil law in the Carolingian empire in 765 and in England in the 10th Century… The Reformation did not abolish tithing and the practice was continued in the Roman Catholic Church and in Protestant countries (until it was) gradually replaced by other forms of taxation. The Roman Catholic Church still prescribes tithes in countries where they are sanctioned by law, and some Protestant bodies consider tithes obligatory.”

Many believers have never been taught or informed about Martin Luther or the Anabaptists who rejected tithing. As we study early church history we learn that during the Reformation Martin Luther, the founder and father of the Protestant Christian faith rejected tithing as being unbiblical in his sermon “How Christians Should Regard Moses” delivered on August 27, 1525. According to Martin Luther the Gentiles have never been subject to the Law of Moses, therefore they have never been required to tithe. The Anabaptists were the real radicals of their day surpassing the other reformers such as Luther, Zwingli, and Calvin in their desire to return completely to the faith and practices of the apostles. The Anabaptists were Spirit-filled believers who had visions and exercised the gifts of the Holy Spirit. They practiced the “priesthood of all believers” with every believer participating and functioning when they gathered together as the church. The Anabaptists also rejected tithing as being unbiblical and chose to return to the apostles’ example and teaching concerning giving.

Many believers have only been taught their denominations or churches traditions concerning tithing. They have never heard or been taught about tithing not even being suggested in the United States until 1873. According to James Hudnut-Beumler, Dean of Vanderbilt University, in his book “In Pursuit of the Almighty’s Dollar”, tithing was not taught, practiced, or even suggested in the United States of America until 1873. He also goes on to reveal that tithing was first introduced to the Southern Baptist Convention on May 11, 1895, and was rejected by the believers.

As believers we need to understand the Jewish Christians the apostle Paul dealt with were teaching that the Gentile Christians needed to be circumcised to be saved, after being circumcised they were obligated to obey the whole law of Moses which including tithing (Acts 15:5). However, Gentiles have never been under the Law of Moses at anytime and those of us who have accepted Christ are not obligated to tithe according to the Law of Moses, but are to give willingly according to grace (Acts15:22-29; 21:15-30; Gal. 5:1-5). According to the Word of God as believers we are now under the Headship and Lordship of Jesus Christ and His grace. In Christ, believers have been set free from the ritual observance of the Law of Moses with the rules and regulations. Therefore, we are not obligated to be circumcised, keep the Sabbath, to avoid unclean foods, or tithe (Col. 2:4-23).

The two New Testament examples of the Gentiles not being required to tithe are found in the book of Acts 15:22-29 and in 21:15-30. The first example is found in Acts 15:28-29 it says, “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” The Gentiles were given no greater burden than three necessary things and tithing was not one of them.

The second example found in the book of Acts 21:20-25, the apostle Paul visits James and all the elders and they counsel him regarding the Jews saying, “And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; “but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.” What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. “Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow.” Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.” But notice in Acts 21:25 what they had written specifically regarding Gentile believers, “But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Tithing was not mentioned for the Gentile believers to observe.

The Word of God instructs us as believers concerning how we are to give due to being under grace. Giving is a gift of grace and is a result of the grace of God given to us to meet the needs of others according to our ability (Rom. 12:3-8). We should be both willing and generous in our giving and should being willing to give more than a tithe of ten percent giving all we can providing we have it to give. Due to being under grace our giving is to be done as we purpose in our hearts both willingly and generously in freedom as cheerful givers, not reluctantly or grudgingly out of obligation, duty, or requirement as a matter of law (2 Cor. 9:5-14). The purpose of our giving is so there may be equality among the believers that no one should suffer lack, not having enough to meet their needs (2 Cor. 8:1-15).

Today, some denominations and churches will not allow you to become a member and serve until you agree to support them by faithfully tithing. Those who fail to tithe lose their membership and the opportunity to serve the Lord in the church or denomination. This is very much like paying membership due to use gym or a club of some kind. This begs the questions are the churches and denominations that require you to pay a tithe obeying the Word of God or have or are they following a manmade tradition? And, are you as an individual believer obeying the Word of God in context, or are you following Scripture that has been taken out of context and made the Word of God of no effect due to a manmade tradition?

As we have seen tithing was not taught according to the apostles doctrine or teaching and was not practiced by the early Church. However, we should be willing to give freely that there may be equality among believers, so that no one should suffer lack not having enough to meet their needs. We also learned the reason tithing became necessary was to give a permanent salary to the clergy. We might say that tithing is necessary to keep the doors open, however this was unnecessary for the early church since they met in homes of believers (Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Phm. 1:2). Jesus gave His apostles and disciples the method of starting churches in the homes of men of peace (Matt. 10:12; Luke 10:2). Today, meeting in the homes of believers is generally known as house church, organic church, or simple church.

As we study church history and acknowledge these biblical and historical truths as facts then we must make changes in regard to our beliefs and practices regarding tithing. Maybe we should consider returning to both the biblical practice of giving and meeting in homes of believers with every believer participating and functioning known as the “Priesthood of All Believers” instead of tithing to pay for costly buildings and salaries.

The post Tithing Was Not Taught by the Apostles appeared first on New Vision Ministries.