The Tithing Lie!

The Tithing Lie

There has been an awakening of sorts among blacks and some other Christians as ancient lies are being uncovered, and traditions that have no foundation in truth and intrinsic value are being challenged. This short treatise is not meant to provide a comprehensive examination of all that is wrong with the doctrines being taught in the contemporary church. That will require several volumes of intense revelation. This written piece in centered on the focus of presenting you with enough evidence to allow you to develop at least a limited perspicacity of the doctrine of tithing from a biblical perspective. This is not about validated the authenticity of the Bible, nor is it about validating the personage of Christ as he is presented now. That is for another time.

With the first issue out of the way I can now focus on something that concerns me deeply — the discussion concerning the law — specifically tithing. I am concerned for a number of reasons. First, when studying the bible to develop sound doctrine (which only means teachings based on a categorical study of scripture), we must do it with an open mind that is not clouded by the ambiguity of religious tradition. Far too often the contemporary church practices, rituals, sacraments and more simply because it was passed down to them with a minimal explanation and they accepted it as truth.

The law, which consists of far more than the “Decalogue” or Ten Commandments was a part of the Mosaic Covenant and it was given specifically to the Jews. God has dealt with humanity —from Adam to now — through covenant.  Everything that God has established with man is through covenant.

Dealing with the Law

The law, which consist of three primary codices: Codex 1 — the moral code, existing of more than 120 laws, including the Ten Commandments. Codex 2 — The spiritual code, which introduced the ordinances, sacraments and rituals of the Levitical priesthood, which were simply shadows and types of the Person of Christ. Every emblem in the tabernacle represented Christ. Codex 3 — the social code, which spoke about the dealings or behavior of the Israelites and punishment, etc. Again, these laws were given to the Jews and the Jews only, and the one thing that we must remember about these laws is that to fail in one of them meant you failed at them all. Now let’s move forward.

Things You Should Know about Tithing

The first thing that we must examine concerning tithes is one thing that pastors and preachers who continue to teach it never address: 1. Tithing was never given to all of Israel, only those who owned herds and crops (c.f. Lev. 27:30-33). 2. It was not the first tenth, but the tenth of all (the herdsman was to allow every animal to pass under the rod, and every tenth animal (whether bad or good) would be given as a tithe [tenth]) 3. All of tithes did not go to the priests or even the tabernacle. 4. There were three different tithes and they each had a very specific use. There were discretionary tithes. These discrepancies are only a few that must be addressed by those who wish to validate church age tithing as a spiritual obligation.

What Was the Tithe Used For?

Now, it is important to understand that the tithes demanded by God of Israel was food. It was not money. The argument has been made that food was used as currency because money did not exist at the time; however, the fact that a herdsman or a farmer could choose to redeem his 10^th animal or part of his crop with money debunks that theory (Lev. 27:20, 31).

So, why did God demand this from farmers and herdsman? He did not need the food for himself! God does not need anyone to give him a tenth of what he already owns (Psalm 40:6; Job 41:11b). The tithes were actually used to feed the Levite priests — along with their families — who were required to work in the temple day and night. It is also important to understand that this was necessary because the Levites were the only tribe that did not receive a portion of the land as an inheritance, which means they had no earning potential.

It is also important to understand that it was the Levitical priesthood that God was speaking to in Malachi chapter 3 when he spoke of being robbed in tithes and offerings. The Priests did not bring the tithes into the storehouse. This is not a rebuke against the whole of Israel, but specifically against the priests, the leadership. I will just leave that right here for you to ponder.

The Early Church

One of the best ways to determine what is meant in scripture is to observe the behavior of the early church, those who were taught by the Apostles or their subsequent students. In observing the early church, there was no practice of tithing. Grace giving was taught and practiced. In fact, Paul taught the Corinthians that they should not give out of obligation or compulsion, but as it is purposed in their heart. In fact, in 13 different epistles to at least seven church’s and two pastors (Timothy and Titus) that he planted, Paul does not once speak of tithing. Why is this relevant? This is relevant because Paul’s ministry was to the gentiles, who would not have been familiar with the Law, because they were not Jews. So if the law was still in effect, they would have to receive a crash course in the law, including tithing, but instead of teaching tithing, he taught them to give from their heart as God purposes. The Book of Hebrews also sheds plenty of light on the erroneous practice of still attempting to live under the law. Paul said that we are no longer under the law, but under grace.

What specifically did the Apostle Paul teach concerning these type of spurious or heretic teachings?

“And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people’s faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ our Lord; they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they deceive innocent people.” (Rom 16:17-18)

“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  (2 Cor. 9:6, 7, NASB)

Neither Paul nor any of the other Apostles taught tithing. In fact, they made it a point not to burden gentiles with the law. If you read Acts 15:1-31, you will read of a dispute that arose in an early Gentile church in Antioch. Certain Jews there were demanding that Gentiles be circumcised as a requisite for salvation. Paul and Barnabas stood up against this and rebuked the false teachings. They then traveled to Jerusalem to discuss the issue of circumcision with the other apostles. While there, they reported all of the miracles and conversions among the Gentiles, and the apostles were happy and filled with joy. They sent Paul and Barnabas back to the church at Antioch with a letter welcoming them into the fold. You can find the part of the letter that is essential to this topic in Acts 15:28-29. It reads,  “For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: ²⁹ that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.”

No Longer Under the Law

The law required the sacrifice of animals, do we still practice that? The law required that no man trim his beard, do will still practice that? Remember, if you are still operating under the law, you are bound to keep it all. This does not mean that we operate under lawlessness. This is why Jesus answered the question about which commandments should be kept by telling his followers to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind and love their enemies or in some other instances “do no harm to a neighbor.” It is important to notice that even when Christ does address tithes in the New Testament, he minimizes it by telling the Pharisees that they strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. What is important to understand in this instance is that Christ is addressing the Jews and this is before the founding of the Church on the Day of Pentecost. This means that after the founding of the Church tithing is never taught as an obligation. When Christ said that he came to fulfill the law, he meant that he is literally the fulfillment of the law. Everything in the spiritual codex pointed to him. The scapegoat being sent into the wilderness was a semantic symbol of Christ. The sin sacrifice was a symbol of the crucifixion. The candle, show bread, table and everything else in the tabernacle was semantic symbolism that pointed to the ultimate expiation of sin at Calvary. This is why Paul says that the law was simply a tutor, but had no power to save.

I have written and published much on this subject, for those who are serious about learning more, not arguing the tenets of traditional religion, I will be happy to provide reliable resources.

We have to be careful when teaching tithing because it can very easily produce those who give begrudgingly out of obligation and that is directly taught against in the New Testament.

This article was originally written years ago, and is not meant to address other fallibilities that are taught within the modern church. As I move forward, I will systematically undress these fallibilities in a manner in which it will be easy to understand.

Please understand that I am not here to challenge your faith in God. Actually, I am here to challenge you to invest in researching and understanding the history of your faith. It is time to stop taking the word of any man, including me, and to start confirming the truth. Remember, it is only for him/her who “knows” the “truth” to actually be made free! Wallowing in the lie and calling it truth has no power, except to bind up and destroy. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.

Get Release The Inner Entrepreneur in You for only $1.00!