Page 38 - The Church and Education PDF Pro

was to be given, how it was to be given and dispersed, and the consequences for those who do not give.
Other passages rebuke Israel for not keeping the law.

Note that the four references to tithing in the New Testament do not command New Testament
believers to practice tithing. They are only referencing the practice in the Old Testament historically
or they are condemning Pharisees who had taken the Mosaic Tithe and rewritten it to become even
more self-righteous (Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42, Luke 18:12, and Hebrews 7:5-9).

The multitude of verses about giving in the New Testament call believers to a
more extravagant freewill giving in response to the gospel of the Lord Jesus
based on faith in God as Provider (2 Corinthians 9:6-10). We will examine
these principles shortly.

Those who argue for tithing point out that Abraham and Jacob both tithed
prior to the Mosaic law (Genesis 14:20 and Genesis 29:22). Thus tithing
supersedes the law, they argue. If the New Testament gave no further guidelines, that might be a valid
argument. But the New Testament clearly defines a method of giving that replaces the Law of the Old
Testament tithe. There are other practices, such as circumcision and Sabbath-keeping which pre-date
the Law, and yet in the New Testament are not binding on the church today.

If you examine the references to Abraham’s and Jacob’s tithing, you will see that God did not command
them to tithe, and there is no indication that this was their regular practice. On one occasion after the
victory in battle to rescue Lot, Abraham tithed 10% of the spoils from the battle, but nothing is said
regarding his other possessions or his regular income or giving (Genesis 14:20). To follow Jacob’s
example would be incorrect because he was making a conditional vow before God, promising that if God
would keep him safe from the wrath of Esau, then he would give God a tenth (Genesis 28:20-22). And
there is no record in Scripture that he actually did! That’s hardly a good example to follow in giving
today!

As we have seen, the only mention of tithing in the New Testament is four verses which
reference the Old Testament practice of tithing. If tithing is to be practiced by the Christian
church, it seems strange that Paul did not mention tithing in one single book he penned in the
New Testament. He wrote predominately to Gentile churches which would not be familiar
with the Old Testament, so if he believed they should tithe as commanded in the Old
Testament, should he not have mentioned it to them?

The problem with putting believers today under the yoke of the tithe is that you are teaching
that 10% of all the money they receive belongs to God and 90% belongs to them. In reality,
New Testament teaching is that ALL (100%) of what we receive belongs to God. He may want me to
channel 90% to others and live on 10%. It is HIS call!

Let’s Practice…

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