Page 74 - Bible Study Methods-Textbook_Neat

Luke 18:12 – I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ A Pharisee brags about his
obedience to the law and tithing. Luke is not suggesting that this be the practice of the New
Testament church today.

Hebrews 7:5-9 – 5Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to
collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also
are descended from Abraham. 6This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet
he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. Abraham’s tithe
is used to illustrate a change concerning the priesthood. Again, the author of Hebrews is
demonstrating the differences between the old covenant of the law to the new and superior
convenant of grace in Jesus Christ.

That’s it! That’s every verse in the Bible on tithing. What I have found thus far
is that the tithe is an integral part of the Mosaic Law. Even in the New
Testament all references refer back to the Mosaic Law of the tithe. This
answers one question, however. I know from my study of Galatians that I am
not bound by the Mosaic Law.

Galatians 5:18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

6. Check out the cross references. I checked out a cross reference from II Corinthians 8 which led me to
II Corinthians 9.

I know that Christ came to fulfill the Law on my behalf. I am no longer under the bondage of the
Law, but under the New Covenant of grace. So, I must direct my search to the New Testament and
see if there are any passages which would instruct me in how to give to God.

In my study of the New Testament verses on giving, I found a wealth of information. 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, 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!

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, is seems strange that Paul did not
mention tithing in one single book he penned in the New Testament. He wrote predominately to

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