- Abraham tithed not from his income or wealth, but from the spoils of one battle.
- Jacob vowed to give the Lord a tenth of everything. One man's vow doesn't make a principle for everyone to follow.
- Israel's tithes were food. God had told the tribe of Levi that they
were forbidden to work for their own food. He commanded the other
tribes to provide food for the Levites, in the form of tithes.
- Tithes were not money or income. You will find no scripture that tells anyone to give a tenth of their money in support of anything.
- The storehouse was an actual building in which food was stored, including grain, wine and oil. There were even stalls for livestock and flocks, because the livestock and flocks would be used as FOOD for the Levites. (2 Chronicles 32:28)
- There is absolutely no scripture that says that the New Covenant "church" is now the "storehouse." It is a grossly twisted misuse of the scriptures to say that the church is the storehouse.
- The recipients of the tithes were, again, the Levite tribe. Not pastors. Not churches. Not ministries.
- Jews today do not tithe. The command to tithe says that the tithes must go to the Levite tribe. They would be going against the command of God if they were to give tithes to anyone else.
- Malachi 3 was not written to Christians. It was written to Jews who had forsaken God's commands to them. Malachi 3 has nothing whatsoever to do with life in Christ.
- Why is Abraham's tithe brought up in Hebrews 7? It has nothing whatsoever to do with Christians tithing anything. Rather, the writer was making a point about how Jesus our High Priest is superior to the Levite priesthood. Melchizedek was the one who received the tithe (of the spoils of war) from Abraham, which shows that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. Jesus is "High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek," and so therefore He is greater than Abraham. And since the Levites were in Abraham's bosom when Abraham tithed, then Jesus is also greater than the Levites. And that is the point! Jesus is superior to the Levite priesthood. It has absolutely nothing to do with Christians tithing and everything to do with showing how Jesus is superior to the Old Covenant.
- Christian are never commanded to tithe. New Covenant giving is based upon the cheerful will of the heart, not a command or a law or a rule.
Bottom line: Giving is a wonderful expression of who we are in Christ. Give, give, give to your heart's content. But there is no "percentage" that is a godly amount. You have the honor and privilege of deciding in your own heart what you want to give, how much you want to give and who you want to give it to. 2%, 9%, 40%, 83%, 7.34542%, 0.0000123%. Whatever. You don't need anyone to tell you how much to give, what to give or who to give it to. Your heart decides.
- Tithes were not money or income. You will find no scripture that tells anyone to give a tenth of their money in support of anything.
- The storehouse was an actual building in which food was stored, including grain, wine and oil. There were even stalls for livestock and flocks, because the livestock and flocks would be used as FOOD for the Levites. (2 Chronicles 32:28)
- There is absolutely no scripture that says that the New Covenant "church" is now the "storehouse." It is a grossly twisted misuse of the scriptures to say that the church is the storehouse.
- The recipients of the tithes were, again, the Levite tribe. Not pastors. Not churches. Not ministries.
- Jews today do not tithe. The command to tithe says that the tithes must go to the Levite tribe. They would be going against the command of God if they were to give tithes to anyone else.
- Malachi 3 was not written to Christians. It was written to Jews who had forsaken God's commands to them. Malachi 3 has nothing whatsoever to do with life in Christ.
- Why is Abraham's tithe brought up in Hebrews 7? It has nothing whatsoever to do with Christians tithing anything. Rather, the writer was making a point about how Jesus our High Priest is superior to the Levite priesthood. Melchizedek was the one who received the tithe (of the spoils of war) from Abraham, which shows that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham. Jesus is "High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek," and so therefore He is greater than Abraham. And since the Levites were in Abraham's bosom when Abraham tithed, then Jesus is also greater than the Levites. And that is the point! Jesus is superior to the Levite priesthood. It has absolutely nothing to do with Christians tithing and everything to do with showing how Jesus is superior to the Old Covenant.
- Christian are never commanded to tithe. New Covenant giving is based upon the cheerful will of the heart, not a command or a law or a rule.
Bottom line: Giving is a wonderful expression of who we are in Christ. Give, give, give to your heart's content. But there is no "percentage" that is a godly amount. You have the honor and privilege of deciding in your own heart what you want to give, how much you want to give and who you want to give it to. 2%, 9%, 40%, 83%, 7.34542%, 0.0000123%. Whatever. You don't need anyone to tell you how much to give, what to give or who to give it to. Your heart decides.
This was so comprehensive. I use to believe that I had to tithe while I was in Institutional Church. We were taught that. Scriptures were so missused and we were manipulated. I am so glad to be FREE of man made rules/rituals. Jesus is TRUTH. Thank you for sharing this article.
ReplyDeleteIt's wonderful that you're free from those rituals and rules that are taught in the church that really have nothing to do with life in Christ! It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, and we need to stand firm in that freedom. Legalistic, religious people don't want us to live in that freedom.
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