Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
Introduction
The title of this article sounds just like the title of a horror movie. But sadly enough it’s not about a movie but about real life. Consider yourself to be an actor of reality TV and the viewers to be the host of heaven. “We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to men.”
1 Corinthians 4:9b
God is the producer of this life program; He is a very patient and skilful person who even gave His own life to give the play of your life a happy ending.
The funny part of this movie is that the producer only tells you how the story goes but the actors have to write their own script. God gave us His Word to follow and obey so He could bless us and keep us safe, He even gave us His Holy Spirit to guide us and to give us strength to overcome the obstacles along the way. But He also gave men an important gift, his free will. It’s up to us to decide whether we go by the Holy book or by our own thoughts. Sadly enough we often decide to follow our own will instead of Gods. When we do so we become the mean characters in the movie, the criminals. And we give the producer a hard time trying to get us in line again. Because He knows the end won’t be happy for us anymore and it is His will to make it a happy one.
But just like in the movies the bad guys wind up dead or in prison.
The scary part is that we are often convinced that we are doing the right thing, not realizing that it is quite the opposite.
Realizing that there are so many slippery roads along the way I want to stick to this episode of the movie; how tithing affects your life in the New Covenant. It seems like an unimportant episode but believe me it makes all the difference. Tithing was not meant for the body of Christ. Jesus Christ fulfilled the law from which tithing was part of. When He said on the cross ‘It is finished' , He proclaimed the end of the laws and decrees of the Old Covenant including tithing and the beginning of the New Covenant signed with His blood. In the following chapters I will explain how tithing was introduced and why it is not supposed to go on in the New Testament. Furthermore I will try to show you what the terrible consequences of tithing are under the New covenant.
Chapter 1
The principal of tithing
[back to top]
Giving tithes started along time ago. After Abraham defeated the kings he went to Melchizedek king of Salem to offer Him his tithes.
Genesis 14:17-20: “After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Tithing is part of the offerings men use to give to God. From the day Adam and Eve sinned men started offering gifts to God because they were constantly aware of their shortcomings and wanted to atone for their sins. Furthermore they were showing God their gratefulness to Him, because of His blessings and mercy.
When God gave the Old Law to the Israelites He included the offering of tithes.
The command concerning tithes was as follows:
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
“22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose. 26 Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the LORD your God and rejoice.
27 And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own.
28 At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live inyour towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
Verse 22-26 of this scripture shows us that tithes had to be consumed yearly, in the presence of the Lord by the people that gave them. He wanted them to rejoice because He had taken care of their every need that year.
God does not need food or money; He wants us to remember Him, to share our joy with Him. He needs us to be happy. When we are He is content.
Verse 27 shows us that they had to share the food with the Levites every year. They were the priests of God.
Verse 28-29 clearly shows that every three years, the Israelites were told to bring a tenth of all the upbringing of their land and cattle of that year to store it in the town.
” Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.” (Malachi 3:10a)
It had to be given to the Levites and to the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who lived in their towns.
So once a year the people gave part of the tenth of the upbringing of their land and cattle to the Levites. The other part was theirs to use in the presence of God.
Every three years the Levites were given the whole tenth of the upbringings of that year, but still here also, they had to give part of it to the needy.
This is how God arranged it to be in the days before the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Tithing in the church today
The examples that follow are not meant to ridicule pastors. They are meant to show the misconception of tithing.Pastors are to be held in honor, false teachings are to be exposed.
Episode: Tithing part1: The saints and the robbers
"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, `How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse the whole nation of you because you are robbing me.”(Malachi 3:8-9)
With loud thundering voices many preachers use these bible verses to scare their congregation.
The faces of the children of God turn pale with fear, their hearts pounding loud in their ear.
“Oh God please forgive me, I could not give my tithes, do not let me doomed.” Softly they whisper these words, filled with fear. They can see God standing there, His face looking very grim, ready to strike at them with His fiery sword any moment now.
They can hear Him saying:” Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”(Malachi 3:10)
Suddenly God’s appearance changes and they are somewhat relieved to see that it is their pastor who is speaking to them. Thinking about all their needs they quickly take out their check book and with their hands all sweaty and still shaking with fear they write out their tithe for the month. Thank God, now God will supply in my needs for I have paid my dues.
But their nightmare has not ended yet. With a kinder tone in his voice the pastor reminds them to write down a tenth from their gross salary not from their net salary because God comes first.
At this time they can hardly breathe anymore, for goodness sake they think lets get it over with, or it will be the last time I will be able to write a check.
Smiling like an angel, the pastor orders the ushers to stand in front of the pulpit. With lead in their shoes and with trembling feet, the children of God walk along the aisle, that suddenly seems to have become ten times longer than before, and place their check in the bowl.
“God loves the cheerful giver, He will provide in all your needs!” The pastor cries out, with joy and triumph, raising his hands to the sky.
Then the choir starts to sing ‘Hallelujah’ and they can feel the burden being lifted from them for a while, only to come back at the beginning of the next month.
End of part 1
I can imagine Gabriel the archangel asking Michael at this time to switch to another earth channel because of the disgust that has welled up inside of him.
Repeating the words of the apostle Paul, he utters: “Pure slavery, they are in bondage again. They have been alienated from Christ.”
You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”(Galatians 5:4)
“I‘ve found another program”, Michaels voice brings Gabriel back to earth. “It’s called
“From yoke to yoke”
“Fine let’s give it a try” Gabriel’s voice sounds hopeful. He leans back in the chair, with pillows as soft as a cloud.
Part 2: From yoke to yoke
"Brothers and Sisters, I’m sad to have to inform you that our dearly beloved brother Elmer has passed away." The pastor looks at the congregation with tear-filled eyes. "Although we prayed for healing, it looked like the heavens were locked up, the door was shut tight. We grieve for our dearly beloved brother but we are also mad, mad because the reason why heavens door was shut, is so shameful. Yes shameful indeed! You see we went through his belongings and found his pay check. You know what brothers and sisters yyyou know what!" The pastor is so overwhelmed by his feelings, he can hardly speak anymore.
"Elmer lied, oh yes he lied about giving his tithe, the whole tithe and nothing but the tithe!!! According to his pay check he only gave 5 percent, brothers, 5 itsy bitsy percent to the Almighty God?!! How shameful!"
He walks from the pulpit and his eyes are filled with compassion. His voice has a softer tone now." Dear,dear brothers and sisters of mine. We have to protect you, we have to take care of you. We don’t want the heavens to be shut tight for you when you pray.
That’s why in order to protect you, yes in order to provide you with the Glories of heaven, dear, dear brothers and sisters. We will have to look into your pay check every month. Yes, I said every month, because you might have gotten a raise, ooh you might have gotten vacation money, and you might miscalculate your tithe. But do not worry!!" He stretches out his hands to the people. "We are here to take care of that for you!"
The organist starts playing and the choir sings with beautiful voices of angels,
‘It is no secret what God can dooo!’
End of part 2
I guess the people have figured out the secret by now. The magic word is ‘Tithing’.
The program didn’t change for the better. If angels could get a headache they would have swallowed up a handful of aspirins right now.
It’s sad to say but these soap like events do take place in our church communities today,
all over the world. Christians have to bring their pay check to the pastor. The pastor burdens them with feelings of guilt and fear and offers them the key to blessings, Tithing. They do not need to ask Jesus for blessings anymore they just pay for it.
The Kingdom of God has been transformed into a large shopping mall. If you need healing it’s there, money, a job, you name it, everything you need is available, you just have to pay your tithe to get it.
I guess Isaiah 55 and Revelations 22:17b can be removed from the bible.
"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost."
“ The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.
I’ve heard Christians complaining about the yoke of tithing. Every month many worry about how to pay their tithes. Some even borrow money to pay their dues. If you ask them why, they say that they are afraid of falling under the curse of God. A few Christians even stopped visiting the church because they couldn’t pay their tithes for a few months and the debt just keeps increasing. They are afraid and ashamed to visit church. There is nothing cheerful in giving tithes since you are forced to, because of the curse. This is not the kind of gift that the Lord looks forward to receiving.
People have blended a bittersweet mixture made of the old form of tithing and their own modern demands. The Old Law tells the Israelites to share the tenth of the upbringing of their land and cattle once a year with the Levites in the presence of God. They had to eat from it together with the priest.
Every three years they gave their tithe to the Levites who shared it with the needy.
The priest never got the whole tithe, only part of it.
If tithing is used in the way the Old Law required it then the Christians would have to give
only a part of their tithe to the preachers every Year. Only every three years would the preachers get the whole tithe, but they’ll have to share it with the needy.
As you can see, this wouldn’t work out well for preachers today. So somewhere along the road people blended their own little mixture of how it should be. But this little mixture is very poisoning for everyone who drinks it. Why? The Bible tells us why!
Chapter 2
The Giver of life [back to top]
In examining this mixture we have to understand the reason behind giving tithes and offerings. That takes us way back to the origin of giving.
We have learned to give because we have been made in the image of God. The Giver of life has given us everything our hearts could ever desire when He breathed His Spirit in us and gave us life. Communion with Him, just being with Him is all that we will ever need. He loved us first and we started giving Him our love. We were meant to be His bride all along.
Adam and Eve used to walk with God everyday and they were able to share their feelings of love for Him.
Genesis 3:8a: “ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…”
Because of the plan He had for men He gave them dominion over all that He had created. So men was able to practice the ability of giving in order to let the earth flourish. The Spirit of God enabled them to do so.
Genesis 1:27-28 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
God is love!
1 John4: 8: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”
As a result of love, God has been constantly busy giving to men all that they need from Genesis to Revelations.
He never gets tired because the flame of love keeps burning inside of Him. Ezekiel saw the Lord and His body was made of fiery flames. I often wondered why but I am convinced that it is Love made visible.
Ezekiel 1:26-28: ”Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man.
I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him.
Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD.”
He is a consuming fire. When His fire touches you, you will be consumed by His love for you and you will love Him the same way. On Pentecostal day the apostles were touched by the Holy Spirit, tongues of fire appeared above their heads; the love of God. He touched their lives and made them bear His image once more.
As I have said earlier, we were created in His image and we were perfect. ‘God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.’’(Genesis 1:31)
The relationship between God and men is often compared to that of man and his wife.
Ephesians 5: 25-27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”
Just as man and wife become one in the flesh we become one with Him in Spirit.
We are joined together and have community of property.
In John 17:10-11 Jesus says to the Father: ”All I have is yours and all you have is mine.”
“Holy Father protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me so that they may be one as we are one.”
From the very beginning we were intended to be one with God in the Spirit. He wanted to share all that He had with Adam and Eve. Even so He wanted them to share all they had with Him. I am not only talking about Gods love and wisdom but also about material goods.
“Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matthew 6:33)
God is the source of our life; being one with Him is being one with all that you will ever need.
His love will supply all your material needs also.
So Adam and Eve were in need of nothing Since God was their provider. God was also content with their love for Him, which was all He wanted. He gave them control of the earth but never asked them for anything from it before they sinned, because they had community of property since they were one in the Spirit.
Our relationship with God after sin entered our world
After they sinned their unity with God was broken and they were driven out of their spiritual and earthly paradise. No longer would they enjoy Gods presence the way they did before, because sin had separated them from the one they loved. Spiritual emptiness and earthly gloom awaited them until the promise of God to restore their unity in Christ would be fulfilled.
Genesis 3:13-19 “Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel." (The promise of restoration)
To the woman He said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."
To Adam He said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, `You must not eat of it,' "Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.
By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."
They didn’t have community of property anymore but became like tenants renting the earth from the one who created it. Fighting for the bread that would never satisfy and for water that would never quench their thirst for Gods love. From now on they had to sacrifice animals to atone for their sins just to be able to face God. They also brought other offerings to show their gratitude for His blessings.
This is where tithes are introduced. Because they had to rely on the earth as their source of life and would die of starvation if they gave all they had, they only gave ten percent as an offering. They had lost the right to the Fathers rich storage chambers.
God longed to have His bride back again to be one in His Spirit and to share all that He has with her, so He prepared the salvation in Christ, the New Jerusalem our new paradise and a new heaven and earth. Jesus Christ, born out of the house of King David would crush the head of the devil as was promised in Genesis 3:15.
John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Until the fulfillment of this plan he had to make sure that the people would not forget Him and His promise. So even before the Law was given to Moses He taught them to offer animals and other gifts including tithes to keep their memory of Him alive.
Chapter 3 Tithing and the New Testament [back to top]
Abraham the father of the believers and carrier of the promise
How did God bring His promise to fulfillment and where does tithing fit into it?
The right person to answer this question is our brother Paul.
I will let him explain to us how Abraham became the carrier of what God had promised.
Paul:
When He called Abraham He made a promise to Him and to his seed, Christ;
(Galatians 3:6-9) “Consider Abraham: ”He believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness. Understand, then, that those who believe are children of Abraham. The scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith and announced the Gospel in advance to Abraham: ”All nations will be blessed through you.” So those who have faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. The Scripture does not say “and to seeds, ”meaning many people” but “and to your seed,” meaning one person, who is Christ (Galatians 3:16)
Just as no one can set aside a human covenant that has been duly established so it is in this case.” (Galatians 3:15)
No one can set aside the covenant God made with Abraham and his seed, Christ.
“What I mean is this: The Law introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise.
The inheritance of the blessings of God did not depend on the law but on the promise that God in His grace, gave to Abraham.” (Galatians 3:17-18)
Why did God give the Jews the Law?
Paul said:” What then was the purpose of the Law?”
The purpose of the Law
“The Law was added because of transgressions until the Seed (Christ) to whom the promise referred had come. Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the Law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the Law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the Law.
You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 19-29)
The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming, not the realities themselves.
(Hebrews10: 1)
Our brother Paul tried to show us that God always intended for us to be saved through our faith in Christ who was the perfect sacrifice for our sins. But because there was a long time between the fall of man and his redemption we needed a guard to keep us in prison until the door could be opened by our Savior and judge. Now I say us but God was only indirectly dealing with us there, because the Law was given to His people the Jews. In the end when the promise would come though the birth of Jesus who was a Jew, it would lead to the salvation of all mankind, of us.
So He gave people, who were not able to love Him 100% because of their sinful nature, rules to keep them save from falling away from Him completely like the other earthly inhabitants.
He gave them a shadow of the real thing. A manmade tabernacle not a heavenly, a human priest not a heavenly, sacrifices that were incomplete and could never satisfy God nor take away our sins forever. You see God wanted our mind body and soul for 100%, the Law could never restore us on the inside, only the Spirit of God. Only through our redemption by the blood of Christ would we receive His Spirit and be changed forever. Just the way He intended it to be. And we could once more share all that we have with God not just 10%.
He wants to pour Himself 100% in our hearts and satisfy our every desire eternally. Jesus says to us:” I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 16:23)
He must also be able to ask anything from us.
He is the heavenly High Priest, who through His own blood went into the heavenly sanctuary.
Believing in His sacrifice is all that we need to do, to be made righteousness by God.
There is no need for serving God with shadow arrangements that were made for the Jews not for the gentiles.
“How is it then that you force gentiles to follow Jewish customs?”
(Galatians 2:14)
“It seemed good to The Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you (gentiles) with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well if you avoid these things.” (Acts 15:28-29)
These requirements from the Old Law were the only ones that were allowed in the New covenant by the Holy Spirit. As you can see Tithing is not mentioned.
We do take the past as an example, to be sure not to make the same mistakes they made.
And since the Law reflected our spiritual service to the Lord it is often referred to in the New Testament.
The promise fulfilled through Christ
“In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe.
The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
(Hebrews 1:1-3)
“But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”(Ephesians 2:4-7)
“God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.
We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him."
(Acts 5:31-32)
When the Holy Spirit came down on Pentecostal day the change was 100%.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
(Acts 1:8)
We could finally be one with God again, sharing our love 100% and sharing our possessions 100% again as in a marriage. He was once again our source of life from where we could derive everything we need. No longer depending on the earth to supply but on our heavenly Father who holds all that we need. “ The just shall live by faith.’’ (Galatians 3:11)
We live by faith and are dead to the Law.
“For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage. So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man. So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. (Romans 7:2-4)
We offer spiritual offerings; “a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of our lips that confess His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which] [is] your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
(Romans 12:1-2)
The Kingdom of God is in us. We are His temple. No longer does man have to follow laws written on stone but The Holy Spirit of God writes spiritual laws down in our hearts. We are renewed from the inside. The Holy Spirit, who was sent down to us by Christ, guides us and tells us what to do.
John 16:13-15 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.”
God is able to speak to us through His Spirit. That’s why Paul said: ”Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give. Not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”(2 Corinthians 9:6-7)
All that we have our body mind and soul, our earthly possessions are His. All that He has is ours because we are one in His Spirit. We are His spiritual bride.
If a man needs something from his wife, she will give it gladly because she loves him but also because they share their belongings. It is the same with Christ and us. There’s no heavenly prenuptial agreement.
The early disciples came to acknowledge this; you can clearly see this by the way they started sharing their possessions with each other. “And all that believed were together, and had all
things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all [men], as every man had need.”
(Acts 2:44-45)
Nobody told them to do it, it was the renewal of their minds that let them to understand what the Apostle Paul wrote to us in 1 Corinthians 3:21-23:” Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ’s; and Christ [is] God’s.
We do not owe God just 10% of all that is ours, no; all that we are and have is His for 100% since we are born again in the Spirit. There is no place for Tithing in this restored relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ our Savior.
His Spirit guides us to give from what is already His, because we are His bride, and who to give it to. Although all we have is also His for 100%, He will not always guide you to give it away for 100%. Nobody can tell us how much to give, it’s the Holy Spirit who makes us decide it in our heart how much to give. When you give love, money or whatever gift to a person you have given it to Christ.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
(2 Corinthians 9:7)
Acts 5:1-4 illustrates this:
“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet. Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
Ananias was free to give whatever he wished; there was no reason for him to lie about the amount. He was not obliged to give 10%, 5% or a 100%, but whatever he chose to give. The money was at his disposal.
Chapter 4
The great deception [back to top]
We have seen: The origin of tithing.
Tithing in the days before Christ died and was resurrected.
The fulfillment of Gods promise through Jesus Christ
Tithing misplaced in the New Covenant.
Why is it that preachers still teach people to tithe?
The answer is simple; Ignorance, convenience and distrust.
Ignorance
Praise the Lord for bible schools. There is nothing better than to be educated in the Lord.
But Praise the Lord a thousand times more for His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth, personally.
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
(John 16:13)
“As for you, the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in Him.” 1 John 2:27
The Holy Spirit is given to us as ‘The Teacher’. God has also given teachers to His body who teach us the meaning of the Word of God through the Holy Spirit.
“It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up” Ephesians 4:11-12
The Spirit of God teaches us about the Word of God personally, when we read it. If we lack wisdom in some matters of the Word or in other matters, He freely gives it to us if we ask for it. “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”(James 1:5)
God appointed teachers to help us on the way to maturity in Christ and we are blessed by what the Spirit has taught them. Still however we need to rely on the Holy Spirit of God to show us if the teachings that we get from bible teachers are true or false.
Many of us forget to do so and we easily rely on what we see on the outer side. We rely on the miracles they perform, we rely on their large congregation or on their worldwide spread TV program. And we say well God must be working through this person so his teachings are ok.
WRONG! Even the great evangelist, bible teacher, miracle worker brother Paul warns us not do so.
“ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ.
But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. (Galatians 1:6-10)
We must follow Christ not men.
God warns us:” Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven’ but only he who does the will of my father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:20-23)
To determine whether a teaching is right or wrong, we have to ask God to reveal the truth to us by His Holy Spirit. No other touchstone has been given to us than the Cornerstone, the Spirit of Christ.
Many bible teachers teach their pupils to tithe. When the pupils fail to examine this in the light of Gods Word, through the Spirit of God, they are kept in ignorance concerning the Will of God in this matter.
In this case we cannot say “Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise”.
Because what we do not know, can sometimes have severe consequences.
With Tithing it is certainly the case.
Convenience
When people are made to give tithes the preacher is sure of a certain amount of money every month. He can just sit back and rely on the principal of tithing to supply the finances for the work of God and for his household. They do not have to put their trust in Gods providence anymore because the whip of the law will make sure that everyone feels compelled to give the tithes. It takes away a lot of pressure, it’s very convenient. So they preach the popular verses of Malachi chapter 3.
Distrust
As living standards are getting even higher the pressure on preachers builds up. They need all kinds of computers to keep up with modern technology. The Internet is a new effective way to spread the gospel so you have take advantage of it. Also television evangelism proved to be fruitful. But you have to pay the bills to keep it all going smoothly.
Electric bills, employee bills,bills,bills,bills. There’s a bill for almost anything.
Finding themselves in the middle of bills some preacher gladly take hold of the principle of tithing. Forcing themselves to belief that it’s ok to do so. They are afraid that God will not meet their needs at the end of the month. Looking at the wind of problems, they start to sink just as Peter did when he tried to walk on the water. They have forgotten to keep their eyes on Jesus instead. But even now God is reaching out His hand to save them from drowning.
“During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.
When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.
But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."
"Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water."
"Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!"
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?"
And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.” ( Matthew 14:25-32)
They have forgotten Philippians 4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Instead they have a lot of arguments to proof tithing legitimate under the New Covenant. Lets go through some of them.
Arguments
Godly Ordination
Some preachers argue that tithing has to be done still, because it is an ordination made by God when He created the world , so it existed before the Law. To substantiate this claim, they refer to Abraham who gave his tithe to Melchizedek. ( Genesis 14:20)
Nowhere however in the report on the creation from Genesis chapter 1 to Chapter 3 do we read about giving tithes. The only Godly institution that was made there that is still observed by us is ‘Marriage’.
“ For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:24)
If we consider tithing to be a Godly ordination that was supposed to go on and on until Jesus returns, then we should consider circumcision to be an ordination of the same category.
For before the law was given to Moses, God ordered Abraham to circumcise himself and his descendants.
Tithing is mentioned in the New Testament. In Luke 11:42 Jesus says:” Woe to you Pharisees, Because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” This is also a favorite text of the pro- tithers. They say that this proofs that Jesus wants us to tithe. They overlook the fact that Jesus Himself was living under the law and had to fulfill it. Until the day that He would nail it on the cross along with our sins, He had to teach the people, Jews, also to obey it still. However while He was doing this He delicately tried to prepare them for the coming of a better Testament that would be signed with His blood and that would be based on loving God and loving each other.
So yes the Pharisees had to give their tithes for they were still living under the law. But we give whatever we decide in our hearts. Just as it is written in 2 Corinthians 9:7.
In Matthew 8:4b Jesus spoke to the man He had just healed from leprosy:” See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Again we see that He taught a man to observe the law of Moses.
But now He is risen from the dead and He speaks to us in a different way. We have been set free from all laws and rituals that were observed before His resurrection.
The Curse
Stirring up the poisonous mixture
In pointing out the curse that comes along with tithing, one has to examine the poisonous ingredient that teachers who are in favor of tithes use.
‘The yoke’
They burden the Christians with the yoke of the old Law. If anyone failed to keep the whole Law they were cursed.
As the preacher in the movie ‘The saints and the robbers’ they preach the popular verses of Malachi 3:8-10
8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’
“In tithes and offerings. 9 You are under a curse, the whole nation of you because you are robbing me. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”
If you carefully study these verses you see that these words were never meant for the church of Christ.
In verse 9 God puts a curse on every one who did not give their tithes. Christ however has taken away every curse on the cross. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” (Galatians 3:13)
So you clearly see that God was not speaking to us but to the Jews who had to obey the law.
In verse 10 b God says: ‘Test me in this,…’
This is definitely not meant for the believers in Christ. Testing God means you doubt Him.
The book of James chapter 1:6-8 clearly states that anyone who does not believe but doubts will receive nothing from God. You are not able to put God to the test in the New Covenant.
“But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double minded man unstable in all he does.”
(James 1:6-8)
Unbelief was the reason why many of the Jews, who were led through the desert by Moses, could not enter Gods rest. “So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:19)
They had put God to the test many a time in the desert and He was angry with this.
“ So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did.
That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, `Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.'
So I declared on oath in my anger, `They shall never enter my rest.'"
See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. (Hebrews 3:7-12)
God warns us not to do the same, but to enter His rest by believing and trusting Him, not by testing Him.
Regarding the last part of Malachi 3:10 I can refer to what I said earlier; If you love Him, God will also give you anything you ask of Him. You need not give anything in order to receive. However you will give your love and any support that is needed to the body of Christ, because the love of Jesus in you will lead you to do so.
Don’t let anyone lead you into bondage again!
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke or a slavery.”(Galatians 5:1)
When Paul spoke these words through the Spirit of God, he was trying to warn the Galatians not to get involved with the Law again. They were trying to make circumcision a part of the New Covenant. Likewise many preachers today try to make tithing part of the New Covenant also. They place heavy burdens on the shoulders of the disciples.
“ I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to observe the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. But by faith we eagerly await through the Spirit the righteousness for which we hope.”(Galatians 5:2-5)
Instead of circumcision in this bible verse you might as well fill in ‘tithing’. For it is the same with anything you take from the old laws and decrees. Jesus has fulfilled them all and we do not longer have to be burdened by them. Jesus has already set us free and by His grace we are saved through faith. If we however, still want to observe one of the decrees are laws again, we will fall away from His grace because we do not recognize what Christ has done for us on the cross. We become slaves again waiting to be cursed because no one but Christ was able to fulfill the law.
This poisoning ingredient leads to alienation from Christ and falling away from His grace. What does this mean?
The Veil
“He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away.
But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:6-18
Tithing covers the heart of the bride of Christ again with the veil of Moses. They have turned away from Christ and back to the Law. The veil that was taken away in Christ has been put back on again.
Their minds are made dull and they do not reflect the light of the Spirit so their road is darkened. They cannot be transformed fully into His likeness. They only make it half way.
God is love. To be fully transformed into His likeness means to be able to love the way that He does. This can only happen through His Holy Spirit.
With the Law it was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This same mentality takes over the hearts of Christians, who are covered with the veil.
Many people have left churches with tears in their eyes because of the way they have been treated by Christians and their preachers who tithe. I know church leaders who treat the members of the church as merchandise. If you have money, beauty, talents, titles, everything that’s worth something, you are cherished. Woe, if you have none of the above. You will be treated as dirt. Some great preachers started cheating on their wives, turned to homosexuality and became lovers of money. The veil covered their hearts and they could not hear the voice of the Holy Spirit anymore convicting them of their guilt.
This is why they get alienated from Christ. Whatever they have done unto the least of these they have done unto Christ.
"The King will reply, `I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'(Matthew 25:40)
While the poison is taking over the spiritual life of Christians who tithe and causing them to wrinkle and get spots all over their spiritual body, God will try to get them to drink the antidote the truth of His Word. He will continue to do so until the rapture takes place. They will however still be using the gifts of the Spirit of God because His gifts are irrevocable. “For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable” (Romans 11:29)
“Many will say to me on that day, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:20-23
God did not take away the gifts that He gave these evildoers who thought they were the spotless bride of Christ. He lets them continue to use the gifts until the day that He takes away the real spotless bride to heaven. She is the light bearer of Christ.
“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." ( John 8:12)
After He has lifted her from the earth, darkness will take over. The ones who were not spotless will be left behind powerless, for all their spiritual gifts will be taken away when the true bride ascends to heaven. The hour of darkness begins and no one will be able to work anymore. The earth has been given to the antichrist for a period of 7 years.
“As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." (John 9:4-5)
The parable of the ten virgins is a good example of what will take place at the time of the rapture concerning the spotless bride and those who are freckled and wrinkled because of tithing.
Matthew 25:1-13
"At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. "At midnight the cry rang out: `Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him! "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
The foolish ones said to the wise, `Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out. "`No,' they replied, `there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. "Later the others also came. `Sir! Sir!' they said. `Open the door for us! "But he replied, `I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'
"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
The word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pad.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.”( Psalm 119:105)
The Spirit of God causes the light of the Word to shine and show us the way.
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. (John 16:13)
The ones who tithe started out alright just like the foolish virgins. But they forgot to examine all they learned from other Christians in the light of the Spirit. They left their extra oil behind at the starting point, and walked in the light of the teachings of men, not from Jesus Christ.
The phony light wasn’t able to take them to end of the road. Only the genuine light of Gods Spirit is able to do that. They alienated from the Bridegroom Jesus Christ because they did not acknowledge the fact that Jesus had already fulfilled the Old Law.
When people tithe they are obligated to fulfill the whole Law again. They fall out of grace and are strangers to Christ. Strangers to His Spirit, although the Spirit keeps working through them.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.”( Ephesians 2:8-9)
They have become like the rest of the world who live because of Gods Spirit but who do not know Him.
They know much about Him but they don’t recognize Him anymore. And the saddest thing is that He does not recognize them also.
When the Bridegroom comes they will not know how to reach Him for the road has become dark. The ones who were always following the voice of Gods Spirit, will go up into heaven and the door will be shut. The others will be left behind in the tribulation. They will call on His name but He will not know who they are. If you marry someone you need a relationship that’s based on love. To love someone you need to know him, you don’t marry a stranger.
God urges us to keep watch, which can only be done effectively through His Holy Spirit.
This is the only way to make it to the great Wedding.
I believe that the great multitude of revelation 7:9 will be largely consisting of Christians who gave their tithes; the foolish virgins who forgot the oil for their lamp.
Revelations 7:9,13-14
9 “After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
13 Then one of the elders asked me, "These in white robes--who are they, and where did they come from?"
14 I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
So the curse of the poisonous mixture of tithing is as follows:
1.Those who tithe will have to carry the joke of the Old Law; trying to be made righteousness through works, which in the end leads to condemnation for no one but Christ was able to fulfill it. The veil of the Old law will cover their hearts and they will not hear the Holy Spirit convicting them when they sin.
2.The ones who mix the potion and preach it are cursed.
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!”
( Galatians 1:8-9)
3. They will fall out of the grace of Christ and will be alienated from Him. This will cause them to be left behind in the great tribulation.
Chapter 5
God's Providence [back to top]
God has urged us to support the ones who teach us the Word;
“The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, "Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain," and "The worker deserves his wages."1Timothy 5:17-18
Unlike the priest of the Old Law, who shared the tithe every year and once every three years with the people, the preachers of the New Covenant should be blessed with whatever the Christians decide in their heart to give on monthly base.
God will lead His children to do so. If the Christians do not support their pastor, they do not have the love of Christ within them. For the pastor is the one who guides the flock of Christ, He will have to give an account on your behalf.
“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you.”
Hebrews 13:16-17
Conclusion
Jesus gave His life to set us free from sin and from the Old Covenant. Through faith we are made righteous not by giving tithes or anything else. The believers in Christ should support the preachers and the brothers and sisters in need, out of love for them and out of love for Christ. Preachers today should not worry about finances, if they belief in the almighty God He will not disappoint them. They should not burden the church with tithing, because it will cause the curse of the law to be cast upon them.
We must follow Christ not men.
“ As for the person who hears My words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it. I know that His command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told Me to say.” (John 12:47-50)
May God bless you and keep you always!!!!!
Monique Braam
