To those who might find my blog from Pastor Phil Print's blog I would like to welcome you! I would also like to state that Phil and I are not at odds over this issue. Having heard a bit of Phil's further explanation on tithing during the Q&A session Sunday, I think he and I are pretty close in our thinking on this issue. I do think that tithing is a good thing, and that for most Christians tithing should be the starting point, not the end of our giving. I felt Phil's heart struggle when he read the question in church about a single mother living on minimum wage wondering whether she MUST tithe. It breaks my heart that there are those in that situation. I think that we as a church need to find ways to help her out in her situation in Christian love and charity without being patronizing or demeaning because of her current financial and life situation. I think that is what the Book of Acts is teaching about, where those who had excess went and sold it to give to those who were in need. If I have something that my brother or sister needs I cannot be so tied to the things of this world that I am unwilling to give it or share it. It is a difficult thing for us who have so much to understand and practice, but we are called to this level of sacrifice by the one who made the greatest of sacrifices, Christ.The following was written by Dr. Andreas Kostenberger. Andreas J. Köstenberger serves as Professor of New Testament and Director of Ph.D./Th.M. Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a prolific author, distinguished evangelical scholar, and Editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.
I appreciate him putting this out there, as it is a clear and concise address of the question of whether tithing is Biblical. Hat Tip to Paul S. (in the comments a few posts back) who pointed me to Dr. Kostenberger's blog "Biblical Foundations" where this was originally posted.
The word “tithe” literally means “tenth” and is commonly used to refer to the requirement to give ten percent of one’s income to God. However, from the outset, it should be noted that nowhere was money ever tithed. The tithe in the Old Testament always referred to produce from the ground or herds. Some may respond that this is the case because people lived in an agricultural society. While this is true, however, “money” is mentioned about thirty times in Genesis alone (e.g., Gen. 17: 12, 13, 23, 27; 31:15; 33:19; etc.). Therefore, before tithing is ever mentioned in the Mosaic Law (Lev. 27:30), money has been referred to about forty times. The last reference to money before tithing is mentioned in the Mosaic Law even provides rules for an ancient banking system (Lev. 25:37)!
Both Testaments view the tithe within the larger framework of giving and worship. Prior to the giving of the Mosaic Law, tithing was not a systematic, continual practice but an occasional, even exceptional, form of giving (Gen. 14:20; cf. Heb. 7:4; Gen. 28:22). The Mosaic Law includes stipulations regarding the Levitical, Festival, and Poor (or Welfare) Tithe (Lev. 27:30–33; Num. 18:21; Deut. 14:22–29). Taken together, the annual tithe of the Israelites surpassed ten percent of their income, totaling more than twenty percent. Of the seven references to tithing in the Old Testament historical and prophetic books, the most important is that in Mal. 3:8 (cf. 2 Chron. 31:5–6, 12; Neh. 10:38–39; 12:44–47; 13:5, 12; Amos 4:4), where people are told to bring their (Levitical) “tithes and offerings” into God’s “storehouse” and agricultural blessings are promised for those who comply.It should be noted that in Malachi, the withholding of tithes was a sign of a larger pattern of disobedience. The tithe mentioned by the prophet is the Levitical Tithe (Num 18:21). The offerings to which reference is made were a primary source of livelihood for the priests and were required (not voluntary) offerings. The invitation to test God is limited to the context of Malachi 3 and should not be universalized. For this reason the promised (agricultural) reward, likewise, does not carry over to people who may tithe today. Moreover, if this passage were consistently applied today, offerings—that which tithing advocates refer to as the freewill portion of giving that occurs after one has tithed—are not of one’s free will, but required just as tithes are. Therefore, if someone were to give only ten percent (not that the Jews only gave ten percent), this person would still be in sin for robbing God of “offerings.”
References to tithing in the New Testament are limited to three passages. In Matt. 23:23, the Old Testament tithing requirement is presupposed for Jesus’ audience. The scribes and Pharisees are excoriated for prioritizing the minutiae of the Law over weightier matters. Jesus was not speaking to members of a church, but to Jews still under the Old Covenant and thus obligated to tithe. Similarly, Jesus in Luke 18:9–14 denounces inappropriate religious pride on the basis of observance of the Law. Hebrews 7, finally, addresses Abraham’s giving of a tenth to Melchizedek in the context of Melchizedek’s priesthood being superior to the Levitical one. None of these passages have tithing as their primary subject, and none command tithing for the new covenant era. The case for tithing on the basis of larger systematic-theological or pragmatic considerations likewise fails in that, similar to circumcision, Jesus fulfilled the tithing requirement and replaced it with a command for New Testament believers to give themselves to God and to give liberally of their means (1 Cor. 9:1–23; 16:1–4; 2 Cor. 8–9; Phil. 4:15–17).Where does that leave New Testament believers? We are not saying that it is okay to neglect giving. In fact, the New Testament contains sufficient guidance for our giving. Second Corinthians 8 tells us that our giving should be relationship-driven, grace-driven, and love-driven. However, nothing is mentioned regarding ten percent. Furthermore, 1 Corinthians 16 teaches us that every believer should give; that they should give consistently or systematically (albeit there the reference is to a special collection); and that the amount is relative to one’s income. Second Corinthians 9 stipulates that the amount should be based upon one’s heart disposition (v. 7); that we should give in order to meet the needs of fellow-believers; and that our motivation should be thankfulness to God for all he has done for us. This is just a sampling of the many principles the New Testament gives for believers in order to direct them in their giving.
For further study see their two-part series “‘Will a Man Rob God?’ (Malachi 3:8): A Study of Tithing in the Old and New Testaments” and “Reconstructing a Biblical Model for Giving: A Discussion of Relevant Systematic Issues and New Testament Principles,” Bulletin of Biblical Research 16/1 (2006): 53–77 and 16/2 (2006): 237–60, posted here and here.Related Tags: Tithing, Tithe, Giving, Church Giving, Andreas Kostenberger, Kostenberger, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, SBTS, New Testament, Professor, Professor of New Testament, Evangelical Theological Society, ETS, Mosaic Law, Old Testament Giving, New Testament Giving, New Covenant, Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, Worship, Money, Offering, Church, Church offering
3 comments:
Chris,
Great job with your post.
Here's an application questions for you.
How does a Christian deal with his or her's local church, if the church is pro-tithing and this Christian is non-tithing, but pro-giving? Wouldn't this disrupt unity in the church and create divisions? Are we suppose to obey or submit to our Pastors and the by-laws of our church?
Paul,
First, I think you give respect to the leadership of your church. The church we have been attending has been preaching on finances the past 3 weeks with 1 more week to go. This past week was on tithing. I had planned some posts on money, so it coincided with what was on my mind quite nicely. My pastor's blog (his name is Phil Print) is linked to in the right side bar or you can click HERE. He will be answering questions every day this week on tithing, primarily questions that came up during the worship services, though you might throw yours out to him as well and see what his response is on it. My guess is he'll come in somewhere close to me in response to your question.
Once you enter into the dialog from a place of respect, I think you can then engage in a constructive dialog about how the pastor developed his views. I always think you need to be very gracious at this point, because even if the pastor is wrong, he has most likely worked hard to arrive at that point, and will be sensitive. A pastor with a humble heart will be open to this though if you approach is correctly.
I think the most important thing is to go directly to the pastor and address the subject with him as opposed to doing it publicly.
I also think that when you approach it from a position of giving generously it changes the dialog. If you are already giving at a sacrificial level, you stand on better ground for being heard.
I don't think this is a subject I would break fellowship on (we JUST heard the sermon on tithing 2 days ago, and we are certainly planing on going back, and I'd even gladly work at this particular church). But it is something I would bring up with the pastor. My approach would not be from the focus on the tithe, but on the focus of the larger ideas as Dr. K did in his article. If we import the Mosaic customs on this subject it sets a precedence that few will continue to follow in other areas.
Chris, good to hear from you. I thought I posted a few times to your blog, but I may have screwed it up as a newbie. But yes, I am blogging and glad you found me. Tilma
Post a Comment