SHOULD CHRISTIANS PAY TITHES?
The word tithe is an old English word which means a tenth. In the Bible the word is translated from the Hebrew word maaser or maasar or maasrah, and it is used 32 times in the Hebrew Bible, known as Old Testament by Christians. In the New Testament, the word is translated from the Greek dekatoo or dekate which is used 8 times. Both the Hebrew and the Greek words also mean a tenth.
In the Hebrew Bible the Israelites were required to give yearly a tenth of their agricultural produce and the tenth of every goat, sheep and cattle that passes under the Israelite’s narrow gate for livestock, also known as shepherd’s rod, as tithe to God (Lev.27:30-32).
Purpose of the Tithes
God gave the reason why the Israelites were mandated to pay tithes. The tithes were meant primarily for the maintenance of the priests and the Levites who were forbidden by God to own allotments of land so that they’ll devote their lives to the service of God in the Temple (Num. 18:20-21; Deut. 18:1-2).
Types of Tithe
There are about two or three types of tithes seen in the Bible. They are:
- The Levitical or Sacred Tithes. These are a tenth of the agricultural produce as well as goats, sheep, and cattle of all Israelites which they must give to the Levites in their towns. The Levites will in turn give a tenth of the tithes they receive to the priests. This means that the priests will get 10 percent of 10 percent, or 1 percent of the total Israelite produce and livestock as their payment for the work they do serving God at the Tent of Meeting while the Levites, who are more in number, get 9 percent after paying their own tithes to the priests. See Num. 18:20-32.
- Tithes for the Feasts. Tithing in Judaism is tied to a seven-year farming cycle. In the seventh year known as shmita, also called the shavi’it or the sabbatical year, the land is left fallow so that it is given a break or rest once in every seven years. In the first and second years after the shmita, every Israelite is to set aside a tenth of his agricultural produce and livestock. This is what he and his family will eat when they travel to Jerusalem for the yearly feasts. (Shiloh and Bethel were once the place.) These tithes must not be eaten in their towns; they are to be eaten in the presence of God in His place of worship in Jerusalem. See Deut. 14:22-27; 12:17-19.
- The Poor Tithes or the Poor Man’s Tithes. These are the tithes used to take care of the poor and needy people in the land: “At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your 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.” (Deut. 14:28-29 NIV).
It is unclear if these tithes are part of the Levitical tithes or are entirely different type. What is made known is that the tithes are given in the third and sixth years of the shmita cycle.
With regard to the sixth year, God said, “You may ask, ‘What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?’ I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.” (Lev. 25:20-22 NIV).
The Almighty God made the produce of the sixth year to be so bountiful that it was able to feed His people for three years. The 10 percent of them given to the priests and Levites were enough to feed them in the 7th, 8th, and 9th years. No one in Israel lacked the basic life sustenance package as long as the people faithfully followed God’s ordinance of tithing.
Now, the following points should be noted about tithes as revealed in the Old Testament:
- They are different from the various offerings given to God for the national worship – firstfruits, burnt offerings, sin offerings, peace offerings, drink offerings, etc. – some of which were offered as wave offerings or heave offerings. The tithes were meant to cater for the needs of priests and Levites who were forbidden by God to engage in any economic activity, as well as needy foreigners, orphans and widows in the Israelite towns.
- There is no single instance found where money was given as tithe. It is not because there was no money in use at that time. As far back as the time of Abraham, money was already in use. See Gen. 17:12, 13; 23:9, 13, 16.
Abraham’s Tithe to Malki-Tzedek
The first mention of tithe is found in Gen. 14:20 where Abram (Abraham) on his return from the war where he defeated five kings and rescued Lot and his family, gave a tithe (a tenth) of the spoils of war to Malki-Tzedek, the king of Shalem who was also a priest of God. He gave bread and wine to Abraham and his men. He also blessed Abraham. In return, Abraham gave him a tenth of all the spoils of war (Gen. 14:18-20).
Churches who advocate that Christians should pay tithe argue that since the Abrahamic tithe was before the Law Covenant, it should continue after the Law. But they ignorantly it willfully forget that God did not command Abraham to give anything to the king cum priest. What Abraham gave was therefore a voluntary gift to Malki-Tzedek. There is no record that Abraham continued to give a tenth of his possession to the king/priest after this event. Abraham’s giving in this place is therefore nothing more than a voluntary act of charity. Remember that the same Abraham entertained the LORD and His two angels unknowingly (Gen. 18:2-15; Heb. 13:2).
When Paul made reference to the tenth given by Abraham in Heb. 7:1-28, the tithing was used by him to prove that the priesthood of Jesus Christ was superior to that of Aaron because Christ is a type of Malki-Tzedek who blessed Abraham. While Levi (Aaron’s great-grandfather) was, so to speak, still in the loins (body) of Abraham his ancestor, he (Levi) was blessed through Abraham by Malki-Tzedek. “There is no doubt that the one who blesses is greater than the one who is blessed.” (Heb. 7:7 GNT). The use of the word “tithe” by Paul in Hebrews is not really about tithing. It is used to prove that the priesthood of Jesus Christ which is of the same order as that of Malki-Tzedek (Psa. 110:4) is greater than, and superior to, that of Aaron which the Jews, at Paul’s time thought was the only valid priesthood.
Jacob’s Promise of Tithe to God
Jacob’s conditional promise to give God a tenth of his possession “if” God fulfils what He had promised him (Gen 28:12-22) is another point advanced by those who teach tithing for Christians. But this vow is not in any way normative about tithing. It should be noted that God later compelled Jacob to go back to Bethel to fulfill the vow so that he will not be found guilty of not fulfilling the vow he made earlier to Him. See Gen. 35:1; Deut. 23:21-23; Eccl. 5:4-5.
Biblical Reasons Christians Should Not Tithe
There are hard and convincing reasons Christians should no longer be mandated to give tithes. A few of them are given below.
(1) The word “tithe,” as said earlier, is an old English word for one-tenth. Nowhere in the New Testament are Christians told to give one-tenth of their earnings. Giving in the New Testament is not limited to any particular percentage. Jesus Christ said our giving should be “good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” The Lord said the measure we use in giving to others is the same measure that will be used to give back to us” (Luke 6:38). So the Lord in that verse encourages his followers to give generously, not to limit their giving to 10 percent. This is affirmed by Paul when he wrote, “Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor. 9:7 NET, bold emphasis are mine).
In the New Testament, it is no longer 10 percent, but what each person has in mind and is able to give. It could be well above 10 percent, given by some people, including Barnabas, who sold their lands and houses and brought the proceeds to the church to be used in caring for the needy members in the church (Acts 4:34-37), or the poor widow who offered two small copper coins which was 100 percent of the money she had (Mark 12:42-44; Luke 21:2-4). That does not mean that poor people, like the Macedonians in 2 Cor. 8:1-5, could not have given something more or less than 10 percent of their possessions to help the suffering believers in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-4; Acts 11:27-30; Rom. 15:25-28).
(2) For Christians, who are no longer under the Levitical order of worship, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ puts an end to the animal sacrifices specified in the Mosaic law. The sacrifices were shadows of the real thing to come, and Christ is the reality of what they pointed to (Col. 2:17). Having died and resurrected, the jobs of the Levites and the priests have been permanently done away with. God no longer requires burnt offerings and animal sacrifices (Heb. 10:5-12). Now, everyone must “work with your own hands” (1 Thes. 4:11). Now, anyone who is unwilling to engage in economic activities shall not eat (2 Thes. 3:10). Apostle Paul also said, “Now, we work wearily with our own hands” (1 Cor. 4:12). “But if someone does not provide for his own [by engaging in any economic activity], especially his own family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. (1 Tim. 5:8 NET, words in square brackets added by me). In the New Testament church, no one gave or received mandatory tithes. But the believers were often encouraged to, and in actuality did, give materially, financially, and voluntarily to meet the needs of the poor members of the church and to support the ministers of the gospel (Acts 2:44-47; 4:34-37; 1 Cor. 9:11-15; Gal. 6:6; Heb. 6:10; 2 Cor. 11:9; etc.). Jesus Christ is now the high priest of the church (Heb. 2:17) and his priesthood is not of the Levitical (or Aaronic) order. He is now seated at the right-hand side of God in heaven. He needs no physical food or money from us, other than to love him by obeying his commandments (John 14:15,23).
(3) Apostle James said, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” (James 2:10 NIV). This means that all the churches who are still preaching this Mosaic law of tithing should be willing to observe all the regulations in the Mosaic law, including animal sacrifices. They should also be willing to obey all the laws about tithing by doing the following:
(a) No pastor, general overseer, bishop, or founder of any church should ever allow himself to use more than 10 percent of all the tithes collected in their churches. The priests got 10 percent of the tithes that the people gave while the Levites gor 90 percent.
(b) They must not have any business enterprise of their own, or operate them through third parties – such businesses like farming, real estates, hotels, travel agencies, schools, universities, printing press, bookshops, hospitals, etc. They should not sell anything for money such as anointing oils, aprons, books, magazines, etc. They should depend solely on the 10 percent of the tithes as it was done in the Old Testament.
(c) The tithes should go directly to the church workers who will, in turn, pay 10 percent of their tithes to the pastors, thus making the pastors get only 10 percent of the tithes that come to the church. The tithes that were given in the Old Testament enabled the priests to meet their basic needs, not to live reckless, extravagant lives.
(d) The members must go to Jerusalem three times a year to celebrate the yearly feasts and to eat the “festival tithes” there. These are no longer required in Christianity. Consequently, the payment of tithes is no longer required in Christianity.
(e) No money should be given as tithe. Those who work in offices or do businesses should use 10 percent of their salaries or profits to buy food items and give them as tithes. Compare this with what God said in Deut. 14:24-26.
(4) No single command is found in the New Testament that Christians should pay tithes. The reason is not far-fetched; there are no Levites and Levitical priests in the Christian church, who are forbidden from engaging in legitimate productive activities that will enable them to earn a living. For Christians, Christ’s crucifixion put an end to the work of Levitical priests and, consequently, the payment of tithes. Full-time ministers and workers in the Christian church are to be sustained from the voluntary giving of the members of the church. No percentage is specified for the giving in the Christian church.
Christ’s Comment on Tithing
Many tithe teachers have often pointed to the statement made by the Lord Jesus Christ on tithing. It is found in Matt. 23:23 (Luke 11:42). Matthew’s account reads:
“Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth of mint, dill, and cumin, yet you neglect what is more important in the law – justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You should have done these things without neglecting the others. (Matt. 23:23 NET, bold emphasis added by me)
They say that our Lord approved of tithing in this verse. But it should be noted that the law He was referring to was the Mosaic law and the people He was addressing were operating under that law. It should be noted also that His statement was made prior to the shedding of His blood of the new covenant at Golgotha. Until His death and resurrection, the Christian church had not truly started. Therefore, the statement Jesus Christ made on tithing cannot correctly be applied to the Christian church. It may interest us to note that up to the night He was arrested by the Jews and the Romans, Jesus Christ ate the annual Passover meals. But we know the Passover feast was replaced by the Lord’s supper that night He ate the last Passover meal. So Christians cannot justify the eating of Passover meals just because Jesus was seen eating it with His apostles. In the same vein, the Lord’s statement in the New Testament on tithing does not make tithing a doctrine for the Christian church. The statement was made prior to the commencement of the church.
Conclusion
The New Testament teaches giving – generous and sacrificial giving. Nowhere does the New Testament teach us to give a tenth of our earnings to the church. Tithing is one of the Mosaic laws for the Israelites. It is not meant for the Christian church. Christians must avoid putting new wine in old wineskin. We must learn to properly separate old testament laws from the new.
The Bible says, “One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.” (Prov. 22:16 NIV).
Many pastors these days are exploiting their members so as to increase their wealth. They now compete over the ownership of private jets. They have become very rich through their merchandising of “tithes and offerings” and many other extortions they commit in the name of God. We know that they are not serving our Lord Jesus Christ. But all their followers who say they are giving their money to God are simply lying to themselves. Their money is not given to God. They are giving their money to the rich merchants who call themselves “pastors,” “bishops,” “apostles,” “General Overseers,” “man of God,” et alia. As long as they continue to give their money to these rich men, they will not come out of their poverty because they are not obeying God’s instruction in Prov. 22:16.
We must give to others, including the ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. But we have it as our personal duty to ensure that our giving is in accordance with the scriptures and that what we give is honestly used as required by God. Stop fooling yourself by saying you are giving to God when you know in your mind that your “father in the Lord” is getting richer while you are getting poorer. Such a situation is antithetical to what we see in 2 Cor. 8:9. Apostle Paul said we should stop thinking as infants but as mature adults (1 Cor. 14:20; Eph. 4:14).
Don’t let any peddler of God’s word dupe you anymore by reading to you Malachi 3:8-12 without showing you the other passages on tithing. Don’t let them show you, so to speak, only one side of a coin. You have now known the types and purposes of tithes. But you must give generously according to God’s word in the New Testament.
It is your duty to be sure that what you give is actually used for God’s work. Ask questions about how your giving has been used by your church. We have been aiding the growing avarice in our churches by failing to ask questions.
