The Tithe. In France when the media report on a secte (i.e. a cult) they talk about members being obliged to give 10% of their money to the cult, and I have always felt slightly uncomfortable with this. Its not quite like that I would say, as I know that most of our churches are regarded with the same suspicion as une secte (because it isn't Catholic). It isn't quite like that, but actually I have a hard time explaining how it is actually, because in fact the way this has been taught by the church in the UK is like that.
I have to go back to the UK to the church we were in back in the late 90s and early 2000s to get the message taught in its purest form and the message I heard on tithing goes like this:
1) The tithe is 10% of your income before taxation and it belongs to God.
2) Because it belongs to God it is stealing to withhold the tithe, and He will literally curse you financially if you do so.
3) Your giving doesn't even begin until you have paid your tithe, and the tithe has to be paid to the local church where you are "fed".
4) Don't think that the tithe is a matter of the Old Covernant.No it was started before the Old Covernant when Abraham tithed to Melchizadek long before the law.
5) Don't think that it doesn't apply to the New Testament because Jesus commended the Pharisees for tithing on mint, dill and thyme. It was the ony thing he did commend them for so we should be tithing....
6) The benefits of paying the tithe are that it protects you from loss, but the offering you make above the tithe is what gives you increase. You don't start giving or increasing until you exceed the tithe.
Okay, so for years I have willingly tithed, but in part because I believed that not doing so would be stealing from God, that were I to withhold any of it I would be cursed by God financially, and that this was an obligation/expectation of church membership.
It never occurred to me to ask whether the early church practiced tithing, I assumed that they had as a matter of course....that is until about a week ago. This all kicked off when I read the blog by theologian and writer Jonathon Welton. Jonathon is a credible voice: he gets the kingdom, he gets grace, is a properly informed theologian, and he is also a seer.
Here is his blog: http://disruptingculture.com/
So lets start with some facts:
1) The early church did not practice the tithe. Sorry, yes you heard correctly. You can go through all of Pauls' citations on money of which there are a quite a few and the one thing that is blatantly, startingly, and outstandingly missing is a message on the need to tithe. He talks about offerings, he talks about support to his and other ministries, but at no point does he mention the tithe.
2) Tithing did not actually come into church practice until the 6th century. Yes, you heard correctly. It was in 585 at the Synod of Mâçon that the notion of obligatory tithing was introduced to the church for the first time, to ensure that the state church got enough money to function. Later the church threatened to excommunicate anyone who didn't tithe. (If you doubt this do your own research).
3) Paul only ever spoke about freewill offerings to support the ministry, and meet needs within their own community.
4) Paul put the emphasis on not giving "under compulsion" but each giving what they have decided in their heart to give, because "God loves a cheerful giver".
5) New testament levels of giving are pretty generous and included people selling land or fields to finance offerings.
So...I have a problem with what I have been taught. My problem is this - even though I have given willingly, it was in part because I felt morally blackmailed into doing so. I mean who wouldn't give if they believed God would send the destroyer on your crops, right?! There has always been a strong element of compulsion in the way tithing has been taught, and compulsion is contrary to the principle Paul preaches. It actually robs you of giving from your heart and according to your own faith. I wonder how much blessing you receive anyway if you give out of law rather than love and faith? How much freedom is involved in this? Is money given under compulsion good fruit or bad?
I can't see where this fits with grace anymore.
So what am I left with?
1) I believe that in the NT 100% of what I own belongs to God, not just 10%, and I am free to give any percentage of it away.
2) Generosity is a core value of the kingdom and that very might well mean more than 10% of my income. I will be blessed in proportion to my generosity as Jesus said "by your measure it will be measured to you". How does God measure your generosity?
3) I do have an obligation to support ministries, especially the local church where I am fed, and I should do this generously. But I am not obliged to give the bulk of my giving to the local church, I can give it anywhere, although it may still be my first priority.
4) The law of sowing and reaping is a key principle, but it applies to all of what you give not just what comes after the first 10%.
5) Under this teaching the vast majority of the giving from christians is used to pay the needs of the ministry of church, paying for the building and leader's salaries. Giving in the new testament was for both the ministry and meeting the needs of the body of Christ. The practice of - for example -young couples with young families on very tight budgets paying a 10th of their gross income to support the local church and consequently struggling to pay the mortgage, make ends meet without any support back from the church is in my view a deviation from the practice of the early church. The offering in the early church was both for the ministry and the needs of the saints. Don't we need to revisit the balance of this whole issue?
I am not going to rehearse all the arguments for and against the tithe here with biblical citations. I am assuming that most readers are biblically literate. But lets just deal with that one verse where Jesus commended the Pharisees for tithing - he said this whilst the law of Moses was still in force, and the temple with its levitical priesthood and regulations. Of course he commended them for this. But this all came to a grinding end in AD 70, and was abolished forever. If tithing is for the new coverant then why didn't the early church teach this?
Any close look at tithing shows a number of inconsistencies with the notion that is taught above. For example, the tithe was only payable on grown produce, it wasn't payable on money made from trade or business. Go figure that one. There were several tithes, only one was to the levitical priesthood, one was for your own family, one was for the poor, so which one are we supposed to practice? Go figure.
If we are going to belive in grace we need to revisit the tithe, and find the right way to support ministry and the needs of the saints through generocity and freewill offerings. One thing I do know is that I am free in respect to giving, that generocity is a core value of this kingdom and sowing and reaping is a core principle.
I have to go back to the UK to the church we were in back in the late 90s and early 2000s to get the message taught in its purest form and the message I heard on tithing goes like this:
1) The tithe is 10% of your income before taxation and it belongs to God.
2) Because it belongs to God it is stealing to withhold the tithe, and He will literally curse you financially if you do so.
3) Your giving doesn't even begin until you have paid your tithe, and the tithe has to be paid to the local church where you are "fed".
4) Don't think that the tithe is a matter of the Old Covernant.No it was started before the Old Covernant when Abraham tithed to Melchizadek long before the law.
5) Don't think that it doesn't apply to the New Testament because Jesus commended the Pharisees for tithing on mint, dill and thyme. It was the ony thing he did commend them for so we should be tithing....
6) The benefits of paying the tithe are that it protects you from loss, but the offering you make above the tithe is what gives you increase. You don't start giving or increasing until you exceed the tithe.
Okay, so for years I have willingly tithed, but in part because I believed that not doing so would be stealing from God, that were I to withhold any of it I would be cursed by God financially, and that this was an obligation/expectation of church membership.
It never occurred to me to ask whether the early church practiced tithing, I assumed that they had as a matter of course....that is until about a week ago. This all kicked off when I read the blog by theologian and writer Jonathon Welton. Jonathon is a credible voice: he gets the kingdom, he gets grace, is a properly informed theologian, and he is also a seer.
Here is his blog: http://disruptingculture.com/
So lets start with some facts:
1) The early church did not practice the tithe. Sorry, yes you heard correctly. You can go through all of Pauls' citations on money of which there are a quite a few and the one thing that is blatantly, startingly, and outstandingly missing is a message on the need to tithe. He talks about offerings, he talks about support to his and other ministries, but at no point does he mention the tithe.
2) Tithing did not actually come into church practice until the 6th century. Yes, you heard correctly. It was in 585 at the Synod of Mâçon that the notion of obligatory tithing was introduced to the church for the first time, to ensure that the state church got enough money to function. Later the church threatened to excommunicate anyone who didn't tithe. (If you doubt this do your own research).
3) Paul only ever spoke about freewill offerings to support the ministry, and meet needs within their own community.
4) Paul put the emphasis on not giving "under compulsion" but each giving what they have decided in their heart to give, because "God loves a cheerful giver".
5) New testament levels of giving are pretty generous and included people selling land or fields to finance offerings.
So...I have a problem with what I have been taught. My problem is this - even though I have given willingly, it was in part because I felt morally blackmailed into doing so. I mean who wouldn't give if they believed God would send the destroyer on your crops, right?! There has always been a strong element of compulsion in the way tithing has been taught, and compulsion is contrary to the principle Paul preaches. It actually robs you of giving from your heart and according to your own faith. I wonder how much blessing you receive anyway if you give out of law rather than love and faith? How much freedom is involved in this? Is money given under compulsion good fruit or bad?
I can't see where this fits with grace anymore.
So what am I left with?
1) I believe that in the NT 100% of what I own belongs to God, not just 10%, and I am free to give any percentage of it away.
2) Generosity is a core value of the kingdom and that very might well mean more than 10% of my income. I will be blessed in proportion to my generosity as Jesus said "by your measure it will be measured to you". How does God measure your generosity?
3) I do have an obligation to support ministries, especially the local church where I am fed, and I should do this generously. But I am not obliged to give the bulk of my giving to the local church, I can give it anywhere, although it may still be my first priority.
4) The law of sowing and reaping is a key principle, but it applies to all of what you give not just what comes after the first 10%.
5) Under this teaching the vast majority of the giving from christians is used to pay the needs of the ministry of church, paying for the building and leader's salaries. Giving in the new testament was for both the ministry and meeting the needs of the body of Christ. The practice of - for example -young couples with young families on very tight budgets paying a 10th of their gross income to support the local church and consequently struggling to pay the mortgage, make ends meet without any support back from the church is in my view a deviation from the practice of the early church. The offering in the early church was both for the ministry and the needs of the saints. Don't we need to revisit the balance of this whole issue?
I am not going to rehearse all the arguments for and against the tithe here with biblical citations. I am assuming that most readers are biblically literate. But lets just deal with that one verse where Jesus commended the Pharisees for tithing - he said this whilst the law of Moses was still in force, and the temple with its levitical priesthood and regulations. Of course he commended them for this. But this all came to a grinding end in AD 70, and was abolished forever. If tithing is for the new coverant then why didn't the early church teach this?
Any close look at tithing shows a number of inconsistencies with the notion that is taught above. For example, the tithe was only payable on grown produce, it wasn't payable on money made from trade or business. Go figure that one. There were several tithes, only one was to the levitical priesthood, one was for your own family, one was for the poor, so which one are we supposed to practice? Go figure.
If we are going to belive in grace we need to revisit the tithe, and find the right way to support ministry and the needs of the saints through generocity and freewill offerings. One thing I do know is that I am free in respect to giving, that generocity is a core value of this kingdom and sowing and reaping is a core principle.
