I've wanted to post on tithing for some time, but in light of some other postings, I may need to do little else beside offer some comments. Let me refer you to two postings you may find quite helpful in discovering the Biblical truth concerning the subject.
1) Banking on God: the Tithe by Dan Edelen is an excellent interaction with the theological and biblical implications of the subject, and I highly recommend it.
2) Confessions of a Tithing Party Crasher by Peter Smythe is a great practical discussion (including the comment thread in which I was quite active) for those who have been pummeled during their Christian walk with the mercenary tithing teaching so prevalent in charismatic churches today. Peter has published a lot on the subject that you may find interesting and helpful.
A few thoughts from yours truly
The gospel is good news because it establishes our acceptance by God on the basis of the finished work of Christ rather than our works. That work of Christ was not undertaken just to change our label (e.g. saved or unsaved), but to change our very natures by enabling our dead spirits to be quickened by the infusion of the Holy Spirit. Truly, believers are born again-- new creatures in Christ Jesus. Christianity, therefore, is not about status but substance. We who were dead in trespasses and sins have actually been made alive in Christ Jesus, eternally.
The law (including tithing) was put in place (Galatians 3:19-25) to serve as a custodian over sinners who were given the promise of Christ's coming. It was meant to keep things in Israel from running completely amok until the promised one came. Now that Christ has come, it has been superseded by the realization of actual fellowship with God through the indwelling of his Holy Spirit. Trying to attain blessing from, or status with God by works of the law is a fool's errand, capable of proving only that in our natural selves, we are sinners.
When I was a kid in nursery school, each kid had his or her own rolled up mat. At nap time, we unrolled our mat, laid down quietly and took a nap. Back then, I was always rested (and the teacher kept her sanity), my class functioned well and was always in good order, and I got stickers for being a good boy! Life was good. Nowadays, things are a bit more harried in my life: I'm always tired, things are often chaotic, and no one gives me so much as an "attaboy" for behaving myself. I wonder what people would think if I shucked my adult autonomy and hired a babysitter to keep me in order, tell me when to take a nap, and give me stickers for being a good guy?
Christians who depend upon rules and regulations to attain blessing or to assure themselves of status with God are childish at best and alienated from Christ at worst. Such action is every bit as silly as an adult trying to establish the simple bliss of childhood by putting themselves in the charge of a babysitter! The bottom line in the tithing issue comes down to whether or not it's copacetic with the gospel to claim that any objective behavior serves as a basis for deserving a sticker from God, when to be gospel-kosher, all one has to do is ask in Jesus name! I could go on dealing with the folly of such things, but right now I just don't have the tithe.
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
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11 comments:
I would be grateful if you would also check out my book and web site. I was on CBS Sunday Morning News last Sunday when they discussed tithing. Russell Earl Kelly, author of Should the Church Tithing? (ssme web site).
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/01/sunday/main3896728.shtml
Everybody back up! He is going to be . . . cursed with a curse!
Russell,
I did check out the video and your wesite. Thanks for pointing it out (I don't watch television on Sunday morning so I never would have seen it :-)).
Carl,
How far do you suppose one has to be away for the tithing cooties to have no effect?
I don't have the tithe either... it belongs to God! ;)
SLW, my friend, it was a shock to finally read something in which we don't see eye to eye. I guess it had to happen sooner or later. [Although I do confess I've not read everything you have written!]
I don't disagree with your vexation against some of the misuses and misunderstanding that surround the tithe. But surely it is ad hominem to use these to discredit the principle of the tithe itself.
I don't gain any more right standing before God, that I have freely by grace in Christ, by abstaining from adultery (a commandment that came in the law). But there is a big leap to then say this absolves me of my responsibility to flee sexual immorality.
Even in grace we need the fear of the Lord. This is what the tithe was instituted to teach us.
Chris,
Thanks for dropping in.
I am not opposed to the principle of tithing, I tithe myself. The pattern of Abraham and the OT teach me that it is an acceptable and reasonable way to support ministry (and ministers) materially. It is not the cicumscription of generosity or giving, but it is useful, practically, in determining a support level for ministry in line with the revelation of God's eternal wisdom from of old.
In my view, it's not the tithe that belongs to God, but everything. Of what he brings to my hand, some must be used to support me and mine, some has to help others, some has to support ministry, some goes to Uncle Sam. Law settles some of those issues (Uncle Sam) the rest is up to my discretion as informed by the Holy Spirit. The tithe helps me with that discretion, and I'm grateful for the model.
However, I do not believe it is imposable, legalistically, upon a Christian. Each of us have the Spirit within us, who doesn't need law imposed upon him in order to do what is right. We must purpose each in our own heart, by faith as the Spirit leads, what to give and then to give cheerfully.
Stingy people are out of harmony with the character and nature of God, and will experience their own sense of dissonance and conviction from the Holy Spirit if they are actually born again. To impose code upon their behavior would be to return righteousness by works. That, in fact, may well blunt the effects of the Holy Spirit, and produce folk who cold-bloodedly tithe, but have hearts devoid of the love and mercy of God (I seen that with my own eyes as well as reading Jesus' dealings with the Pharisees). There is no future in going back to the law.
I do not believe our blessing is dependent upon tithing, for we are not told to give in order to get what we need, but to ask (Matthew 6:11; John 16:23-24; James 4:1-3). In fact, to me, the force of Jesus teaching on mammon (Matthew 6:19-34) is that because all we have to do is ask, we are free to give as we will and live without anxiety. I do understand that there is the reality of a provisional loop in the economy of God, i.e. "give and it will be given unto you" (Luke 6:27-38), but I think that is spoken as an encouragement to let go and not worry as opposed to a means to amass.
True enough, it is more the abuse and misapplication of tithing that inspires my ire, rather than the concept itself. I can hardly imagine a time when I would not tithe myself.
Thanks for the clarification. :)
Excellent teaching on tithing! Your comment gave even more clarity on the topic. Thanks.
Jul,
Thanks for dropping in. This is one of the more insidious aspects of works righteousness infesting the church today. Like Lyme disease, once it's got into the brain it's hard to get the antibiotics to the right places to cure it!
Hey SLW - always appreciate your posts.
The problem here for me is that, while I certainly understand and agree with what you are trying to say concerning folks trying to find right standing with God or get 'gold stars' from Him because of tithing, this same argument will overwhelmingly amen'd by Christians who don't tithe as justification for their disobedience in giving.
I believe, as the Word says, that the tithe is holy to the Lord (regardless of the Law). But I also believe that tithe is a revealer of the heart.
It reveals the following:
-Lordship. I find that folks that balk at tithing, generally balk at generous giving period. Christ must be more than our Savior, He must be our Lord - and the wallet seems to the final frontier of surrender in this extremely materialistic society. I would seriously question the heart of a professed believer who doesn't give generously.
-Genuine conversion. Tithing obviously can't save you, nor does it make you more righteous - but it reveals what's in one's heart (James). As it's been said before - giving follows grace like thunder follows lightning. In the New Testament they not only practiced tithing - some of them practiced giving ALL they had - certainly many examples of giving above and beyond are supplied in the book of Acts and beyond. I believe that those who are soundly, genuinely saved will bear fruit in this area.
I have to be honest, over my years of pastoring, the vast majority of difficult people I've dealt with are often people who don't tithe. It's easy to be critical of something when you aren't invested in it.
*I could further add to the length of this comment with scripture exegesis, but I'll be glad to supply that upon email request ;^)
Thanks, Eric, from dropping by and weighing in.
Whereas I appreciate the pastoral concern evident in your comment, I still see a problem with making any particular "work" a measure of a person's heart. Now, I know that if a person has faith, works will be evident too, but picking out which ones do the proving crosses a judgment threshold I don't believe we have the right to cross. Our Holiness tradition was laced with such error, and I believe we (the A/G) were right to jettison it.
I believe tithing can be taught as a biblical means of informing one's generosity and purpose in giving, but never can it be used as a means of one of us judging another of us. If God does not judge us on legal principles, neither can we do so to each other. It's not something someone should ever feel forced to do. Tithing is something we get to do, not something we have to do.
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