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The Christian and the Tithe - a Biblical examination


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For as long as I have attended church, it seems to me that I have heard the phrase "tithes and offerings". Sometimes, I have heard the word "gifts" used. In most of these cases, it has been about putting money in a plate, a basket or sometimes a cloth bag. Over the years, I have heard my share of sermons on the importance of tithing. I had attended churches, when I was not even a believer, and when the plate came around, felt a bit uncomfortable, partially because I had no idea what was customary to do. I had wished they had just charged admission like a theater, rather than leaving me to figure out how much money I needed to put in the plate as it went by. Indeed, one of the things you often hear unbelievers complaining about is this constant begging for money, that is associated with attending a church, or even watching some religious guy on TV, it always comes down to money.

When I was a new believer, I was fortunate to fall into the hands and teaching of the late Dr. Walter Martin. What a lovely man. He had such a way of communicating. I loved attending his adult Sunday school classes. One thing that sticks out in my mind about those sessions, was that when it came time to deal with the finances, he would say something to the effect:

"You Christians know what your obligations are. If you are not a believer, please, keep your money, we just want you to enjoy your time with us today."

That always impressed me, I wished that other churches I had been to, had that attitude. When I moved from Orange County years later, I attended a new church. There came a point where they were talking about 'Book Signed Members'. To be a book signed member, you were expected to tithe. At the church, a tithe was 10% of your income, your gross income, before taxes. Many Christians do not understand that a tithe is 10% by definition. In fact, it is - tithe literally  means tenth. Well, I wanted to be a book signed member there, but to be truthful, I did not want to give up a tenth of my income. It left me a bit distressed. I told the pastor about my feelings, and he recommended a book to me. I bought the book and read it.

The book presented the case that Christians should tithe, should give ten per cent to their church. It had scriptures about tithing, and I would look up the passages and read them in the Bible. The more I read, the less convinced I was about the point that the book was making. By the time I was through, the book had lead me to passages that actually convinced me that tithing was not Christian at all, not called for, not necessary, not related to my life in Christ in any way. The book had the opposite effect on me, than the author intended.

I began tithing almost immediately. Why did I do that? The answer is very simple. My flesh, the rebellious part of me, resented being required to pay money that would impact my standard of living. However, the book had driven me to the scriptures, where I discovered, that tithing was a part of God's covenant with Israel, not part of any requirement that He placed upon the church. In other words. I was free from obligation to pay a certain amount of money. This freedom, made me thankful, made me appreciate the fact that God had instead, provided me with my needs, out of which He trusted me to give willingly, an amount that was comfortable and in keeping with my means. This freedom even meant that I did not have to give a dime, if I resented it. The strangest part to me was, that the same amount I resented being required of me, I was now happy to give up. God had done a small work in my heart.

Later in my walk, I learned to trust God to supply my needs, just as He promised. Rationally, I cannot explain that I could live in a beach town in southern California (a very expensive part of the country where I grew up), and raise 5 kids on only a workman's hourly wage, letting my wife quit her job. Rationally, it is ridiculous. Never-the-less, we have never gone a day without food, never lacked for a roof over our heads, always had clothes on our backs. Right now, I do not have the money to pay my bills, and occasionally we have gone into default on our mortgage, with foreclosure proceedings begun, but I trust that God indeed, can provide all of our needs in spite of what seems reasonable. So far, He always has.

Our church began to undergo a building program. Our pastor came before the congregation to ask us, to prayerfully consider how much we might give above our normal amount, over the next two years, so that the church could undergo a building program, and have an idea of what their budget should be. He asked us to pray about it, and if we heard from the Lord, to commit to that amount. My wife and I did just that, we prayed that night about it, and went to bed. In the morning, my wife asked me if I had any amount that I thought the Lord had impressed upon me. I told her that I did. She said she had also. We compared notes. Myself, I was not expecting to see the same numbers. I told my wife that I thought we should give $4000 dollars over our normal amount, over the coming two years. She said "Oh? I got a percentage, we should give 18% of our income as our total giving!" I wasn't expecting that answer. I was making $12 and hour at the time, working 40 hour weeks.  Since I worked 5 days out of seven, that meant I got paid for 5/7 of 365 days each year - approximately 261 paid days. $12 an hour times 8 hours a day times 261 days a year times two years was $50112. I actually worked it out, because my wife and I had two different numbers. Hers was to make our total giving to 18%. I subtracted our ten percent tithe from her 18% total giving number, to arrive at 8% above normal. As it turns out, 8% of $50112 is $4008.96. I took that as close enough to be from the Lord, a skeptic might expect God to be more accurate. It is possible, that the discretion is due to my human side. I came up with $4000, because I felt that the Lord had moved me to giving the money, that I was setting aside for an individual retirement account (IRA), which was $2000 dollars a year. I believe that the Lord spoke to my wife, and gave her a number, in a different way, and that that number roughly corresponded to my number, so that I would see that He was at work. He gave her an even number spiritually, while He worked on my heart about what to sacrifice. Looked at in that light, to numbers rounded off and yet so close together (within about 2/10 of one percent), is pretty remarkable. Somehow, even though it would have been more accurate, it seems unlikely that God would have told my wife "Give 17.79821200510855683269476372924649 %". Maybe God knows I prefer round numbers.

But what sayeth the Scriptures?

There is much in the Bible, about money, and much confusion about it in the church. Tonight, we will look at a lot of what God has said, regarding money and regarding tithes, and see what He speaks to our hearts.

Father, as we open your word tonight, we ask that you open our eyes and hearts. We seek to know your will, and ask that as we go through various verses, that you give us spiritual discernment, that we may know what is from you, and what may be from any agendas we might have. Give us the supernatural ability, to judge what is true, and what is error. Lord, I ask that you use all here, to bring forth understandings, that you want us to have. Give us the courage to speak out, regardless of what others may think, and the wisdom to be open to your voice only. We thank you that you hear our prayers, and have provided this place, where we can gather and learn from each other and from you. We ask these things, by the authority that you have given us, through your Son Jesus, and thank you for what you are doing in our lives.

Amen

11/15/2017 - Updating this unfinished feature, should be done in a day or two. If you cannot wait, you can see it at:

http://www.omegazine.com/biblestudy/tithe_1.html

 

 

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I loved how God answered your prayers to pretty much the same number. Only a seed is needed to grow into a tree. I believe God does not need our tithe but He needs our hearts. God bless:)

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