Tithe is from the Hebrew word maser and means “a tenth
part”, a requirement of the Old Testament Law in which all Israelites were to
give a tithe of everything they earned and grew. One yearly tithe (10%) went to
support the Levites and the temple at Jerusalem. (Lev. 27:30-33; Num. 18:21-31) One yearly
tithe (10%) went to sponsor religious festivals in Jerusalem. (Deut. 14:22-26)
And one tithe (10%) paid every third year supported the local Levites, orphans,
sojourners, and widows throughout Israel. (Deut. 14:27-29, 26:12-13) These were
two 10% yearly tithes and one 10% tithe paid every three years for a total
yearly tithe of 23 1/3%. God commanded all three tithes and used the plural,
“tithes” in Neh. 12:14 and Mal. 3:8-12. But this command, like the rest of “The
Law” was given to the Israelites, not New Testament saints abiding under Grace.
We must remember the Apostle Paul warned that to keep any part of the Law makes
one a debtor to keep the whole Law. (Gal. 5:3) And no one, except Jesus, has
ever kept the whole Law! This is not the road a saint saved by Grace should
ever be tempted to travel…
New Testament saints are owned by God, purchased with
the precious blood of His Son, so God owns us and all that we have... not ten
%, and He may require all if it at any time. He wants us to “abound in the
grace of giving”, and allows us to give as we have “purposed in our heart”,
loving our sacrificial giving with an attitude of cheerfulness. We are to
purposefully “lay aside” our excess, that which is over and above our own
needs, to meet the needs of our brethren (2 Cor. 8:1-7, 13-15; 9:6-11). This is
sacrificial giving, living frugally in order to have more to share; allowing
the Holy Spirit to touch our heart with the needs of others. Heart-based giving
is much more difficult then rule-based giving for Self will want to set the bar
pretty low and keep more for him Self. Giving is a love test of sorts, the
Second Commandment in action: Do we love others to the same degree that we love
our Self? Do we cheerfully give unto others as we give unto our Self? The
answer is defining, measuring our love for God and our spiritual maturity.
Old
Testament tithing was compulsory and earned favor and blessings with God. The
Jews were prone to do the external and material while neglecting the expression
of the inner qualities of the Spirit (Lk. 11:37- 42). In the New Testament
tithing is neither stressed nor commanded, but saints are urged to give
voluntarily (2 Cor. 9:7) without neglecting the development of spiritual
qualities: “But rather give alms of such things as you have
...” (Lk. 11:41). “Such things as you have” is a word
cluster translated from the Greek word enonta which means those things which
are within the human heart ... spiritual qualities, the Lord here speaking of
the inner man from which one should give alms... from the heart... out of love,
joyously extending mercy. New covenant giving is characterized by what Paul
wrote to Philemon: “That your good deed might not be by
compulsion, as it were, but voluntary.” (Phile. 1; 14)
Endnote: Much of the twenty-first century church
teaches tithing as a way to fund large facilities, amenities, and worldwide
ministries, including upscale living for the ministry team. Not only are we
prideful of our churches, many saints believe the unfounded notion that a large
prosperous church indicates God’s hand of blessing on the ministry, as if
getting a large number of people into a building meant something. Saints are
taught that tithing guarantees prosperity, and giving to get becomes a
lifestyle. Then when they hit a financial speed-bump God takes the hit for
failing to keep promises He didn’t make! Sorry folks, but God never promises
prosperity as an entitlement, and does, in fact, warn us repeatedly about the
dangerous of riches as in the parable of The Sower where riches suffocate God’s
word, and in the parable of the Rich Young Ruler where riches make it hard, if
not impossible, to enter God’s Kingdom.
“GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER”
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