Tithing
is an Old Testament commandment right out of the Law of Moses, with no precept
or application under New Covenant Grace, totally unsubstantiated by New
Testament scriptures. Tithing is endlessly taught – dragging Old Covenant
passages out of context – dragging legalism into God’s awesome Grace. Under the
Law tithing was a sure thing – obedient works insured God’s blessing – one
could call it giving to get! The Law actually required three ten percent
tithes, two yearly and one every three years -- i.e., 23 1/3% each year – and
each tithe had a specific purpose under the Old Covenant. As for New Covenant
giving, God doesn’t want 10%... 23 1/3%... or even 100%. God wants hearts raptured
by His love that give as prompted by the Holy Spirit -- giving sacrificially, even as the widow gave
out of her need – always depending on Him for our future provisions as we
demonstrate His love to others. New Testament giving
takes faith for there is no automatic reimbursement entitlement as there was
under the Law of Moses!
Washing
the saints’ feet is a New Covenant precept instituted by Jesus as an example
that we should do as He had done, promising that we would be blessed if we
washed one another’s feet: “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to
wash one another’s feet. For I
have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is
not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent
him. If you know these things,
blessed are you if you do them.” It can’t get much clearer than this: “For I
have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” “Ought” – opheilo in the Greek – is the verb
of “owe” and expresses a special personal obligation, a duty to do something...
a debt of love. Much like the command repeated five times in scripture to
“Greet one another with a holy kiss”, a “kiss of love”, we tend to ignore
precepts that bring us up close and personal with our brothers and sisters in
Christ. And, we miss out on the humbling transformational experience of
washing another saint’s feet... miss out
on emulating our Lord and invoking His promise: “Blessed are
you if you do them.”
In the
Old Testament the tithe was compulsory and was a means of earning the favor of
God. Under the Law the Jews were prone to do the external and material --
neglecting the expression of inner spiritual qualities -- more concerned with the outside of the cup
than the inside ( Lk. 11: 37-44). New Testament saints, however, are urged to
give voluntarily – from the heart – without neglecting the development of inner
spiritual qualities (2 Cor. 9:7). Note Jesus speaking in Luke 11:41: “But
rather give alms of such things as you have.”
The phrase “such things as you have” is a word cluster translating the
Greek word eneimi which means “to be within”, those things that are inside you
-- spiritual qualities, the nature of Jesus – literally “Give that which is
within as your alms.” Our relational Daddy wants His children to relate to one
another from their heart -- sharing the nature of our Lord He has deposited
there -- and His expectations go well
beyond the precepts under discussion. As we are transformed by the nature of
Christ, to give that which is within as our alms will take on a whole new
meaning. This verse immediately proceeds the ‘Woe to you” Jesus pronounced on
the Pharisees for tithing while neglecting justice and the love of God.
Now my
purpose here is not to convince anyone to quit tithing – that is the job of the
Holy Spirit to those who have an ear to hear -- rather to encourage obedience
to the commandments of our Lord. Anyone who takes the time to study tithing
will find it was instituted by the Roman emperor Constantine in the third
century becoming a common practice in the eighth century, and was never a part
of the first-century church. New Testament passages which reference tithing do
not impose it as a commandment under Grace; rather they reference it as a part
of Judaism, in commentary relating to the Pharisees and the tribe of Levy. Many
churches pull passages such as “Will a man rob God” out of their Old Testament
context -- where they were dealing with Israel’s failure to obey the Law – in a
veiled effort to leverage giving, rather than have faith in God for their ministry
provisions.
The
Apostle Paul said “the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ”, for “Christ is the end of the Law ... for everyone who believes.” And
Paul likewise warned that to put oneself under any precept of the Law – be it
circumcision, sabbath keeping, tithing, etc. -- was to become a “debtor to keep
the whole Law”, calling the Law a curse: “Do not be entangled again with a yoke
of bondage ... For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point,
he is guilty of all.” New Covenant
saints have been delivered from and died to the requirements of the Law so that
they can “serve in the newness of the Spirit.” It is most ironic that in our striving to prosper (through tithing) in a world our Lord
warned us not to love, we ignore those humbling most basic commandments that
are rooted and grounded in His desire for us to demonstrate His agape love to
one another.
Saints,
our lives should re-present our Lord to this world: We are our Lord’s hands as
we wash one another’s feet, our Lord’s kiss on the cheek, as we greet one
another with a holy kiss of love. These are simple things which are humbling to
express. Our Savior gave us these precepts as an example that we too would have
a servant’s heart. And, He said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Notice
whose commandments we are to keep: The Lord was not referring to the Old
Testament commandments of the Mosaic Law, but rather His commandments, the
commandments of the New Testament... the New Will... the New Covenant, written
in His blood!
Postscript: If we
embrace tithing, as a New Covenant precept, we should at the very least get the
amount right... 23 1/3 %. And, as New Covenant believers, we must all embrace
the commandments of our Lord, especially ones which go against our nature like
the examples noted. Obedience, after all, is the only scriptural method of
demonstrating the first, greatest, and most essential commandment... to love
God...
(Lev.
27:30-33; Num. 18:20-21; Deut. 12:17-18, 14:28-29, 26:12-13; Jn. 13:3-17; Rom. 7:6,
10:4, 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess. 5:26; 1 Peter 5: 14; Gal. 3:10,
24, 5:3; James 2:10; Jn. 14:15; Gal.)
“IF YOU LOVE
ME...
KEEP
MY COMMANDMENTS...”
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