Excellent post. True and factual.

Brent,

His point is obvious. The tithe is not appropriate for the Christian in the service of worship.

In his book “Should the Church Teach Tithing”, Russell Earl Kelly, Ph. D demonstrates that the tithe a false doctrine. See the synopsis of his work here:

http://indiechurch.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/tithing-is-not-a-christian-doctrine/

But,whats your point?

The first time tithe is mentioned in the Bible is Abraham’s tithe of pagan spoils of war, and Abraham kept NOTHING for himself. This was NOT an act of worship. The goods that Abraham gave the tenth from didn’t even belong to Abraham:

Genesis 14:21 (NIV) – The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”

Notice in verse 21 the king of Sodom didn’t ask Abraham if he would give back to him the people, but rather said GIVE ME the people and keep the goods for yourself. The way that is worded indicates that the king of Sodom was claiming that the people and the goods belonged to him and those he represented.

Genesis 14:22-24 (NIV) – 22But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”

Notice in verses 23 and 24 Abraham also acknowledges that the goods belonged to the king of Sodom and those he represented.

Therefore, it is clear that both the king of Sodom and Abraham acknowledged that the spoils of war did NOT belong to Abraham, yet he gave a tenth of the spoils to King Melchizedek. This would seem that Abraham did something wrong, if not even illegal, but Biblical historians agree that it was custom in Abraham’s day to give the king a tenth of the war spoils. Had Abraham not given the tenth, he would have gone against custom.

Conclusion: Abraham did NOT give a tenth of his income, or his wealth. Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils of war that didn’t belong to him. That is NOT an example for Christians to follow today.

The next mention of a tithe is Jacob’s VOW to tithe. Jacob set the conditions, not God. Nowhere in The Word does it tell us that Jacob actually tithed. Genesis 28:10-22

Next is The Lord’s Tithe. God gave His definition as a tenth of crops and animals which came from God’s hand, not man’s income. God NEVER commanded anyone to tithe on anything that man made or earned. Leviticus 27:30-33.

The ordinances (instructions, or laws) for The Lord’s Tithe are in Numbers 18. God gave strict orders to take His tithe to the Levites. God NEVER changed that command. Anyone who takes God’s tithe to anyone other than the Levites is being disobedient to God’s Word.

There are others tithes in the Bible such as the Festival Tithe and the Tithe for the Poor. It is The Lord’s Tithe that churches pattern their teaching after.

Church leaders ignore God’s definition of His tithe, and ignore God’s ordinances for His tithe. They change the words to fit their pocketbook. This is nothing but manipulation of God’s Word. They are false teachers.

The Bible CLEARLY SHOWS that the tithe ENDED at the cross in the Book of Hebrews. In the first nine verses of Hebrews 7 the words tenth or tithes appears SEVEN TIMES. The ONLY place in the Bible, after Calvary, that tithing appears is in Hebrews 7.

In Hebrews 7:5 we are told that Levi (the Levites) took the tithes under the law. In Hebrews 7:12 we are told that when the priesthood changes, the law will change. Hebrews 7:18 is telling us that Numbers 18 was disannulled. Numbers 18 established the Levitical priesthood, and part of that establishing included tithing. When the Levitical priesthood ended (at Calvary, or at least in the year 70AD when the temple was destroyed), all laws that established that priesthood were canceled. If Numbers 18 wasn’t canceled, we would still be under the Levitical priesthood.

Those who argue they didn’t have money or income then really need to study the scriptures. They had money and wages, even in Genesis. The farmers had income from barter exchanges, and they had markets to buy and sell as proven in Deuteronomy 14:24-26.

Those who argue Malachi 3:8, robbing God, need to start with verse 7. God is talking about His ordinances in Numbers 18 which we learned were disannulled according to Hebrews 7:18. Also, if you start with Malachi 1, you will see that God is speaking to the priests, not the people. The priests robbed God of the tithe (Nehemiah 13) and the priests robbed God of the offerings (Malachi 1).

Is my supporting that missionary supposed to be above & beyond my normal tithe to my church (whatever the dollar amount or percentage)? Why or why not?”

The “tithe” has been preached in so many different ways, its no wonder we have so many differing views to what it actually is or should be carried out.

The “tithe” is part of the Mosaic law. It looks absolutely nothing like we, as the church, hold it to be now. “Tithe” today is held to be money. In the Mosiac law, it was food or animal. The only money that was paid in “tithe” to anyone was from the levites to the priests. Which shows that even back then “pastors” were paid through tithe for their duty.

Moving on to the new testament. The “tithe” was not held up in new covenant teaching. Instead, Paul said, it was an issue of the heart and we should give freely and with joy. Plus, Paul saw that some early churches were not taking care of those “pastors” and said, how dare you…take care of them.

So, how do we justify 10% and keeping the “corporation” going? We cant! It has to be on a church by church basis. There is no standard, except to give heartily and joyfully.

So, when I originally said that you comment sounded selfish and religious. I meant it. Our question should be, “Are we giving enough to BOTH the local church and the mission field” (which could be the food pantry down the street). It shouldn’t be whether or not anything counts for anything, cause that’s unbiblical. especially when it comes to “counting” money and how much people give. God alone is the heart analyst in that.

Dave and Scott are correct in saying that “church stewardship” is a huge part of this conversation, because what we see today is misuse and abuse of funds. I have no problem with millions of dollars being poured into the local church. But, stewardship has to take place. Biblical guidelines, dont outline 10%, they outline taking care of those in need.

However, I still support those in paid pastoral positions. Biblically we are taught to care for those leaders…financially. But, we are never given precedence for “goods” and possessions…except to give them away. That is where the local church gets in trouble. We have a great building, with everything that goes with it. All of a sudden our economy tanks and we have to lay Pastors off, because we have to pay for a building. In my opinion thats unbiblical. And, thats where we get in trouble. Then we go beg the people for money. And sometimes we may even have a sensitive story of how we will lose our building or people will get laid off. Thats ok. If it isnt. Pastors/Leaders/Elders have their priorities mixed up.

Its not about the building and the positions. Its not about how much or how little we give. its most definitely not about 10% or local or regional or national.

Its always been about heart…

the convo naturally trends towards church stewardship because, as dave alluded to, they rather connected.

1. the church (ie corporate structure/non profit entity) exists to support, inspire, encourage, teach christ like character (loving the unlovable, visiting prisoners, caring for the poor, befriending the lonely, advocating for the voiceless, etc). in as much as staff, sound systems, facilities etc support that, they are great.

2. i should exhibit christ like character. giving, serving, loving should be at the core of who I am. Jesus says give. So I give. the modern structure of church didn’t exist in the bible so i would be leery of making a value judgement on “right or wrong” but know that when a church is doing number one i am a “cheerful giver.”

If I’m sending support to a missionary directly, can that count as part of my tithe? Why or why not?

Is my supporting that missionary supposed to be above & beyond my normal tithe to my church (whatever the dollar amount or percentage)? Why or why not?

So your assessment is fair enough though I’m still unclear how church stewardship came into the mix.