The Old Tithe Debate

[Dr. Shane]

[:"green"] Should We Tithe?

This question has a yes answer and a no answer. Please read the whole article to get the whole picture.

First the no answer... In some senses, tithing, as it is usually understood today, contradicts who we are in Jesus. Jesus said to the religious leaders of His day that if they were going to endeavor to tithe legalistically down to giving pinches of spices, they should not neglect the greater things like justice - because the Law demanded both. He was essentially revealing that following the Law is impossible. But to His disciples He made an astounding statement. He said that a King taxes His subjects, but not His sons. Tithing is usually regarded today as dues, or taxes, or worse, an appeasment to God. Tithing is regarded as something which is owed. It is commonly taught today that if you don't tithe, you car will break down.

The problem with this concept of tithing is that it contradicts greater concepts of the Cross. Because of the Cross, we have been freed from obligation to God through the Law. We relate to God as friends and offspring now rather than as subjects.

Let's face it - tithing is somewhat of a sacred cow. For such a major aspect of what we call western evangelicalism, there are amazingly few verses about it in the New Testament. What verses are there are not direct teachings about the continuation of tithing. ...So, if we are going to tithe in a legalistic sense, we had better start taking pinches of pepper out of the pantry, too.

Now the yes answer. The Law was our tutor and it taught us that giving into the Kingdom is a good thing. Since we are joint heirs with the Son, His kingdom is our Kingdom - every investment we make into that kingdom is productive and eternal. What better use for temporal money could there possibly be than to invest it into God's eternal kingdom? Although there are no direct teachings about tithing in the New Testament, there are pages of teaching on using our finances and resouces for God's kingdom. Jesus said that when we choose to pour our resources into the kingdom, we are blessed 30, 60, and 100 fold both in this life and in the life to come. We are directed to decide between us and God what we will give in every situation.

The real question is not "should we tithe", but "what is the motivation behind our giving?". God cannot be bought. He is the one who has purchased us and then He freed us. We should not be offering a token appeasment to God out of fear that He will not bless us if we don't. God has already blessed us with everything we need for life and godliness through the Cross. We now are as Jesus was in this world - how much more blessed could we possibly be? Now, since our sin is behind us and behind Him, we can jump in with two feet to expand His kingdom with everything we have. [/]

My comments here:

The more I study this issue the less decided I become. However, that said, even if tithe is not required, we are still to support the church and in my mind, that means more - not less - than 10%.

[cricket]

Perhaps tithing should be viewed as "works". We do good works because we love Jesus; works are a natural outpouring of the Holy Spirit in us. Tithing, then should be a natural outpouring of the Holy Spirit--not a legalistic rule to be followed.

[Daryl]

I also find it interesting that tithing isn't a test of fellowship within the SDA Church.

[David Koot]

Shane, I could not disagree more strongly with the article. Tithing is absolutely essential. It is as important an issue as the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Tithing is our recognition of Chrit's Lordship and God's Sovereignty. It is our vote of confidence, also, that He is still in charge of His church. And, faithful tithing results in blessings. Many times, I have seen that I was unable to afford to pay tithe. I did so anyway. God blessed me abundantly. Two short stories: when I came to the Lord in 1979, I lost everything I had. Shortly, ran out of money, then out of food. There was $5. in the kitchen drawer, but it was tithe, and I refused to use it for food. Went without for most of the day. At 6:30 p.m., someone knocked on the door, whom I had never met before. I don't know how he found me. He wanted me to do some work for him, which I agreed to do. He paid me IN CASH, IN FULL before I did the work. I ate well that night! Another example: three years ago, here in Petaluma, I went to church one Sabbath, and turned in my tithe. I had bills to pay, which I didn't know how they would be paid. That afternoon, I went to visit a contact, who is a businessman. We did a study on the law of God. He is a Roman Catholic. At the end of the study, he asked me if I had any financial needs. I told him that I did. He asked me how much, and got up and started pacing back and forth. I responded, $400.00. He said, that was exactly the amount that had come into his mind. He sat down and wrote out a check for that amount. God is faithful. We need to return a faithful tithe.

Dave

[cricket]

Not exactly on topic, but when you said you needed $400, did you really only need $360, or were you still $44.44 short of your total needs?

[David Koot]

lol its been a little while, but typically when I figure how much I need, will include tithe and offering in that amount.

D

[aldona]

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Daryl Fawcett said:

I also find it interesting that tithing isn't a test of fellowship within the SDA Church.

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It's not a test of fellowship in the sense that "you don't pay tithe so the Church Manual says we should disfellowship you," but let me assure you that it is used as a way of exercising control of members...

"...your tithe is not up to date, so unfortunately the nominating committee can't nominate you for XYZ position..."

Isn't it amazing, how they know how much and when a given person should be tithing? Do they have access to our pay slips and tax records?

(waiting for the outraged "our church would NEVER do that" replies. I know what I have seen and experienced!)

aldona

[Dr. Shane]

A pastor once had a little talking to me because I was sending my tithe to the Adventist conference in El Salvador. I was advised that if I didn't pay tithe I couldn't hold a position in the church. We went round and round about whether or not I should be "allowed" to send my tithe to another Adventist conference. Finally he gave in and agreed that as long as I was sending my tithe to the organized church, I could continue to hold my position in the church.