#MildlyOffensive

If the Old Covenant Tithe Applies to the Church...

If the Old Covenant tithe applies to the church, then we all better start growing crops.

A Danger of Not Knowing Greek

Reason #15 - Professional Pastors Preach Tithing In Order to Get the People to Give Enough to Pay Their Salaries

Institutional churches have to take in a certain amount of money to pay for their primary expenses: building costs and pastoral salaries. This is often a challenge for churches. In order to deal with this situation, many pastors resort to preaching about the tithe.

The main problem with this is that the tithe is an Old Covenant concept that has absolutely no application for those who are part of the New Covenant. Jesus Christ never told His followers to pay the tithe (in Matthew 23:23 Jesus is speaking to Pharisees, not believers). Acts through Revelation shows not even one instance of Christians paying the tithe.

Let me repeat: Christians do not have to pay a tithe.

For pastors to preach that Christ-followers must pay the tithe is a massive error. The interpretive gymnastics it requires boggle the mind. Even if they could state with a straight face that the tithe is binding, they then would need to say that payment goes for temple upkeep in Jerusalem (of course there is no temple, but I digress). Instead, pastors then say that this tithe should be paid to the local church, not in farm goods such as wheat but in cold, hard cash.

The irresponsibility of this type of hermeneutical manipulation is staggering. Pastors who do it should be ashamed. They do not interpret the rest of the bible in this manner.

One way to stop this sad situation is to have churches stop paying salaries for pastors. That would likely do away immediately with most tithe-preaching.


(The above is part fifteen of 25 Reasons Professional Pastors Should Resign.)

Jesus Christ and the Tithe

Continuing in this series on Old Testament interpretive problems, we now come to one of the largest, most ubiquitous, and most disturbing: the tithe.

We've probably all attended worship services of one type or another where the pastor has spoken on the supposed importance of the tithe. Most of the time the audience is made to feel guilty (see above comic), being told that if they don't give 10% (before taxes no less) to the church then they are in sin. Ouch. But is this accurate? What did Jesus say to his followers about the tithe? Did he want them to give 10%? And by extension, does Christ expect us to give the same?

(As an aside, in the OT the tithe often came out to significantly more than 10%. The 10% figure is just a simplistic one that many in the church like to use today because it is simple.)

So, do we have to tithe? The answer is NO. Jesus does not expect us to give 10%. The tithe is an Old Covenant concept. It dealt mainly with giving of agricultural items for support of the temple. It never focused on money. Only those under the OT law had to follow it.

Nowhere are any New Covenant people told to pay the tithe. Jesus never instructs his followers to pay the tithe. None of the writers of the New Testament tell Christ's followers to pay the tithe. As we read through the NT, we never see believers paying the tithe.

But what about Matthew 23:23-24? It says:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

The key to the above passage is who Jesus is talking to: pharisees. They are part of the Old Covenant, and by extension still under the law. They are hardly Christ's followers. Additionally, note that Jesus mentions mint and dill and cumin, not money. Finally, Jesus' emphasis is actually what they are neglecting: justice and mercy and faithfulness.

What, then, are we to give? Paul tells us in II Corinthians 9:6-8:

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

Part of living by faith is giving as the Holy Spirit leads. This will differ from person to person and situation to situation. They key is that we take care of one another in the body of Christ, and that we help the poor as given the opportunity.

To sum up, we do not have to follow the practice of OT tithing. It has no bearing upon our lives. Those who say it does are interpreting the Old Testament extremely poorly; this continues to be a scourge upon the church today.

Give generously, give joyfully, and give freely! This is what it is to live in the Spirit!


To read a short, excellent book on tithing from a Christian perspective, click here.

To visit a website that deals with this topic in much detail, click here.

To read a silly comic, look below:

Tithing After the Cross

Does the tithe apply to Christians today? This is a significant question that needs an answer based in scripture as opposed to man's traditions. David Croteau provides us with that answer.

In Tithing After the Cross, Croteau systematically explains numerous traditional arguments in favor of the tithe, and then shows why each of the arguments fails. The author deals with arguments from the Old Testament, from the New Testament, from systematic theology, from church history, and from pragmatics.

The book concludes with a chapter on how Christians should give today. I appreciate that Croteau provides various principles for giving based in scripture, but refrains from suggesting any sort of formula or dollar amount.

The only negative is that the author says it's important to remember that the local church has bills to pay and that the pastoral staff has financial needs. Unlike the remainder of the book, he doesn't root these statements solidly in scripture. But hey, no book is perfect.

I recommend this book for two reasons. First, it focuses on a key topic in the Christian life: giving. Second, the author deals biblically and concisely with a wide range of issues related to the tithe.

It's a quick read (only about seventy pages) and is inexpensive. You'll enjoy it.

A Good Thing to Tithe

I've worn enough ties to last a lifetime. I'd be happy to get rid of all of them. In light of that, this comic seems to provide a good idea. We should all tithe our ties. That would at least get rid of 10% of them. Since tithing income is not a New Covenant concept, we may as well give part of our pointless clothing. It makes just as much sense.

Ouch!