New Testament Giving

A pastor come behind the pulpit on a Saturday night Church service said: "Beloved, God gives you two choices - either pay your tithe according to the Old Testament, or give your all under the New Testament!" In my opinion, either he was joking, lying or he didn't have a clue what he was talking about. Any God-fearing and Bible-believing Christian straight away faces two problems! Firstly, the pastor didn't specify how to give "your all" under the New Testament. Did he mean that we should give all of our substance (money), all that we possessed, including our houses, cars, our clothing, our time and all of our needs to God and His Church? After given "our all," is the Church going to give us back our daily needs so that we can live a decent life in the eyes of unbelievers in our midst? Furthermore, I don't believe there is a single Local Church capable of carrying out such an enormous task! Secondly, it is not Biblical for any Church to compel Christian believers to pay tithes! If we are to listen to this pastor blindly, without discernment, an go on and pay our tithes, unknowing, we have denied the Holy Spirit's existence in us and in the Church. This pastor is surely blind and so no one should follow him and fall into a ditch with him (Matthew 15:14). Don't be alarmed; read on and you will understand what I mean.

Tithing Principles

According to various Bible dictionaries, "tithing" is the practice of giving a tenth of one's income or property as an offering to God. The first recorded instance of tithing occurred in Genesis 14:20. After returing from rescuing Lot and defeated his enemies, Abraham met Melchizedek (a type of Christ), the "king of Salem" and "priest of God Most High." The text states simply that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe of all the goods he had obtained in battle.

There is no recorded demand of Abraham for a tenth. Neither is an explanation given why Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek. Jacob also, long before the Law of Moses was given, promised that he would give the Lord a tenth of all he received (Gen. 28:22).

Laws and instructions of tithing

Notice that even though tithing began before the Law, Moses later on included in the Law:

"You sahll truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. You shall not forsake the Levite who is within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you" (Deut. 14:22, 23, 27, NKJV).

The sons of Levi, who received the office of priesthood, and who had no inhertance, took tithes from the people.

The writer of Hebrews said: "And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham" (Hebrews 7:5).

Notice that not all sons of Levi are priests.

Main difference between Old Testament and New Testament giving

The Scripture is very clear, God's Old Covenant people (Israelites) gae to God and His work under the Law of tithing in the Old Testament. They tithed out of fear of breaking Moses Law - "Anyone who has rejected Moses law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses" (Heb. 10:28).

On the other hand, God's New Covenant people (Christians) give to God and His work under the grace of giving which is freewill. They give out of love for the Lord and His Body (The Church) as move by the Spirit of God:

Paul said: "But this I say: He sho sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows buntifully will also reap bountifully. So let us give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Cor. 9:6, 7, emphasis added).

A person who gives as "he purposes in his heart" is prompted by the Holy Spirit in his heart. In other words, he has been baptized in the Holy Spirit, filled with the Holy Spirit and led by the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who prompts him to give cheerfully. The Church is the "temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you" (1 Cor. 3:16). Individual believer's body is also the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19). If you are persuaded by the paster to give tithe you are denying the work of the Holy Spirit in you and in the Local Church. This is the same as "blasphemy against the Spirit" (Matt. 12:31, 32). Then you and your pastor will not be forgiven and you are still in your sin!

Having similar thought in my mind, I asked a pastor, why he must ask his Church members to give tithes. He looked surprised, but immediately said that without the practice of tithing, the Church will go bankrupt. I just walked away, shaking my head, not wishing to offend him further. The question is - who build the Church? Christ or man? If the Church is to be funded by collecting tithes, it is built by man. And it will go bankrupt anyway, with or without collecting tithes! I believe many Local Churches in our country and cities are built by men, and the pastors are collecting tithes.


Prerequisite for New Testament giving


Paul wrote to the Corinthians about the Macedonian Churches, and he told them how the Holy Spirit moved on the Macedonians to be generous in their giving. Then he drew a lesson from that for the Corinthians:


"For in the midst of an ordeal of severe tribulation, their abundance of joy and their depth of poverty (together) have overflowed in wealth of lavish generosity on their part. For, as I can bear witness, (they gave) according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability; and (they did it) voluntarily, begging us most insistently for the favor and the fellowship of contributing in this ministration for (the relief and support of) the saints (in Jerusalem). Nor (was this gift of theirs merely the contribution) that we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us (as His agents) by the will of God - that is, entirely disregarding their personal interests, they gave as much as they possibly could, having put themselves at our disposal to be directed by the will of God" (2 Cor. 8:2 - 5, The Amplified Bible, emphasis added).


Clearly, New Testament giving is a free-will giving directed by the Holy Spirit only, and not directed by pastors, deacons, or anyone, not even your family members. If pastors desire to have more collections from their Church members, he should encourage them to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, so that they can be led by the Holy Spirit to give to the Local Church. In other words, the first thing Christians have to give to the Lord is not their money, but themselves. That is how it must begin with each of us if we want to please God and do His will - instead of pleasing th pastor and to do his will. We must begin with ourselves. We can't buy a good relationship with God with our money. This is ho God sees us doing, if we give our substnce without first given ourselves to Him. Actually, God can get on all right without our money. He owns everything in the universe! I believe it is for our benefit that God requires us to give, but He has a command - He wants us first. Then, out of giving of ourselves to Him, by His grace, the proper New Testament giving will naturally flow.


By the way, I have been attending Churches, both traditional and "Charismatic," for more than 20 years. I have never heard a single sermon on the principles of New Testament giving! But I have heard many sermons on tithing. In fact, when I was a young Christian, I have heard preachers said that, unless Christians tithe properly, God would emand "tithes" from them in some disastrous ways - their house gets burned down, gets broken into by thieves; they will meet with some serious accidents; they and their loved ones get seriously ill and so on! What garbage!


Jesus said: "But whoever causes one of these little (or innocent or naive) ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea" (Mark 9:42).


I wonder how many pastors and preachers are guilty of this and have thrown themselves into the sea with a millstone hung around their necks! All of them should. When innocent Church members are thus stumbled, they will give their tithes grudgingly and sin against God!


Giving oneself to the Lord


The apostle Paul gave christians a Scriptural way of giving oneself to the Lord:


"I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifece, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformes by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and aacceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:1, 2, NRSV).


Here are some statements of truth:


1. The giving of oneself to the Lord involves three stages - present one's body to the Lord as a living sacrifice, renew one's mind and to the perfect will of God with discernment.


2. "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice" implies that the action was a free an voluntary offering of self on the altar of God. It also implies that, as a "living sacrifice" made to God, just like the Old Testament animal sacrifice, is your atonement for sin. It means you offer yourself entirely, release of all claim or right to it to be disposed of for the honor of God. As a living sacrifice (not as a dead animal sacrifice), you submit to God and do His will in total obedience.


3. "Do not be conformed to this world" means, after you have voluntarily presented your body as a living sacrifics, you should not conform or identify yourself as worldly people do - pertaining to habit, manner, character, attitude and style of living etc. as people who do not know God.


4. "Be transformed by the the renewing of your mind" needs some explanatio. A true Christian is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). Our mind is the battlefield (2 Cor. 10:3 - 5), and the god of this age (Satan) has blinded our mind (2 Cor. 4:4). So we need our mind renewed by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in us.


5. "So that you may discern what is the will of God" means a renewed mind is required to discern the perfect will of God for you.


An example of New Testament giving


Let us study the case of the free-will giving of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1 - 10). We all know that they perished not because they didn't give their money, but because they lived to the Holy Spirit. They pretended to have given all, but in actual fact they kept back part of the proceeds from the sell of land.


Please take note of the following:


1. Ananias and Sapphira failed to give themselves to the Lord first. If they had, thy would not lie to the Holy Spirit.


2. They would not have perished or had been punished in any way, even if they have not given a single "mite" to the Lord (Acts 5;4).


3. No tithing was imposed on the believers in the early Church. I believe if Peter had demanded tithes from Ananias and Sapphira they would be very willing to give.


Conclusion


If you want to walk right with God and be obedient to His Word, don't tithe. In the Old Testament the purpose of giving a thenth was to meed the material need of the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless (the orphan) and the widow (Deut. 26:12, 13). The tithe was an expression of gratitude to God by His people. Basic to tithing was the acknowledgment or God's ownereship of everything in the earth.


In the New Testament, the words "tithe" and "tithing" appear oly 8 thimes (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42, 18:12; Heb. 7:5 - 6, 8 - 9). All of these passges refer to Old Testament usage and to current Jewish practice. Nowhere does the New Testament expressly comman Christians to tithe. In the New Testament Church giving is to be voluntary, willing, cheerful, and given in the light of our accountablility to God.