b) The early church believers were
mainly Jews who knew the Law and all its ordinances which
they observed and most probably continued to observe until, so to speak,
they were told not to.
So, it is possible that they continued observing the law of tithing (like,
for example, they continued
going to the temple daily to pray), since they did not consider themselves
as if they embraced
another religion, but only that some of the prophecies of their own Jewish
religion, concerning
Messiah, were being fulfilled.
Jesus mentioned tithing only once (Mat. 23:23, Luke 11:42)
where He approved of it. It must be
born in mind that He referred to the Jews, and that at that time, the New
Testament was not in
force as yet. On the other hand, apostle Paul, even when writing about the
support of those who
are called to preach the gospel (the New Testament "Levites" - so to speak),
does not mention
tithing. Admittedly, he does call on to the Old Testament (1 Cor. 9:8) but
in verse 9 he refers to
something other than the law of tithing.
There is an interesting passage in the book of Acts:
|
Acts 2:46 "So continuing daily with one accord in the
temple, and BREAKING BREAD
from house to house, THEY ATE THEIR FOOD WITH GLADNESS AND SIMPLICITY
OF HEART." |
Could the above be the practice of tithing according to
the book of Deuteronomy? It may or may
not be the case.
I would like to draw your attention to another verse in
the Old Testament:
|
Deu. 12:8-9 (God's commandment to the Israelites) "You
shall not at all do as we are doing
here today - every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes - for as yet
you have not
come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving
you." |
We, the New Testament believers, are often referred to
as the "Joshua Generation", i.e.. those
who have entered the "rest and the inheritance". This would imply that we
are not expected to do,
and therefore not to teach, every man according to what is right in his own
eyes, but rather
according to God's commandments.
So, my advise remains: if you believe that tithing is
valid for the New Testament church - go for it.
I have shown you from the word of God what tithing is. If you believe that
the New Testament
giving is the matter of the heart - go for it. In absence of the clear leading
by the Holy Spirit, you
may use the law of tithing as a guide when setting up your level of giving
for the support of those
who minister to you spiritually, and to those who are in need, without neglecting
some fun with
your own family.
If we look back to the Old Testament and tithing we will
see that God was the One who separated
Levites for Himself - and He provided for them EXACTLY the amount they needed
to have a
comparable standard of living with the rest of the Israelites. Today, it
is God who calls people into
His ministry and it is He who brings people to salvation, i.e.. to each
particular church. If anyone
claims that we need more than one-third of 10% of our income today, to support
those in the
ministry, he is saying that God has lost the account of His people. Well,
I would argue that one.
He knows EXACTLY whom He has called to preach and He knows
EXACTLYwhom He has
saved. If we have overproduced the "ministers" it is our fault. In the time
of Nehemiah they
checked the genealogy of those who claimed to be Levites before they were
allowed to minister
(Neh. 7). |
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