Do I HAVE to Tithe?

The claim that Christians must tithe has weak New Testamental support. Tithing is a good principal. It is not a New Testament command.

Almost all support for Tithing comes from the Old Covenant law. Yet according to the New Coventant we are no longer under the law but grace. Romans and Galatians clearly teach that the law was a steward until the time of Christ. In Christ the mosaic law is set aside. Although we are called to obey the moral code which undergirds the mosaic law, we owe no aligence to law itself. In addition, the New Testament never establishes tithing as part of this moral law.

Only two verses in the New Testament may compel a Christian to tithe: Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 (this is telling since the New Testament teaches so much about giving) Jesus said, "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others." "without neglecting the others" has a clear ring to it. You should tithe. But who is the "you"? It certainly isn't beleivers. Jesus is denoncing the hypocracy of those who were required to obey the law, the Pharisees. Jesus says yes you are obeying it but you certainly aren't fulfilling it. With Christ's death, the letter has been fulfilled and the new age of the Spirit has arrived.

Still some argue that the Tithe is part of the New Age because it existed prior to the Old. Abraham, who lived at least four hundred years before the law, tithed to the king of Salem. The argument goes, If the Father of the Faithful tithed without the law should we do no less than he.

Yet the same thing could be said of circumcision. In fact circumcision has more support in the story of Abrahm then tithe. When Abraham tithed he appears to do it freely and without a specified purpose. Circumcision, however, is given by God to Abraham as a sign of the "everlasting covenant" (Genesis 15). In fact the language of Genesis implies that circumcision should be performed on every male who follows Abraham. The Apostles had a hard time when the first Gentiles were converted . Should circumcision be binding for them? God said no (ACTS 10). When the Apostles declared in Acts 15 the things that were binding on gentile believers, the list did not include circumcicion and or tithing.

The tithe like circumcision is a yoke that hinders people from coming to Christ. "Give ten percent," the preacher says while he gets in his limo. "Pay your tithe," the preacher says while he makes plans for a bigger and more expensive auditorium. "Don't rob from God," the preacher says while his Church fails to provide for the needy. I know how non-Christians see the Church. Although Jesus said "the world will hate you" he never gave us permssion to give them an excuse. People aren't dumb. Even athiests give to the Salvation Army because it provides for the needy. If the Church wants money, do what the Lord commands.

The clear instruction of the New Testament is to give. It never says give to the Church. (The offering in Corith is for the needy Jerusalem Christians.) I won't deny the Church is a good place to give, however. The Bible only instructs us to give to those who are in need. True and faultless Religion is to take care of Widows and Orphans, James says. When was the last time you saw a church take care of its Widows and Orphans?

Give because it is right and good to give. Give because God has given to you. DO NOT GIVE OUT OF COMPULSION. If you do, Paul warns us that we will be required to obey the whole law. And The law has never saved anyone.