Tithing between the Covenants
Stephen S. Rives
Warning: This sermon caused no little angst among the old-time Baptists in the congregation. Please handle with care and preach in love! I did not unload this on anyone until first I taught on the Old and New Covenant. Much work to do before springing this on anyone!
“When someone says, ‘It ain’t the money but the principal of the thing’, it’s the money.” -- Frank Hubbard
“When it is a question of money, everyone is of the same religion.”—Voltaire
"If you want to know what God thinks of money, look at the people He gives it to."
"Nothing more clearly shows how little God esteems his gifts of wealth, money, position and other worldly goods, than the way he distributes these, and the sort of men who are most amply provided with them." -- Jean de La Bruyre
Today begins a series on Christ, Materialism, Possessions and our Culture
What motivates this series?
1) We are turning a corner as a church.
2) I have been asked on multiple occasions to teach on money – tithing in particular.
a. More than a few have asked me why I don’t preach the tithe
Week 1: Mandatory tithing has been canceled
Week 2: Discontinuities between the Covenants
Week 3: Jesus vs. Materialism in the Gospels
Week 1: Mandatory Tithing has been Canceled
Tithe means 10% (Dekatos). Give a tenth (apo-dekatos). If I choose to give 10% of my paycheck, I may say that I tithed, and in most cases, I would be displaying Christian generosity.
However, many churches (most Southern Baptist churches) teach that Christians must tithe to the local church, else they have robbed God.
In those cases, the churches and pastors say that Scripture requires us to tithe, or that tithing is the scriptural principal to be followed.
Routinely they Quote Malachi 3:8
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The Law, with its ordinances to tithe, with its Levitical Priesthood, with its curses for disobedience – all of this has been nailed up to the cross.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off [far off from the common wealth of Israel] are brought close in the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, 15having abolished in the flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace;
Col 2:13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. … 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.
Throughout Church History, there has always been an appetite to bring us back under Old Testament Ordinances. And Tithing is one of them.
Paul Warns Pastor Timothy that some will come into the church with their untaught view of the Law
1 Tim 1:7 desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm.
The will place upon the people of God a yoke of Slavery from which we have been freed.
Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage [The Torah]. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.
We will come back to Malachi 3 and examine it more closely, and the whole teaching of tithing in the Law of Moses.
We will look at the few passages outside the Law that mention tithing,
We will see that tithing is always food, and when it is converted from food to something else, it goes up to 12%. That the worshiper who brought the tithe was to eat his own tithe.
We will see that the Old Testament tithe was closer to 30%, and that the poor were excluded.
We will see that the New Testament does never teaches tithing, and that at the place where the apostles commanded Gentiles concerning the Law, they specifically did not teach tithing.
Strangely, for those who claim to follow the Old Testament on tithing, they cannot claim that giving 10% is that. Those who claim to be teaching Christians about a biblical tithe, are really teaching something not found in scripture, and, indeed, are putting a burden of the Law on Christians where God has freed us.
Finally, I believe that people who want to see a 10% requirement of tithe, are actually looking for the easy way out, and the teaching leads to a kind of self-righteous judgmentalism, like the righteous Pharisee who proudly boasted of his tithe.
Luke 18:9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted.”
The application of this sermon is to your freedom in Christ. But it is a three part sermon, so I can’t do everything in one sermon, and the full ramifications have to be followed over three sermons, where the Cross of Christ takes front and center as the chief emblem of our freedom (Christ hung on the tree that he might take the curse of the Law).
I. Tithing Outside the Law
There are only three places outside the Law of Moses where a 10% tithe is referred to, and those scriptures are sometimes the basis for trying to put Christian under a mandate to Tithe. I will deal with those first, then get back to the issue of the Tithe as it functions in the Law of Moses.
A. The first mention of tithe is Abram and his Spoils of War
Genesis 14:17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).
18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem d brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19 and he blessed Abram, saying,
‘‘Blessed be Abram by God Most High,
Creator e of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be f God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand.”
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, ‘‘Give me the people and keep the goods for yourself.”
22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, ‘‘I have raised my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and have taken an oath 23 that I will accept nothing belonging to you, not even a thread or the thong of a sandal, so that you will never be able to say, ‘I made Abram rich.’ 24 I will accept nothing but what my men have eaten and the share that belongs to the men who went with me—to Aner, Eshcol and Mamre. Let them have their share.”
First the obvious. This is a narrative, not a command. We must not draw commands out of narratives. This, however, is what mis-guided ministers will do. They will take an example, and turn it into a command.
Abram, who later gets named Abraham, gave 10% of the spoils of war to a priest.
That practice was part of the culture. In the Ancient world where Abraham came from, 1/10th of the spoils of war went to the temple of the victorious king. Abraham defeated four kings. He came back and he did what concurring victors do: he gave 10% to the temple.
"The Greek League against Persia, founded in 481 vows a tenth of the spoils of war to the shrine (7:132), and this happens, after Salamis and Plataea." (Herodotus)
Notice that he gave 10% of the stuff he got in war. The text never says he gave 10% of his own goods, but 10% of the booty. In fact, he did not consider the spoils his own, for when the king of Sodom met him, he gave all the booty back to the city. He only fed his soldiers. Abram was not tithing on an increase in his income, for he did not view this victory as an increase in his own possessions. He gave the 10% because that is what the ancient people did in the case of victory.
Every other time Abram got an increase in wealth (which happens four or five times, as when the Pharaoh paid him to go away), no mention of tithe is made. This text here is the only mention of it, and it has everything to do with the spoils of war.
I suppose, if we wanted to use it as an example of Christian tithing, then sure, next time you defeat four kings in a battle, then 10% of the spoil is your tithe obligation.
B. Tithing Outside of the Law: A Commentary on Genesis 14
Hebrews 7 is the next place that tithe is mentioned outside of the Law, and it is an expounding of this event.
7 This “King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him”; 2 and to him Abraham apportioned “one-tenth of everything.” His name, in the first place, means “king of righteousness”; next he is also king of Salem, that is, “king of peace.” 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.
4 See how great he is! Evena Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. 5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their kindred,c though these also are descended from Abraham. 6 But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. 7 It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. 8 In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, 10 for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him.
Another Priest, Like Melchizedek
(Ps 110.4)
11 Now if perfection had been attainable through the levitical priesthood—for the people received the law under this priesthood—what further need would there have been to speak of another priest arising according to the order of Melchizedek, rather than one according to the order of Aaron? 12 For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.
This text says two things:
1) For where there is a change in the priesthood, there is a change in the law.
2) And it was under the Law where “those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people”.
A commandment had to be given for the Levites to collect tithes. We don’t have the Levitical priests and we don’t have them collecting a tenth from the people anymore. And with a new priesthood, no command has been given for anyone to collect a tenth from the people of God. We don’t just carry over the law. There has been a change in the law.
The point in the passage is not to give a command to tithe, far from it, but speaks of the superiority of The Great High Priest (Jesus, as typified by Melchesadek) over and against the Old Testament Priests.
And suddenly Genesis 14 becomes a commentary on Jesus in as much as there was another priest who suddenly appeared as a representative of the living God. Abraham thus testifies to a priest who existed outside of the Levites – the same one who took from Abraham the 10th of the spoils of war (which this passage also points out as the context of Abraham’s giving).
No command to tithe is given, but Abraham’s spoil becomes the basis for a historical commentary on how Jesus can be a priest, even though he is of the line of Judah.
14 For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests.
15 It is even more obvious when another priest arises, resembling Melchizedek, 16 one who has become a priest, not through a legal requirement concerning physical descent, but through the power of an indestructible life. 17 For it is attested of him,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”
C. Where would there be a NT command to collect 10%?
22 Then the apostles and the elders, with the consent of the whole church, decided to choose men from among their membersf and to send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leaders among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: “The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the believersg of Gentile origin in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that certain persons who have gone out from us, though with no instructions from us, have said things to disturb you and have unsettled your minds,h 25 we have decided unanimously to choose representativesi and send them to you, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangledj and from fornication. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.” [i]
The letter was sent because Jews wanted Gentiles to be circumcised. Notice they did not even address the issue at hand: circumcision. Instead of writing a letter saying all the things they don’t have to do, they just said exactly what they could command:
28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to impose on you no further burden than these essentials: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangledj and from fornication.
This would have been the place to add 10% tithing. If they were going to add Law, here was the place. They were dealing with the Law, and what the Law said on Circumcision, so anything they wanted Gentiles to obey from the Law, as a matter of Christian duty, here was one key place to do it.
D. The Last Passage Outside the Law Era which mentions Tithing
Genesis 28:20: "Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God's house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.""
A conditional vow of Jacob’s.
Jacob was covenanting on what it would take for him to follow God.
We are free to take such vows, but we are not free to turn Jacob’s vow into a command.
If all Christians were to vow to pay God 10% only on the condition of a successful journey, then most tithe advocates wouldn’t be too pleased. But that is what we have here. A vow to tithe based upon God doing something for Jacob. Not exactly a model anyone would think of promoting, but then again, we need not turn narrative into command anyway.
E. Some will appeal to Jesus words to the Pharisees as binding for NT Christians:
Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel!
II. Tithing Under the Law
Three Tithes in Israel
A. The Annual Tithe to Support the Levites Num 18:21-28
“The first was an annual 10% tithe given to support the Levites, Numbers 18:21-28 who were descendants of the family of Aaron. They were known as the tribe of Levi. Because members of the tribe of Levi were assistants to Aaron, his family, and the Israelite priests and did not own or inherit a territorial patrimony, goods donated from the other Israeli tribes were their source of sustenance. They received from "all Israel" a tithe of food or livestock for support, but would first set aside a portion of that tithe for the Aaronic priests. This also includes the land tithe, which is found in Leviticus 27:30-33. This tithe could be redeemed, or sold for money, but required an additional 20% contribution, making the actual tithe 12% if paid in money.”
Leviticus 27:30: "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock --every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod-- will be holy to the LORD."
Numbers 18: 21 “And to the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting. 22 “And the sons of Israel shall not come near the tent of meeting again, lest they bear sin and die. 23 “Only the Levites shall perform the service of the tent of meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations, and among the sons of Israel they shall have no inheritance. 24 “For the tithe of the sons of Israel, which they offer as an offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance; therefore I have said concerning them, ‘They shall have no inheritance among the sons of Israel.’”
B. The Tithe of the Levites to the sons of Aaron
Numbers 18:25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe. 27 ‘And your offering shall be reckoned to you as the grain from the threshing floor or the full produce from the wine vat. 28 ‘So you shall also present an offering to the Lord from your tithes, which you receive from the sons of Israel; and from it you shall give the Lord’s offering to Aaron the priest. 29 ‘Out of all your gifts you shall present every offering due to the Lord, from all the 1best of them, 2the sacred part from them.’ 30 “And you shall say to them, ‘When you have 1offered from it the best of it, then the rest shall be reckoned to the Levites as the product of the threshing floor, and as the product of the wine vat. 31 ‘And you may eat it anywhere, you and your households, for it is your compensation in return for your service in the tent of meeting. 32 ‘And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have 1offered the 2best of it. But you shall not profane the sacred gifts of the sons of Israel, lest you die.’”
Hezekiah built storehouses:
2 Chronicles 31:3: "The king contributed from his own possessions for the morning and evening burnt offerings and for the burnt offerings on the Sabbaths, New Moons and appointed feasts as written in the Law of the LORD. 4 He ordered the people living in Jerusalem to give the portion due the priests and Levites so they could devote themselves to the Law of the LORD.5 As soon as the order went out, the Israelites generously gave the firstfruits of their grain, new wine, oil and honey and all that the fields produced. They brought a great amount, a tithe of everything. 6 The men of Israel and Judah who lived in the towns of Judah also brought a tithe of their herds and flocks and a tithe of the holy things dedicated to the LORD their God, and they piled them in heaps. 7 They began doing this in the third month and finished in the seventh month.8 When Hezekiah and his officials came and saw the heaps, they praised the LORD and blessed his people Israel.9 Hezekiah asked the priests and Levites about the heaps;10 and Azariah the chief priest, from the family of Zadok, answered, "Since the people began to bring their contributions to the temple of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and plenty to spare, because the LORD has blessed his people, and this great amount is left over." 11 Hezekiah gave orders to prepare storerooms in the temple of the LORD, and this was done.
C. The Second Tithe Deut 14:22-27
A second tithe was brought to Jerusalem for festival purposes (Deu 14:22-27).
22 Set apart a tithe of all the yield of your seed that is brought in yearly from the field. 23 In the presence of the Lord your God, in the place that he will choose as a dwelling for his name, you shall eat the tithe of your grain, your wine, and your oil, as well as the firstlings of your herd and flock, so that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 But if, when the Lord your God has blessed you, the distance is so great that you are unable to transport it, because the place where the Lord your God will choose to set his name is too far away from you, 25 then you may turn it into money. With the money secure in hand, go to the place that the Lord your God will choose; 26 spend the money for whatever you wish—oxen, sheep, wine, strong drink, or whatever you desire. And you shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your household rejoicing together. 27 As for the Levites resident in your towns, do not neglect them, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you.
D. The Third Tithe: A third tithe was required every third year to assist the poor (Deu 26:12-14).
Every third year was known as "the year of the tithe," (Deu 26:12-14). When the Israelites had completed tithing of the increase of the land, they were to give this
Third tithe to the Levites, the strangers, the orphans, and the widows. When this was completed, they were to declare unto the Lord that they had performed to the best of their ability in obeying the divine commandments.
Deuteronomy 26:12: "When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. 13 Then say to the LORD your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the alien, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them."
Summary of Three Tithes
The book of Tobit (1:6-8) provides an example of all three classes of tithes practiced during the Babylonian exile:
But I alone went often to Jerusalem at the feasts, as it was ordained unto all the people of Israel by an everlasting decree, having the firstfruits and tenths of increase, with that which was first shorn; and them gave I at the altar to the priests the children of Aaron. The first tenth part of all increase I gave to the sons of Aaron, who ministered at Jerusalem: another tenth part I sold away, and went, and spent it every year at Jerusalem: And the third I gave unto them to whom it was meet, as Debora my father's mother had commanded me...
· All the tithes mutually would consist of 23.3% of one's assets. (if you spread that third year over three, it is 3.3%per year).
· Tithing was an annual event, not weekly.
· Tithing also consisted of giving a portion of one's crops and herds, not money. 20% is added to the appropriation if converted to cash (Lev 27:31).
· Eating the tithe, even by the one who gives the tithe, is part of the worship
Other giving requirements included not gleaning the corners of the field, not making a final pass through to get all the heads, but leaving that portion for the poor. So additional demands of the Law took this well beyond the already mentioned
E. Back to Malachi
The tithe of the tithe which the Levites were to make for the priests of Aaron, those went to the storehouse of the Lord.
Hezekiah had the temple storehouses expanded temple for this purpose.
6 “For I am the Lord, I do not change;
Therefore you are not consumed, O sons of Jacob.
7 Yet from the days of your fathers
You have gone away from My ordinances
And have not kept them.
Return to Me, and I will return to you,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“But you said,
‘In what way shall we return?’
8 “Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it.
11 “And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes,
So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground,
Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field,”
Says the Lord of hosts;
12 And all nations will call you blessed,
For you will be a delightful land,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
The tithes here do not refer to the church house, or paying the pastor’s salary, but to the Levites having enough to pay for the ongoing temple services and the priests of Aaron.
But more fundamental than that, is to bring back the Law of Tithing with its curses:
9 You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
Gal 3:10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”b 12 But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the lawc will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—
Those who want to bring back the Tithe, who want to put a command on the people of God from the Law, which is not in the New Testament, routinely quote Malachi and this curse.
We are not free to lay a burden on the people of God. If even the Jerusalem Counsel did not demand 10% from the church, then neither shall we.
Summary
The few passages outside the Law that mention tithing are not command to the church to tithe, but have more to do with spoils of war, and the priesthood of Jesus.
Tithing was always food and agricultural, and when it is converted from food to money, the required amount owed went up to 12%. In one of the tithes, the worshiper who brought the tithe was to participate in eating his own tithe.
The Old Testament tithe was not one tithe, but three, being closer to 30% -- and the poor were excluded (instead being the beneficiaries).
The New Testament never commands tithing, and that at the place where the apostles commanded Gentile, they specifically did not teach tithing.
Strangely, for those who claim to follow the Bible on tithing, they only cut out major teachings (such as the other two tithes). Those who claim to be teaching Christians about a biblical tithe, are really teaching something not commanded in scripture, and, indeed, are putting a burden of the Law on Christians where God has freed us.
Finally, I believe that people who actively want Christians to obey a 10% requirement for a tithe, could be participating in, or promoting a kind of self-righteous pride.
False teaching, of any sort, must be opposed. But particularly bring the Law to bear where Christ has borne it for us on the cross.
A. Objections:
If people do this, giving will stop…
If people are left to decide on their own, they will decide to give less, not more…
We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit
If
Why people give so little to churches
I’ve never heard this
B. Some people love to say: 10% is a Good Starting Point
Introduction.
He Who Has God and Everything has no More than he Who has God alone. – C. S. Lewis
Last Week’s Sermon on Tithing
The few passages outside the Law that mention tithing are not command to the church to tithe, but have more to do with spoils of war, and the priesthood of Jesus.
A. Gen 14, Hebrews 7: Abraham gave 10% of the spoils of war to Melchazedech
Tithing was always agricultural, and went to 12% if you wanted to preserve your best assets: Leviticus 27:30: "'A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock --every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd's rod-- will be holy to the LORD."
There were really three tithes, not one. In one of the tithes, the worshiper who brought the tithe was to participate in eating his own tithe.
Because the Old Testament tithe was not one tithe, but three, it was closer to 30%
B. The Annual Tithe to Support the Levites Num 18:21-28
a. The Tithe of the Levites to the sons of Aaron Num 18:25
C. The Second Tithe Deut 14:22-27
D. The Third Tithe: A third tithe was required every third year to assist the poor (Deu 26:12-14).
The New Testament never commands tithing, and that at the place where the apostles commanded Gentile, they specifically did not teach tithing. In Acts 15, the specifically listed what they require of Gentiles in relationship to Jews and the Law – and tithing (is left out).
Paul is very specific in Galatians: if you want to keep part of the Law, keep all of it.
Strangely, for those who claim to follow the Bible on tithing, they cut out major teachings (such as two of the three tithes).
Those who claim to be teaching Christians about a biblical tithe, are really teaching something not commanded in scripture, and, indeed, are putting a burden of the Law on Christians where God has freed us.
Finally, I believe that people who actively want Christians to obey a 10% requirement for a tithe, could be participating in, or promoting a kind of self-righteous pride.
False teaching, of any sort, must be opposed. But particularly bring the Law to bear where Christ has borne it for us on the cross.
So don’t think that because I preached the true doctrine of Tithing that now we are free to be materialistic.
In fact, it may be that tithing, in its own way, allows for materialism in the church.
Giving by the Spirit! And this can be far more disconcerting for those who want the Law. Jesus is directly opposed to materialism which creeps into the lives of so many in the church.
As we explore the rampant materialism of our culture, we are going to find out that we are far more reckless with our money than we should be.
And when we explore what Jesus says about wealth in the Gospels, we will all be running for cover.
Outline:
This week,
I need to briefly look at the Relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament. Because some of you are still thinking we are under the Law, just not under the curse of the Law.
How do we relate the Old Testament to the New Testament?
Then I want to look at Jesus-Giving vs. American Materialism
The story of the early church is shot through with various attempts to bring Christians under the Mosaic Law. In the book of Acts, Jews wanted to circumcise Gentiles. The book of Galatians is written, in part, because of Food Laws and Jews and Gentiles not eating together. Romans has at its center the Jew/Gentile distinction, and the question of the Law.
Romans 7:1 Do you not know, brothers and sisters—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only during that person’s lifetime? 2 Thus a married woman is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives; but if her husband dies, she is discharged from the law concerning the husband. 3 Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man, she is not an adulteress.
4 In the same way, my friends, you have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead in order that we may bear fruit for God. 5 While we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. 6 But now we are discharged from the law, dead to that which held us captive, so that we are slaves not under the old written code but in the new life of the Spirit.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
Almost every NT book touches on the subject of how the N. T. Christian relates to the Old Testament.
Throughout church history we find the story of groups have arisen
who are zealous for some element of the Mosaic Law,
and who want to impose elements of it upon the church.
Food and Drinking laws, Sabbath laws, even the giving laws that governed the national income of Israel, all have been co-opted at one time or another for the sake of subjugating the church. Paul Likens it to slavery:
Galatians 2: 21 Tell me, you who desire to be subject to the law, will you not listen to the law? 22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and the other by a free woman. 23 One, the child of the slave, was born according to the flesh; the other, the child of the free woman, was born through the promise. 24 Now this is an allegory: these women are two covenants. One woman, in fact, is Hagar, from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery. 25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabiag and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. 26 But the other woman corresponds to the Jerusalem above; she is free, and she is our mother. 27 For it is written,
“Rejoice, you childless one, you who bear no children,
burst into song and shout, you who endure no birth pangs;
for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous
than the children of the one who is married.”
28 Now you,h my friends,i are children of the promise, like Isaac. 29 But just as at that time the child who was born according to the flesh persecuted the child who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also. 30 But what does the scripture say? “Drive out the slave and her child; for the child of the slave will not share the inheritance with the child of the free woman.” 31 So then, friends,j we are children, not of the slave but of the free woman. 5 1 For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
The Nature of Christian Freedom
2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith workingk through love.
We are not under the Law, the OT Torah, the Mosaic Covenant, the Old Testament.
We are not under the Old Testament.
Does that mean the Old Testament is of no value?
All scripture is profitable.
2 Tim 3:16: All scripture (Old Testament) is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.
All scripture is profitable. But in what way?
“Profitable” does not mean that skill in discerning the meaning of the word is not required. Just reading it without knowing its meaning, or finding a meaning I happen to like, will not due.
Nor does it mean that the profit of scripture is found with trivial effort. We still must interpret and rightly handle the scriptures.
2 Tim 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately (rightly dividing) the word of truth.
If you are going to profit from the Old Testament, which is what concerns me this morning, it requires accurate handling. I.e., it is possible to handle it inaccurately. The distinctions made by scripture are dividing lines. And the minister must see the distinctions. Those distinctions involve integrating all the parts as they work together in a larger engine. Fulfillment does not mean useless. The Old Testament served a function that came to a climax, but that does not mean the Old Testament is useless.
You be the pastor. Paul is speaking to pastor Timothy, telling him to rightly divide the word of truth. And now all New Testament ministers inherit the weight of Timothy’s ordination. You may not feel that weight, because you are not a pastor. You may have a private interpretation that you have always believed, but that’s not sufficient for the rest of us. I don’t have the liberty of resting on tradition, or what I like, or what I prefer. I have to continually rightly divide the scriptures, so that its distinctions become my distinctions and therefore become the distinctions we share as the people of God.
In each OT text, I have to know how (exactly) it is profitable, how it works, the ways it applies now that the Sun of Righteousness has dawned. That requires the skill of rightly dividing the word of truth. And to get something wrong would be harmful for the whole.
These OT distinctions are not a matter of private interpretation.
Example of how the Past is Useful:
Israel reached its climax in 70AD. does that mean Israel is no longer valuable to our identity as Christians? We still study the history of Israel and the story of the people of God. The fact that the people of God is no longer a kingdom under old forms does not mean that their story is not relevant to our view of Jesus.
The fact that the New Covenant has come, and we are not under the Old Covenant, does not mean we have no use of the Old Covenant. The question is how?
And that question may be one of the biggest questions of all Christian theology and thinking.
How does the Old Testament relate to NT Christians?
I. How are the NT and OT different? And how are they the same?
How we answer this question determines a whole host of practices and beliefs. The belief and practice I am most interested is the Old Testament Law of the Tithe. New Testament Christians are not under an obligation to Tithe. That is not a stand-alone fact. It is part of the story of Jesus and what he was doing. It is part of what emerges out of the ministry of the Cross. “we are not under law but under grace.”
Romans 6: 15 What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! --- What then? Should we not give because we are not under the tithe but under grace? By no means!
A. You are Free to have Tithe Be a Duty:
If you believe the tithe is for you, then practice it whole heartedly. You are free to say, “For me, I will tithe.” But you are not free to say it so as to imply that others ought to as well.
So don’t walk away thinking that I am against privately held convictions.
If it is your conviction to not eat meat, then, as unto the Lord, don’t eat meat.
If it is your conviction to not drink wine, then as unto the Lord, don’t drink wine.
B. Do not Smuggle Law back in through Freedom.
Imagine that we took our freedom and used it to smuggle the Law back into the New Covenant. Here is how it might work.
We are allowed to regard any day as holy, right?
Let’s say that as a Congregation that we decided to have corporate worship on Saturdays, and that a majority of us went beyond that, and regarded Saturday as a Jew would – the abiding Sabbath day of rest. You are free to do that. And we are free to worship on Saturday as a congregation.
Then, in that freedom, we came to regard other practices as inferior. We began to question the piety of those who chose to worship on Sunday. And we used our freedom as an occasion to judge those who did not practice what we started off with as a freedom.
Do you see how something that started innocent turned into NT Christians taking on OT Ballast?
Our freedom to regard Saturday as holy should not turn into us forgetting that the old wineskins, the old forms of the Old Covenant, are not binding laws for us. To do so is to go back under the Law:
Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
2 Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. 4 You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.
Jesus-Giving vs. Our Present Comforts
God is for our comforts.
God is for our dreams.
But the principal of the New Testament is that we gain these things in the next age, not the present.
We lose our riches, and send them ahead of ourselves as to build treasures in heaven.
1 Tim 6:3 If anyone aadvocates a different doctrine, and does not 1agree with bsound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine cconforming to godliness, 4 he is aconceited and understands nothing; but he 1has a morbid interest in bcontroversial questions and cdisputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction between amen of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who bsuppose that 1godliness is a means of gain. 6 aBut godliness actually is a means of bgreat gain, when accompanied by ccontentment. 7 For awe have brought nothing into the world, 1so we cannot take anything out of it either. 8 And if we ahave food and covering, with these we shall be content. 9 aBut those who want to get rich fall into temptation and ba snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For athe love of money is a root of all 1sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have bwandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
11 But aflee from these things, you bman of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, cfaith, dlove, 1perseverance and gentleness. 12 aFight the good fight of bfaith; ctake hold of the eternal life dto which you were called, and you made the good econfession in the presence of fmany witnesses. 13 aI charge you in the presence of God, who 1gives life to all things, and of bChrist Jesus, who testified the cgood confession dbefore Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the aappearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which He will 1bring about at athe proper time—He who is bthe blessed and conly Sovereign, dthe King of 2kings and eLord of 3lords; 16 awho alone possesses immortality and bdwells in unapproachable light; cwhom no man has seen or can see. dTo Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
17 Instruct those who are rich in athis present world bnot to be conceited or to cfix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, dwho richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in agood 1works, bto be generous and ready to share, 19 astoring up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may btake hold of that which is life indeed.
20 O aTimothy, guard bwhat has been entrusted to you, avoiding cworldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus agone astray 1from bthe faith.cGrace be with you.
My goal is not going to teach you financial counseling. Most things we think are at the center of financial planning are not in the Scripture. Insurance, Stock Market, retirement, pensions, 401k, Social Security, Medicare, none of this existed before the modern era, and still does not exist in most of the world.
I worked in the Stock Market for 12 years. But I am teaching Scripture.
Much of our financial freedom is isolated to this particular moment in history. What I have to say comes from the Bible, not the Stock Market. And most books on Finances are about how Christians can amass wealth using the current systems.
Commercials: Christian Radio: Money. Secular Radio: Weight.
A Poor Person and a Rich Person:
I listen to financial Counseling on the Radio all the time. So put yourself in the role of one of those radio hosts, and a woman calls in:
I am a member of a large Church with 2000 members. The pastor of the church is a famous speaker, and travels all over the country giving talks on Christianity. I am 70, my husband died when I was 65, I have no health insurance, and now all I have left is $20. I believe God wants me to put this money in the offering. What do you think?
What would you tell her?
Likely: “That is very generous of you, but God gave you common sense. He knows your heart – that you want to give – but he wants you to take care of yourself. He knows you need to eat. I’m sure God would have you keep your last $20 and buy food and medicine for the week. He wants your needs to be met. You can’t expect him just to send food down from heaven if you give up the little money he’s already provided, can you? God wants you to be sensible about these things.
Your next caller is a hard working, middle aged farmer whose crop production has been excellent. He tells you, “I’m planning to expand my old barns and have more storage facilities so I can gather in more crops and goods and have plenty for the future. Then I can retire comfortably (I have worked hard for this). Maybe then I can travel and play golf, visit relatives around the country, and spend time with my wife. What do you think?”
Perhaps you respond like this: “Sounds good. You can consider rolling your crops over into a conservative futures-contracts and then move that into an IRA shelter with low-risk so you can protect your assets as you manage your resources for retirement. You have worked hard, and the Lord clearly has blessed you with good crops. You have looked after your money, talents, crops and resources well. If you have enough to take care of yourself and your wife (who deserves security) for the rest of your golden years, by all means, go for it. Maybe one day, more of our callers will be in the position to do the same.”
Seems reasonable.
Advise to a poor widow and a rich man.
Luke 21:1 Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; 2 he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 12:13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” 14 But he said to him, “Friend, who set me to be a judge or arbitrator over you?” 15 And he said to them, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” 16 Then he told them a parable: “The land of a rich man produced abundantly. 17 And he thought to himself, ‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ 18 Then he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ 20 But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. And the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So it is with those who store up treasures for themselves but are not rich toward God.”
The poor among us have an example.
Why are poor people not like the widow? Materialism. They are poor in our country while spending all their resources on pleasures.
I got a phone call for an interview this Friday after I left work. The man said he had a programming job that was recession proof. Recession proof. Cable Television industry. Poor people never turn off their cable. They always have 20 dollars at the end of the month to entertain themselves.
The Rich among us have an Example
“God offers countless financial principles, intended to make our lives meaningful, because He's interested in us and how we earn and spend money. Once we understand how God uses money and why He chooses to use it in a particular way, we generally become more familiar with His plans and purposes for our lives and are able to recognize and comprehend His directives.” – From the Money Matters Web site.
The Embarrassment of a Rich Man’s Funeral (Kirk Rogg).
What do we do with the rich? We put them on the boards. We make them elders. We put them in the best seats at banquets. And Rich Christians get even more of our attention. We put them on the radio, they write books, so that they inspire us with their success.
If I believed like you, I would do whatever I wanted. That’s right, now what do you want to do?
He is a fool who will not give up what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot loose.
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose." Jim Elliot wrote that in his journal shortly before giving his life on the mission field.
Luke 1:53 – Mary’s Song:
53 he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
Luke 3:10-14
10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 In reply he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
Luke 4:4
3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’ ”
Luke 5:27-28
27 After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, “Follow me.” 28 And he got up, left everything, and followed him.
Luke 6:20-40
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame youd on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 “But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 “Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
(Mt 5.33—48)
27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35 But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.e Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
(Mt 7.1—5)
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
39 He also told them a parable: “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher.
The False Idea: Jesus taught on Money more than the Kingdom of Heaven.
People will use that to promote their Radio programs and books on wealth management.
They actually pervert
Luke 16: Then Jesusa said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who had a manager, and charges were brought to him that this man was squandering his property. 2 So he summoned him and said to him, ‘What is this that I hear about you? Give me an accounting of your management, because you cannot be my manager any longer.’ 3 Then the manager said to himself, ‘What will I do, now that my master is taking the position away from me? I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I have decided what to do so that, when I am dismissed as manager, people may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 So, summoning his master’s debtors one by one, he asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He answered, ‘A hundred jugs of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it fifty.’ 7 Then he asked another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘A hundred containers of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill and make it eighty.’ 8 And his master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly; for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of dishonest wealthb so that when it is gone, they may welcome you into the eternal homes.c
10 “Whoever is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much; and whoever is dishonest in a very little is dishonest also in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful with the dishonest wealth,d who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful with what belongs to another, who will give you what is your own? 13 No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Our enjoyment of eternity is related to how we use what we cannot keep.
Luke 18: 18 A certain ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 20 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honor your father and mother.’ ” 21 He replied, “I have kept all these since my youth.” 22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “There is still one thing lacking. Sell all that you own and distribute the moneyc to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became sad; for he was very rich. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?” 27 He replied, “What is impossible for mortals is possible for God.”
28 Then Peter said, “Look, we have left our homes and followed you.” 29 And he said to them, “Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life.”
Luke 19:11 As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 So he said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. 13 He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds,a and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’ 14 But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.’ 17 He said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.’ 18 Then the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your pound has made five pounds.’ 19 He said to him, ‘And you, rule over five cities.’ 20 Then the other came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.’ 24 He said to the bystanders, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.’ 25 (And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten pounds!’) 26 ‘I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.’ ”
Luke 14:12 And He also went on to say to the one who had invited Him, “When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. 13 “But when you give a 1reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, 14 and you will be 1blessed, since they 2do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at athe resurrection of the righteous.”
15 And when one of those who were reclining at the table with Him heard this, he said to Him, “aBlessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”
Parable of the Dinner
16 But He said to him, “aA certain man was giving a big dinner, and he invited many; 17 and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ 18 “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, ‘I have bought a 1piece of land and I need to go out and look at it; 2please consider me excused.’ 19 “And another one said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out; 1please consider me excused.’ 20 “And another one said, ‘aI have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come.’ 21 “And the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the head of the household became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ 22 “And the slave said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ 23 “And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 ‘For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner.’”
Use your wealth to gain what you cannot lose. Jesus is telling us how to invest in our own best interests. It does not come from books on accumulating financial wealth. I am a financial steward from another world. I am telling you upside down logic. I am telling you that you gain the next life by not managing this world according to its wisdom.
Your retirement account is the Resurrection.
Did Jesus teach on Money and Storing up Treasure in Heaven?
The sad reality (my experience) is that nobody feels that this applies to them.
1 Tim 6:17 Instruct those who are rich in athis present world bnot to be conceited or to cfix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, dwho richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. 18 Instruct them to do good, to be rich in agood 1works, bto be generous and ready to share, 19 astoring up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may btake hold of that which is life indeed. 20 O aTimothy, guard bwhat has been entrusted to you, avoiding cworldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called “knowledge”— 21 which some have professed and thus agone astray 1from bthe faith.cGrace be with you.
C. Other New Testament texts on Giving
Acts 20:35: "In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'""
Romans 12:13: "Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
2 Corinthians 8:7: "But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us -- see that you also excel in this grace of giving."
2 Corinthians 9:6: "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."
2 Corinthians 9:7: "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
1 Timothy 6:17: "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment."
1 Timothy 6:18: "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."
1 John 3:17: "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?"
1 John 3:18: "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
First Attempt at a Persuasive Presentation
A) The Scriptures do not teach that Christians Should Tithe. In fact, to teach the tithe is against the teaching of the Apostles, who do not endorse false teaching in any form. Teaching that Christians should tithe is to place a burden and a curse upon them that is not in Scripture, and creates false guilt, harms Christian unity, and demoralizes a congregation of free and happy givers.
B) I am going to preach against my own interests. I am going to preach against my own tradition. I am going to preach against my past. I am going to challenge pastors I have had, professors I have had, and I am going to make my case from Scripture.
C) What allows me to do this: I am bi-vocational. What allows another not to say it: he puts his position at risk. I stand before you with nothing to lose, but everything to gain.
D) Who am I: I am called to be a steward of your soul, and so I must give you the whole council of God, even if it comes at personal risk to me. Your job is to conform to scripture. My job is to teach it with integrity, and as a watchman standing on the walls of the church. And in my estimation, this doctrine is a threat to us. The doctrine of tithing threatens to do damage to the flock, putting a burden on them that is not from scripture. As the undersheperd of the sheep, I cannot remain silent, even if I myself am at risk.
E) My Credentials.
I was converted at age 12. I have been Southern Baptist since age 17. I attended and graduated from a Southern Baptist University. I attended and graduated from a Southern Baptist Seminary. I was baptized a Southern Baptist. I gave away all my money and life to Southern Baptist churches and institutions. I am ordained Southern Baptist, and I am the Pastor of Southern Baptist Church.
I am not an inferior Southern Baptist, I am not ignorant of what it means to be Southern Baptist, and I stand here to tell you:
F) My Giving Credentials:
What have I given in terms of money:
Well over 10%. And well out of proportion to what others of the same income level make as me. I am not looking for a way to stop giving, that is not my goal in this sermon. I am also not telling people to give as much as me. I have not shrinked back from giving away well beyond what some people think is a minimum for Christians. I do not give because of their false Law, but I give from of the compulsion of my heart, even as I desire to practice what Jesus preached, so that I may preach it with integrity, not so that I can appease those who believe in a 10% tithe.
Are you willing to change?
If you are wrong, would you want to know it.
If this opposes every fiber in your body, would you want to know it?
1) We are under scripture, not over it.
2) The Confusion of Jesus
a. He challenges law-holders.
Romans 7
Don’t give 10% because of a duty. If that is why you give, give your money someplace else. Give because you believe in the outreach and ministry of the word.
I would rather have a congregation of poor people who can only give 1%, but they give it from their heart, then a congregation of wealthy people who give the minimum 10%.
It allows you to judge.
It allows you to compare yourself to others.
It creates discord in the church. And, frankly, you are duty bound by the commands of Christ to give up your tradition and embrace the Scriptures.
If after this sermon you say, “I don’t care what he said, I believe the tithe.” Then you have a rebellious spirit. And the Lord is not pleased with your rebellion. If, however, you still disagree with this sermon, your job is to go back to the text and demonstrate where I am wrong (that is not rebellion). You have a duty to show us the real meaning of the text.
This is not a battle over opinions; this is a matter of “What does the text say?” And if you don’t care what the text says because you are just going to believe what you believe, then you are not submitting to the Word. And we are under the word, not over the word.
If Got put a verse in the NT that said, “All Christians must give 10% to the church” I would teach it. Whatever God says, that is what I teach. I have not decided to preach against tithing because I find it distasteful. I teach against it because it is not Scriptural. You must obey scripture, even if it challenges your cherished traditions. Your traditions must be brought under the scrutiny of the Bible.
This may too hard, but it is liberating. This will set you free. It means you are now bound to give as much as the Lord puts on your heart. And if you are a millionaire, I doubt it seriously that he has only required of you 10%. You wish! That is the danger of wealth, the wealthy want to keep it. And I pity you. Your wealth can become a curse on the turn of a dime. You must protect yourself from your own worldly wealth.
And if you despise this teaching because it comes from a young man, let me assure you, you are not free to create barriers where you won’t listen because of the youth of the messenger.
I am sorry that some many old pastors have taught the church wrongly. What else have they taught wrongly? Why did they do this? Our job is to forgive them, and ask God to have mercy. And then our job is to submit to scripture.
And don’t think I am done. This is not the only time I will be preaching to you the whole council of God. And every time I do, and when I do it, it will come against us.
What if in your heart you say: I have worked hard for my money, and everyone else who squandered it on credit cards and easy living are the problem. You are to take the plank out of your own eye. You are in no position to judge. You have no right to compare your giving to other people’s giving. You stand alone before the Lord.
I fear this sermon is too hard for some of you. I fear that you will protect yourself from this in harmful ways. I appeal to you as your brother. Take this as the kind and loving instruction from our Lord. And it says he disciplines us.
Do you think you are above discipline? Do you think others are sinners and need the sermon more than you? No, you need the sermon, and the Word will come to you and it will cut away the dark secrets of your heart. And God would only do that because he loves you.
----
d That in verse 22
f Or And praise be to is, Jerusalem
e Or Possessor; also in verse 22
f Or And praise be to
a Other ancient authorities lack Even
c Gk brothers
f Gk from among them
g Gk brothers
h Other ancient authorities add saying, ‘You must be circumcised and keep the law,’
i Gk men
j Other ancient authorities lack and from what is strangled
[i]The Holy Bible : New Revised Standard Version. 1989 (Ac 15:22-29). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
j Other ancient authorities lack and from what is strangled
b Or The one who is righteous through faith will live
c Gk does them
g Other ancient authorities read For Sinai is a mountain in Arabia
h Other ancient authorities read we
i Gk brothers
j Gk brothers
k Or made effective
a 1 Tim. 1:3
1 Lit., come to; or, come with
b 1 Tim. 1:10
c Titus 1:1
a 1 Tim. 3:6
1 Lit., is sick about
b 1 Tim. 1:4
c Acts 18:15; 2 Tim. 2:14
a 2 Tim. 3:8; Titus 1:15
b Titus 1:11; 2 Pet. 2:3
1 Or, religion
a Luke 12:15-21; 1 Tim. 6:6-10
b 1 Tim. 4:8
c Phil. 4:11; Heb. 13:5
a Job 1:21; Eccl. 5:15
1 Later mss. read it is clear that
a Prov. 30:8
a Prov. 15:27; 23:4; 28:20; Luke 12:21; 1 Tim. 6:17
b 1 Tim. 3:7
a Col. 3:5; 1 Tim. 3:3; 6:9
1 Lit., the evils
b James 5:19
a 2 Tim. 2:22
b 2 Tim. 3:17
c 1 Tim. 1:14
d 2 Tim. 3:10
1 Or, steadfastness
a 1 Cor. 9:25f.; Phil. 1:30; 1 Tim. 1:18
b 1 Tim. 1:19
c Phil. 3:12; 1 Tim. 6:19
d Col. 3:15
e 2 Cor. 9:13; 1 Tim. 6:13
f 1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 2:2
a 1 Tim. 5:21
1 Or, preserves alive
b Gal. 3:26; 1 Tim. 1:12, 15; 2:5
c 2 Cor. 9:13; 1 Tim. 6:12
d Matt. 27:2; John 18:37
a 2 Thess. 2:8
1 Lit., show
a 1 Tim. 2:6
b 1 Tim. 1:11
c 1 Tim. 1:17
d Deut. 10:17; Rev. 17:14; 19:16
2 Lit., those who reign as kings
e Ps. 136:3
3 Lit., those who rule as lords
a 1 Tim. 1:17
b Ps. 104:2; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5
c John 1:18
d 1 Tim. 1:17
a Matt. 12:32; 2 Tim. 4:10; Titus 2:12
b Ps. 62:10; Luke 12:20; Rom. 11:20; 1 Tim. 6:9
c 1 Tim. 4:10
d Acts 14:17
a 1 Tim. 5:10
1 Or, deeds
b Rom. 12:8; Eph. 4:28
a Matt. 6:20
b 1 Tim. 6:12
a 1 Tim. 1:2
b 2 Tim. 1:12, 14
c 1 Tim. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:16
a 2 Tim. 2:18
1 Lit., concerning
b 1 Tim. 1:19
c Col. 4:18
d Gk cast out your name as evil
e Other ancient authorities read despairing of no one
a Gk he
b Gk mammon
c Gk tents
d Gk mammon
c Gk lacks the money
a The mina, rendered here by pound, was about three months’ wages for a laborer
1 Or, banquet
1 Or, happy
2 Or, are unable to
a John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20:4, 5
a Rev. 19:9
a Matt. 22:2-14; Luke 14:16-24
1 Or, field
2 Lit., I request you
1 Lit., I request you
a Deut. 24:5; 1 Cor. 7:33
a Matt. 12:32; 2 Tim. 4:10; Titus 2:12
b Ps. 62:10; Luke 12:20; Rom. 11:20; 1 Tim. 6:9
c 1 Tim. 4:10
d Acts 14:17
a 1 Tim. 5:10
1 Or, deeds
b Rom. 12:8; Eph. 4:28
a Matt. 6:20
b 1 Tim. 6:12
a 1 Tim. 1:2
b 2 Tim. 1:12, 14
c 1 Tim. 1:9; 2 Tim. 2:16
a 2 Tim. 2:18
1 Lit., concerning
b 1 Tim. 1:19
c Col. 4:18