Welcome
back to my blog. I am glad you are here.
The
topic of tithing to the church can be a difficult question. To investigate
young believers’ beliefs’ over this fascinating issue we recently surveyed
visitors to the Instagram account, DailyBibleVerses. In total, 548 persons
completed the survey of whom 80% were female, 82% evangelical, and 85% were
<40 years of age and 40% <18. How the participants tithed is described in
Table 1.
Further,
82% said that missions or parachurch organizations could receive part of their
tithe while 60% indicated material possessions or time could be part of their
tithe. Table 2 addresses the participant’s biblical basis of their tithing.
Tithing
is a concept introduced in the Old Testament law and refers to 10% of gains in
crops and herds be given to the use of God (Numbers 18:24-28 and Deuteronomy 12:6-12, 14:22-28). One prior mention of tithing stretches back to Abraham's tithe to King Melchizedek after his great victory over the
Mesopotamians (Genesis 14:20).
Tithing
is not mentioned in the New Testament epistles for the church. Importantly,
Christ said He is the end of the Old Testament law (Romans 10:4). Therefore,
the law has been discontinued and does not govern the church; Christians do not
have to follow it (Hebrews 7:12-22).
The New
Testament does state (2 Corinthians 9:7); however, everyone should choose to
give to God’s work, without sorrow, because God loves those who give
joyfully! The Apostle Paul (Philippians 3:8) provides us an example when he states that he counts all things loss for
Christ. Importantly, everything we do as Christians is done by faith, including
the extent and manner of giving (Romans 14:23).
Many who
adhere to Reformed Theology believe the church was mysteriously present in the
Old Testament and so we must obey the law, including tithing. However, no one
obeys all the law, so its practical application is selective and inconsistent.
If the church was present in the Old Testament it is not mentioned specifically,
it existed spiritually and here was certainly not a church structure that
required a tithe.
In
summary, tithing is based in the Old Testament law which New Testament
believers are not required to obey because they follow Christ. In contrast, we
have the opportunity to serve Christ with all our mental and physical
possessions, in faith, as guided by the New Testament and prayer (1 Timothy 4:4-5).
Thanks
for visiting and see you again next week.
WC
Stewart
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