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Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes - Religion - Nairaland

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Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by goldfx2: 12:00am On Jan 15, 2012
i have seen many Nigerian churches telling their members to pay tithes.  after reading thru the bible i came to realize that theres no portion
in the NEW TESTAMENT that God told his children to pay tithes.  i know that the children of God in the Old testament were told to pay tithes.
According to the Bible when Christ came and died on the Cross , the old laws were abolish on the cross of calvary cos its was too difficult for the God's children.  please i want season bible scholars in the forum to please enlighten me whether its rights for christisn to pay tithes.  PLEASE I DONT NEED INSULTS , IF YOU DONT KNOW WHAT TO SAY JUST WATCH AND READ.  I HOPE I HAVE NOT INSULTED ANYONE BY POSTING THIS.   PLEASE BACK IT UP WITH BIBLE PORTIONS. 

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT MODERN PASTORS SPEND THEIR TIME PREACHING ON TITHING RATHER THAN PREACHING ON SALVATION.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by PastorKun(m): 7:06am On Jan 15, 2012
Tithing as it is preached and practised today is not part of the christian doctrine. It was first smuggled into the church after the council of Macon in 567AD (after over 500 years of christianity) even then it was paid with agricultural produce. Monetary tithes is a very mordern day invention which was first smuggled into the church via scriptural manipulation in the nineteenth century less than 150 years ago. Mordern day tithing in the church is certainly not biblical but a man made scam designed to raise money for it's promoters.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by God2man(m): 11:55am On Jan 15, 2012
Woe unto you, scribes and pharisees, hypocrites! For ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgement, mercy, faith: these ought ye have done, and NOT TO LEAVE THE OTHER UNDONE. Mathew 23:23

Here, Jesus taught us about tithing;
1. Jesus showed us that tithing is not considered a "Weighty" matter aspect of the law.
2. Jesus showed us that if a christian is unable to tithe, he is disobeying the lesser aspects of God's commandments and is therefore more likely to disobey weightier laws.
3. Jesus showed us that even though we may fulfil the weightier matters of the law, we must still pay tithes.

My friend, first thing first, you are in a strange place to ask this question, because you will be confused. I am not new, here in naiaraland, i had gone though some thread on tithe, anti-thers are more on nairaland than pro-tithers, go to some of the thread and see what wordtalk used to silence anti- tithers, you can search for it you will get more than enough answers to your questions. God bless you. God2man.

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Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by PastorKun(m): 2:17pm On Jan 15, 2012
@goldfx2
If you take a closer look at the matthew 23:23 scripture certain preachers use to manipulate believers into tithing, you would observe that Jesus was addressing pharisees who were under the law at that time. He wasn't addressing christians as god2man is trying to deceive you into thinking. Christianity started after the death of christ at cavalry and the law was also brought to an end at calvary. Christians are not under the law like the pharisees but under grace so don't let anybody use the wrong application of christ's words to manipulate you into doing a totally irrelevant practise that would cost you a lot on a consistent basis.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by goldfx2: 2:49pm On Jan 15, 2012
thanks alot Pastor Kun . i think seun should make this post front page cos more than 97% of all churches are instructing their members to pay tithes. i find it very displeasing to see modern pastors buying private jets, hummer jeeps from the tithes money , but most of their members are starving/ treking to churches. some of these churches makes it a must that all members pay

i need more responds to this topic. i may be wrong about my opinion so i want other seasoned pastors or bible scholars to throw more light on this issue. its a serious issue. please back your opinion with bible quotations. please help me and others by giving your honest opinion.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by OmoPastor(m): 7:04pm On Jan 15, 2012
@ poster.

overflogged topic
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by Hutchie(m): 1:10pm On Jan 16, 2012
My friend here is an article I wrote on my blog. I think you will find it answers most of your questions on the subject of tithing.

What is tithing?

For most people in the New Testament church tithing is separating 10% of your income/earnings (indeed 10% of all you receive whether regular or unexpected) and giving it to God via the local church. It is believed by many that this portion belongs to God as this is what God commands or demands. This view is largely based upon the Law of Moses. Support for this practice is also drawn from Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedek in Gen 14, where he gave the Priest a tithe of all the spoils he recovered in battle to rescueLot, and to a lesser extent Jacob’s vow to give a tithe to God of all God gave him.

Let me state categorically here that I am not against anyone giving 10% of their income to their church and neither do I wish for anyone to stop giving their 10% to their church. However 10% of ones income given to the church should NOT be confused with the tithe that God required of Israel. So what exactly was the tithe that God required? The following verses tell us clearly what these were:

Lev 27
30And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD. 31And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof. 32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

Now some will argue here that they tithe food and animals because money was not available and that people at that time were engaged in the practice of barter. This of course is not true because money was mentioned as far back as Gen 17:12 and occurs at least 9 other times in the book of Genesis. As a matter of fact verse 31 of Leviticus where it speaks of redeeming the tithes, this was a reference to buying back part of the tithes with money as the NLT translation more clearly shows:

If you want to buy back the LORD’s tenth of the grain or fruit, you must pay its value, plus 20 percent. Lev 27:31


What we note from these verses is that although it was possible to convert (or buy back) some of the tithes with money (plus 20% mind you), God did not command Israel to tithe money specifically but only produce of the Land.


If this is not sufficient evidence that money was readily available, we also find in Deut 14:24-25 where the tithing law was more clearly outlined also mentions money – here the Lord commanded that if the way was too far so that the tither wasn’t able to carry the tithe (to the place where the Lord chose to place His name), he should convert it to money and take it and buy whatever his heart desired. What Deut 14 also shows is that tithing was not only about giving (i.e. to the Levites and the poor etc) it was also about the tither eating their tithes before the Lord and only the third year tithe was given to the Levites etc.



Was the temple financed through the tithe?

In the previous section I attempted to define what the tithe under the Law constituted and it was clearly nothing to do with income or money. Here is a puzzling thought though. If only produce of the land were to be given as a tithe then were people not engaged with agriculture exempt from tithing? The simple answer to that question is yes! We have to remember here that whilst the Land was given toIsraelas a nation the Levite tribe (from which the priests would come) did not get any portion of it. The tithe OF THE LAND was therefore given to the Levites to inherit [(Num 18:24, 26). The Levites in turn gave a tithe of all the tithes to the priests [(Num 18:28) Note they also received first fruit offerings and such as well which I will not go into as this topic is focused on tithing].



Having considered the foregoing therefore several questions might be raised. If only food was tithe to the Levites and Priests how was the tabernacle or the temple supported and how were the other needs of the Levites met such as for clothing, household things etc? Did they therefore sell some of the tithe to get money to fund their other living costs and the temple costs? Scripture does not tell us that any of the tithe was to be sold in this way. Rather, the purpose of the tithe was to provide food for the Levites (and the Priests) and there is no indication that any other expenses were to be derived from it as we see here:



12When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled; Deut 26



Mal 3:10 also demonstrates that the purpose of the tithe was so that there would be food in God’s house. Here is where “pro-tithers” argue that produce cannot pay for the needs of the church. The point needs to be stressed here though that unlike the church today the tithe was eaten and not used as a means of funding the temple. The point needs to be highlighted here also that the storehouse in Malachi’s day was NOT the temple itself so equating the church to the ancient storehouse is somewhat silly. The storehouse was where the food was kept and certain Levites acted as treasurer over the storehouse.



Where then did the money come from to meet the expenses of God’s house in ancient Israel if it did not come from the tithes (of produce of the Land)? And how were the expenses of the Priests and Levites met?



Firstly, we note from Num 35:1-4 that the Levites had possessions of goods, cattle and beasts and they were given cities to dwell in when they entered the Land and suburbs around their cities to hold their animals. Note also from Lev 25:32 that the Levites could sell their houses for money at anytime.



In contrast to the view that the tithes are used to fund the expenses of the church, money (not food) was collected separately by the priests and Levites from all Israel annually to maintain the temple (see 2 Chron 24:5, Neh 10:32). There was also other freewill giving of money to the house of God as seen in 2 King 12:4.



Aside from the tithe of produce the priests received money as a type of poll tax on the first born of Israel(Num 3:45-51). They also collected money for the atonement of sins demonstrated in Exo 30:16, and which was used for the service of the tabernacle. In 2 Kings 12:16 the priests received the sin and trespass money which was not brought to the house of the Lord but belonged to the priests.



One of the clearest passages of scripture which demonstrates that the tithe was nothing other than food can be found in Neh 10. In this chapter we see in verse 34 where wood for example, was given as an offering but it was not included in the tithes. In verse 32 we also note they contributed money annually for the service of the temple and again this was separate from the tithes which we come to realise when we get to verses 37 and 38. Here we note that the tithes were collected from the agricultural cities (cities of the tillage) only thus confirming what I said earlier that only food producers were required to tithe and that the tithe was never money. To add to that, what we notice from the New Testament scriptures is that the practice of tithing produce existed up to Jesus’ time as the Pharisees tithe herbs of mint, dill and cumin (Matt 23:23). This was clearly the practice of tithing and money was given separately to the temple treasury as we see in Mark 12:41. It is noteworthy to mention here that those who argue that Jesus did not abolish tithing, citing Matt 23:23, by the same logic refuses to acknowledge that the tithe was not money or the equivalent of earnings but food produce from food producers only. If Jesus did not change the tithe law then the tithe remains a tenth part of produce only from food producers. This point however is lost on “pro-tithers”. We note from Luke 16:14 that the Pharisees loved money yet Jesus did not rebuke them for tithing herbs instead of money and this is because under the law only produce could be tithed. It should be noted here also that people who were engaged with other professions but who also tilled the land on the side were also required to tithe of the produce of the ground. They did not however tithe of their income from their profession.



Who changed God’s Law to require a tithe of income from all Christians? By this misinterpretation of the Law all Israel would have been required to tithe yet that is not what scripture teaches.



To recap

There are a great number of misconceptions concerning the tithe and as the debate rages on the misconceptions proliferate. In this article I have merely addressed a few of them. However, I think that if we start from the position that the biblical tithe that God commanded had nothing to do with income nor had it anything to do with money or finances then we would be well on our way to resolving all the various disputes. I believe I have demonstrated why tithing is not something done in the New Testament church. Giving 10% of ones income to the church is not equivalent to the Mosaic tithe and therefore the tithing Law should not be used to support this practice in the church. I am not against anyone freely giving 10% of their income to their church if they so wish but this is not an observance of the biblical tithe, nor could it ever be. I pray that people would learn the truth about tithing and be set free of bondage.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by numo86(m): 3:18pm On Jan 16, 2012
Let payers of tithes ask themselves this serious questions,
1, why was d command to pay tithe instituted by God??
2, who were to recieve tithes
3, why did d apostles and early christians never pay tithe just like d nation of isreal did?
4, in what way are christians to fund Gods work today as was done in d 1st century??
, seriously examinin these questions will help us find out if christians are still under obligation to pay tithes or not,
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by Goshen360(m): 6:14pm On Jan 16, 2012
numo86:

Let payers of tithes ask themselves this serious questions,
1, why was d command to pay tithe instituted by God??
2, who were to recieve tithes
3, why did d apostles and early christians never pay tithe just like d nation of isreal did?
4, in what way are christians to fund Gods work today as was done in d 1st century??
, seriously examinin these questions will help us find out if christians are still under obligation to pay tithes or not,

1. God instituted tithe to carter for the poor, orphans, widows and levites in the old testament.
2. Same as (1) are to receive the tithes or the tithes to directed towards.
3. The Apostles and early christians never paid tithes cos is not a new testament order. Jesus rarely talked about money to his disciples and rarely taught money except for taxes.
4. Christians are to fund God's work today through offerings and willful giving according to their pockets.


Am writing a book on tithe and gimmick of the modern day pastors, the truth they are not speaking on tithes. Tithe is not demanded in the new testament church, hence it is modern day fraud in the church of God. Only willful giving and that is where the blessing of God lies, not in tithe. As a matter of fact, does God only worth ten percent only? certainly not.

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Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by Hutchie(m): 5:06pm On Jan 18, 2012
I proferred an answer to this already but I want to revisit with a more succint answers. Tithes in the biblical sense refers to produce of the land in Israel which were to be eaten by the tither, donated to the poor, widows, fatherless, strangers within the gates and the Levites - the Levites in turn gave a tithe to the priest. In answer to the question therefore it is wrong for a Christian to attempt to observe the Old Covenant Law because this would deny the work of the Cross. It is also wrong if ministers use the tithing laws to extract money under duress from congregants as there are no commandments under the New Covenant to donate 10% of earnings to the church.

Is it therefore wrong to volunteer 10% of your income to the church? No. Not as far as you are giving it according to what you purpose in your heart. Trying to observe the Law as per Malachi 3 etc is an exercise in futility.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by Goshen360(m): 5:51pm On Jan 18, 2012
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-848459.0.html

I HAVE DEALT INTENSIVELY WITH THE TOPIC OF TITHE. IT IS A NEW WAY OF FRAUD IN THE MODERN CHURCH. IT WASNT PRACTICED BY THE EARLY APOSTLES OF JESUS. JESUS SPENT FEW YEARS IN MINISTRY, HOW COME YOU DID ASK YOURSELF OR YOUR PASTOR, IF IT WAS HARD FOR JESUS TO TEACH HIS APOSTLE TITHING? TITHING DOESN'T BLESS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH, WILL FREE GIVING DOES BLESS ABUNDANTLY.
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by plappville(f): 2:11pm On Jun 11, 2012
Hutchie: I proferred an answer to this already but I want to revisit with a more succint answers. Tithes in the biblical sense refers to produce of the land in Israel which were to be eaten by the tither, donated to the poor, widows, fatherless, strangers within the gates and the Levites - the Levites in turn gave a tithe to the priest. In answer to the question therefore it is wrong for a Christian to attempt to observe the Old Covenant Law because this would deny the work of the Cross. It is also wrong if ministers use the tithing laws to extract money under duress from congregants as there are no commandments under the New Covenant to donate 10% of earnings to the church.

Is it therefore wrong to volunteer 10% of your income to the church? No. Not as far as you are giving it according to what you purpose in your heart. Trying to observe the Law as per Malachi 3 etc is an exercise in futility.

WORDS !!!!!
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by Danzymatics: 10:07pm On Aug 18, 2016
I love this thread
Re: Is It Right For Christians To Pay Tithes by andyboi4real(m): 11:11pm On Aug 18, 2016
If You Go To Church On Sunday And U SEE A POOR MAN In The Congregation.PAY UR TITHE!!! If After 2 To 3 Sundays U Still See SEE THIS SAME POOR MAN Wearing The Same Dirty And Torn Clothe,looking Sick And Unkempt Than When U First Saw Him,DONT PAY UR TITHE!!!.Bt Instead Take Ur Tithe And Give It To Him,for What Use Is It In Paying Ur Tithe When Ur Pastors Fly In Private Jets,while U Walk And The Poor Crawl.For Where Is The LOVE,SHARING AND COMMUNISM Among The Early Christians Present In Such A Church(almost All The Churches Of Today)?.

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