Moneycar:
I assume you are a PURE CHRISTIAN. Have you ever read that Jesus or the first disciples paid tithes? Have you ever seen the occurrence of paying tithes in the new testament?
Let's go thru the Bible a lil bit
Tithing is only talked about a few times in the New Testament, generally in discourses between Jesus and various Jews as a negative that they were placing ‘tithing’ above humility and truly serving God.
Luke 18:12 “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’” This was part of the ‘Pharisee’s Prayer’, which was a self-promoting prayer about how ‘good’ he was, tithing, fasting, and obeying the civil law. Yet Jesus said it was not this man who would be justified, but rather the humble tax collector who acknowledged he was a sinner.
Matt 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
The Jewish tithe was of the increase of their goods; animals, produce, oil, money, etc. Herbs and spices were one of these things, and could be weighed to determine what a tenth was. Jesus uses the example of herbs because they are something small and relatively unimportant. No one starves for lack of cumin. The Pharisees were exacting in making sure they tithed a tenth of every herb, but neglected the heart of the law. They were proud rather than humble, harsh rather than merciful, self-righteous rather than devoted to God.
The last references to the tithe in the New Testament are in Hebrews chapter 7. In Heb 7 it is described how Abraham, after winning a battle, tithed a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek King of Salem. This chapter sets up how Melchizadek was a type of Priest-King looking forward to the fulfillment of the anti-type, the true Priest-King, Jesus Christ.
Beyond these few references in the discourses of Jesus to the Pharisees, and in Hebrews, tithing is not mentioned in the New Testament. There is a lot that can be inferred about it, however!
The New Testament shows a radically new way of looking at money and goods through a cheerful, charitable heart. Believers, as ‘children of the King’, are exempt from any taxes to support the King in Matt 17:24–27. All believers are now levites, priests in service of the church, and hence there is no ‘priestly caste’ that must be supported through tithes, as shown in I Pet 2:5-9. Various workers and missionaries of the early church, such as Paul and Priscilla and Aquila, worked to supplement any giving they received as Tent-Makers. This was unlike the Jewish Levites, who were forbidden from working. Believers are also individually ‘the temple of the Holy Spirit’ as mentioned in I Cor 3:16 and I Cor 6:16-19. Believers are also collectively the Temple, as mentioned in I Pet 2:5. Because believers are both priests and temple, under Jesus the High Priest, there is no longer a need for the tithe.
Rather than the ritual of the tithe, then, the New Testament promotes a whole life in service to God (Rom 12:1); giving that is cheerful and not by compulsion (II Cor 9:6–9); being aware and generous regarding the needy (Matt 5:42, Acts 2:44, Luke 12:33, Luke 6:38); contributing to the ministry of the church (I Tim 5:17–18); contributing in crisis like famine (I Cor 16:1–4, II Cor 8:1–3); and viewing money in general as merely an earthly tool that will eventually pass away. Bros which church do you attend because I love your simple and detailed explanation of tithing. This is a topic that has made Christianity on the confused side. |
