Tithing is Unscriptural Under the New Covenant
From Quotes on Tithing Throughout Church History:
Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 68 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1974), 47:97:
"It is also noteworthy that, with regard to Christian liberality, there are no rules laid down in the Word of God. I remember hearing somebody say, ‘I should like to know exactly what I ought to give.’ Yes, dear Friend, no doubt you would; but you are not under a system similar to that by which the Jews were obliged to pay tithes to the priests. If there were any such rule laid down in the gospel, it would destroy the beauty of spontaneous giving, and take away all the bloom from the fruit of your liberality!"
John MacArthur, God's Plan for Giving (tape series) 2001:
Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary). The issue has been greatly confused, however, by some who misunderstand the nature of the Old Testament tithes. Tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but taxes for funding the national budget in Israel. Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levitical priests acted as the civil government. So the Levite's tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33) was a precursor to today's income tax, as was a second annual tithe required by God to fund a national festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Smaller taxes were also imposed on the people by the law (Leviticus 19:9-10; Exodus 23:10-11). So the total giving required of the Israelites was not 10 percent, but well over 20 percent. All that money was used to operate the nation. All giving apart from that required to run the government was purely voluntary (cf. Exodus 25:2; 1 Chronicles 29:9). Each person gave whatever was in his heart to give; no percentage or amount was specified. New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. Matthew 22:15-22 and Romans 13:1-7 tell us about the only required giving in the church age, which is the paying of taxes to the government. Interestingly enough, we in America presently pay between 20 and 30 percent of our income to the government--a figure very similar to the requirement under the theocracy of Israel. The guideline for our giving to God and His work is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."
Audio Presentation by David A. Croteau
David Croteau has been teaching at Liberty University since 2006. He teaches residential New Testament and Greek classes. He completed his Ph.D. at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, studying under Dr. Andreas Kostenberger. His book, "You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe?: A Deconstruction of Tithing and a Reconstruction of Post-Tithe Giving" (McMaster Theological Studies) is available at Amazon.com
You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe? - Part 1
You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe? - Part 2
You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe? - Part 3
You Mean I Dont Have to Tithe? - Part 4
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Quotes on Tithing Throughout Church History
Didascalia Apostolorum (ca. 225)
"No more be bound with sacrifices and oblations, and with sin offerings, purifications, and vows . . . nor yet with tithes and firstfruits. . . . for it was laid upon them [i.e., the Israelites] to give all these things as of necessity, but you are not bound by these things. . . . Now thus shall your righteousness abound more than their tithes and firstfruits and part offerings, when you shall do as it is written: Sell all thou hast, and give to the poor."
R. Hugh Connolly, Didascalia Apostolorum: The Syriac Version Translated and Accompanied by the Verona Latin Fragments (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1929), 2:34–35.
Waldenses (ca. 12th century)
The Waldenses, followers of Peter Waldo (ca. twelfth century), believed that tithes should not be given to priests "because there was no use of them in the primitive Church."
Allix, "Some Remarks upon the Ecclesiastical History of the Ancient Churches of the Piedmont," 1690, reprint, Bible Truth Library: Bible and Church History Collection, The Bible Truth Forum, CD-ROM. Available from https://www.bibletruthforum.com, 218, 232.
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1275)
"Paying tithes, it appears, is no longer of precept, because the precept to pay tithes was given in the Old Law. . . . Paying tithes cannot be considered a moral precept, however, because natural reason does not dictate that one ought to give a tenth, rather than a ninth or an eleventh. Therefore, it is a ceremonial or a judicial precept."
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiæ, vol. 39 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964), 139.
Roger Williams (1603–1683)
Roger Williams has been credited with founding the first or second Baptist church in America. In 1652, Williams concluded that ministers of the gospel are to serve freely and be supported freely, "and that not in stinted Wages, Tithes, Stipends, Sallaries, &c. but with larger or lesser supplies, as the Hand of the Lord was more or lesse extended in his weekly blessings on them."
Roger Williams, The Complete Writings of Roger Williams, 7 vols. (New York: Russell & Russell, 1963), 7:165.
John Milton (1659)
Milton wrote forcibly against tithes, which he considered ceremonial and abolished.
John Milton, Considerations touching the likeliest means to remove hirelings out of the church. Wherein is also discourc'd of tithes, church-fees, church-revenues; and whether any maintenance of ministers can be settl'd by law.(London: L. Chapman, 1659), A9–A10, 15–18, 32–35, 37.
John Bunyan (Baptist; 1628–1688)
John Bunyan (1628–1688), author of Pilgrim's Progress, commented on Luke 18:10–13, "This paying of tithes was ceremonial, such as came in and went out with the typical priesthood."
John Bunyan, Bunyan's Searching Works: The Strait Gate, The Heavenly Footman,The Barren Fig-Tree, The Pharisee and Publican, and Divine Emblems(Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1851), 24.
The Little Parliament (1653)
The Little Parliament (1653), under Cromwell and the Independent Churches, was moving toward voluntarism, that is, "that the maintenance of Churches by means of tithes ought to be done away."
Henry William Clarke, History of English Nonconformity, 2 vols.(London: Chapman and Hall, 1911-1913), 1:374.
Martin Luther (1483–1546)
"I would even be glad if [today] lords ruled according to the example of Moses. If I were emperor, I would take from Moses a model for [my] statutes; not that Moses should be binding on me, but that I should be free to follow him in ruling as he ruled. For example, tithing is a very fine rule, because with the giving of the tenth all other taxes would be eliminated. For the ordinary man it would also be easier to give a tenth than to pay rents and fees. Suppose I had ten cows; I would then give one. If I had only five, I would give nothing."
Martin Luther, "How Christians Should Regard Moses," In Luther's Works, vol. 35, edited and translated by E. Theodore Bachman (Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1960), 165-66.
Separatists in Amsterdam (1602–1603)
"That the due maintenance of the Officers aforesaid, should be of the free and voluntarie contribution of the Church, that according to Christs ordinance, they which preach the Gospell may live of the Gospell: and not by Popish Lordships and Livings, of Iewish Tithes and Offerings."
Henry Martyn Dexter, The Congregationalism of the Last Three Hundred Years, as Seen in Its Literature (New York: Harper, 1880), 307.
"VII. That the due maintenance of the Officers aforeſsaid ſhould be of the free and voluntary contribution of the Church, that according to Chriſts ordinance they which preach the Goſpell, may live of the Goſpell, and not by Popiſh Lordſhips and livings or Iewiſh Tithes and offerings."
Henry Ainsworth and Francis Johnson, An Apologie or Defence of Such True Christians as are commonly (but vniuſtly) called Brovvwinsts (n.p.: n.p., 1604), 58.
John Smyth (1609)
John Smyth (1609), a Separatist whom many credit with being the first Baptist, said that Christ abolished tithes.
John Smyth, Parallels, Censures, Observations [Amsterdam]: n.p., 1609, text-Fiche.
John Robinson (1610)
Robinson was the pastor of the "Pilgrim Fathers" before they left on the Mayflower. Robinson remained in Holland with the majority of the congregation. He wrote that he supported the views of Ainsworth and Smyth. In his argument, he claimed that the author of Hebrews taught that "the law is abolished by the gospel, in the sense we speak of: and the old testament by the new, in respect of ordinances," and tithing was one of those ordinances that had been abolished. He argued that the maintenance of ministers should be through voluntary contributions.
John Robinson, The Works of John Robinson: Pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers, 3 vols., edited by Robert Ashton (London: John Snow, 1851), 2:185-86; 466-67.
Adam Clarke (ca. 1762–1832)
"I say again, let there be a national religion, and a national clergy supported by the state; but let them be supported by a tax, not by tithes, or rather let them be paid out of the general taxation; or, if the tithe system must be continued, let the poor-rates be abolished, and the clergy, out of the tithes, support the poor in their respective parishes, as was the original custom."
Adam Clarke, Clarke's Commentary: A New Edition, with the Author's Final Corrections,6 vols. (New York: Methodist Book Concern, 1846), 1:179-80.
Charles Buck (English; 1833)
His article on tithing stated that nothing in the New Testament commanded tithing since "the divine right by which they were raised necessarily ceased."
Charles Buck, "Tithes," in A Theological Dictionary, new ed., edited by E. Henderson (London: James Duncan, 1833), 905-06.
J. Newton Brown (Baptist; 1836)
John Newton Brown (1803–1868), who wrote the draft of the New Hampshire Confession of Faith (1833), edited an encyclopedia. The article on tithes in this encyclopedia (published in 1836) explicitly said they ceased. The New Hampshire Confession of Faith was a precursor to the Baptist Faith and Message.
J. Newton Brown, ed., "Tithes," in Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, 2 vols. (Brattleboro: Fessenden, 1836), 2:1124.
G. Campbell Morgan (English Congregationalist; 1898)
"I hear a great deal about the tithing of incomes. I have no sympathy with the movement at all. A tenth in the case of one man is meanness, and in the case of another man is dishonesty. I know men today who are Christian men in city churches and village chapels, who have no business to give a tenth of their income to the work of God. They cannot afford it. I know other men who are giving one-tenth, and the nine-tenths they keep is doing harm to their souls.
G. Campbell Morgan, The Westminster Pulpit, 10 vols., 1906–1916, reprint (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 4:40.
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834–1892)
Charles Spurgeon is one of the most confusing preachers when trying to decipher his beliefs on tithing. Some quotes seem to lead to the conclusion that he believed it was required for Christians. The following quotes are those that cast doubt on that conclusion.
"It is also noteworthy that, with regard to Christian liberality, there are no rules laid down in the Word of God. I remember hearing somebody say, 'I should like to know exactly what I ought to give.' Yes, dear Friend, no doubt you would; but you are not under a system similar to that by which the Jews were obliged to pay tithes to the priests. If there were any such rule laid down in the gospel, it would destroy the beauty of spontaneous giving, and take away all the bloom from the fruit of your liberality!"
Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 68 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1974), 47:97.
"I have read some amazing statements upon the divine right of tithes. It seems to be established in the minds of some that if God gave the tithes to Levi he must, therefore, have given them to Episcopalian ministers: an inference which I fail to see! I should just as soon draw the inference that he had given them to Baptist ministers; certainly it would be no more illogical. The idea of our being priests, or Levites, in order to get compulsory tithes, would be too abhorrent to be entertained for a moment!"
Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 68 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1974), 28:694.
"Much has been said about giving a tenth of one's income to the Lord. Methinks that is a Christian duty which none should for a moment question. If it were a duty under the Jewish law, much more is it so, now under the Christian dispensation. But it is a great mistake to suppose that the Jew only gave a tenth. He gave very, very, very much more than that. The tenth was the payment which he must make, but after that came all the free-will offerings, all the various gifts at divers seasons of the year, so that, perhaps, he gave a third, much more near that, certainly, than a tenth!"
Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 68 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1974), 14:567–68.
Again, if one were to stop reading right there, then his view seems obvious. But he continued:
"I do not, however, like to lay down any rules for God's people, for the Lord's New Testament is not a great book of rules; it is not a book of the letter, for that killeth, but it is the book of the Spirit, which teacheth us rather the soul of liberality than the body of it, and instead of writing laws upon stones or paper, it writes laws upon the heart. Give, dear friends, as you have purposed in your heart, and give proportionately, as the Lord hath prospered you, and do not make your estimate of what you ought to give by what will appear respectable from you, or by what is expected from you by other people, but as in the sight of the Lord, as He loveth a cheerful giver; and as a cheerful giver is a proportionate giver, take care that you, like a good steward, keep just accounts towards the great King."
Charles H. Spurgeon, Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, 68 vols. (Pasadena, TX: Pilgrim, 1974), 14:568.
Albert L. Vail (Baptist; 1913)
"My judgment is that the strong probability at this point favors the New Testament plan, to be considered later, as better even for immediate financial results than the tithing plan."
Albert L. Vail, Stewardship Among Baptists (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1913), 73-74.
John Harvey Grime (Baptist; 1934)
Grime provided ten reasons Christians are not required to tithe.
"1. It violates the divine plan laid down in the New Testament Scriptures.
2. It violates every principle of church polity upon which all our churches stand.
3. If the Scriptures require our churches to tithe, we have not a single scriptural church in our association.
4. It changes our giving from the realm of voluntary worship to that of slavish obedience to law.
5. It makes our churches tax gatherers.
6. No Baptist Church has ever adopted it. Should a church adopt it, they would cease to be Baptist.
7. So far as history goes, it was never mentioned as a Christian or church obligation until after the 'great apostasy' in 250 A. D., and the union of Church and State in 325 A. D., and then only by the apostate church, and not by Baptists. The agitation among Baptists, of this question, is of recent date.
8. No Baptist Confession of Faith has ever mentioned it.
9. It screens the rich, and oppresses the poor.
10. Not one syllable in all the Bible that connects the tithe system with the churches of Jesus Christ. When Baptists leave the Bible, they get into trouble."
John Harvey Grime, The Bible and History on the Tithe System ( n.p.: n.p., 1934), 4.
John Theodore Mueller (Lutheran; 1934)
"With respect to the tithe which God enjoined upon the Jews in the Old Testament, Lev. 27,30, we must remember, on the one hand, that also this provision belonged to the Ceremonial Law, which has been abolished by Christ, Col. 2, 16.17, so that it is no longer binding upon Christians in the New Testament; on the other hand, however, the abolition of the law of tithing must not be abused by Christians in the interest of neglecting liberal giving, since also in the New Testament God exhorts His saints to give continually and liberally, 2 Cor. 9,6.7."
John Theodore Mueller, Christian Dogmatics: A Handbook of Doctrinal Theology for Pastors, Teachers, and Laymen (St. Louis: Concordia, 1934), 414.
R. C. H. Lenski (Lutheran; 1946)
Lenski said "[t]ithing is Jewish" and "Paul shunned tithing."
R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul's First and Second Epistle to the Corinthians (Columbus: Wartburg, 1946), 1172.
Francis Pieper (Lutheran; 1953)
"We Lutheran professors deplore and reprove as sin the undeniable fact that New Testament Christians make use of their deliverance from the Old Testament tithe to excuse their indolence in contributing for the purposes of the Church, particularly for missions. Also Luther reproved this sin. [the sin of not supporting ministers and missions] But we also know that the Christian Church never commands where Scripture does not command. The obligation to pay the tithe has been abolished in the New Testament. While the New Testament Scripture inculcates that obligation of generous and untiring giving, it leaves the exact amount and the details of the contributions to Christian insight and freedom."
Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics, vol. 3, trans. Walter W. F. Albrecht (St. Louis: Concordia, 1953), 50.
Paul Leonard Stagg (Baptist; 1958)
Tithes "are not thus binding upon Christians."
Leonard Stagg, "An Interpretation of Christian Stewardship," in What is the Church? A Symposium of Baptist Thought, ed. Duke K. McCall (Nashville: Broadman, 1958), 151.
Hiley H. Ward (Baptist; 1958)
Ward wrote a whole book dedicated to why tithing is not necessary for Christians: Hiley H. Ward, Creative Giving (New York: Macmillan, 1958).
Roy T. Cowles (1958)
Cowles said that he has "taken the position against the tithing doctrine for many years."
Roy T. Cowles, Scriptural Teaching on Stewardship: Tithing or Stewardship? (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958), 3.
R. C. Rein (Lutheran, Missouri Synod; 1959)
"The fact that many church members today contribute far less than ten per cent does not constitute a valid reason for advocating the tithe as the ideal guide for giving. For, apart from the fact that the tithe is not a worthy standard for giving in the New Testament, those who advocate it should, in fairness, call attention to the many offerings that the Israelites brought in addition to the tithe."
R. C. Rein, First Fruits: God's Guide for Giving (St. Louis: Concordia, 1959), 64.
Wick Broomall (1960)
Broomall says that the silence of tithe in NT is "best explained only on the ground that the dispensation of grace has no more place for a law on tithing than it has for a law on circumcision."
Wick Broomall, "Tithes," in Baker's Dictionary of Theology, ed. Everett F. Harrision (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1960), 525.
Alfred Martin (1968)
Martin was a graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary. At one point in his career he was a Vice President at Moody.
"The Christian, since he is not under the law, is not under the obligation to tithe."
Alfred Martin, Not My Own: Total Commitment in Stewardship (Chicago: Moody, 1968), 36.
Jerry Horner (Southern Baptist; 1972)
"Exegetically and thus dogmatically the New Testament does not recognize tithing as a regulation in the new covenant." 183
Jerry Horner, "The Christian and the Tithe," in Resource Unlimited, ed. William L. Hendricks (Nashville: Stewardship Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1972), 183.
Richard B. Cunningham (Southern Baptist; 1979)
Richard Cunningham was a SBC seminary professor of Christian philosophy.
"The problem is that the New Testament nowhere contains a specific commandment that the Christian should tithe. The tithe is mentioned only three times in the New Testament."
He also said that "in each case the allusion to the tithe is merely incidental to another point being made."
"If that were the clear standard of giving in the New Testament church, it would have been useful to appeal to the tithe in the major giving passages in the New Testament. But in those passages … there is not the slightest hint of the tithe."
Richard B. Cunningham, Creative Stewardship, Creative Leadership Series, ed. Lyle E. Schaller (Nashville: Abingdon, 1979), 101.
Garry Friesen (1980)
"Christians are not under obligation to practice tithing."
Garry Friesen, with J. Robin Maxson, Decision Making & the Will of God: A Biblical Alternative to the Traditional View, Critical Concern (Portland: Multnomah, 1980), 357.
James Montgomery Boice (1986)
"Sometimes in question-and-answer periods I am asked whether Christians today are obliged to tithe. I suspect the questioner wants to know how little he must give to Christian causes and how much he can keep for himself. I reply with what I believe to be a proper statement of the case, namely, that the tithe was an Old Testament regulation designed for the support of a particular class of people. It was not carried over into the New Testament. Nowhere in the New Testament are believers instructed to give a specific tenth or any other proportion of their income to Christian projects."
James Montgomery Boice, The Minor Prophets: Two Volumes Complete in One Edition (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1986), 2:255.
Paul Fink (1982)
"It is interesting to note that tithes are never mentioned in the New Testament. … Nowhere in the New Testament is it suggested that the believer is to give 10 percent of his income … The storehouse, contrary to much popular preaching on the subject, is not the local church."
Paul Fink, "Malachi," in Liberty Bible Commentary: Old Testament, ed. Jerry Falwell (Lynchburg, VA: The Old-Time Gospel Hour, 1982), 1859.
J. Vernon McGee (1991)
"We are to give, but on a different basis. The church is not under the tithe system as a legal system. That does not mean that some people couldn't give a tenth to the Lord—that may be the way the Lord would lead them to give."
J. Vernon McGee, Malachi, Thru the Bible (Nashville: Nelson, 1991), 81.
John MacArthur Jr. (2001)
Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary).
The issue has been greatly confused, however, by some who misunderstand the nature of the Old Testament tithes. Tithes were not primarily gifts to God, but taxes for funding the national budget in Israel.
Because Israel was a theocracy, the Levitical priests acted as the civil government. So the Levite's tithe (Leviticus 27:30-33) was a precursor to today's income tax, as was a second annual tithe required by God to fund a national festival (Deuteronomy 14:22-29). Smaller taxes were also imposed on the people by the law (Leviticus 19:9-10; Exodus 23:10-11). So the total giving required of the Israelites was not 10 percent, but well over 20 percent. All that money was used to operate the nation.
All giving apart from that required to run the government was purely voluntary (cf. Exodus 25:2; 1 Chronicles 29:9). Each person gave whatever was in his heart to give; no percentage or amount was specified.
New Testament believers are never commanded to tithe. Matthew 22:15-22 and Romans 13:1-7 tell us about the only required giving in the church age, which is the paying of taxes to the government. Interestingly enough, we in America presently pay between 20 and 30 percent of our income to the government--a figure very similar to the requirement under the theocracy of Israel.
The guideline for our giving to God and His work is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: "Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver."
John MacArthur, God's Plan for Giving (tape series).
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Comments (3)
The statement in the article, "Two kinds of giving are taught consistently throughout Scripture: giving to the government (always compulsory), and giving to God (always voluntary)." is incorrect. In the Old Testament, it is clear that tithing was required.
Tithing was the old testament. Today we give what we purpose in our hearts as God loves a cheerful giver. We see this in the New Testament the widow in Mark 12 gave her last note and she purposed that in her heart. She did not grudge about it like the other people who where giving their excess dollars away. In 2nd Cor 9:6-11 we see that God will come and goes come to our need through Christ Jesus his Son and his words in you. We also read in Galations 6:8 that we sow to the spirit and not reap corruption. The love of money is the root of all evil. Ask Annias and Sapharis who held back what they promised to give the price of the land they sold every penny in Acts 5. They lied to the man of God Peter and the Holy Ghost. Finally in Philippians 4:17-19 our offerings what we purpose in our hearts is a sweet smell in the nostrils of God through Christ Jesus.
The problem us we have man who has their brain stuck in the old testament and are still trying to follow Jesus in the flesh when he us no longer available in the flesh 2nd Cor 5:16-17. Jesus’ words are spirit and life John 6:63 and that us what we follow is after his words.
Mark 12:42] And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.
[43] And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
[44] For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.
2nd Cor 9:6] But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
[7] Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
[8] And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
[9] (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
[10] Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)
[11] Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
1st Timothy 6:10] For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
[11] But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
[12] Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Galations 6:8] For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
Philippians 4:17] Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
[18] But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
[19] But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
[20] Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Acts 5:1] But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
[2] And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
[3] But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
[4] Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
[5] And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
[6] And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
[7] And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
[8] And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
[9] Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
[10] Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
[11] And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Tithing was under and is under the law with a curse for Christians seeking salvation under the law, Malachi 3:7-12When candid lie is told by quoting tithes in Malachi 3:7-12,under the law IN OLD COVENANT which were prime contributions for the Levites tribe and Leviticus Priesthood, how many Christians line up to be served with food when tithes and offering under the law are given? Saved Christians by grace IN NEW COVENANT who are able ministers of the New excellent Covenant are lead and taught by the Holy Spirit who are not under law or in generation curses in the law in Old Covenant, Galatians2:16-21, Galatians3:6-14. Tithes in old covenant were chiefly for the tribe of Levi for their services which they served at the tabernacle of the congregation since they were not allocated land for sharing among themselves. Numbers 18: 20-21, Joshua18: 28-29. Jehovah God told Joshua that He had set to Himself the Levites Tribe and gave them priesthood and tithes as their inheritance in the old Covenant. We are the Royal Priesthood in the New Covenant that excel mediated by Christ, 1 Peter 2:5. The Old Covenant was crucified at Calvary in the flesh of Jesus Christ and the priesthood was changed from Leviticus Priesthood to Royal priesthood of Jesus Christ and the law governing it was changed Ephesians 2 :13-16, 2 Corinthians 3 :6-18. The crucified Old Covenant in law of carnal commandment is Holy and rotten (obsolete) to vanish away to be used in elements, Hebrew 8 :13. Those who simply imply Christians are under curse for not tithing put into question about unfinished work of redemption (SALVATION) by Christ Jesus on cross of Calvary which is bought and maintained continuously in tithes paid to them, Hebrew 10 : 8-16
When will generation curses end to the very Christians often prayed for after offerings are made to preachers and teachers of the law? Yet Christ is not ashamed to call us brethren whom He has redeemed and sanctified in the better covenant with better promises mediated by Him. Hebrew 2: 9-13.We have been redeemed from the curse of the law, Jesus Christ being made a curse for us : for it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. Galatians 4:4-5,We were redeemed from being under law and received the adoption of sons for if righteousness come by the law then Christ is dead in vain Galatians 2:21,. Jeremiah 5: 30-31, An astonishing and horrible thing Has been committed in the land:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule by their own power; And My people love to have it so. But what will you do in the end? This calls for Christians to be wise. Christians should redeem the time and not be fools. The clergy in deluge of quagmire of tithes falsehood ask Christians who are willing to tithe to do so. We are new creatures in Christ Jesus without generation curses. There are two churches in Christianity. We have the Church of Christ being taught Christians’ doctrines by the Holy Spirit in New Covenant and the merchandised church of men which is taught doctrines of men held in men’s personality clout adoration, 2 Peter 2:1-3. Saved Christians are justified from all things in Christ but not by the law of Moses, We have been redeemed from the bondage of the law, sin and men Acts 13:38-39, Do not hold the Word of God with respect of persons.
Much preaching is done in Grace and Love to Christians at early stages who are later stealthily entangled and enslaved in fear under the bondage of the law in tithes falsehood emphatically taught by many in seeking dwindling tithes fortune entrenched falsehood. The Church of Christ is founded in Love by Grace and a worker is worthy his labor. The Apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ understood from the onset of Christ's Ministry that they were not under Leviticus Priesthood and had no share in Leviticus Priesthood allotments entitlement which were already known. Thus question was raised of their take and benefits in the Royal Priesthood of Jesus Christ Ministry in the New Covenant, Mathew 19:23-30 . For collection for the Saints Paul asked Christians to lay in store as God had prospered one upon the first day of the week, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. He did not tell them tithe . Leviticus Priesthood which was upheld under the glory and the righteousness of law without partiality had tithes allotments which existed before well-known and already defined in obliged tithing. God had also to deal with wayward Priesthood and a rebellious nation of Israel under the law. Malachi 2:1-17, Malachi 3:1-18. Christians were never left under leadership of Leviticus Priesthood which was hostile to them and we should not live under canopy of concealed lies based on non-doctrinal Christian promises. Christ was accused before the Leviticus High Priest and slapped while Paul got letters from the Levites High Priest to persecute and prosecute Christians from Jerusalem to Damascus. The Levites Priests wanted to kill all apostles of Jesus Christ.
Christians saved by grace are able Ministers of the New Testament born of love in Grace with exceeding glory which surpassed the glory that was in law with Moses. 2 Corinthians 3:4-18. Offerings made in Christian Churches are for ministering the Body of Jesus Christ. Those under the works of the law are under curse. Roman 3:19-31. Our righteousness is justified by God in salvation without the law, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. We establish law full filed by Jesus Christ through the law of faith. We have been redeemed from Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin under law, since God had no pleasure in them. We are the adopted of sons in Royal Priesthood of Jesus Christ having free access to God our Father. Tithes are under the work of the law with curses for noncompliance. Mathews 27:50-52, Ephesians2 ;4-20.Galatians 2:4-23, Pastors ,Priest and Bishops who are servants of God should not subject sons of God to tithes taxation under the curse of the law, Galatians 5:1, Galatians4:4-5,2 Corinthians 3:1-18. Hebrew 10:7-10. “Then said I, Lo I come ( in volume of the book it is written of me) to do thy will , O God. Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”[a] He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Roman 8:1-2, Roman 10:1-12, 2 Timothy1: 8-9. Sins sacrifices ,offerings under the law and generation curses under law in the old covenant remained up to the death of Jesus Christ at Calvary when He fulfilled the prophecy and requirements of the law. He justified us in redemption in His blood by grace, Titus 3:4-7. Those who want to live by law should live by the law which is hard for one to accomplish. Galatians 3: 8-15. Even the tithe which was given by Abraham was under the law of sin and death from the fallen state of Adam and Eve at the garden of Aden. Our righteousness is in faith in the blood of Jesus Christ and not in the righteousness of the law.
Those who lie would like to deceive Christians that tithe was before the law but before which law? There was the law of Garden of Aden which was directly given to Adam by God and law of Moses given by God to Moses for the Israel to follow and perform. Christ’s mission on earth is halve way taught on sins remission and sin sacrifices done away in salvation but sacrifices and offering under law done away at Calvary (salvation) are cunningly and hypocritically equally anchored by tithes crusaders to tithes protection in salvation in New Covenant. If tithes have protection in new covenant then we would be debtors to law hence we would be buying our salvation and our salvation would not by grace. We are saved by grace to offer to God spiritual sacrifices. 1 Peter 2 :5-9, You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Paul referred his zeal into his work of persecuting Christians under the righteousness of works of the law in the obsolete (decayed) old Covenant as blameless but as dung after Knowing Christ in the New Covenant that excel in the spiritual law by grace. What was light and wright in the old obsolete Covenant was of no value to him in Christ Jesus . Sacrifices and offerings under law done away by Christ Jesus in salvation are cunningly left intact by tithes crusaders thus tithe is emphasized as part of Christians doctrine. Christians saved by grace are not debtors to law for them to pay tithes. Tithes had offered protection under law but have no room in grace dispensation from time of reformation ushered by Jesus Christ at Calvary. Unfortunately some have falsely equally anchored tithes protection to salvation in New Covenant. If tithes have protection in new covenant then we would be debtors to law hence we would be buying our salvation and our salvation would not by grace. Our salvation is in the new better covenant that excels with better promises mediated by our Lord Jesus Christ. Hebrew 8: 6-8.
Paul referred to Galatians (Church in Galatia including clergy) as bewitched fools for going back to works of the law which were acceptable under the old covenant but not acceptable under the new excellent Covenant, Philippians 3: 1-21, Galatians 3:1-29. Apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ did not preach the Gospel through deceptive greediness. 1Thessalonians 2 :3-6. It is upon high level of hypocrisy for men to hang on in protecting the law in theoretical manner by saying God changes not and the law has not changed so that they can hedge in tithes as a Christian doctrine in the new Covenant in Grace that excels.