Show Me the Money

[SDG]

Mizpeh ... I addressed your questions about Malachi in the last couple of pages.

Here is your other question:

1) What do you suppose the writer of this paper intends tithes for Christians to be? From what I understand he considers tithing to be paying taxes to the government for services provided. Do you believe he is suggesting the government will give preachers (priests or ministers of the word) 10% of the total tax?

2) 10% over 3 years as a type of Social Security (to the poor, elderly, widows, immigrants)

3) 10% on vacations.

Does this person support those who labor in the word of God?

I cannot presuppose what the answer of the writer would be ... however ... I'm almost sure he like many who see the inconsistency of tithe teaching, the lack of a NT mandate for it, and the abundance of evidence of grace-based giving under the new covenant ... would tell you that the Church has a responsibility to go far beyond tithing when supporting those who labor in the word of God.


As for me, I commend Christians who practice tithing as a voluntary practice, as Abraham did, as a way to enable the church to fulfill its God-given commission to preach the gospel to the world. It's the teaching of it being compulsory, even salvational, and the misapplication of its usages that is bothersome to me. If a person wants to give 10% as benchmark for their giving .... Praise God.

Yet ... what does the Word tell us about giving and filling the needs of the Church ... I believe the following article addresses the issue in a sound way.

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Needs in the new covenant ministry

In the new covenant church, there are financial needs — to support the poor, and to support the gospel by supporting those who preach it. Christians are obligated to give financial support for these needs. Let's see how Paul explained this obligation in his second letter to the Corinthians. Paul describes himself as a minister of the new covenant (2 Cor. 3:6), which has much greater glory than the old (verse 8). Because of what Christ did for him in the new covenant, Christ's love compelled Paul to preach the gospel, the message of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:11-21). Paul exhorted the Corinthians "not to receive God's grace in vain" (6:1). How were they in danger of doing this? Paul had gone out of his way to serve them, but they were withholding their affections from him (6:3-12). He asked them for a fair exchange, for them to open their hearts to him (6:13). Paul told the Corinthians that they had a duty to give something in response to what they had been given. This response comes in terms of morality (6:14-7:1), which the Corinthians had done (7:8-13), and in terms of affection, which the Corinthians had also done (7:2-7), and in financial generosity, which Paul addresses in chapter 8. This is the way in which the Corinthians had closed their hearts to Paul and withheld their affections.

Paul cited the example of the Macedonian churches, who had given generously, even to the point of self-sacrifice (8:1-5). The example is powerful; the implications are strong that the Corinthians needed to respond to Paul's sacrifices by making sacrifices themselves. But Paul did not make a command (8:8). Instead, he asked first for a turning of the heart. He wanted the Corinthians to give themselves to the Lord first, and then to support Paul. He wanted their gift to be done in sincere love, not from compulsion (8:5, 8). Paul reminded them that Christ had become poor for their sakes; the implication is that the Corinthians should make financial sacrifices in return. But then Paul reduced the pressure, reminding the Corinthians that they could not give more than they had (8:12). Nor did they have to impoverish themselves to enrich others; Paul was only aiming for equity (8:13-14). Paul again expressed confidence in their willingness to give, and added the peer pressure of the Macedonian example and the boasting he had done in Macedonia about the generosity of the Corinthians (8:24-9:5). Paul again noted that the offering must be done willingly, not from compulsion or given grudgingly (9:5, 7). He reminded them that God rewards generosity (9:6-11) and that a good example causes people to praise God and puts the gospel in a favorable setting (9:12-14).

This was a collection for the poor in Judea. But Paul said nothing about tithing. Rather, he appealed to the new covenant environment: Christ had made many sacrifices for them, so they ought to be willing to make a few sacrifices to help one another. In asking for this offering, Paul was also making a financial sacrifice. He had a right to receive financial support himself, but instead of that, he was asking that the offering be given to others. Paul had not asked for any financial support from Corinth (11:7-11; 12:13-16). Instead, he had been supported by Macedonians (11:9). Paul had a right to be supported by the Corinthians, but he did not use it (1 Cor. 9:3-15). This passage in Paul's first letter tells us more about our Christian duty to give financial support to the gospel. Workers should be able to receive benefits of their work (9:7). The old covenant even made provision for oxen to be given benefits of their work (9:9). Throughout his appeal, Paul does not cite any laws of tithing. He says that priests received benefits from their work in the temple (9:13), but he does not cite any percentage. {** Keep in mind the Aaronic priests received 1/10th , or 1%, of the tithe … receive from the Levites] Their example is cited in the same way as the example of soldiers, vineyard workers, herdsmen, oxen, plowers and threshers. It is simply a general principle.

As Jesus said, "The worker deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7). Paul cited the oxen and wages scriptures again in 1 Timothy 5:17-18. Elders, especially those who preach and teach, should be honored financially as well as with respect. Jesus also commanded, "those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:14). This implies that those who believe should provide a living for some who preach. There is a financial duty, and there is a promised reward for generosity (though that reward may not necessarily be physical or financial)