Tithes I.

The tithe is a tenth of all income and is the most well defined form of giving in the church of Christ today. It is that part of the income that is given to God. The teaching of the tithe is as follows (1) It belongs to God, and is to be removed from earnings before other necessities are attended to- a sign of honor for Him.  (2) It is compulsory instead of voluntary- a requirement of God, and not a suggestion (3) It is the part that sanctifies the rest of our income and prevents unnecessary loss. This form is largely sourced from the law of tithes in Moses, and the book of the prophet Malachi.

When it comes to giving, we have different categories; first- tithers. Tithers are very few. Many Christians agree with tithing in principle. However, the record almost always shows few give a tenth of all income regularly. Then, we have non-tithers: Christians who give regularly and generously, but do not tithe, because they find no basis for it in the New Testament. A third group is the non-givers: Christians who give sparingly or who do not give at all, because they consider all giving in the churches as an enrichment scheme perpetrated by the pastorate or clergy.

It is to this last category, I now make appeal- this mini-treatise attempts to present a round table question styled approach to the matter of tithes, albeit with a definite conclusion- and is mainly for categories 1 and 2. If any comments or contributions would flow forth, kindly refrain from invective and undue criticism. All commentary deemed unnecessarily castigatory in part or in whole will be stricken from record. Writer discretion is therefore advised, and apology offered in advance for they who cannot help it.

Non-tithers (vide supra) have two related issues with the tithe as delineated in the first paragraph. First, they consider tithing to be a thing of the Old Covenant, and count the abolishing of that covenant in Christ inclusive of the end of such system of giving, and irrelevant to the church of Christ. Second, there is no mention of the tithe as a specific form of giving in the New Testament. In the early church period, giving was so well done that every one was well catered for. We find no mention of tithe in Acts of the apostles, who being Jews were well acquainted with the same, nor in any of the epistles do we find the tithe being practiced by Christians.

[Certain characteristics of the tithe in the Old Testament are worth mentioning. First, money was never tithed. Not ever. The only place where money is mentioned in relation to tithe was as a means of lightening the size of tithe for the sake of travel. At the point of arrival, the money was used to purchase tithable resources which were then used for the required purpose. Tithable items included only produce of the land(crops) and livestock. Second, there were three (3) different kinds of tithes-one for the Levitical priesthood, another for religious festival where all God's people came together to feast before the Lord, and yet another tithe was collected for the poor. Thus the tithe giver under the law gave about 25% of his yearly income or resources. And giving 10% today is doing less than even the law required. Third, a tithe was not required of everyone, the poor were exempted- rather the tithe was partly for them. Fourth, there is no more levitical priesthood. That ended with the coming of Christ. Today, every child of God is a priest of God, and Christ is our High Priest]

Nevertheless tithers hold the practice of giving a tenth to be an unchanging principle in God untarnished by the coming of Christ and the ushering in of a New Covenant. Tithing is not about the law really, but about faith. Here we are taken from Moses to Abra(ha)m who on returning triumphant from the war against 4 kings from whom he rescued his captive nephew Lot, gave a tithe of the spoils of war to Melchizedek, the priest of God (Genesis 14:20). It was a rather deep encounter, and is alluded to in Hebrews 7. The key here is that if Abraham paid tithes where there was no law, it was an act of faith, and we who are of Abraham- ought to without obligation, do likewise. It shows we acknowledge God as the owner of all things- the possessor of heaven and earth.

[Now one observation about the Abraham account is worthy of mention: He did not tithe of his personal possessions but from the spoils of war. In fact, being a different kind of man, he did not consider the spoils his property by right, though won by conquest. After he gave tithes, the rest (the 90%) give or take a few items, was returned to the King of Sodom. Abram took nothing for himself. The scriptures give no other specific mention of Abraham tithing out of his own personal wealth. However one can only wonder where Jacob learned the practice from when he vowed to give a God a tenth of his prosperity if God would bless him- he must have seen his folks do likewise. It is highly possible that it was common practice in the family of the patriachs.]

A deeper consideration is that Melchizedek received tithes- Well, Melchizedek is shown of Scriptures to be living, and a type of Christ. Therefore tithing is not a dead practice pertaining to an obsolete levitical priesthood, but rather an eternal principle with God's priesthood for all time. He received a tithe from Abraham, and Christ receives tithes from Abraham's seed. Melchizedek received tithes long before Levi was born. In fact Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, so tithing is not about the law of Moses or the Old Covenant, but about a principle in the priesthood of God. This is a very strong assertion worth careful consideration.

Nonetheless, the question is whether a practice of Abraham translates direcly to a practice in Christ. Are Abraham's works enough evidence for legitimacy of tenancy of a thing in the real estate of Christianity? Do we begin to understand the Substance by looking at the shadow? Do we interprete the New in light of the Old, or the Old in the light of the New?  Do we become Christ's because we are Abraham's seed, or are we Abraham's seed because we are Christ's? Do we look to Abraham to understand Christ, or to understand how to relate with God in Christ? Or do we looking at Christ see the fulfilment of what Abraham was doing, or what God was trying to do in him? If we do not understand this, what he did out of faith might become law to us, and this is precisely what is considered in the next part.