Tithing...Another View

I wrote this at my own risk and am not expecting a whole lot of “Amen”. It took 6 months to tell my close friends, but now I’m very happy to share my heart on this subject.

My parents taught me to tithe before I could count. As a result, I’ve been tithing for most of my life, almost 15 years before I actually became a Christian. Well, in late 2007 I started asking the Lord about tithing because I felt so stale doing it. It had become an obligatory tax given mechanically instead of with a heart of love. I tried giving from a heart of honor, and then giving expecting to receive, and every other motive I was told was right. They all wore off quickly and I was back to what I call “dry giving”. I knew something wasn’t right so I asked God about it.

He started to open the scriptures to me in an uncomfortable way. I started seeing things in the bible that I’d never heard preached but brought so much peace when I read them. The things I was understanding were SO different that I asked the Lord if anyone had ever taught it and where I could get it. The links at the end of this note are where he led me. Now, I am very happy to proclaim that, after 23 years, I am no longer a tither. In February 2008, I became a cheerful giver.

I think the easiest way to do this is in list format. Please bear with me!

1. Tithing is an Old Testament law and as Christians, Jesus has fulfilled the entire law on our behalf (Lev. 27:30, Matt. 5:17). This is the simplest explanation. But even after seeing it in the bible, I needed further proof because I’d believed in tithing for so long.

2. A law is any standard you hold yourself to before you can receive something. It’s the measure imposed on you to qualify you for something, rejecting the fact that Jesus’ work alone has qualified you. (Col 1:12 AMP) The exception is faith. Requiring faith before receiving isn’t a law. It’s just the way things work and it’s a lot easier than we think.

3. Tithing existed before the law was given. Abram gave the first tithe in Genesis 14. Moses, led by God, made it a law more than 500 years later. So if Abram gave the first tithe, yet there was no law telling him to do so, why did he do it? For the blessing of the high priest? No. The high priest blessed Abram before he tithed. Was is so God would open the windows of heaven and pour him out a blessing he wouldn’t have room enough to receive? No. God took care of that in chapter 13. You know why Abram gave a tenth of all he had to the Lord? For starters, he considered the grace and generosity of his God in making him so very rich even though he had not lived a perfect life. (See 2 Cor. 8:9) God had kept his promise to Abram in spite of his less-than-perfect performance. Abram was extremely rich, he had 300+ servants, God had caused him to have a huge military battle over four kings, and the high priest pronounced a blessing over his life. THEN Abram gave a tithe in v. 20. Because of all this Abram had a willing mind and he gave according as he decided in his heart. (See 2 Cor. 8:12 and 9:8) There was no one to tell him how much to give. He literally picked a number that seemed right to him. This is what sold me, but I had block out everything I’d ever heard on the subject to become fully convinced of the scriptures.

4. Malachi 3 doesn’t apply to Christians, or people with a covenant with God through Jesus. God has already given us one grace after another, blessing upon blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift. (John 1:16 AMP) He has already given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. (2 Peter 1:3, also see Eph. 1:3) Everything God had to give us has already been given to us through Jesus. Therefore, he has already opened the windows of heaven and dumped out everything. Also, God’s not rebuking the devourer anymore. Before Jesus, Christians didn’t have authority over satan. Now, he’s just a loud-mouth bully with no actual power. And if you don’t rebuke him, he won’t be rebuked. For that matter, how could my actions change God's promise 2000+ years after he fulfilled that promise? If we don’t perform well, isn’t he kinda bound by his covenant? It’s strange to think that way, but it’s in the bible.

5. If blessing could be gained by tithing then financial prosperity would be a wage, not a gift. To the man who works the payment is not considered a gift but a debt. (Romans 4:4) And if there was something you had to do for God to bless you then the words “heir” and “inheritance” have been improperly translated in the bible. According to Galatians 4, there were rules and standards set up for the children of God (the law) before Jesus came. Now, we are heirs and everything he has belongs to us freely. That makes perfect sense in theory. But, why don’t we see more prosperity in the church? Because the minute we try to earn a gift from God, you are cut off from it. The minute you try to keep a standard to be blessed, you are placed under the curse. That’s because if you try to keep one law, you switch systems completely and are now being judged according to your work and not Jesus’ work. And since you can’t keep the entire law, you are cursed. That’s called grace, and is a whole other subject. (See Gal 3:10, Gal. 5:1-5, Romans 11:6 , and James 2:10)

This is why people were selling their homes to give to the gospel in the early churches. They heard the message of pure, radical grace which always produces more fruit than the law. The message has been changed a little. I could go on for hours about how different it is to live by grace than to live by the law. But, after more than a year of soaking in the grace of God and righteousness by faith, I am convinced that a person has to either be in a crisis or be a new Christian to receive the message of grace. I was in a crisis and had exhausted myself when I learned about the gospel which is of grace. Others are just super-hungry for the things of God. Some are just in need of change and don’t have the luxury of an ego. There’s a reason Jesus said on 3 occasions that the poor need to hear the gospel preached, which to them is: you were born rich when you believed in me, so shake of that condemnation, quit trying to earn your inheritance, and freely receive.

So now when I get increase, I say something like, “Lord you’ve been so good. Thank you for making me rich before I had a chance to earn it. Only Love would do something like that. How much do I want to give you?” He gives me a dollar amount and I give it. The first time, it was under 10% and I freaked out. But disobedience would’ve crossed over into the works of my flesh. Now, I love giving from my heart! It’s so freeing! It puts the cheer back in giving to God. I never worry about giving too much because I couldn’t possibly deplete my supply! If I were to look at my actions on paper, I might see that I’ve sown and reaped but I never think about that. Plus, I couldn’t possibly sow enough seed to reap my own inheritance. Abiding in the flow of the Spirit through grace ensures that you give what God wants you to give.

For more on this subject feel free to check out my other note “Prospering by Grace”. But, there are ministers who have a far superior revelation on the subject of grace than I do. Check them out too. I love that other people have labored to understand things for 10 or 20 years, then preach or write about it so I can understand it in a few days. God’s good! Be blessed!

http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/o14

http://www.awmi.net/extra/audio/o04

http://www.amazon.com/Destined-Reign-Effortless-Wholeness-Victorious/dp/1577949323/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1231948703&sr=8-1

* I feel obligated to say that living by grace doesn’t produce recklessness. A person who lives by grace is significantly more obedient and holy than if they lived by the law. They just aren’t conscious of it.