some correction on tithing

hey peeps, i have not actually finished reading these articles but i hope u can read on some of them when u’re free since this blog will be here for quite awhile. do jot down some of the points u got from there and share with us during cg time because topics related to money are easily manipulated by people around the world to suit their own needs. i have yet to verify the validity of the sermon provided by these sites so be careful when u read it. pray and ask God for proper discernment k.

Teachings of Joseph F. Smith

Obedience to the law of tithing affirms our loyalty to the kingdom of God

God requires one-tenth of our increase to be put into His storehouse; and this is given as a standing law to all of the Stakes of Zion.

By this principle (tithing) the loyalty of the people of this Church shall be put to the test. By this principle it shall be known who is for the kingdom of God and who is against it. By this principle it shall be seen whose hearts are set on doing the will of God and keeping his commandments, thereby sanctifying the land of Zion unto God, and who are opposed to this principle and have cut themselves off from the blessings of Zion. There is a great deal of importance connected with this principle, for by it it shall be known whether we are faithful or unfaithful. In this respect it is as essential as faith in God, as repentance of sin, as baptism for the remission of sin, or as the laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. The law of tithing is a test by which the people as individuals shall be proved. Any man who fails to observe this principle shall be known as a man who is indifferent to the welfare of Zion, who neglects his duty as a member of the Church, and who does nothing toward the accomplishment of the temporal advancement of the kingdom of God. He contributes nothing, either, toward spreading the gospel to the nations of the earth, and he neglects to do that which would entitle him to receive the blessings and ordinances of the gospel.

The observance of the law of tithing is voluntary. I can pay my tithing or not, as I choose. It is a matter of choice with me, whether I will do it or not do it; but, feeling as I do, loyal to the Church, loyal to its interests, believing that it is right and just to observe the law of tithing I do observe it – on the same principle that I think it is right for me to observe the law of repentance, and of baptism, for the remission of sins.

We who have not paid our tithing in the past, and are therefore under obligations to the Lord, which we are not in position to discharge, the Lord requires that no longer at our hands, but will forgive us for the past if we will observe this law honestly in the future. That is generous and kind, and I feel grateful for it.

I have said, and I will repeat it here, that a man or woman who will always pay his or her tithing will never apostatize. It does not make any difference how small or how large it may be; it is a law of the Lord; It is a source of revenue for the Church; it is God’s requirement, and He has said that those who will not observe it are not worthy of an inheritance in Zion. No man will ever apostatize so long as he will pay his tithing. It is reasonable. Why? Because as long as he has faith to pay his tithing he has faith in the Church and in the principles of the Gospel, and there is some good in him, and there is some light in him. As long as he will do this the tempter will not overcome him and will not lead him astray.

Tithing is the Lord’s law of revenue for His Church and for the blessing of the Saints

The law of tithing is the law of revenue for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Without it, it would be impossible to carry on the purposes of the Lord.

The Lord . . . gave the law of tithing, in order that there might be means in the storehouse of the Lord for the carrying out of the purposes he had in view; for the gathering of the poor, for the spreading of the gospel to the nations of the earth, for the maintenance of those who were required to give their constant attention, day in and day out, to the work of the Lord, and for whom it was necessary to make some provision. Without this law these things could not be done, neither could temples be built and maintained, nor the poor fed and clothed. Therefore the law of tithing is necessary for the Church, so much so that the Lord has laid great stress upon it.

[Tithing] is being used to keep up the ordinances of the house of God in … temples. Thousands and thousands of dollars of it are being used in educating the youth of Zion and in maintaining the Church schools. Thousands of dollars are being expended to feed and clothe the poor, and to take care of those who are dependent upon the Church. They look to their “mother” for succor and support, and it is right and proper that the Church should provide for its own poor and indigent, feeble and helpless, so far as possible.”

The Lord has revealed how this means [tithing] shall be cared for, and managed; namely, by the Presidency of the Church and the High Council of the Church (that is, the Twelve Apostles), and the Presiding Bishopric of the Church. I think there is wisdom in this. It is not left for one man to dispose of it, or to handle it alone, not by any means. It devolves upon at least eighteen men, men of wisdom, of faith, of ability, as these eighteen men are. I say it devolves upon them to dispose of the tithes of the people and to use them for whatever purpose in their judgment and wisdom will accomplish the most good for the Church;… this fund of tithing is disposed of by these men whom the Lord has designated as having authority to do it, for the necessities and benefit of the Church.”

The Lord . . . especially demands of the men who stand at the head of this Church and who are responsible for the guidance and direction of the people of God that they shall see to it that the law of God [tithing] is kept. It is our duty to do this. … It becomes obligatory upon the leaders of the Church to say something upon this principle, that not only the people may do their duty in regard to this law, but that there may be something in the storehouse of the Lord with which to meet the necessities of the people; for the necessities of the Church are the necessities of the people. The members of the Church constitute the Church, and therefore whatever obligation the Church is under, it rests upon each individual member of the Church proportionate to his means. The Lord requires of us that we shall see that His law is kept among the people.”

I want to say to my brethren and sisters here this morning, that in my opinion there never was a time when the members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were living better lives, were more faithful and more diligent, than they are today. We have various means of judging of this. One very accurate way of knowing is the fact that the law of tithing is being observed. . . . This is a good indication that the Latter-day Saints are doing their duty, that they have faith in the Gospel, that they are willing to keep the commandments of God, and that they are working up to the line more faithfully perhaps than ever before.

I want to say another thing to you, and I do so by way of congratulation, and that is, that we have, by the blessing of the Lord and the faithfulness of the Saints in paying their tithing, been able to pay off our bonded indebtedness. Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints owes not a dollar that it cannot pay at once. At last we are in a position that we can pay as we go. We do not have to borrow any more, and we won’t have to if the Latter-day Saints continue to live their religion and observe this law of tithing. It is the law of revenue to the Church.

Furthermore, I want to say to you, we may not be able to reach it right away, but we expect to see the day when we will not have to ask you for one dollar of donation for any purpose, except that which you volunteer to give of your own accord, because we will have tithes sufficient in the storehouse of the Lord to pay everything that is needful for the advancement of the kingdom of God. . . . That is the true policy, the true purpose of the Lord in the management of the affairs of His Church.”

The principal thing about tithe paying is obedience to the law

No doubt, a good deal more could be read from the scriptures in relation to this principle of tithing, which God has revealed to us in this dispensation, and which he requires at our hands, that we may sanctify, by obedience to his law, this land that it may become indeed a land of Zion unto us; and the promise is, that if we will obey the laws of God, if we will put our trust in him, if we will draw near unto him he will draw near unto us, and he will reward us with his favor and his blessing. He will rebuke the devourer, and he will cause that the earth shall be fruitful, that it shall yield in its strength to the husbandman, the tiller of the soil, and to the herder of flocks. He will increase his kind, and will prosper him upon the right hand and upon the left, and he shall have an abundance, because he puts his trust in God; he draws near unto him, and he is willing to prove him, to see whether he will not open the windows of heaven and pour out blessings upon him that he shall not have room to contain them [see Malachi 3:10]. Let every man who has received the gospel of Jesus Christ receive this saying, and hearken to these words, for all they are worth. Some men may esteem them lightly, and those who do, will, without doubt, fail to draw near, they will neglect to prove the Lord, they will not fulfil the commandments that he has given, and they will never know that God tells the truth, and that he is able to fulfil his word and promise unto his people when they are willing to obey and keep his law. . . .

… I met a brother-I need not call his name, for he is but one among thousands who can bear the same testimony, not only by the word of mouth but by the evidences of thrift, of prosperity, of progress and of improvement which surround him in the midst of the deserts. This season he has gathered in rich harvests, his farms having produced in abundance, while the farms of many of his neighbors are clogged with weeds, and their harvests have been only one-half or one-third what his has been. How do you account for it? I account for it in the fact that God has blessed him; and so does he, for he is an intelligent man, a man that not only labors wisely and prudently, but in the fear of God, and in the desire of his heart to obey his laws…. He pays his tithing, he remembers his offerings, he is obedient to the laws of God, and he is not afraid to bear testimony to his friends and neighbors that it is through obedience that God has blessed and prospered him, and made him what he is today. He is not the only one; there are others who are prospered in like manner. And I testify that it is because God has blessed him, and his soil, and his labors, that he obtained the increase, and secured the blessings for which he sought and labored. He has acted in good faith with the Lord; the Lord has known his heart, and has blessed him accordingly.”

So I come to the conclusion that the principal thing about tithe paying is obedience to the law, and that more good will come to us through that obedience than to anybody else. We may be worth our tens of thousands, and pay an honest tithing on our income, making our tithing a large amount; yet the good that will come to ourselves by being obedient to the law of God will be far greater in the end than the good which our substance may do to the poor. He is more blessed who giveth alms than is he who received! them.

The trouble is, when a man becomes rich he at once begins to feel too poor to be obedient to the laws of God. Riches make men poor when it comes to dealing with the Almighty. The poor man can easily pay his tithing and contribute of his little substance for the benefit of the needy; but if he becomes a millionaire, or anything like it, then his heart begins to narrow up. The result is, he deprives himself of the opportunity of receiving greater manifestations of the kindness and mercy of God unto him, which he could receive through the increased amount of good he could do with his enlarged means.

Obedience is what the Almighty requires. It was obedience that He required of Abraham. I am speaking now of obedience to God, and not to man; and I am at the defiance of any man to prove that obedience to God, even in the paying of tithing, is not better than disobedience – better to the man himself, and better to the whole people. If a man is obedient to this law of tithing, he is entitled to the blessing of God himself and, so far as he is concerned, there are means in the storehouse of the Lord for the feeding of the poor, for the sending of the Gospel abroad, for the building of temples, and for the accomplishment of His purposes; but if he is not obedient to this law, then there is nothing there, and he himself is deprived of the blessing that the Lord would otherwise give to him.

And my point is this,

The origin of the law is love. All the law therefore is fulfilled by love. A purpose of love was to expose sin. Tithing, offerings, sacrifices, firstlings were about values; what is first, what is important. The priests failed in putting God first. “Gain” was first.
Giving tithes in an idolatrous fashion to institutional and orgainizational obedience is sin. The principle of the law leads us to Christ. In Christ we are the sacrifice. Using the law to serve men is darkness.

 

 

 Return to List of Pages

New Covenant ‘Tithing’?

Is tithing taught in the New Covenant? If Christians are directed to tithe in the New Covenant then the entire issue can be put to rest. Tithing is not taught to New Covenant believers.  Tithing is mentioned in the New Covenant but we need to look at those times it is mentioned in the proper context.

The most direct statement about tithing in the New Covenant is in Matthew 23:23 where Jesus told the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that they need to keep the law and not neglect the more important matters like justice , mercy, and faithfulness. So is that statement intended for us now? Absolutely not! Jesus was saying that they needed to keep the entire law which included tithing as well as burnt sacrifices and worshipping on the Sabbath just to name a few. The Pharisees and the teachers of the law were attempting to prove how perfect they were by even tithing their spices. Jesus was exposing their hypocrisy. In fact the entire 23rd chapter of Matthew lists seven woes that Jesus was directing to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law. Jesus was both warning them about what they were doing and telling them the evil that they would be doing in the future with their ‘holier than everyone else, legalistic attitude’. Matthew chapter 23 is directed to anyone who believes and acts like the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

Jesus is not telling us now that we should keep the entire law. If so, then his death, burial, and resurrection were for nothing. Here’s the issue. Jesus had not died and rose from the dead yet so therefore the Israelites and anyone who professed to worship the God of Israel were supposed to be keeping all the laws. That was the correct thing for Jesus to say to them and the correct thing for everyone to do. There are many, many verses in the New Covenant that teach us that we are free from the law. Galatians 3:13 is one of them. Other verses include Romans 3:20-24 and Romans 6:14.   There are many other passages that teach us we are free from the law.    We are free from ALL of the laws that God gave to the Israelites.

The one other time that tithing is mentioned in the New Covenant is in Hebrews chapter 7. Even then, it does not teach us that we should be tithing but in the midst of a somewhat detailed explanation of Jesus as the great high priest, it mentions tithing in the current tense. Some have tried to use this scripture to support their belief that Christians should be tithing. That is not what Hebrews chapter 7 is intended for.  Be sure to read the next section.

Study of Hebrews

A quick review of the purpose of the book of Hebrews is important.  The writer was attempting to instruct Jewish Christians that they should no longer be trying to obey the things contained in the Old Covenant law.  Starting in chapter 1, the writer speaks first of the superiority of Christ over the Prophets, angels, and in chapter 3, Moses.  Chapter 4 shows that Christ is superior to Joshua also.  It is important to illustrate these things to people that held the law and the prophets so dearly to their hearts.  The Jewish Christians were trying to hold onto the law rather than embrace the grace and power that comes with Jesus Christ so the writer had to make these comparisons.  In Hebrews 6:1-2 the writer warns that he is now moving into more mature teaching.

The writer of Hebrews goes on to explain in chapter 7 about Melchizedek and start the discussion about tithing.  Hebrews 7:4-6 first indicates that Abraham in Genesis 14:14-20 gave a tithe of the plunder only.  Contrary to popular teaching, he didn’t tithe everything he had.  Abraham gave a tenth of the plunder that he took from the 3 kings that had kidnapped his nephew Lot.  Be sure to read the section titled Before the Law along with The Truth About Abraham’s Gift.  The book of Hebrews goes on to explain that the Old Covenant law required tithing to the Levites by all Israelites that farmed or raised animals. The Levites were then required to give a tithe of what they received to the Lord.

Many people have a misunderstanding about Hebrews 7:8.  This verse is talking about the same person written about earlier in Hebrews 7:1-3 and that person is Melchizedek.  Melchizedek is the person ‘declared to be living’ in this passage.  It really doesn’t matter as far as a discussion about tithing however.  In that same verse as well as verse 9 it states two critical phrases in the current tense – ‘…the tenth is collected…‘ and ‘…Levi, who collects the tenth…’.  The writer was doing the same as he did in earlier chapters and that was to explain what was happening at the then current time.  The writer was merely stating what was happening then and not giving a command as far as what Christians need to do now.  In fact the writer was attempting to get the Hebrews to stop trying to obey parts of the law that included tithing.

For the benefit of those Hebrews – and everyone else who is trying to keep parts of the law God gave to the Israelites – Hebrews 7:18 ends the discussion.  No matter how you choose to interpret the ‘regulation’ or ‘commandment’ mentioned – it is either talking about tithing, the Levitical priesthood, or all the laws – either way the Bible teaches that it has been set aside.  Tithing was part of the law and the law was given on the basis of the Levitical priesthood (Hebrews 7:11).  The Bible teaches that believers should not be trying to keep any of the laws God gave to the Israelites.  We have been given a new and better covenant (Galatians 2:16, Romans 3:28,  Hebrews 7:20-22, Hebrews 8:6-7, Hebrews 8:13 ).

New Covenant Giving

The Gospels and Money

What are we taught in the gospels about money?  Jesus taught about money or riches quite often.  I won’t cover everything he said but I want to attempt to discover a pattern of his teachings. 

In Mark 12:41-44 Jesus is in the temple sitting not far from where people were placing their money.  Jesus wasn’t counting their individual offerings, he was looking at the hearts of those who gave.  A widow gave a very small amount – smaller than anyone else – and Jesus said she gave more than everyone else.  The small amount she gave was more valuable to the kingdom of God and to her than all those who gave very large amounts.  She certainly didn’t tithe.   Instead, she gave all she had.  Is Jesus saying that everyone should all the time give all that they have?  I don’t think so.  I believe the lessons we should get from this is 1) Just because you give a large amount doesn’t mean you are pleasing God, 2) Just because you ‘tithe’ doesn’t mean you are pleasing God,  and 3) Giving small or giving large – God knows your heart.  

The poor widow was actually being plundered by the religious leaders.  Be sure to read The Truth About the Widows Gift. That kind of sacrificial giving is NOT a model for Christians.  Unfortunately, the same thing is happening in churches right now with messages to poor folks telling them the must ‘tithe’.  It is wrong for religious leaders to plunder poor folks by telling them they must ‘tithe’ to please God.  The message Jesus gave to the Pharisees who plundered the poor is appropriate for religious leaders that plunder the poor now.  Jesus said

Mark 12:40
40 They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely. NIV

In Matthew 19:16-26 Jesus is asked a question by a rich young man.  This young man said he had obeyed all the laws but wanted to know the one thing he had to do to get eternal life.  Jesus saw through the young man’s question and went directly to the root of the problem.  The problem was that the young man loved his riches above everything else and wanted to hold onto them.  The answer for the young man’s problem was not tithing.  The rich young man needed to do as Jesus said and sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, and follow him (Jesus).  What does that mean to us now?  What should we understand from this lesson?  Is Jesus saying that everybody ought to give all they have to the poor?   I don’t think so.  Those that have the same problem as the rich young man need to take the same cure.  God promised us riches on this earth so it’s ok that Christians have money and valuables.  It becomes a problem when having riches become the most important thing for us.

In both of these situations, Jesus clearly indicates that tithing is not the answer to two extremes of money problems – those with very little money and those who have a lot of money.  How about everybody else?  Maybe ‘tithing’ is for those in the middle of the two extremes!  Absolutely not!  Tithing is not the answer for any money problems.  Actually, based on Jesus’ words, the fact that some Israelites faithfully gave a tenth of their income did not mean that God was pleased with their offering!  Even when the tithes did what they were supposed to do doesn’t mean that the giver was storing up treasures in heaven!  That part is no different now.   Just because you faithfully ‘tithe’ is no indication of God’s acceptance of it.   Yes, some of your ‘tithe’ may help keep the local church operating but don’t take comfort in that.  We are told in Matthew 7:21-27 that many people will do a whole lot better than just tithe and even they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.  So what are we supposed to give?  More important than the question of how much to give is the question of how to give it.  We need to learn how to be cheerful givers not be reluctant to share – 2 Corinthians 9:7.  More on that later.

For those of us in between the two extremes of little money and much money Jesus explains to us in Luke 6:38 that we will be blessed in relation to the way we bless others by giving.  This teaching is repeated later in 2 Corinthian 9:6 which says if you only give a little you will only be blessed a little and if you give a lot you will be blessed a lot.  Both of these scriptures are explaining the benefit of being generous.   For some reason, many people associate tithing with being generous.  Tithing and generosity are not the same.  A person can tithe and still not be generous in his or her heart.   ‘Tithing’ for Christians is an attempt to please God by obeying one of the laws he gave to the Israelites.  The law of tithing is no different than the laws the Israelites were given that instructed them to kill animals and sacrifice them to God.  God sent his son ,Jesus, to be the final sacrifice for sins.  God set all the laws including the Levitical priesthood aside because they were no longer needed.  The laws did what they were supposed to do until Jesus came and fulfilled the prophecies that were written about the first coming of the Messiah. 

Jesus explained to us in Matthew 22:36-40 what was important about the laws God gave to the Israelites.  This is repeated in Romans 13:8-10 and Galatians 5:14. 

The Epistles and Money

The Epistles agree totally with what Jesus said about giving.  The first incident I’ll study starts in Acts 4:32-37 and continues in Acts 5:1-10.   There is a lot to be learned from these passages and I’ll only mention a few things about them.  First, the believers were in agreement and sharing was common.  The apostles were teaching about the resurrection of Jesus with great power and much grace was upon them.  That means that many miracles were occurring.  Ananias and Sapphira watched as others voluntarily sold lands or houses they owned and put the money at the apostles feet to be shared with the needy.  Ananias and Sapphira decided to deceive people about the level of their generosity so they agreed to lie and say that they were giving all the proceeds from the sale of their piece of property.  Peter challenged them in Acts 5:3-4 and reminded them about the freedom they had.  The point I want to make is what Peter said to them “Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold?  And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal?“  They were free – just as we are – to give what they wanted to give.  Instead, they decided to play the ‘look at me, I’m really religious game’ and didn’t recognize that they were lying to the Holy Spirit.  This incident had nothing to do with tithing.  It had everything to do with the deception that was in their hearts.

In 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 Paul instructs the believers to ‘..set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income….’ as they prepared to raise money for the believers in Jerusalem.  It seems as though many interpret this as some kind of code word for tithing.  It is not.  It simply means that you the giver are free to decide how much money is in keeping with your income and you give that amount.  Paul is not instructing believers to tithe.

The most significant scriptures concerning generosity in the Epistles starts in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and continues through to all of 2 Corinthians chapter 9.  Again, there is a whole lot more contained in these scriptures than what I’ll cover here and I encourage you to read these and all of the scriptures offline.  Paul first writes about ‘…the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches…’ as he referred to their ‘…rich generosity…’.  In verse 7, Paul encourages the Corinthian church and believers today to ‘...see that you also excel in this grace of giving...’  These are also not code words for tithing.  It means that God has provided for us some of his grace to enable us – if we choose – to be generous to those in need.  The generous Macedonian church was not rich at all.  In fact Paul writes in verse 2 ‘...their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity...’.   Once again, it is the condition of their hearts that mattered more than the amount they gave.  In 2 Corinthian 9:6-7 we are reminded that if you give a little you will be blessed a little and if you give a lot you will be blessed a lot.   Verse 7 clearly states ‘Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give...’  Believers need to search their own hearts and give what they are really happy to give.  No more, no less.

The amount you should give is the amount you should give.  God does not expect the same level of giving from two people that earn the same amount of money!  Let me emphasize that some more.  Even if two people earn the same amount of money, live in the same neighborhood, have the same number of kids, have cars that cost the same, have rent that cost the same or homes that cost the same, work at the same company, have parents and grandparents the same age, work the same amount of overtime, walk the same, talk the same, and look the same God still doesn’t expect the same level of giving from each person!  God has given each person different gifts and he expects a different return on his investment of the different combination of gifts he has given each of us.  Romans 12:3-8 explains that we should look at ourselves soberly ‘...in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you...’.  It goes on to explain that ‘.….We each have different measures of faith and different gifts and God expects different results from each of us.  That includes different amounts of giving even from people that earn the same amount of money! 

God is not looking for people to tithe.  God wants his people to obey him as he speaks to your heart.  Search your own heart and determine the amount you can freely give and cheerfully give it. 

from the website: http://www.nomoretithing.org/new_covenant.htm#New%20Covenant%20Giving

                         http://www.battleforce.com/ldspalm/html/jfs/Chapter31.html

with regards to justin’s question, whether is it a sin to not tithe since i mentioned the other time that we tithe in obedience to God. failure to tithe meaning that we are disobedient, thus that makes it a sin right?

i suppose we need to look at the motive behind the reason for not tithing. if u simply don’t wanna tithe because u don’t see a need too or feel that its very painful to give a sum of money away, then probably its a sin cuz you are placing money before God. under the new covenant, we are called to place God first so ya.

however, if u don’t tithe simply because u can’t afford it as in like u hardly have enough to keep your family alive then perhaps u are not trusting God enough to provide for u. anyway, my point is this, don’t give because u have to, give because u are thankful for God. if u feel that God didn’t do much for u and blame him for not providing, thus feeling unjustified by the fact that u still have to give back to Him then don’t, simply because ur attitude towards giving is wrong.

i’m not in the position to really say much about this issue because i have never been through such situations (thank God of my parents). i apologise if i offended some of u regarding what i said. feel free to comment so we can all learn together.

 

~ by dacell on October 10, 2008.