In recent years there has been a ground swelling revolt from some
groups and individuals against giving the tenth of their increase, earnings, or blessings,
to the Church. In most cases this objection comes from those who are argumentative
on nearly every doctrine, practice, or faith, being preached out of the New Covenant.
Some who do not believe in tithing have been deceived and are indeed
following blind guides placing a lot of faith in human opinions, especially in those they
believe have great knowledge in the Word of God. The questions are: *Is tithing Law
or is it Faith?* We place this issue in a double question because the Scripture
says: *whatsoever is not of faith is sin* (Romans 14:23).
Is also says that the Law is not of faith (Galatians 3:12). We come to the
conclusion then, that the entire system of the Law, that is the Ten Commandments, the
Ordinances, the Priesthood, the Temple, the Sacrifices, the Rituals, the worship, was a
system of works that did not require faith. Yes, there were many that still had
faith and lived by faith, but these were exceptional saints and a short list is found in
Hebrews chapter 11. How then are we to judge tithing? As a work that was
abolished because it was practiced under the Law? Or is tithing faith giving?
Some erroneously conclude that there are no actual texts in the New
Testament instructing the giving of the tithe, that this is the evidence the tithe was
abolished at Calvary along with all of the Law. Was the tithe a creation under the
Law? Did tithing come into existence as an ordinance of the Law? Was tithing
BEFORE the Law, and if so, what was its purpose and what did it signify?
The tithe:
The word *tithe* simply means the *tenth*. It is first found
in Genesis 14:20. In this text, Abraham had just returned from the slaughter of the
kings and had saved his nephew Lot, his family, and his possessions. They were on the way
back to Hebron and passed through the hill country of Judea coming to the city of Salem,
perched upon a high mountain where a King and Prophet lived named Melchizedec.
Abraham, to our knowledge, had never met a man who was a Priest of the Most Hight
God. The only righteous Priest he had ever met or known was he himself. This
was an event to be recorded by Divine hands for the posterity of the seed of Abraham
forever. A Priest meets a Hight Priest of God. There was an immediate affinity
between them because they both were worshipers of the SAME Most High God, an abnormal
event in the land of Canaan. Melchizedec's name means: King Righteous, 'for
the word *Melchi* is the ancient Hebrew word for *king* (Strongs 44:28), and the
word *zedec* is the ancient Hebrew word for *righteous or righteousness* (Strongs
6666). He was King over the little city called *Salem* which in the ancient
Hebrew means *peace* (Strongs 7965). King Righteousness came forth to meet
Abraham, father of nations (Abram means *father* and *ham* means nations), and
brought with him bread and wine. They held a communion service, the first of its
kind on Mount Zion, the citidal of Salem, later to be called Jerusalem by David.
As Abraham savored the fellowship and the moments of spiritual
excitement, his mind rolled back over the years to more ancient times of his lineage, the
great patriarchs of his ancestorage, and their religious practices. He looked at a man he
had never seen before, a man whose Godliness exceeded that of any he had known since the
days his forefathers had fallen asleep. There was only one thing to do before this
fellowship was terminated. He made up his mind to do it. He had not done it in
all of his life because he knew not to whom he should do it. So, in absence of this
he offered his gifts of praise and offerings unto Elshaddai in the form of an altar and
burnt sacrifices. He would not appropriate or use for himself that which he knew
belonged to God or the Servants of God. So, every where Abraham went he erected an
altar and thereon he sacrificed unto God his offerings. But now, he was face to face
with a man who was worthy. A man whose life was clean and pure of pagan and heathen
customs. A man whose Godliness was greater than all he had ever met. And beside all
of this, here was a man who had such power with God that he could bless with his prayers.
He had not been blessed such in several years. His heart was stricken, his
spirit moved, his soul refreshed as Melchizedec prayed upon him the following words:
"And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the
most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath
delivered thine enemies into thy hand" (Genesis 14:19-29).
Abraham gathered of all that he had, counted each and every item,
each and every jewel, each and every piece of gold, silver, and brass; he counted
his animals, his garments, he did a complete inventory of all of his possessions and
calculated a tenth portion of all. When he had completed this laborious task, he
gathered the sacred offering and made his way back to the presence of his new friend, the
King of Righteousness! There on Mount Zion, the Mount of God, the city of Peace, the
place where in future generations David would pitch a tent for the Ark of the Covenant,
and the place where Jesus would celebrate his Passover with his Disciples; on this very
spot, Abraham gave tithes of all. And on this very spot, Jesus Messiah would tell
his Apostles that he also would give his offering and it would be of all that he
possessed, his very life!
There was no Law to require Abraham to give his offering of tithes.
There were no ordinances to demand he do it. That day a great Man of Faith
stood before God's High Priest and out of his faith gave the tenth of all. Yes, I am sure
that if some who live today were there they would brow-beat Abraham and tell him he had no
obligation to give this hugh offering. Some might even say he was trying to be saved
by works. And of course there will always be some who would love to have corrected
Abraham's faith and say his tithe offering was padding some other man's pockets, and it
could have been spent better on the poor, the orphans, the widows, and those who need
welfare.
The second place the tithe is mentioned as an offering is found in
Genesis 28:22. Here, Jacob, the grandson of Abraham was fleeing for his life and had
stopped on a tiny hill, ...being tired of his travels. Little known to him, his
grandfather had been on this very spot some years prior and had built an altar and
sacrificed offerings unto Elshaddai (Genesis 13:3). The stones Abraham stacked up
where now scattered upon the ground. The holy fire had long gone out. The
ashes and embers of the sacrifice were mixed into the soil and unnoticeable. But a
Man of God had sanctified this place with prayers, supplications, and renewal of his faith
in prayer and worship. Jacob was unconscience of these past experiences of faith his
grandfather had practiced here. Tired, he looked for a place to sleep. He
looked for a stone upon which to lay his head. He laid down to sleep with his head
on a holy rock, a rock that perhaps once witnessed the prayers and tears of an old man
seeking after a City that had foundations whose builder and maker was God. He fell
asleep.
The vision he saw was what many men see in the Spirit with an inward
eye of the soul. He saw a ladder going up to heaven. God stood at the top
looking down. Angels were going up and down the ladder. God spoke to him that
it was he who was the God of his grandfather Abraham and his father Isaac. This was
a personal experience of knowing God for himself. He did not need to live his life
based upon his dad's or grandfather's religion or faith. It was time for his own
faith to come alive. He had severed the apron strings and he was a man now. It
was time to walk as a man of God. The vision was to have a life-long impact upon
Jacob, one that would seal his faith and continue to his descendants the promises God made
to Abraham and Isaac concerning the land of Israel. God promised Jacob he would be
with him in all places he would go and would bless his return. When God finished speaking
to Jacob he arose from his dream-vision.
Jacob thought to himself how dreadful that place was. He said
to himself: This is the house (Beth) of God (El) thus the name *Bethel*. He
took the stone he had for a pillow and set it up for an altar, poured oil upon it, and
there made his vow of tithing:
"And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with
me, and will keep me in the way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to
put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God:
and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be God's house: and of all that thou
shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee" (Genesis 28:20-22).
We might ask where Jacob received any notion or idea to give unto God the tenth or
the tithe? How was he going to give it? To whom would he give it? Would
it become his offerings of sacrifice? Is there some connection to the sacrifice and
some ancient method of offerings? If Jesus was the firstfruits and he became an
offering for sin, is there some record of firstfruits, offerings, and tithes, that would
cast some light upon giving tithe today? If we ignore the Law and the tithing under
the Law, is there some ancient revelation that might guide us to a New Testament
understanding of what an offering of tithe is? Should we tithe as an offering into
the Kingdom of God? Is there a scripture in the New Testament that says tithes
should be used for widows, orphans, the poor, or those who need welfare? Was there a
practice of using the tithe for these purposes PRIOR to the Law? Were there not
three (3) tithes under the Law: one for the Priesthood, one to share with the poor,
and one to be enjoyed by the worshiper for him or herself? Was not the tithe an
annual event of the firstfruits whereas the tithe for the poor and the one enjoyed by the
worshiper was every three years? Which tithe of the three then was before the Law?
Which if any was practiced before the Law? Which came into existence under the
Law and would have ceased with the Law? Did incorporating the tithe for the
priesthood into the system of the Law, providing as anciently, a means of subsistence for
God's Priests and Ministers, make it a work of man, or was it ever and always a token of a
revelation of God, a personal relationship, a vow of remembrance, an offering of faith,
and a part of a person's worship?
Ancient revelations relevant today:
The first mention of offerings and sacrifices of firstfruits is that found in
Genesis 4:3-4. Cain built an altar and offered produce he had grown from the ground.
Abel built an altar and offered the *firstlings* of his flock. God had respect
to the offering of Abel but to Cain he had no respect. Something happened at these
altars to signify God's acceptance. While the text does not say it, it is likely
that fire fell from heaven upon the sacrifice of Abel, but not upon that offered by Cain.
One was an offering and a sacrifice the other was just an offering. One was a
sacrifice by revelation of the shed blood of a substitutionary sacrifice and one was an
offering without revelation.
Somehow, in Abel's mind, either taught or by revelation, he remembered that his mom
and dad had once been in Eden and had fellowship with God. He remembered that his
mom and dad said they were under the curse and penalty of death for transgression against
the commandment of God not to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They
recounted to their sons how that in their fright and fear of instant death, God had slain
animals and made for them coats of skin. The thing that was so indelibly inscribed
in their mind was that they had received mercy and grace that day and the sign of it was
the sacrifice God made of animals when he made them coats of skin. When God gave
them the coats of skin they knew that they would not die. The coats of skin became a
token of God's grace and his mercy. In looking back, the shed blood of the animals
would forever be a memory of their sins, but sins forgiven!
Two things come to light here: 1.) That the offering of firstfruits is tied to
a blood sacrifice and offered in such a manner that man could not make use of it for
himself; 2.) That the garments made of animal skins, being made by God, were
holiness clothes, garments of righteousness, a covering of the nakedness of man and woman,
and a token of God's grace and mercy. And with these garments of God, Adam and Eve could
worship as they became representative of mercy and grace. Let all the pagans go
naked or half naked. Let all the liberals say holiness is bondage and legalism and
let them immodestly expose their bodies for the lust of sex and sin. Let all the
philosophers who think faith is just mind religion gain-say holiness as drab and ancient
colonialism; but let those who can be touched by a revelation worship their God in true
holiness:
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without
which no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
What does tithing have to do with all of this? Tithing is an
offering. Tithing is firstfruits. You take from your increase, your income,
your blessings, and give unto God his offering first. If a person gives to God
first, then the rest is blessed. If the firstfruits is holy, then the lump is
holy (Romans 11:16). This is not only a rule of faith and revelation, it is the
very faith by which we are blessed because Jesus as the first born was given as our
sacrifice of grace and mercy.
In the New Testament we are not to live by a Law of tithing but a
revelation of tithing. One Minister wrote to me several years ago saying he did not
believe in tithing because the law or authority for it was not in the New Testament.
He could find it in the Law but not in the writings or teachings of the Apostles.
I pointed out to this Brother that on one hand he wanted deliverance from the Law
and then on the other wanted the New Testament to have a Law on tithing. This is
contradiction. The Law is a schoolmaster to teach us principals of faith and a
history of worship and covenant relationship, a revelation of the Messianic Hope, and the
righteousness of faith. When we come to Jesus Messiah, we are freed from Laws that
would teach us forced morality and forced worship of one God. We have a faith that
is based solely upon the revelation of Jesus and the New Covenant. And would many
even know what this means? For Jeremiah said of the New Covenant:
"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by
the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which covenant they brake, although I was
an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will
make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in
their inward parts, and will write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they
shall be my people" (Jeremiah 31:31-33).
Those who seek for a New Testament Law on tithing written on paper or stone, are not
even New Covenant people. They want to live by faith they claim, but they still want
a Law to live by. Tithing and firstfruits started out as offerings of faith and worship,
should they then be regulated into a law of carnal commandment?
Jesus and tithing:
Those who say they search the New Testament on tithing and can not find scripture
for it, purposely over look the teaching of Jesus on this subject. Some would say
his teaching is under the Law since all of his Ministry was under the Law. Well,
this is a tidy little maneuver concerning tithes, but why do these not regulate all of the
contents of the four gospels as being under the Law since they cover only that portion of
time of the Ministry of Jesus under the Law? They do not because in their hearts of
hearts, they know the contents of the teachings and faith of Jesus is relevant for the New
Covenant as a guide on practice, faith, and doctrine for the Church. So, what did Jesus
say about tithing?
"But woe unto you, Pharisees! For ye tithe mint
and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought
ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone" (Luke 11:42).
Interesting that so many want the tithing of this verse to be shackled under the Law
so they can spend it upon themselves, their car, their boat, their house, their vacation,
their investments, etc., but then they want to preach to every one about the *LOVE OF GOD*
from this text as if that is not under the Law but also under the New Covenant of grace.
Come now, Jesus said they should tithe, but he also taught in HIS DOCTRINE that
judgment and the love of God should also be a practice of those who claim they are
religious. A person who tithes and omits judgment and love is a hypocrite and a
person who wants to show love and judgment and not give tithes is equally a hypocrite.
Therein is the revelation, tithing that is not given according to the love of God is
not even counted as an offering. You do not PAY TITHES, you GIVE TITHES! To
*pay* tithes because of a Church law, organizational by-laws, or a creed or doctrine is
not of faith. To *give* tithe as an offering into the Kingdom of God for the purpose
of support of the Gospel and the Ministry, the New Testament Priesthood, is faith and a
revelation of firstfruits and sacrifices. In the New Testament, all tithes are given
by faith in respect of and in faith toward the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary. He is
the FIRSTFRUITS, Christ or Messiah the Firstfruits (1Corinthians 15:23). He is the
sacrifice, the offering for sins. Through his blood we know we have grace and mercy.
He clothes us with spiritual righteousness in the inward man so that our outward man
is a holy and Godly person. Our outward holiness is not works but faith in the
righteousness of Jesus Messiah. Our tithes are given not because of Law, but because
of our revelation of Jesus.
What does the New Testament say about tithes in regards to revelation?
Speaking on the subject of tithes, Paul wrote to the believers:
"And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who
received the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people,
according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of
Abraham: But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham,
and blessed him that had the promises. And without all contradiction the less is
blessed of the better. And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them,
of whom it is witnessed that he liveth" (Hebrews 7:5-8).
Two systems of giving tithe are mentioned: 1.) That of
Abraham and; 2.) That of the Levitical priesthood. Paul shows that he whose descent
was not connected to the priesthood received tithes of Abraham. He was speaking
about Melchizedec. Paul wrote this many years after the founding of the Church. His
purpose for placing this in the book of Hebrews was not to teach that tithing was canceled
under grace but rather that tithing continued, or there is no need to place the giving of
tithe by Abraham in comparison to the *taking* of tithes by commandment by the Levites.
Paul does not stop with these two examples, speaking of Jesus, Paul said: *He receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.*
This latter can only mean that in the Church, tithing was being received in some
manner in which it was given to the Lord Jesus by faith and he received them, AFTER THE
RESURRECTION. That is, among those who could witness that he liveth. Tithing was
then continued in faith of the risen Saviour.
Let us consider a final aspect of tithing by faith and not by Law or Commandment.
You will remember in our beginning that the first act of tithing was between Abraham
and Melchizedec. You will recall the communion of bread and wine. You will
remember the blessing of Melchizedec upon Abraham that prompted his giving of his tithes.
What shall we say then about the prophecy that Jesus would be a Priest forever after
the order of Melchizedec. Would he then receive tithes as did Melchizedec? If
not, how could he come in the *order* or the priestly office of Melchizedec? From
what source did Jesus obtain money that Judas carried around in his bag? Were they not
offerings given by someone? And while the texts are silent about this, could it very
well be that these offerings were someone's tithe? If Melchizedec received tithes,
how could Jesus be like unto Melchizedec and NOT RECEIVE TITHES?
In concluding the tithing issue in Hebrews chapter 7 Paul mentions the very fact of
the Melchizedec Priesthood of Jesus in verse 17 and says that Jesus is a priest forever
after that divine order. He then says, speaking of tithing under the Law, that the
Law of *TAKING* the tithe by commandment was disannuled for the weakness and
unprofitableness thereof. Some think that this also takes into account the *GIVING* of the
tithe to Jesus and the New Melchizedec priesthood. This is false and it is the root
of unbelief in those who refuse to give tithe because they have neither a revelation nor
the faith that the offering of tithes speaks in love toward the grace, mercy, and love, of
the furstfruits sacrifice of Jesus.
Giving the tithe is a privilege of faith. Those who celebrate and worship in
the giving of tithe will see that they are blessed. Those who keep the tithe and claim it
is for the widows, the orphans, the poor, and for welfare, will continue in their errors.
Stealing the tithe for themselves they will see that over the long-haul, the Lord will not
permit them to use the tithe this way, they will be forced to spend an equal amount on
other things that amount to being cursed. Who ever keeps the tithe takes a curse
upon their home and their life.
The next time you meet someone who does not give tithes and who says they have love
instead, or that it is for the widows, the orphans, the poor, or for those who need
welfare, ask them plainly: Do you distribute your tithes to the
widows, the orphans, the poor, and those who need welfare? You will discover
fast as they stutter, and gasp for air, that they do not practice what they preach and
teach for doctrine. They are deceiving themselves and all that want to use the tithe upon
themselves for their boat, their motorcycle, their car, their RV, their homes, their
vacation, or their investments. These are not living under the Law and they are not living
under the Covenant of Grace, they are living by their own law and traditions of men.
Give your tithe by faith and revelation and worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness. If you are of faith then you will *give* your tithe, your back tithe, and
all of your tithe unto the Lord's work.
The peace of Jesus upon those who tithe unto the Lord's Kingdom.
Cohen G. Reckart, Pastor
