Last week I talked about how we do not do without religion, but rather we recognize it for what it is – It brings us to the end of ourselves, that we would recognize and receive the grace of God. Or at least that’s how I understood the first part of the book, God Without Religion.
This coming Sunday it’ll be another person speaking at the pulpit, but she humbly asked me to play catch-up after she spoke, in case there were things that she missed. I’m compiling all of this as an exercise forcing me to re-read these parts of the book, and for me to produce my insights on the matter…
…And what a matter, this is – it’s on Tithing.
Percentages And Promises / Addressing False Beliefs Regarding Giving
If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain.1 Timothy 6:3-5
At this point in time we should be giving from an overflowing heart, and not one of condemnation, and especially not one of… well, ‘paying’ God for blessings. Simply put, here are those false beliefs Andrew Farley shared, beliefs that have unfortunately crept into our churches, and have become mainstays for us in our ‘encouraging’ the congregation to part with some of their money – and this has been observed, not just in the USA, but here in the Philippines as well:
If you give X amount, you will be blessed with Y.
If you give and are not blessed, then we will refund you. Refund? Not our fault, it’s your faith.
And if you want a Bible verse to accompany that, you have the handy dandy Malachi 3:10: Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
Unfortunately, the full context included verses 8-9, which state that those who were being spoken to were ‘robbing God’, and are ‘under a curse’. The way I see it, there was a ‘need’ in verse 10 because of these reasons. It’s not a need we conceive, but a need as a consequence of curse – one that Christ has eventually set us free of. Also, that’s where the reasoning behind where it says ‘FULL tithe’; At this point of time those who were making offerings in the temple were being rebuked for ‘robbing God’ and placing themselves ‘under a curse’, because they were not giving FULL tithes as the Law required – both, in quality and quantity.
So looking at all of it from that context, we see how the Old Testament system really worked – obey by giving, and you will not be cursed with need. It’s not as it’s commonly peddled today – tithe, and your needs will be addressed, even according to your limited thinking.
“The bottom line is that any message that communicates that we pay God money and in return he blesses us financially is flawed (1 Tim. 6:5). Make no bones about it—under this theology, God becomes the Divine Slot Machine. We put our quarters in and pull the faith lever down. If we put enough quarters in and believe hard enough, we’ll hit the jackpot.”
That’s the flow of these chapters. Andrew Farley explains what giving in the New Covenant ISN’T. It’s important for us to put this out in the open, before we go any further.
Tithing: The Old Way of Giving
Speaking of context, and how the Old Testament system really worked, let’s have an even more detailed view of the nature of tithing. Andrew Farley continues in the book:
In the Old Testament, God divided Israel into twelve tribes. Each tribe received their share of the Promised Land. Well, each tribe except one. One tribe, called the Levites after Joseph’s brother Levi, didn’t receive any property. In fact, they were instructed to remain free of personal belongings. Why? Because they served a unique purpose as mediators between God and the people. This was a full-time responsibility, so the other tribes were required to support them. Each tribe gave a tenth to the Levites. This enabled them to serve God in full-time ministry without being concerned about money.
The Tenth / the Tithe was established in the Old Covenant for the tribes of Israel to support the brother Levites, who were in full-time ministry, and as such did not have land. Seeing it from that point of view sort of ‘disqualifies’ us from the whole idea of tithing; Do we have Levites? Heck, we don’t even have a Temple. But see here: We (DO) have one High Priest, Jesus (Heb. 7:26–28). In addition, every member of the body of Christ is a priest (1 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 13:10). So to whom would the tithe go? We Christians are free from the law. Consequently, we’re free from a mandatory 10 percent standard for giving.
Discussing Tithing Mentioned In The New Testament
“But what does Jesus say about tithing?” you might ask. In the Gospels, Jesus refers to tithing only three times. Each time, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees because they were beating their chests in pride about their tithing. They thought they were doing well in giving the right amount of money. But Jesus says they were not doing right as they ignored the spirit of the Law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Luke 11:42; 18:11–14; Matt. 23:23):
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
Luke 11:42
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
Matthew 23:23
For if all that was needed was a tithe, an offering and/or a sacrifice, then I am making the assumption that Christ could have offered His body as a sacrifice waaaaay earlier. But going through this just tells me more about what it means when Paul said that Christ is the end of the Law – Sure, it means that the Law has been satisfied with the offering He gave, but it also tells me that when Christ lay down His body, the ‘weightier matters’ have also been fulfilled: justice has been served, mercy has been poured out, and we have been reconciled to God and His faithfulness!
The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:11-14
That’s all for the Gospels, but let’s keep going here:
The book of Hebrews does mention the term “tithe” (a tenth). It’s found in a history lesson about Abraham and his gift to a foreign priest, Melchizedek. Some argue that because Abraham paid a tenth to Melchizedek before the law, the concept of tithing precedes the law.
I remember so long ago when my Mom wasn’t a solid member of our service just yet – when another Sister was exhorting about giving, and when she said that the 10% doesn’t apply anymore, my then more-Messianically(?) inclined Mom vehemently begged to differ. One of her arguments was that tithing was still in place after the Law.. and I think her reasoning was, in part, due to this mention of Melchizedek in the book of Hebrews. But Andrew Farley points out the following:
This argument doesn’t hold up for three reasons:
First, Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek was entirely voluntary, not a required command from God. In fact, it was a common practice in the Middle East after winning a battle to give a tenth of your stolen goods to a royal figure out of respect for their position.
I remember watching how Henry Hill and the boys gave Paulie a ‘tribute’ after the Lufthansa heist – or was it some other event in Goodfellas? Anyway the notion of ‘giving back’ is apparent not just in the Middle East but to the present Mediterranean as well.
Second, Abraham gave this tenth only one time in his entire life. It was not a regular or habitual giving to Melchizedek. If we Christians were to follow Abraham’s act as a model for our giving, it would only be fitting for us to give once in our lifetime.
This makes sense. Abraham’s giving was event based – Or he gave because he won a battle, and I could imagine he’d probably keep giving tribute as he kept winning battles. I don’t know but it’s telling me two things: (1) That, sure, he only gave once, but more importantly (2) he gave FROM victory, and not FOR him to win. Shouldn’t we give from that realization as well? Shouldn’t we give, not for us to win, but because Christ has won?
Lastly, note that Abraham offered a tenth of his spoils of war. In following Abraham’s model for giving, it would then be justifiable for Christians to engage in war with other people groups, take their belongings, and then put 10 percent of the loot on the church lawn.
I could see how, sure, we’re not supposed to be confronting, fighting and attacking other people for us to have something to give… but people could call struggles in their own lives as wars, symbolically… I guess, again, it should be stressed – we don’t give FOR us to win, nor do we give FROM our personal victories… the apparent Truth of the matter is that we see value in our victories only because, again, Christ has won; or, Christ won first.
The truth is that Abraham offered a gift to Melchizedek purely out of respect for his priesthood. It was a picture of Christ’s priesthood to come. This was not a required gift, nor is it an example that we must follow. Instead, Hebrews simply retells this event to show that “the lesser person is blessed by the greater”
I could receive this explanation as it is, but I do want to delve into the mention of Melchizedek in Hebrews for myself.
See how great this man was to whom Abraham the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham. But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior.Hebrews 7:4-7
I was going to look for the AMP version to further explain it but I stumbled upon this excerpt from https://www.bibleref.com/Hebrews/7/Hebrews-7-7.html:
Blessings are given from higher authority or power to the lower. As stated here, this is “beyond dispute,” especially in the context of ancient culture. The author is making a point about how Abraham, who was blessed by Melchizedek, recognized that Melchizedek was a greater figure (Genesis 14:14–24). This is further emphasized by the fact that Abraham paid a tithe to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:6). Since Melchizedek was a priest (Genesis 14:18), but not part of the Aaronic line, his was a different order of priesthood. This, in particular, is an important part of the symbolism of that story. The author of Hebrews will use this type of reasoning to show that Jesus Christ, not the Old Testament system of priests, is God’s perfect and final plan for our salvation.
Later verses will expand this to show that Jesus’ priesthood is sinless, perfect, and without end. The law of the Old Testament, on the other hand, is tied to sinful and limited people, and cannot accomplish our ultimate salvation.
It’s to say that Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek, because great as the patriarch was he recognized that Melchizedek was greater… And from what I gather, it’s not the tithe Abraham offered, but the blessing that Melchizedek gave (‘to him who had the promises’) that was counted as blessing – and the foreshadowing as I understand it, is (in my JFK voice) not what we do for Christ, but what Christ does for us. If anything, we’ve gone far beyond the shallow argument that just because Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek was mentioned in Hebrews implies that we should still tithe – No, all of this was mentioned to give credence to the Truth of Christ, not only being our Good Shepherd but our High Priest as well!
A New Mindset of Giving
So we’ve established that we don’t give with the expectation that if we give X, we’re guaranteed to receive Y, and when we don’t receive Y, it’s a problem with our faith.
We’ve learned that tithing in the Old Testament was an instruction for the 11 Tribes to help the Levites.
We’ve learned that tithing was mentioned in the Gospels, but from the perspective that Christ was telling the Pharisees that they may have been keeping up with the Law but they were ignoring the Spirit of the Law.
We’ve learned that tithing was mentioned in Hebrews, but only to stress the point that Christ is our High Priest.
So what, then, is the point of our giving, today? Let’s see what Andrew Farley suggests to us:
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”Romans 12:6-8
“New covenant, grace-based giving is presented as a gift to the giver, not just the receiver. It’s healthy and good for us to support our church financially and other ways as well:”
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.2 Corinthians 9:7
Three good reasons for giving are discussed in the New Testament.
First, we’re told to give when there’s a need (2 Cor. 8:12):
For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.
Next, we’re told to share with others when we have abundance (2 Cor. 8:13–15).
For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”
And finally, we see the early church giving because they were excited about the message and wanted to see a spiritual “harvest” from their giving (2 Cor. 9:7–10).
Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
You’ve got to admit that it’s exciting to participate alongside the God of the universe, collaborating in the work that he is doing. Now there’s a reason to give!
**So. With all this said. We give in the New Covenant because (1) we want to fill a need, (2) we have extra, and finally, and presumably most of all (3) we want to contribute to the work of God.
And with that said, we’re all set to change our verbiage, when we do go to the pulpit to exhort on giving. Well, actually, we already made changes. The simple point we keep sharing is that we bless as we have been blessed.
The question we should be asking is not “Does freedom in giving really work?” but instead “What does the new covenant teach us about giving?” Then, if what we teach is truth, the result is up to God and his church.
A recent survey of churches across America revealed that the average churchgoer gives under 3 percent to their church. And more than half of churchgoers give nothin at all. Despite our leaders’ best attempts to motivate, giving is still pretty dismal.
So to leaders, I’d say this: If we don’t have much to lose—a majority aren’t giving 10 percent anyway!—why not give new covenant giving a try?
New Testament giving is to be done from the heart, not under compulsion. We can give based on what we have and based upon the need of the moment. But we shouldn’t be reluctant either, just sitting on our wallets. Under grace, we’re free to excel in the privilege of giving, no matter what percentage of our income it turns out to be. That’s new covenant freedom in action!
In closing, I want to speak about something – it’s come to our attention that we’ve been bringing back the ‘Offering Declaration’ that we were used to. You know, the same one we’ve been sharing and ‘declaring’ after collection, the same one we were used to saying during our services before the pandemic. It goes as follows:
As we receive today’s offering, we are believing You for: Heaven open, earth invaded, storehouses unlocked, and miracles created, dreams and visions, angelic visitations, declarations, impartations, and divine manifestations, anointings, giftings and calls, positions and promotions, provisions and resources to go to the nations; Souls and more souls from every generation saved and set free, carrying kingdom revival.
Thank You, Father, that as I join my value system to Yours, You will shower favor, blessing and increase upon me so I have more than enough to co-labor with heaven to see Jesus get His full reward. Halleluyah! Amen.
Sound familiar? I just googled it and found out we ‘stole’ it from Bethel. It’s apparently Offering Declaration #2. You want to read Offering Declaration #1?
As we receive today’s offering, we are believing the Lord for: Jobs and better jobs, Raises and bonuses, Benefits, Sales and commissions, Favorable settlements, Estates and inheritances
Interests and income, Rebates and returns, Checks in the mail, Gifts and surprises, Finding money, Debts paid off, Expenses decrease, Blessing and increase
Thank You, Lord, for meeting all of my financial needs that I may have more than enough to give into the Kingdom of God and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!!!
Hoo, boy. We’ve actually been making that declaration, all this time adhering to what we pointed out was a false teaching regarding giving: Give X, name Y, and if you don’t get Y, don’t wonder why, it’s because of your lack of faith.
But is this a complete loss? Not at all. I think we can tweak this just a little bit, for us to have the proper mindset:
Christ opened Heaven. The veil has been torn and earth has been invaded.
Through Christ, who has made us righteous, and who has reconciled us to God, the storehouses are unlocked.
Christ died and rose again, and because of this Miracle of miracles, so we also see miracles created in our own lives, possibly in the form of dreams and visions.
We welcome angelic visitations but recognize Christ paid a great price for something infinitely greater: That is, that we are in the presence of God and God is always with us.
We make our declarations because Christ declared ‘It is finished’, We make our impartations from the Truth that Christ gave us His righteousness, and we celebrate our freedom in Christ by observing divine manifestations. Christ Himself is our Anointing, He is our Gift, and He has called us; By the grace of God we have positions and through Christ we are promoted.
Christ is the One who adds value to our actual provisions and as such is the most vital of resources we need. Through Christ primarily we are able to go to the nations to proclaim His goodness, and as a result, souls and more souls from every generation saved and set free, carrying kingdom revival.
Thank You, Father, because I join my value system to Yours, and we move from glory to glory. You have showered favor, blessing and increase upon me, first and foremost in the form of Christ; And through Christ I have more than enough to co-labor with heaven to see Him get His full reward.
It is from this Truth that we make today’s offering. Halleluyah! Amen.
I think that was much more than a little bit. But I do have to thank our brothers and sisters in Bethel, for helping us out with realizing more of what Christ has done for us.
Dare I go further? Check this out. We aren’t about to give because we want something from God according to our own limited thinking. No, I think we’ll make this more of a list of reasons for us to give in line with our reasons to give in the New Covenant:
If we have jobs and better jobs, let’s give.
Have we received raises and bonuses, benefits, sales and commissions, favorable settlements, estates and inheritances? Let’s give!
Have we received interests and income, rebates and returns, checks in the mail, gifts and surprises? Let’s give!
Have we found money? Have our debts been paid off? Have our expenses decrease? Do we have financial blessing and increase? Let’s give!
And here’s the thing: whether our financial needs have been met or not, I believe that because of Christ, we already have more than enough to give into the Kingdom of God and promote the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!!!
I’m ready to receive all sorts of frowns and disapprovals tomorrow, if only we go ahead and talk about this. And it’s not as if I haven’t been challenged either. I haven’t been one to beg, but I have been reminded by the book that we, as Pastors, need to be honest about our needs. I should probably take a look at my own personal needs, and then any financial responsibilities… with the challenge that the Lord will provide. As Christ has provided, I’m to look at my own life in that regard, knowing that through Christ’s infinite provision, I will be covered with all I need in this finite reality.
In the light of all that’s going on, in my own life and zooming out to put global events in consideration, it’s giving me cause to take a verse, further into heart:
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3:14-19
We’re reminded by Paul, that we should let love be our greatest aim… I think he was speaking about much more than we expected.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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