ARE CHRISTIANS COMMANDED TO TITHE TEN PERCENT? PT.2

Last week I wrote a blog post titled are Christians commanded to tithe 10 percent? I discussed how many Christians are put under a yoke of guilt that if they don’t tithe 10 percent of their income to their local church, that God will curse them for not obeying the command of tithing. I also mentioned that many pastors use Malachi 3:8-12 (see for reference) as proof-text to support their position that new testament Christians are commanded to give a tenth of their income from their earned salary. Afterward, I mention that when some Christians question the validity of a mandatory tithe and ask for proof from scripture that supports new testament tithing, they are often met with push-back & some pastors or other church leaders default to Abraham tithing to Melchizedek in Genesis 14(see for reference) as proof that tithing existed before the law. So, this leads me to our topic for today. Does Abraham tithing 10 percent to Melchizedek translate to a command for Christian tithing in the new testament? To make a case on whether this argument is true or not, I want to first give a back story on what is happening in Genesis 14:8-22 (see for reference) We are in the middle of a battle/war taking place amongst nine kings. 1) The king of Sodom, 2) the king of Gomorrah 3) the king of Admah 4) the king of Zeboyim, and 5) the king of Bela (that is Zoar). The five kings drew up their battle lines in the valley of Siddim against only four kings. 1) Kedorlaomer king of Elam 2) Tidal king of Goyim 3) Amraphel king of Shinar & 4) Arioch king of Eliasar. However, The four kings end up defeating the five kings and seized all the goods and food from Sodom & Gomorrah, and went away. But they also carried off Abraham’s nephew Lot and his possessions since he was living in Sodom.

The story then picks up stating that a man who escaped came and reported this to Abraham. And when Abraham heard that his relative was taken captive, he gathered 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit of Lot. Abraham strategized and divided his men to attack them that took Lot captive. And after defeating them He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, along with the women and the other people. Genesis 14:17-22 goes on to say that after Abraham returned defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that allied with him. Melchizedek the king of Salem, priest of God Most High brought him bread and wine and blessed him. Then afterward Abraham gave him a tenth of everything recovered from the battle. 

The reason I took the time to explain this, is because during the time of Abraham it was not uncommon to pay tax on the spoils of war. Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek was an Arab war custom. Abraham was obligated to pay a special one-time tithe-tax of the spoils of war. Many Christians have been told that Abraham gave a free-will tithe to Melchizedek. But no evidence for this exists in God’s word. Also, nowhere in scripture does God command Abraham to give a tithe to Melchizedek. However, If pastors and church leaders today want to use this narrative as valid proof of new testament tithing, they will run into a problem with scriptures that contradict this belief. To back this up, let’s take a look a the book of Numbers 31:27-28 & Numbers 31:29-30. These scriptures do list some commands under the Mosaic law on how the tithe is to be distributed on the spoils of war. 

 Numbers 31:27-28 states “27 Divide the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 

 Numbers 31:29-30 states “29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord’s part. 30 From the Israelites’ half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord’s tabernacle.”

These verses are saying that under the Mosaic Law, the spoils-tithe was only ONE percent (1%) to the Levites & only one-tenth of one percent (.1%) to the priest. However, under Arab custom, the spoil-tithe was TEN percent (10%). Clearly, we can see from scripture the Mosaic law of tithing was entirely different from the Arab way of tithing. Also, Abraham was given the offer by the king of Sodom in Genesis 14:21(see for reference) to give him the people from the war and keep the spoils (90%) for himself. However, Abraham declined his offer in Genesis 14:22-24(see for reference) by saying He will not accept anything belonging to the king of Sodom, not even a thread or the strap of a sandal so that the king of Sodom would not be able to say he made Abraham rich. But if the ten percent (10%) tithe to Melchizedek was his spiritual duty from the Lord. This statement from Abraham in Genesis 14:22-24 would not make much sense, because the exact opposite is taking place here. Abraham is saying the 90% would not be a blessing from the Lord. Abraham gave a tenth to the local priest-king because he lived under pagan rulers and He obeyed Pagan custom.

 So do I oppose anyone giving ten percent to their local church congregation? Absolutely not. However, I am not opposed to someone giving five percent or one percent or even twenty percent! The beauty of the New Testament way of giving to the Church is the giver has no limits on how much he wants to give to the work of the Lord. God wants our giving to be from the heart. The beauty is when a Christian is so thankful and overwhelmed by the forgiveness of their sins by God along with his everyday love & kindness towards them, giving is just an outward expression of our gratitude back to him. To back this up let’s look at 2 Corinthians 9:7-8 it states “7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work”.

The New Testament way of giving takes the restraint off the Christian & doesn’t put him/her under some legalistic way of giving. Nor, does it put a yoke around a person’s neck to give above what he/she can afford. I think many pastors & church leaders guilt people into paying a set ten percent tithe is because they don’t believe people will faithfully give to their ministry to pay staff & keep the lights on. Many Churches are filling their pews by using unbiblical methods, and by default, they are attracting unsaved individuals inside the Church who are not born-again and given a new heart by God to love Him & His commands. So, therefore giving is not done out of true love for God, but through other motives. I once heard a pastor say in a bible study class that if he told an un-regenerate person (aka sinner) that ten percent was not mandatory, they will not give. And to that, I would agree. But the unspoken part of his statement that concerned me was that his focus was more on sinners giving to the Church and not Christians. Sinners by nature don’t have a love for the things of God. So it would make sense that many Churches feel like they have to put on a theatrical show every Sunday to keep people coming back & by default give their financial support in exchange for social connections and entertainment. 

Lastly, there are no scriptures in the new testament that support a mandatory tithe of ten percent. In fact, it’s the exact opposite. We are told not to give under compulsion. God wants us to be a cheerful giver. Whether you are giving one percent or twenty percent, it’s all about the motive & the attitude of the giver.