I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.
 C.S. Lewis
http://www.thegracetabernacle.org/quotes/Money-Giving-Commanded.htm

Last evening, Dee went to a prospective members class at a nondenominational church.  When the pastor got to the part on giving, she listened very carefully for the word, “tithe”.  In fact, it was not mentioned at all.  A simple financial report was given.  There was a mention of concern that giving was down and that there were consequences for the church in certain areas.  While giving was encouraged, there were no strong-arm tactics relating giving to a specific amount or to a specific outcome for the giver.
 
Imagine for a moment a full-time pastor who develops Bible study materials and sells them to his church.  This pastor even has a company which markets these materials throughout the country.  This same pastor also writes books and sells them.  Furthermore, he speaks at numerous conferences and is compensated accordingly.  This pastor would likely encourage congregants to contribute a full tithe (10%) directly to his church before giving any money to other worthy Christian ministries.
 
Besides the immediate appearance of a conflict of interest, there are other questions raised by this behavior.  Why is he being paid as a pastor?  How much time is he expected to devote to his church for his pay?  A deeper question is this.  Why should people spend their money “supporting” him and his lifestyle when there are so many needs in the world?  Perhaps it is time to rethink this whole giving mandate.
 
Lets look at the Old Testament tithe for a minute.  The Levites were not allowed to own land.  They were totally dependent on the other tribes for the tithe raised to support them.  Much of this tithe was collected in food items.  Joe Levite was not giving golf lessons on the side.  He was not involved in building his own company.  He was totally devoted to God’s service.
 
However, does that model even apply to today’s giving and the role of pastors?
 
The first issue to address is the Levitical priesthood.  When Jesus made His sacrifice on the cross, the Temple ceased to be the center of worship.  The priesthood of the believer was instituted.  God, in the form of the Holy Spirit now resides in each and every Christian.  Sacrifices we no longer necessary for the propitiation of sin.
 
There are five New Testament verses that are used to justify tithing.  They are:
Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42; Luke 18:10-12; and Hebrews 7:1-10 and Matthew 22:21.  All NIV passages copied from:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:16-21&version=NIV
 
Matthew 23:23 (NIV) – "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former”.
 
Luke 11:42 (NIV) – “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.
 
Luke 18:10-12 (NIV) – “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.”

Hebrews 7:1-10 (NIV) – “This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, their brothers—even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.”

Matthew 21:21 (NIV) – "Teacher," they said, "we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, "You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax." They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, "Whose portrait is this? And whose inscription?" "Caesar's," they replied. 
 Then he said to them, "Give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."
 
 
Where in the world is the Biblical mandate to tithe?  The firs two passages refer to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.  They tithe their produce (note: herbs and spices not cash).  Yet they do not do what is more important which is to show justice and mercy.  Remember: the Gospels were in the Time of In Between and the practices of the Mosaic Law will still in full swing and would be until Christ’s resurrection.  The Pharisees remembered the fine print in the Mosaic Law.  They just didn’t get the big picture.

The Hebrews passage was discussed in yesterday’s post.  It was done as a one time, spontaneous gift and there is no indication that Abraham tithed at any other point in his life.  In Hebrews, once again, we see the subject matter pertaining to the Old Testament and the priesthood.  Abraham was only mentioned in this one instance of tithing.  And that was a spontaneous gift after he received plunder from a conflict.

The render unto Caesar passage does not address a tithe.  It was a clever reply to a bunch of Jewish leaders who were trying to get Jesus arrested and out of the way.  Jesus does not mention the tithe.  Once again, he is interested in the heart issues.

Luke 18 addresses the danger inherent in having a set of rules substitute for grace.  The problem of pride is the focus.

Dee was present in a Sunday school class at Ed Young, Jr’s church.  This next story illustrates the problem with the tithe.  A very wealthy doctor gave a lecture on the tithe.  This man lived in a mansion, drove expensive cars, dressed lie Bernie Madoff and was sincere as he spoke.  He believed in the tithe and talked about how hard it was for him to give his 10%.  In the class that day was a woman who was being evicted from her apartment because she lost her job.  Another man had been looking for work for over a year and was in the process of moving his family to a trailer park. (On a more humorous note, they moved next door to an Elvis impersonator. What a fun guy)!

She went to the teacher and asked him if he was being a bit insensitive to those who were struggling to make ends meet when he said how hard it was for him to tithe.  He appeared confused and said that it was just as hard for him.  I then told him that I didn’t think those who were struggling financially should be made to feel guilty if they couldn’t tithe.  He said they should feel guilty and were mandated to tithe.  I asked him to show me the Bible verse that commands this, and he said he had to leave to go out to lunch at a restaurant I knew to be fabulously expensive.  What a Pharisee!

For some, a simple 10% tithe is easy for them to do.  They then get to check off that “requirement” to be a very, very devoted Christian.  In the meantime, there are those for whom giving $1.00 would be a problem.

We are sure some reader is saying that we forgot about the “widow’s mite.” No, we haven’t.

Mark 12:41-44 (NIV)- “Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny.
 Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."

This certainly seems to be an endorsement of major sacrificial giving, or is it?  It is important to put this passage into context.  What did Jesus say immediately prior to this incident?

Mark 12:38-39 (NIV) – “As he taught, Jesus said, "Watch out for the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and be greeted in the market places, and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows' houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely."

Notice that Jesus is once again condemning the Pharisees for causing the poverty of widows.  It is no coincidence that a widow shows up and gives her last bit of money.  She wasn’t tithing. She was giving everything she had!  We wonder if Mac Brunson would like this sort of a tithe?

It appears that Jesus was condemning a system that would impoverish the “least of these.”  This is an interesting quote from a Christian website called Come Let Us Reason.
 
“Tithing was still practiced under the law when Jesus was on earth, however, the only time Jesus mentioned the tithe was a rebuke to the religious leaders “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. In Matthew 23:23 he explains they “have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith.” These you ought to have done” Here Jesus makes it clear that living the life of faith toward God included love toward man and was more necessary than what you give to God; and this was under the law, not grace”.
 
http://www.letusreason.org/Wf34.htm
 
If the tithe (10%) is a Biblical mandate, why didn’t Paul or anyone else mention this mandate in the Bible?  Does the pressure to raise money in churches lead to a deliberate misuse of these passages?   We are thinking specifically of Mac Brunson’s over the top “need cash” sermon when he pledges to tithe on his tithe.  Egads, what nonsense!
 
We believe that the tithe no longer applies to the New Testament church.  Jesus said that looking at a woman with lust is committing adultery in one’s heart.  So, instead of giving a rote 10%, we need look deep into our own hearts to see if we have a generous spirit or a self-centered spirit?  Do we ask ourselves how much of this should we keep instead of how much should we give?
 
How much giving is enough?  That is a hard question for all of us.  For some of us, we know we should give more.  For others, we may have given too much and have put our families in jeopardy.  Perhaps a good indicator of our heart’s condition is this.  If we are feeling vaguely uncomfortable and believe we should give more, perhaps we should.  However, there is much for which to rejoice, even with this uncomfortable feeling.  This means our hearts are open to the needs around us.
 
Tomorrow, we plan to dissect a message given by John Piper in which he makes seven points that he claims “prove” that the tithe is a mandate.  We will also address the question of how to make a decision regarding how and where to make contributions that will truly impact the kingdom of God.