Tithes Revisited (one)

 Melchizedek’s bread and wine is New Testamentary, ergo, of the Church.

(1)          It is quite unbelievable trying to fathom the obduracy of Bible studying, born again, Spirit filled Christians in their ceaseless didactic stand against tithing. With an amazing difficulty they fail to see the importance of tithing, even in this New Testament days of Christianity. They fan the legalistic arguments of the Old Testamentary economy to rationalize their belief. Some heads of churches, especially, that of Pastor J. O. Oludare, the General Overseer of Christ’s Trumpeters’ Church, Ilesa, Osun State of Nigeria, even teaches that it is a sin, for any pastor, to collect tithes. What they do with the copious scriptures that do support tithing is the million-dollar question.

           The legalism of Old Testament, concerning tithing, which they employ, does not hold any argumentative water at all. Abraham, who first offered his tithe did not have to comply out of any religious and coercive straitjacket terms. Father Abraham gave it out of sheer faith. Now we can comfortably say that God had no choice but to give an imprimatur to an idea solely envisioned by faithful Abraham, to bless HIS Israelites.

                It was not only a case of God knowing this in eternity of the past, HE was the One who deposited the thought into Abraham’s heart. Amen.

                Okay, it later became a Divine fiat, placing it under an Old Testament order. If all commandments of the Old Testamentary order ceased after the Upper Room experience of Christianity, what about those of: Exodus 20:13-15 “Thou shalt not kill. 14) Thou shalt not commit adultery. 15) Thou shalt not steal”? There is no doubt that these laws and many others which were bindingon Old Testament saints, still remain our teacher, as New Testament believers. We cannot neglect any of God’s instructions. This brings the rebuke of Jesus into remembrance.

Was tithing an Old Testament ordinance?

               Matthew 23:23, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” The ‘weightier,’ barus (bar-ooce’) in Greek, means: ‘burdensome, grave.’ It comes, grammatically, in a comparative sense. Tithing, as far as Jesus is concerned, in this verse, is a weighty instruction which emphatically catalyzes the spiritual process of prosperity.

                Malachi 3:10, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” The LORD God, whose oracle was prophesied by Malachi, gave this promise only to Israel, with which HE had a covenant. The Lord Jesus, whose blood is our better covenant than that of Israel’s bulls, refused to deaden the tithing weight in Matthew 23:23. The Hebrew word for ‘blessing’ in Malachi 3:10 is berâkâh (ber-aw-kaw’): benediction; by implication prosperity.’

                And I do know also that another scripture of giving, Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” This is the prosperity formula taught by the Lord Jesus. The word ‘give’ is didomi (did’-o-mee): ‘to give {used in a very wide application: which include ‘bestow and minister.’}’

 “Render unto Caesar….. and unto God the things that are God’s”

                They asked Jesus in Matthew 22:17, “Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?” The Lord’s answer was a simple, “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s” [Matthew 22:21]. As an earthly emperor, they owe the Caesar obedience and two pecuniary duties: custom and tribute. While ‘custom’ is telos (tel’-os), and it is contextually ‘impost or levy,’ ‘tribute’ is kensos ‘poll tax.’ I do hear many contest that Jesus never told anyone to give tithes but “the things that are God’s” include 1) worshipping none other than Jehovah, 2) keeping His commandments, 3) bringing offerings to the temple which does not in any way exclude, as I can hear Jesus reminding them of Malachi, “And if you do not want to rob the LORD, your God, remember your tithes.” Tithing is a pecuniary responsibility of God’s children in the LORD’s Kingdom.

”…but I desire fruit that may abound to your account” (Philippians 4:17)

           Paul told the Philippians, “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account” (Philippians 4:17). As the Apostle, Paul holds as well the sacerdotal and the bucolic offices to the Philippi Church. He stands in a sacerdotal perpendicularity before God, like Aaron, to furnish their prosperity account. It was quite obligatory to give to the financial comfortability of the pastoral office.

(…to be continued…)

Please, click to read the 2nd part