Living
Spirit Ministries International
Tithing
is Not a Christian
Doctrine
An Essay by
Russell
Earl Kelly, Ph. D.
www.shouldthechurchteachtithing.com
Introduction
expanded by
Dr. R. Coleman:
The following
essay is a summary of
Russell Earl Kelly’s book, Should
the Church
Teach Tithing? A Theologian’s Conclusions about a Taboo
Doctrine. The book
itself is a greatly expanded version of his Ph. D. thesis. Dr. Kelly challenges Bible
educators to be
bold, to open up their seminary level research and to promote studies
on this
subject in the Masters, Doctorate and Ph. D. levels. This doctrine is
simply
too important to ignore.
In many churches
today the doctrine of
tithing has reached the level of a modern scandal. While on the one
hand most
seminary-level textbooks on systematic theology and hermeneutics by
highly
educated theologians omit tithing, on the other hand the practice is
quickly
becoming a requirement for church membership in the very denominations
which
insist on solid Bible-based doctrines. There is also increasing
evidence that
lay persons who question the legitimacy of New Covenant tithing are
usually
criticized and ignored as being troublemakers or weak Christians. This
has
happened to me, an ordained minister who holds a
M.Div, D.D. and ThD.
Sincere Christian leaders should always be open and
available to discuss
God’s Word. Failure to do so suggests doubt and insecurity.
More “holy
boldness” is needed.
Modern Tithing is
Based on Many False
Assumptions
One
denomination’s statement on
stewardship is typical of what many others teach about tithing. It says
that
"tithing is the minimum biblical standard and the
beginning point
which God has established that must not be replaced
or compromised by
any other standard." It adds that the tithe is from gross income which
is
due to the church before taxes.
The following
points of this essay
contrast the false teachings used to support tithing with what
God’s Word
actually says.
Point #1: N. T.
Giving Principles in Second Corinthians 8
and 9 are
The false
teaching is that tithing is a divine mandatory expectation which always
must
precede free-will giving.
Free-will giving
existed before tithing.
The following New Covenant free-will principles are found in Second
Corinthians, chapters 8 and 9: (1) Giving is a "grace.” These
chapters use
the Greek word for "grace" eight times in reference to helping poor
saints. (2) Give yourself to God first (8:5). (3) Give
yourself to knowing God’s will (8:5). (4) Give in response to
Christ’s gift
(8:9;
Point #2: In
God’s Word the Tithe is Always
Only Food!
The false
teaching is that biblical tithes include
Use
God’s Word to define “tithe.” Do not
use a secular dictionary! Open a complete Bible concordance and you
will
discover that the definition used by tithe-advocates is wrong.
In God’s
Word “tithe” does not stand alone. Although money
existed before tithing, the
original source of God's "tithe" was never money. It was the
“tithe of
food.” This is very important: True biblical tithes were always only
food from the farms and
herds of only Israelites who only lived
inside God’s
There are 15
verses from 11 chapters and
8 books from Leviticus 27 to Luke 11 which describe the contents
of the
tithe. And the contents never (again),
never included money, silver, gold or anything other than
food from inside
Point #3: Money
Was an
Essential Non-Tithed Item
Note: This is not
found in the original book.
The
false assumption is that food barter usually replaced money.
One argument to
support non-food tithing
is that money was not universally available and barter from food must
have been
used for most transactions. This
argument is not biblical. Genesis alone contains
“money” in 32 texts and the word
occurs 44 times before the tithe is first mentioned in Leviticus 27.
The word shekel also appears often
from Genesis
to Deuteronomy.
In fact many
centuries before
According to
Genesis 47:15-17 food was
used for barter only after money had been spent. Banking
and usury laws exist in God’s Word in Leviticus even before
tithing. Therefore
the argument that money was not prevalent enough for everyday use is
false. Yet
the tithe contents never include money from non-food products and
trades.
Point #4:
Abraham’s Tithe to Melchizedek Reflected Pagan
Tradition.
The false
teaching is that Abraham freely gave tithes because it was
God’s will.
For the following
reasons, Genesis
Point #5:
First-Tithes were Received
by Servants to the Priests.
The false
teaching is that Old Testament priests received all
of the
first tithe.
The "whole" tithe,
the first
tithe, did not go to the priests at all. According to Numbers 18:21-24
and
Nehemiah 10:37b, it went to the servants of the
priests, the Levites.
And according to Numbers 18:25-28 and Nehemiah 10:38, the Levites gave
the best
“tenth of this tithe” (1%) which they received to
the priests who ministered
the sin sacrifices and served inside the holy places.
Priests did not
tithe.
It is also
important to know that, in
exchange for receiving these tithes, both Levites and priests forfeited
all
rights to permanent land inheritance inside Israel (Numb. 18:20-26;
Deut.
12:12; 14:27, 29; 18:1, 2; Josh. 13:14, 33; 14:3; 18:7; Ezek. 44:28).
Even if
tithes were New Covenant they would first go to the (Levites) deacons
to assist
the preachers and maintain the buildings.
Point
#6: "It is Holy to the LORD" Does Not Make
Tithing an Eternal Moral Principle.
The false
teaching is that Leviticus 27:30-33 proves that the tithe is an
"eternal
moral principle" because "it is holy to the LORD."
The phrases
“it is HOLY unto the LORD”
and “it is MOST HOLY unto the LORD” are very common
in Leviticus. However,
almost every other use of these same two phrases in Leviticus has long
ago been
discarded by Christians. These phrases are used to describe all of the
festivals, the sacrificial offerings, the clean food, the old covenant
priests
and the old covenant sanctuary. Especially read verses 28 and 29 in the
same
chapter.
While the
“tithe of the tithe” (1%) which
was given to the priests was the “best” of what the
Levites received, the tithe
which the Levites received was only “one tenth” and
not the “best” (Lev.
27:32, 33).
Point #7: Firstfruits
are Not the Same as
Tithes
The false
assumption is that tithes are first-fruits.
The
first-fruit was a very small amount of the first crop harvest and the
first-born was the
first offspring of animals. The first-fruit
was small enough to
fit into a hand-held basket (Deut. 26:1-4, 10; Lev.
First-fruit
and first-born offerings went directly to the
The
whole Levitical tithe went first to the Levitical cities and portions
went to
the
Point #8: There
are Four Different Tithes Described in the Bible.
The false
teaching ignores all other tithes and focuses on an incorrect
interpretation of
the first religious tithe.
The first
religious tithe, called
the "Levitical tithe," had two parts. Again, the whole first tithe
was given to the Levites who were only servants to the priests (Numb.
18:21-24;
Neh. 10:37). The
Levites, in turn, gave one tenth of
the whole tithe to the priests (Numb. 18:25-28; Neh.
10:38). According to Deuteronomy 12 and 14, the second
religious tithe,
called the "feast tithe," was eaten by worshipers in the streets of
Point #9: Jesus,
Peter, Paul and the Poor Did Not Tithe!
The false
teaching is that everybody in the Old Testament was required to begin
their
giving to God at the ten per cent level.
The poor were not
required to tithe at
all! Neither did the tithe come from the results of man’s
craft, hands and
skill. Only farmers and herdsmen gathered what God produced as tithe
increase.
Jesus was a carpenter; Paul was a tentmaker and Peter was a fisherman.
None of
these occupations qualified as tithe-payers because they did not farm
or herd
animals for a living. It is, therefore, incorrect to teach that everybody
paid a required minimum of a tithe and, therefore, that New Covenant
Christians
should be required to at least begin at the same
minimum as Old Covenant
Israelites. This common false assumption is very often repeated and
completely
ignores the very plain definition of tithe as food
gathered from farm
increase or herd increase.
It is also wrong
to teach that the poor
in
Point #10: Tithes
were Often Used as
Political Taxes.
The false
teaching is that tithes are never comparable to taxes or taxation.
In the Hebrew
economy, the tithe was used
in a totally different manner than it is preached today. Once again,
those
Levites who received the whole tithe were not even ministers or priests
-- they
were only servants to the priests! Numbers chapter 3 describes the
Levites as
carpenters, metal workers, leather-craftsmen and artists who maintained
the
small sanctuary. And, according to First Chronicles, chapters 23-27,
during the
time of King David and King Solomon the Levites were still skilled
craftsmen who
inspected and approved all work in the
It is also
important to know that Old
Covenant tithes were never used for evangelism of non-Israelites.
Tithing
failed! See Hebrews 7:12-19. Tithes never stimulated Old Covenant
Levites or
priests to establish a single mission outreach or encourage a single
Gentile to
become an Israelite (Ex.
Point #11:
Levitical Tithes Were Usually Taken to the Levitical
Cities.
False
teachers want us to think that all tithes were formerly taken to the
The
“whole” tithe NEVER went to the
Point #12: Malachi
3 is the Most Abused Tithing Text in the Bible.
The false
teaching about tithes from Malachi 3 ignores five important Bible facts.
(1) Malachi is Old
Covenant context and
is never quoted in the New Covenant to validate tithing (Lev. 27:34; Neh.
Therefore, when
the context of the
Levitical cities, the 24 families of priests, under-age children,
wives,
Numbers 18:20-28, 2 Chronicles 31:15-19, Nehemiah 10-13, and all of
Malachi are
all evaluated, only about 2% of the total first tithe was normally
required at
the Temple in Jerusalem.
Both the blessing
and the curse of
Malachi 3:9-11 only lasted for Israelites until the Old Covenant ended
at the
cross. Malachi’s audience had willingly reaffirmed the Old
Covenant (Neh.10:28,
29). “Cursed be he that confirms not all the words of this
law to do them. And
all the people shall say, Amen” (Deut. 27:26 quoted in Gal.
Today the very
lowest income class pays
the largest percentage to charity. Yet most remain in poverty. Neither
the
lottery, nor the tithe is a magic get-rich-quick answer to replace
education,
determination and hard work. If Malachi 3:10 really worked for New
Covenant
Christians, then millions of poor tithing Christians would have escaped
poverty
and would have become the wealthiest group of people in the world
instead of
remaining the poorest group. There is no evidence that the vast
majority of
poor “tithe-payers” are ever blessed financially
merely because they tithe. The
Old Covenant blessings are not New Covenant blessings (Heb.
Point #13: The New
Testament Does Not Teach Tithing.
The false
teaching is that Jesus taught tithing in Matthew
The New Covenant
did not begin at the
birth of Jesus, but at his death (Gal.
There is not a
single New Testament Bible
text which teaches tithing after the cross – period! Acts
Point #14: Limited
Old Covenant Priests Were Replaced by All
Believer-Priests.
The false
teaching is that New Covenant elders and pastors are simply continuing
where
the Old Covenant priests left off and are due the tithe.
Compare Exodus
19:5, 6 with First Peter
2: 9, 10. Before the incident of the golden calves, God had intended
for every
Israelite to become a priest and tithing would have never been enacted.
Priests
did not tithe but received one tenth of the first tithe (Numb.
18:26-28; Neh. 10:37,
38).
The function and
purpose of Old Covenant
priests were replaced, not by elders and pastors, but by the priesthood
of
every believer. Like other ordinances of the Law, tithing was only a
temporary
shadow until Christ (Eph.
Point #15: The
The false
teaching is that Christian buildings called "churches,"
"tabernacles" or "temples" replaced the OT
God’s
Word never describes New Covenant
churches as "tabernacles," "temples" or "buildings"
in which God dwells! God’s church, God’s dwelling
place, is within the
believers. Believers do not "go to church" -- believers
“assemble to
worship.” Also, since OT priests did not pay tithes, then
tithing cannot
logically continue. Therefore it is wrong to call a building
"God’s
storehouse" for tithes. (1 Cor.
Point #16 The Church Grows by Using
Better New Covenant Principles.
The false
teaching implies that principles of grace giving are not as good as Old
Covenant principles of giving.
Under the New
Covenant: (1)
According to Galatians 5:16-23, there is no physical law which controls
the
fruits of the Holy Spirit. (2) Second Corinthians 3:10 says that the
Old
Covenant has "no glory" when compared to the "surpassing"
glory and liberty of the Holy Spirit. (3) Hebrews 7 is the only
post-Calvary
mention of tithing and it is an explanation of why the Levitical
priesthood
must be replaced by Christ’s priesthood because it was weak
and unprofitable.
Study Hebrews 7 and follow the progression from verse 5 to verse 12 to
verse
19. (4) The manner in which tithing is taught today reflects a failure
of the
church to believe and act on the far better principles of love, grace
and
faith. Mandatory giving principles cannot, has not and will
not prosper
the church more than principles guided by love for Christ and lost
souls (2
Cor. 8:7, 8).
Point #17: The
Apostle Paul Preferred That Church Leaders Be
Self-Supporting.
The false
teaching is that Paul taught and practiced tithing.
As a Jewish rabbi,
Paul was among those
who insisted on working to support himself (Acts 18:3; 1 Thess.
2:9, 10; 2 Thess.
3:8-14). While Paul does not
condemn those who are able to receive full-time support, neither does
he teach
that full-time support is the mandatory will of God
for advancing the
gospel (1 Cor. 9:12). In fact, twice, in Acts
For Paul, "living
of the
gospel" meant "living by gospel principles of faith, love and
grace" (1 Cor.
Point #18: Tithing
Did Not Become a Law in the Church until A. D.
777.
The false
teaching is that the historical church has always taught tithing.
The
earliest Christian assemblies patterned themselves after the Jewish
synagogues
which were led by rabbis who, like Paul, refused to gain a profit from
preaching and teaching God’s Word. There are many books on
Jewish social life
which explain this in great detail.
From Christ’s
death until Christianity became a legally recognized religion almost
300 years
later, the majority of great church leaders took self-imposed
vows of
poverty. This is historically documented! They took
Jesus’ words to the
rich young ruler in Luke 18:22 literally “sell all that you
have, give it to
the poor, and follow me.” Most church historians agree that
these early church
leaders for at least the first 200 years worked for a living and were
self-supporting. A Christian leader could not tell a Roman census-taker
that he
was a full-time preacher of an “outlaw” religion.
Clement of
Cyprian (200-258)
tried unsuccessfully to impose tithing in
When
tithe-teachers quote Ambrose, Chrysostom and Augustine as so-called
“church
fathers” they conveniently leave out the first 200 years of
church history.
Even after Christianity became legal in the fourth century
many of the greatest spiritual leaders took vows of deep
poverty and
preferred to live unmarried lives in monasteries. If these
tithe-teachers are
quoted, then the church should also be told what kind of lives they
usually
led.
While disagreeing
with their own theologians, most church historians write that tithing
did not
become an accepted doctrine in the church for over 700 years after the
cross.
According to the very best historians and encyclopedias, it took over
500 years
before the local church Council of Macon in
CONCLUSION:
In God’s
Word, “tithe” does not stand alone. It is the
“tithe of
Therefore, (1) non-food items could
not be tithed; (2) clean
wild game animals and fish could not be tithed; (3) non-Israelites
could not
tithe; (4) food from outside God’s holy land of Israel could
not be tithed; (5)
legitimate tithing did not occur when there was no Levitical
priesthood; and
(6) tithes did not come from what man’s hands created,
produced or caught by
hunting and fishing.
Salvation is not
"By Grace Through Faith
Plus 10%." I invite church leaders into
an open discussion of this subject. The careful and prayer-full study
of God’s
Word is essential for church growth. May God bless you in that study.
(I encourage you to reprint and distribute this article.)
Living Spirit Ministries International