Believe it or not, a local
pastor was preaching on the importance of “tithing” telling his congregation
that tithing was old covenant teaching. (Some
of his people had begun to understand grace and that tithing was not a New
Covenant teaching.) He asked, “What would you rather have to give 10% (Old
Covenant) or have to give it all, 100% (New Covenant)? His logic for suggesting
this was that Jesus asked the rich young ruler to “sell everything,” to give it
all, 100%.
Imagine the confusion this
congregation is experiencing. Not only a distorted understanding of covenant teaching
but the promotion of the lie of independence – that it is okay for you to
decide what to do with your money or your life apart from who you are in Christ.
So what about tithing? Tithing
is never mentioned in the New Covenant and is not a New Testament concept. In
the old covenant tithes were levied or taxed to support the priesthood, but in
the New Covenant every Christian is a priest (I Peter 2:9). Christians are not
under obligation of Old Testament laws including tithes! “For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” Romans 10:4.
Religious leaders who are
honest enough to admit that tithing is not a Christian obligation are quick to
suggest that we have a responsibility or duty to give. They want their members to feel a sense of
guilt, a sense of "you should" or "you ought to," pay the
expenses of the instructional church. So they refer to a “new law of giving,"
which is defined as “love-offerings."
It is sometimes even proposed
that Christians are to "pay God back” and He will then “payback” you, “a
give and it shall be given you.” This concept is more of an invest idea than
true giving which has no thought of getting something in return. Once again this is performance minded rather
than grace initiated.
What is a Christian’s
attitude toward giving? "God loves
a cheerful giver." In 2 Corinthians 9:7 the Greek word for
"cheerful" means "hilarious." A Christian understanding of
giving is to simply participate “hilariously” with Christ as our life, which is
to truly give ourselves to God’s intended desire for us and through us to the
glory of Himself. It is not a matter of percentage, 10% vs. 100% but the joyful
privilege of experiencing Christ. God is
our provision and as a result our incentive is to give our all, not just our
money but our lives as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2).
Religion is always focusing
on man’s performance to please and appease God. Religionists have traditionally
regarded wealth and prosperity as a sign of God’s blessing and approval. Jesus however
challenged religionist to follow Him, which meant they would have to surrender
their independent perspective and choose to function dependent on the Lord
Jesus Christ and discover the true Kingdom of Heaven within. When performance
and possessions are the priority it is impossible to understand our basic
functional design which is to derive all from the indwelling presence of God.
Until a man is willing to “sell all” that he thinks he has and come to the One
who is Savior, Lord and Life, he will experience the “ministry of death” and “ministry
of condemnation” that Paul referred to in 2 Cor. 2:7, 9.
The gospel is the message of
God’s grace which allows us to be “made safe” from the dysfunction of humanity
“doing things” on our own and allows us to participate with the Saving Life of
Jesus Christ deriving all from Him.
Paul testified to the Philippians in 1:21 “For
to me, to live is Christ.” And wrote the Corinthians reminding them who they
were in Christ, 1 Corinthians
7:23 “All of you, slave and free both, were once held hostage in a sinful
society. Then a huge sum was paid out for your ransom. So please don’t, out of
old habit, slip back into being or doing what everyone else tells you. Friends,
stay where you were called to be. God is there. Hold the high ground with him
at your side” (Message Bible).
God never intended giving to
become a numbers game of percentages where man could maintain control but
desired that we experience the truth of Acts 20:35 “…remember the words of the
Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Don Burzynski
www.cross-life.org
© Copyright 2013
