Daily Service: to Tithe or not to Tithe

This came up again in a Facebook Group. The post indicated that a person’s pastor (in a UPCI church) told a man he couldn’t praise the Lord if he didn’t tithe.  (No the scriptures don’t say that).

After much long discussion with many people and doing a lot of research I have come to the conclusion that there is no New Testament requirement to specifically tithe to your minister.

I will, however, leave you these to consider.  Ministers, my pastor has never preached or taught tithing, and the reason for that is he never found a confirmation in the New Testament that we should tithe. But our church has no problems in financing church operations, outreach, aid to those who need it (in other words what the tithe was about in the first place).

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 (AMP)  WE WANT to tell you further, brethren, about the grace (the favor and spiritual blessing) of God which has been evident in the churches of Macedonia [arousing in them the desire to give alms]; For in the midst of an ordeal of severe tribulation, their abundance of joy and their depth of poverty [together] have overflowed in wealth of lavish generosity on their part. For, as I can bear witness, [they gave] according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability; and [they did it] voluntarily, Begging us most insistently for the favor and the fellowship of contributing in this ministration for [the relief and support of] the saints [in Jerusalem].

I would also encourage an intense reading of Hebrews 7 (Here from the ESV with cross references)

Hebrews 7:1-28 (ESV) For this Melchizedek(Gen 14, king of Salem(Psalm76:2), priest of (Num 24:16, Deut 32:8)the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything. He is first, by translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then he is also king of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever. See how great this man was to whom Abraham (Acts 2:29, 7:8-9) the patriarch gave a tenth of the spoils! And(Num 18:21,26, 2 Chr 31:34) those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brothers, though these also are descended from Abraham.
But this man who does not have his descent from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed(Rom 4:13) by the superior. In the one case tithes are received by mortal men, but in the other case, by one of whom it is testified that he lives One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, for he was still in the loins of his ancestor when Melchizedek met him. Now if perfection had been attainable through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchizedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron? For when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well. For the one of whom these things are spoken belonged to another tribe, from which no one has ever served at the altar. For it is evident that our Lord was descended (Isa 11:1, Mic 5:2, Matt 1:3, Luke 3:33, Rev 5:5)from Judah, and in connection with that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. This becomes even more evident when another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,
who has become a priest, not on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent, but by the power of an indestructible life. For it is witnessed of him, (Heb 7:21, 5:6, 6:20, Psa 110:4)“You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside(Rom 8:3, Gal 4:9) because of its weakness and uselessness (for Heb (:9, 10:1, Lev 16:16, Acts 13:39) the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, (Heb 6;18) a better hope is introduced, through which(Heb 7:25, Lev 10:3, Heb 4:16) we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath. For those who formerly became priests were made such without an oath, but this one was made a priest with an oath by the one who said to him: “(Heb 7:17) The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever.’” This makes Jesus the guarantor of (Heb 8:6) a better covenant. The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God (John 14:6) through him, since he always lives(Rom 8:34) to make intercession for them. For it was indeed fitting that we should have such a high priest, (Ps 16:10, Rev 15:4, 16:5, Mark 1:24)holy, innocent, unstained, separated from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this (Heb 9:12, 10:10, 9:28) once for all when he offered up himself. For the law appoints men in their weakness as high priests, but the word of the oath, which came later than the law, appoints a Son who has been made (Heb 2:10, 5:9) perfect forever.

And here is an article regarding Old and New Testament examples of taking up collection:

 Biblestudytools.com/Bakers-evangelical-dictionary/collection

Collection [N] [E]

Any organized gathering of funds or resources. In the Bible, collections are often taken for the benefit of others and not for oneself. The Hebrew term terumaa [h’mWr.T] refers to a contribution. The Greek terms are logia [logiva](“collection”), koinonian [koinwniva] (“participation”), and diakonia[diakoniva] (“ministry”).

The collection detailed in 2 Chronicles 31 was part of Hezekiah’s reforms to make sure that God’s ministers, the priests, received adequate provision as the law had commanded ( Exodus 35:21Exodus 35:24 ; Leviticus 7:14 Leviticus 7:32 ; Deuteronomy 12:6 Deuteronomy 12:17-19 ). When an excess came in, the remainder was stored for later use. The collection was administered with care.

The right of the New Testament minister to donated material support is affirmed by Jesus ( Luke 10:7 ) and the early church ( 1 Cor 9:1-14 ; 1 Tim 5:18 ), but how this support is to be collected is not discussed anywhere in detail. Acts 4:32-37 discusses how believers voluntarily brought their gifts to help members to the apostles. Here the collection extends beyond ministers to any believer in need. A negative example of those who lie while making such a donation occurs in Acts 5:1-11.

The key New Testament passages on collection are Romans 15:25-26, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, and 2 Corinthians 8-9. They all refer to Paul’s aid from Gentiles for mostly Jewish believers in need in Jerusalem. Here believers in one locale help those of a different race in another locale. The gift expresses the sense of oneness in the body of Christ that comes through sharing and also reveals the church’s sensitivity in meeting needs. First Corinthians 16:1-4 makes it clear that the gift is planned for and collected at a fixed time, and that much effort is made to insure the gift’s integrity as it is delivered by trustworthy believers to those who are in need. In 2 Corinthians 8-9, the gift is of their own free will, according to means, is handled by trustworthy individuals, is planned for, is to be given with joy, is an expression of thanksgiving to God, and glorifies him because it is a mark of generosity. In this passage, the collection is called “ministry.”

Mercy Me: God with us “Such a tiny offering compared to Calvary”

Understand please that whatever I have is not good enough. This has nothing whatever to do with a legalistic argument about Tithing not being New Testament.  That argument describes a selfish person who doesn’t consider what God has done for them to be worthy of less than the Government takes from you.

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