Set God's People Free

8/14/2019 Set God's People Free

1/24

$ET GODS PEOPLE FREEFrom the Tyranny of Tithing and the Curse of Corban

By Patricia Backora

All rights reserved

This book or portions of it may be freely distributed for non-profit purposes of ministry, so

long as none of the content is changed and credit is given to the author.

[email protected] http://kingdomage.tripod.com

http://banpreachergreed.tripod.comhttp://boogerbucks.tripod.com

1
mailto:[email protected]://kingdomage.tripod.com/http://banpreachergreed.tripod.com/http://boogerbucks.tripod.com/mailto:[email protected]://kingdomage.tripod.com/http://banpreachergreed.tripod.com/http://boogerbucks.tripod.com/


2/24

2


3/24

$ET GODS PEOPLE FREEFrom the Tyranny of Tithing and the Curse of Corban

Time-honored church traditions must always be examined in light of the Word of God, as it

applies to us today as New Testament believers. When they are not sanctioned by Scripture,

theyll do far more harm than good, and should be repudiated as false; even popular, deeplyentrenched doctrines. The Gospel of Grace, as revealed to the original apostles, must bethe sole foundation upon which we practice our Christian faith (Galatians 1:8-9; Romans

2:16; Jude 3). NOT ONCE does Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles, ever command New Testament

believers to tithe on their wages. If he had mandated such a law, he could have lived inluxury, rather than saying: At this very hour we are hungry, and thirsty, and are naked, and

are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace (I Corinthians 4:11).

Today, plenty of televangelists can boast: At this very hour we are feasting at five-starrestaurants, sipping champagne, and wearing $1000 suits. We enjoy lavish buffets on

cruise ships and dwell in million-dollar mansions. One eminent evangelist boasts a stablefull of pedigree Arabian horses. Another flies around in a gold-plated jet. Believe it or not,

still another boasts that he wears a pair of new shoes only once because he has a shoe

fetish. Are Gods people to blame for waking up to their game? Are they to blame for notsaying amen to the amenities enjoyed by carnal ministers of the Word? How do they getall that mad money so easily? They sure dont get it by punching a time clock everyday!

One reliable source squeezed out of Christians is the tithe. But is the Christian tithingordinance God-given or man-mandated? What was the purpose of the biblical tithe, what

did it consist of, and to whom was this regulation really given?

The Tithe: An Edible Product

What launched me on the most exhaustive Bible study I have ever done on any topic? Aburning desire to know the real truth. God has guided me in my search. Heres how it all

began.One day I was taking a tour of the Word of God when I happened across a passage of

Scripture Id never head any preacher expound on in all my long life. I thought my eyesmust be playing tricks on me, so I read it again to make sure it really was in the Bible! It

made me ask myself: Could my suspicions be well-founded? As a student of the NewTestament, Id always had a question nagging at the back of my mind: Why didnt the

apostles ever remind church-goers to pay their tithe every Sunday?

So I began digging and researching. I accumulated an overwhelming body of evidenceto prove that no minister, whatever his credentials, is authorized by Scripture to collect

tithes today, only freewill offerings!Those shocking Scriptures contradicted a sacrosanct exhortation Id heard all my life:

DONT EAT THE TITHE! But what was the original purpose of the tithe, and what did it

consist of?Deuteronomy 14: 22-27 deals with the Festival Tithe, one of three tithes brought by the

Israelites to their place of worship.Verse 22 Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase (harvest) of thy seed, that the field

bringeth forth year by year.Verse 23 And thou ( the tithe-payer!) shalt EAT before the LORD thy God, in the place

which He shall chose to place His name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thyolive oil, and of the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear

the LORD thy God always. What an eye-opener!Verse 24 introduces the only context in all of Holy Scripture where money is mentioned

in conjunction with tithing! Lets read. And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art

3


4/24

not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall chooseto set His Name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee;

Verse 25 Then thou shalt turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, andshalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shalt choose:

Verse 26 And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after; foroxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and

THOU SHALT EAT there before the Lord thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thyhousehold,

Verse 27 And the Levite that is within thy gates; thou shalt not forsake him; for he hathno part nor inheritance with thee (in the Promised Land).

The Tithe: Ancient Israels Public Service and Social Welfare Tax

Even the prophet Malachi, so often quoted to keep the funds flowing, says the purpose of

the tithe was to keep FOOD, NOT MONEY, in Gods House (Malachi 3:10). Why? God doesntneed farm produce to stay alive! The Levites (priestly tribe of Israel) were denied an

inheritance (of real estate) in the Promised Land. The tithe was their compensation for this,

and their reward for their Tabernacle service (Numbers 18:21-24).Three tithes (Maaserah) were paid by the people, two each year, during a seven-year

tithing cycle (the Shemittah cycle). Every seventh year the Land was to lie fallow, to takeits sabbath rest from being worked, even as the people rested every seventh day fromphysical labor. No tithes would be collected that year at all. Have you ever heard of any

churchgoer getting a rest every seventh year from paying tithes?Heres how the Levitical tithing cycle worked: The first tithe, the Maaser Rishon, 10% of

all the produce of THE LAND, went for the support of the Levites (Numbers 18:21-32). Thiswas paid once every year, except the seventh year. The second tithe, the Festival Tithe

(Maaser sheni), was levied on the remaining 90% of the crop, and was eaten by theworshippers themselves, as well as the stranger, the fatherless, the widow, and the Levite.

It was collected on the first, second, fourth, and fifth years of the Shemittah cycle. In thethird and sixth years, the Poor Tithe, (Maaser ani) was tithed on the 90% remaining

after bringing in the tithe for the Levites. This one was paid instead of the Festival Tithe.1

In all, 19% of Israels produce was brought in by the people as payment of tithes.2 Titheswere collected to feed the stranger, the fatherless, the widow, and the Levite (Deuteronomy14:28-29; 26:12-15). Lets see what Deuteronomy 14:28-29 says: And at the end of three

years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year; and shalt lay it upwithin thy gates: (And the Levite, because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee.) and

the stranger (foreigner), and the fatherless and the widow, which are within thy gates, shallcome and eat and be satisfied; that the LORD they God may bless thee in all the work of

thine hand which thou doest. Notice, the landless Levites were counted among the poor!Thus, there were six Levitical tithes, four Festival Tithes, and two Poor Tithes in any given

tithing cycle, followed by a sabbatical (seventh) year of rest for the Land. In every case,the tithe was eaten, not deposited in a bank account!

Finally, there was a fourth tithe paid not by the people, but by the Levites on the tithe

they received, 10% of the tithes offered by all the other tribes of Israel to the tribe of Levi.,

or 1% of all the produce of the land. This tithe of the tithe was hand-picked andpresented by the Levites to the High Priest; who in turn presented it as a heave offering

to the Lord, as described in Numbers 18: 25-32. This best part of the crop was eaten bythe Priestly division of the tribe of Levi, who were descended from Aaron, brother of Moses.

To qualify for the Levitical Priesthood, the highest calling among the Levites, only physicallyperfect male specimens (no ladies, please!) of Aarons clan qualified to serve as priests at

the Altar (Leviticus 21:16-24). All other Levites ate the remainder of the Levites tithe(Maaser rishon) brought by the people. It was their wages for the service they rendered in

the Tabernacle of the congregation, under the authority of the Priesthood. These

4


5/24

subordinate Levites played supporting roles. They served as policemen, health inspectors,and ministers of public education. Some Levites (the sons of Kohath) were responsible for

transporting the sacred articles of the Tabernacle during the Israelites wildernesswanderings. All priests had to be Levites (members of the Tribe of Levi) but not all Levites

were priests; just like all Alabamians are Americans, but not all Americans are Alabamians.It was the Land, not the Federal Mint, which produced the tithe! Leviticus 27:30 says:

And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, isthe Lords: it is holy unto the Lord. It is safe to say that only landowners who reaped the

fruits of livestock or land cultivation ever paid tithes in ancient Israel. Fishermen surely didnot tithe on their catch! Nor did God require tithes of manufactured articles, such as pottery,

plows, tents and sandals.Most poor Christians do not possess any Biblical inheritance (land), and poor people

must rent their living space at exorbitant rates. Surprisingly, a lot of spiritual Levites ownluxurious mansions situated on prime real estate (privately owned, of course), although

Old Testament Levites were not given a stake in the land, except for a few scattered townsset aside for them to dwell in.

Again I emphasize: Numbers 18:21-24 makes it plain that only the sons of Levi were

ever authorized by God to collect tithes, and only from the children of Israel. No other tribesof Israel were ever supposed to collect tithes, and certainly not Gentiles!

The Tithe: Old Testament Law Reimposed By Men

Many clergymen simply do not trust God to inspire a spirit of liberality in His people.Compulsory tithing helps ensure a minimum contribution from each parishioner. In this

paper Ill present some solid support for my firm conviction that the early church did notcompel its members to tithe.

According to McClintock and Strongs Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature, In the earlyChristian Church the custom of consecrating to religious purposes a tenth of income was

voluntary, and it was not made obligatory until the Council of Tours in 567 A.D. The secondCouncil of Macon in 585 A.D. enjoined the payment of tithes under pain of excommunication

(article tithes).

The Encyclopedia of Catholicism states: Pauls instructions on the Jerusalem collectionurge voluntary giving (I Corinthians 16:1-4; II Corinthians Chapters 8 and 9) which becamethe practice of Christians until religious and civil authorities (sixth and eighth centuries)

initiated legislation mandating tithing.By the beginning of the Middle Ages (the sixth century A.D.), Like a bloated

bureaucracy, Big Religion had grown so complex that it needed a more predictable sourceof income than freewill offerings to keep its machinery running. It was hard for organised

Christendom to subsist by faith alone.The prelates sitting on Church councils knew that thepoor peasants generally could neither read nor gain access to the Scriptures, let alone

scrutinize Church laws in the light of Pauls Gospel. So the council met with no seriousresistance when they took material out of the Old Covenant and spun it into a panacea for

their financial ills: obligatory tithing on money. And even though most modern Christians

are well able to check this doctrine out for themselves, they are made to feel guilty for even

questioning its validity. It would be too costly for organized Christendom if too many tithe-payers learned the truth. But why should modern Christians be burdened with mans

version of an ancient ordinance the early Church didnt have to keep? Jesus denounced thePharisees for teaching as doctrines the commandments of men (Matt. 15:8-9; Mark 7: 6-7).

That logic escapes some ministers of modern-day Christendom who scarcely bother tosearch the Scriptures to see if those things are so (Acts 17:11). Perhaps theyre afraid to

do this, for with knowledge comes responsibility to walk in the light of it. Nevertheless,tithing is hardly ever held up to unbiased scrutiny by those who profit from it. In one

5


6/24

American Word church, one non-tither was singled out for open censure from the pulpit forhelping satan hinder the spread of their gospel.

The Tithe: A Tax on Christian Liberty

To resurrect, reinvent and reimpose part of a Law nailed to the Cross of Christ is

contrary to the will of God, whatever the rationale behind it. Religious legalism is at enmitywith our Liberty in Christ. Paul admonishes us, as believers freed from the Curse of the

Law, to stand fast in our liberty (Galatians 5:1).It is the business of politicians to spin and grin and compromise with lies in order to try

and placate everyone at the same time. Religious opportunists do the same thing when theyuse the Word of God deceitfully to gain their own ends (II Corinthians 2:17; 4:2). In

Galatians 2:4-5, Paul warns of false brethren who come into the congregation to spy outour liberty in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage. Bondage to what? The

old Law of Moses, the 600-odd ceremonial ordinances which were added to the TenCommandments. He goes on to say firmly: To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not

so much as an hour; that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you. This was the

same apostle who urged believers to insofar as possible, live peaceably with all men(Romans 12:18). It might ruffle some folks feathers, but the truth of the Gospel of Grace is

never open to compromise!In fact, Paul, who said, bless, and curse not (Romans 12:14) pronounces a curse on

anyone who preaches any other gospel than the one he himself presented (Galatians 1: 8).

To drive home that point, he repeats that curse in verse 9. That in itself shows Godsdisapproval of seasoning the Gospel of Grace with a little legalism!

Now for even more Scriptural evidence that mandatory tithing violates your liberty inChrist Jesus.

Tithing Under the New Covenant Denies Who We Are in Christ

Nowhere in Scripture is any believer authorized to waive the Old Testament preconditions

of being a physically perfect male descended from the line of Aaron in order to lay claim to

imaginary perks of that ancient priesthood (Rolexes, perhaps?). Nor is any pulpiteersupposed to officiate as a feudal lord collecting rent in Gods name from lowly peasants outin the pews (at least thats the way worshippers are often treated!). Even Pharaoh

pressured Gods people with quotas. Tithing on money is an example of offering strangefire before the Lord, which He commanded not (Leviticus 10:1). If Gods people give a set

amount of money because some preacher threatens them with divine retribution, thatsprings from fear-mongering, not faith, and whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Romans

14:23). We who have entered into Gods perfect rest of faith (prefigured by the JewishSabbath) have ceased to rely on our own works to earn Gods approval (Hebrews 4: 1-13).

Notice verse 10: He that has entered into his (Gods) rest, he also hath ceased from hisown works, as God did from his.

God does indeed have a spiritual priesthood under the New Covenant, but that includes

every member of the Body of Christ, not just a privileged few! Not only have WE (everyday

believers) been made a royal priesthood and a holy nation in Christ (I Peter 2:5,9), but weare the Temple of God (I Corinthians 3:16). What right does anyone have to force us, the

so-called laity (a man-made division in the Body of Christ) to pay tithe money to spiritualLevites, when every blood-washed believer in Christ is called a priest? A believers position

under the New Covenant is a much more desirable one than that enjoyed by any OldTestament Israelite or Levite. Why?

The term laity , as we understand it, could be applied to all Old Covenant Israelites notof the tribe of Levi, since these other tribes were not chosen to draw near unto God to

perform sacred rituals. Laity is derived from a Greek word meaning people, and in this

6


7/24

paper, I use it to distinguish the ministers of the Tabernacle from those who are not chosenfor such a vocation. Although Israel was Gods Chosen People, only sons of Aaron,

descended from Levi, were chosen by God to minister before Him at the Altar. And of thatone clan of Levi , only the High Priest was allowed to pass beyond the inner Veil of the

Tabernacle into the Holiest Place of all, the Holy of Holies, where the sacred Ark of theCovenant was. And even he could only enter once a year (Hebrews 9:7), to sprinkle blood

upon the Mercy Seat of the Ark, as an atonement for himself and for the people. Hebrews10:19-22 assures us that now every true believer can enter into the Holiest Place and draw

near unto God because the Blood of Christ makes us acceptable to Him. We who aresaved by faith in Christ ARE the Temple of God, and Gods Holy Spirit dwells in us (I

Corinthians 3:16; II Corinthians 6:16).Preachers confuse the issue when they say only professional ministers are spiritual

Levites. Now if youre gonna spiritualize the chicken, youd better spiritualize its eggs, oryour analogy just wont fly.

In time of warfare, men from all the tribes of Israel were conscripted to fight realflesh-and-blood foes on literal battle fields. Not so the Levites, who were exempt from

military service. II Corinthians 10:3-5 and Ephesians Chapter 6 speak of the spiritual

warfare waged by believers. Are spiritual Levites (tithe-collectors) then exempt fromhaving to fight spiritual battles with satan? On the contrary, a lot of preachers claim they

fight the devil harder than anybody else!Truly there is a spiritual Israel, which is the Household of Faith, composed of believing

Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 6:10; Ephesians 2:11-22), who are built together into a Holy

Temple of the Lord. I believe in the priesthood of all true believers in Christ, spoken of bythe early apostles. On that basis Im convinced that there is no such thing as spiritual

Levites in the Body of Christ, anymore than there are spiritual Benjamites, Gadites orDanites. If you spiritualize one egg in a carton of twelve, you just gotta spiritualize all the

others!Why were the Levites were set apart from the rest of Israel in the first place? Gods

original intention is stated in Exodus 19: 5-6: Now therefore if ye will obey my voiceindeed, then ye shall be a peculiar (special) treasure unto me above all people: for all the

earth is mine. And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. These are

the words which ye shall speak unto the children of Israel.Notice the little word if. IF the Children of Israel obeyed Gods commandments theWHOLE nation, not just Levi, would belong to the priesthood. But this CONDITIONAL

promise was made a few chapters before they threw a wild orgy around the golden calf atthe foot of Mount Sinai.

The Israelites blew it big time. It was only through the intercessions of Moses that theentire nation wasnt wiped off the face of the earth. It was then an uneasy distance was

created between God and the people because of rebellion. Only the Levites were willing totake sides with Moses against their idolatrous brothers. Instead of the entire nation serving

as priests, only the tribe of Levi would execute that office.More than once God narrowed down the field of those who could qualify for belonging to

His Old Covenant priesthood. At first, God expressed His desire for the entire nation of

Israel to belong to the priesthood. Then the priesthood was restricted to the Tribe of Levi.

In Numbers Chapter 16 Korah rebelled against Moses, losing the priesthood for his branch ofLevis family tree, the Kohathites (I Chron.9:19; Ezek.44:13). The Levitical priesthood was

then further restricted to sons of Aaron, excluding all other clans of the tribe of Levi fromthis high honor. Centuries later, in the time of David, the priest Abiathar sided with Adonijah

against Solomon when it came time to choose Davids successor as king. Adonijah wasdefeated in battle. Abiathar was kicked out of the priesthood by Solomon, fulfilling a

prophecy of judgment against the wicked High Priest Eli which warned that God wouldreduce his family to poverty and take the priesthood away from his lineage (I

7


8/24

Sam.2:27:36). After Abiathar was ousted, the priesthood was limited to the sons of Zadok(I Chron.29:22). All other descendants of Levi were excluded from the priesthood.

In the book of Ezekiel is a prophecy about the Millennial Temple. Even though thousandsof years will have passed since the sin of their forefathers in the desert, the Kohathites will

still be restricted to performing the humbler tasks of the Temple. They will not be allowedaccess to any of Gods Holy Things. The actual Jewish priesthood will still be restricted only

to physically unblemished male descendants of Zadok (Ezek.44:10-16). Does YOURpreacher meet that qualification, and if so, can he present any genealogical evidence to

prove it? Even if it WAS okay to overlook the fact that the ancient Temple and all itsaccoutrements (including a tithe-receiving priesthood) ceased in A.D.70, a Yankee-doodle

dandy Heinz-57-pedigreed preacher just wont do for taking up the true Biblical tithe!Contrary to popular belief, the division of Gods people into altar priests and laity who

could not approach Gods altar does not apply to the Church of the New Covenant. Thewhole Church, preachers and parishioners alike, are called to offer up spiritual sacrifices

unto God. The Church is not guilty of dancing around a golden calf, and it never incurredthe penalty of losing its all-inclusive priesthood for doing so. As for obeying Gods voice, the

obedient Son of God, the High Priest of a better Covenant, lives by faith in my heart, and

God has written His Law of Liberty on my heart, not on tables of stone (II Cor. 3:3; Rom. 2:28-29; Phil. 3:3). Christ is the One Who makes me worthy to belong to the New Covenant

priesthood.But, some might say, theres still a difference between a vocational evangelist who wins

thousands of souls to Christ and somebody who toils at a secular job. Well, Paul made tents,

and that didnt make him any less of an apostle! Somebody who prays with a friend over acup of coffee at work is doing the same type of work on a smaller scale as a big-time

evangelist, and whos to say such obscure faithfulness is not just as precious in Gods sight!I might not be a seminarian, but Im filled with the Spirit of the Living God, and He gives

me a few insights Id otherwise miss. Id say it is much more wonderful to have the Spiritof God dwelling in our hearts by faith than to live as an Old Testament Israelite; someone

who truly loved the Lord but didnt dare approach His glorious Presence within the Veil, forhe would have died for doing so. Now if our position in Christ is far superior to what any of

the Levites had, how can any religious leader exalt himself over us as Gods IRS agent?

You Just Cant Improve on Gods Ways

King Saul performed an unauthorized religious rite out of personal expediency (I Samuel13:8-14).On another occasion, he kept the best of what God ordered destroyed (I Samuel

Chapter 15). These acts of self-will cost him his kingdom and led to his spiritual ruin. Oh, itmight prosper preachers to compromise the liberty of the saints by latching onto their

favorite Mosaic ordinance, but in the end they must answer to God for painting a picture ofHim as a stern landlord, rather than a loving Heavenly Father. Even innovations which

seem to be spiritually motivated can ultimately spring from satan, who often appears as anangel of light in order to distort the simplicity of the Gospel message (II Corinthians 11: 3,

14).

Contrary to what modern-day charlatans teach, we are to give freely, not tithe, as God

has already prospered us (I Corinthians 16:2). And, if you choose to be part of a churchwhich is paying off a big mortgage on a beautiful building, it is only fair that you contribute

what you can to help pay it. If you dont feel right about worshipping there because youcant afford the fixtures, go elsewhere, but dont get caught in the tithing trap. Perhaps you

could find a fellowship meeting in a private home (Romans 16:5; I Cor. 16:19; Colossians4:15; Philemon 2). Some churches meet in storefronts, which is cheaper than paying a

mortgage on a fancy building situated on prime real estate.If the 10% standard of surrender to God transfers to money, it should transfer to

everything else, dont you think? Otherwise the whole equation gets a little lopsided. If 10%

8


9/24

of your earnings belong to God, by inference, 90% is your property, and you, not Christ, arelord over it! That means you can fritter it away as you like, and He has no say in the

matter! And what about your most precious possession, your soul? Does God own only10% of that? Christ is either Lord of all, or Hes not Lord at all!

By the way, a question is nagging at the back of my mind: Why arent preachers aseager to claim 10% of the squash and butter beans in peoples gardens as they are to

demand a tithe of their other greenery? And yet these same preachers go on and on aboutpeople straying from the inerrant Word of God! Talk about hypocrisy!

I suspect a lot of preachers who claim to feed on the pure Word of God add their ownseasonings to it so they can get others to swallow the parts they like, sections theyve

yanked out of context and given a facelift. Theres money to be made from doing that.Years ago, I would give away money on a tidal wave of emotion, stirred up by faith

teachers who bamboozle people into giving to God out of their want. That can easily turninto an addictive bondage of gambling with God; a compulsion to mail off money your

family needs to miracle ministries in hopes God will multiply your seed of $20 into abumper crop of $2000. But its more likely youll suffer a spiritual crop failure, following

that slick sales pitch.

When the Temple was destroyed in A.D. 70, the Levitical priesthood also ceased. Whyshould we Gentiles, who never were commanded to tithe at all, bring the wrong kind of

tithe to some church building which substitutes for a Temple which was reduced to rubbleages ago? Gods Spiritual House now exists only in the form of the whole Body of Christ,which is His Royal Priesthood, of which I myself am a part! I maintain that if a professional

pulpiteer has the right to take tithes, I do too!

So What About Pre-Mosaic Tithing?

Didnt some people tithe before the giving of the Law? Yes, two examples are cited. Butthey did it voluntarily, not to avoid breaking some law. One lone New Testament verse,

Hebrews 7:8 is the only Church Age scripture which some might use to construe that theLaw of Tithing is still in force today, and only because of the present-tense italicized words

which appear in the KJV: he receiveth them , which were added by translators to help the

verse make grammatical sense. When this book was written, the Second Temple hadntbeen destroyed yet, and Jews (or Hebrews), not Gentile Christians, still presented tithes ofagricultural produce to the Levites (the men that die the verse refers to). I believe that

the word there which appears before he receiveth them points back to the time inAbrahams day when He Who lives forever took tithes, voluntarily offered on one occasion

by Abraham, out of the spoils of war (see Genesis 14:18-20 and Hebrews 7:1-10. In thiscontext, the eternal nature of Christs perfect priesthood is contrasted with the temporary

priesthood of mortal sons of Aaron. It is always dangerous to build a major Christiandoctrine on one lone verse, especially one whose ambiguous wording must be carefully

interpreted in the light of the context in which it is found.Abraham gave tithes of other peoples stuff to Melchisedek, King of Salem (Genesis

14:18-20), who typifies the eternally living Christ. This loot had been plundered from the

citizens of Sodom by the Kings of the Plain, who were defeated in battle by Abrahams men.

This was Abrahams spoil. But far from coveting this treasure he tells the King of Sodom inGenesis 14: 22-23: In the Name of the Most High God, Possessor of heaven and earth, I

will not take so much as a shoe latchet, lest you say you have made Abraham rich.Notice that inedible products must have been included in Abrahams voluntary tithe (i,e,

the shoe latchet he spoke of, and probably valuables like jewelry, gold or silver. Butmandatory tithing never included non-agricultural products! I really wouldnt advise you to

follow Abrahams example in tithing anyway. You would have to give away someone elsespossessions, and you could end up in the state pen!

9


10/24

In Genesis 28:20-22, Jacob makes a voluntary vow to give back to God one-tenth of allthat thou (God) shalt (future tense) give me. But first Jacob attaches conditions. First God

must protect him from harm, provide the necessities of life for him, and bring him backagain safely to his fathers house. Jacob didnt get home for 20 years, so his vow wasnt

even payable until then! A far cry from preachers who say God will disinherit you if youdont keep their Law of Tithing to them, before youve provided for your family, regardless

of the level of your faith! No one has the right to use these two isolated examples ofvoluntary tithing as an excuse to levy an unscriptural religious tax on paychecks, a man-

made statute which bears little resemblance to its supposed precedent in the Law of Moses,either in substance or implementation.

Tithing Ordinance Suspended During Babylonian Exile

After the destruction of the Temple of Solomon in 586-587 B.C., the Jewish nation was

taken captive by Babylon, and deported from the Promised Land. As a rule, while they werecaptive in Babylon, the Jews did not tithe on the fruits of the pagan soil where they lived.

Why? Because Babylon was not holy unto the Lord. It was not that place which He had

chosen to set His name there (Deuteronomy 14:22-23). Viewed strictly from an OldCovenant perspective, no other territories on earth are holy unto God except the land He

promised the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and He did not desire tithes of theGentiles agricultural produce, much less tithes of their money. The only tithing Jews didduring the Exile was if a Jewish community wanted to tithe on crops grown in the lands of

the Diaspora (dispersion in Gentile nations). In that case, they had to get a specialRabbinical dispensation declaring that because a large number of Jews lived in their area, its

produce was kosher enough to tithe on. Nevertheless, the Law required tithes to be leviedonly on produce of Israel, not that of foreign lands.

Although mandatory tithing ceased during the Exile, Jews of the Diaspora still foundways to look after their own poor, as Esther 9:22 shows. Gods beloved children live in all

nations. But where it concerns Mosaic ordinances given strictly to Gods Holy Land, noother places on earth fall under their jurisdiction. Enforcing a tithing law in Oklahoma is just

as ridiculous as trying to collect Nevada state property taxes on an estate in New Jersey!

SAINTS,YOU ARE FREE! THE TITHE HOLDS NO JURISDICTION IN 21st-CENTURYGENTILELAND! GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS, AND LET GOD TELL YOU WHAT TO DO WITHYOUR HARD-EARNED TAKE-HOME PAY! NOBODY ELSE, AND I DO MEAN NOBODY! (except

maybe your spouse, ha!)This same principle of time and place jurisdiction applies to Jewish Temple worship.

Even though synagogues may be built throughout the world, God did not order replicas ofthe Jewish Temple to be built in the Diaspora for animal sacrifice. Only the Temple Mount

in Jerusalem, Israel, qualifies as THE place for a rebuilt Jewish Temple where adherents toJudaism might offer those sacrifices, and at the time of this writing, that hasnt happened

yet!To show what God thinks of people tampering with His divinely ordained instructions Ill

give you a case in point. After King Solomon died, his son Rehoboam took charge. First

thing he did was leave no room for doubt as to who was boss. The elders of the Tribes came

pleading with him to ease up on them, for Solomon had been a hard taskmaster. But thenew king let the elders know they were in for a rough ride. He would be an iron-fisted

tyrant, and theyd better get used to the idea.He threw such a scare into the Chosen People that they were afraid not to rebel against

Rehoboam. The northern tribes had an ongoing rivalry with giant Judah anyway, and it hadtaken much delicate diplomacy for King David to weld them all together as a single powerful

nation in the Middle East, and then pass that peaceful Kingdom on to Solomon. But crude,rude Rehoboam blew it big-time.

10


11/24

So the ten northern tribes (Reuben, Simeon, Issachar, Ephraim, Zebulun, Manasseh,Dan, Asher, Naphtali and Gad) seized on this excuse to secede, leaving Rehoboam with only

his own tribe of Judah and the loyal little tribe of Benjamin. The Levites were forbidden byJeroboam to perform their divinely appointed duties so they also defected to Rehoboam (II

Chronicles 11: 14-17). The Levites werent numbered among the Children of Israel anywaywhen military censuses were taken, as Numbers 1:47-54 and 2:33 show. The territory

Jeroboam retained was called Judah. The other ten tribes to the north formed theNorthern Kingdom, Israel.

The northern tribes elected Jeroboam, foreman over Solomons forced labor and amighty man of valour to be their king. God had earlier promised to establish Jeroboams

dynasty over Israel if only he would be faithful to walk in His ways as David did (I Kings 11:26-40). But Jeroboam forgot Gods promises. It made him sweat, just watching all his

subjects go south to observe the Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem, which was in hisrivals territory of Judah. They just might defect to Rehoboam, he worried, then his neck

would be in the noose again. Hed already spent time as a political exile in Egypt, afraid toreturn to Israel until his nemesis King Solomon died. It was because of Solomons idolatry

that God had resolved to take ten of the twelve tribes away from him in the first place.

After Solomons son Rehoboam made his fatal PR gaffe, God fulfilled His promise to setJeroboam over the ten breakaway tribes. But Jeroboam didnt think God had the power to

keep him in power! Just as medieval clerics invented the church tithe to keep the moneyrolling in, Jeroboam resorted to clever religious innovations to safeguard his regime his ownway.

I Kings 12: 25-33, and 13:33-34 relates how Jeroboam set up two convenientlylocated worship centers; one in Bethel, and one in Dan. He made up his own religious

holidays. He made priests of any Tom, Dick or Harry he owed a favor to, regardless oftribal affiliation. Kind of reminds me of the way knighthoods are passed out like candy to

exciting celebrities. Jeroboam said something like: Hey, now, its too big a bother for yougood people to make that long trip all the way to Jerusalem. And why not be able to see

what youre worshipping? So the same folly committed in the Sinai desert was repeated.Not one, but two golden calves were built to serve his subjects worshipping needs. Not

only that, he worshipped demons (II Chron. 11:15).

What an insult toward the true God of Israel, Who had shown Jeroboam such incrediblefavor! Jeroboams clever ideas didnt get a rubber stamp from God, they only made Godmad. Not only had Jeroboam deliberately violated Gods divine order for sacrifice and

worship, he committed and promoted idolatry, the very same sin which had cost Solomonsdynasty ten tribes.

Because of Jeroboams convenient innovations, terrible judgment was pronounced uponhis nation (see I Kings 14:1-18). The prophet Ahijah predicted the doom of Jeroboams

family. Only his little son found favor with the Lord. But even he died, though he was theonly one who got a decent burial. Jeroboams rebellion against God was the seed which

would be harvested in the future dispersion of the Ten Tribes of Israel to Assyria andbeyond.

No, not just any ol place will do. If youre intent on keeping an old Testament ordinance

given exclusively to Jews living in the Promised Land, youd better do it according to Old

Testament guidelines, or youll be guilty of sin like Jeroboam. Regardless of whether yourtithe is a twenty or even a hundred, paying money in fulfillment of a tithing law is still

unscriptural and wrong. If you feel God wants you to donate money in a New Testamentchurch service, better just call it a gift. And always give out of love, not because you feel

forced to do it.

Liberality vs. Legalism

11


12/24

Jesus was born and raised in the Holy Land long after the Jews ( who were mostlymembers of the tribe of Judah, along with some Benjamites and Levites) returned from

Babylonian captivity and their Temple was rebuilt. Didnt Jesus mention tithing in theGospels? He sure did, but always in a negative context. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus is

rebuking some Pharisees for neglecting the Love of God. He says to them: 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 ye ought tohave done, and not to leave the other undone.

Aha! So Jesus did approve of tithing! But dont forget, Jesus hadnt yet been sacrificedfor our sins, and His hearers were still living under the Old Covenant. Jesus never taught

tithing on money, nor did He ever support His ministry with such an innovation. SometimesHe had to forage for food, and He had no certain dwelling place (Matthew 8:20; Mark 11:

12-13). At the time of Christ, coinage was in circulation, so no one can say people weremerely substituting garden herbs for money in a primitive society. If the Lord had meant

the tithe to be reinstated as a perpetual tax on the wages of saints, surely He would havemade that clear from the very inception of the Church Age!

Which brings us back to penniless Paul, who repeatedly exhorts the saints (preachers

and parishioners alike) to follow his own example in following Christ (I Cor. 4:16;11:1; Phil.3:17). He plainly says to the tightwad Corinthians: We seek not yours, but you (II Cor.

12:14).Now if tithing was mandatory under the New Covenant, why didnt Paul mention that

minor point when he defended his right to financial support (I Cor. 9: 1-11)? If modern

preachers profess to follow Pauls example, why do they do something he didnt do: dunparishioners for 10% of their salaries and wages? And that, in spite of the fact Paul, a

descendant of the tribe of Benjamin, compares himself to a priest who serves at the Altar,and ought to live off the things offered upon it.

Have I just painted myself into a corner? Not at all. All true believers in Christ arepriests. And again, it was edible things, not money, which Levitical priests offered upon the

Altar. In Leviticus 6:14-18, the bread offering is given to Aaron and his sons to eat, as is thesin offering (flesh food) in verses 24-29. If Paul was after their money, he would have

plainly said: If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap

your money? Try eating a dollar bill. Chances are, itll taste nasty, and give you the worstcase of heartburn you ever had.The carnal things Paul said he needed were likened to thefruit of the vineyard and the milk of the flock (I Corinthians 9:7); food, period. Paul was

definitely not money-motivated. He declared his determination to preach the gospel free ofcharge ( verse 18). In I Timothy 6:10 Paul says: And having food and raiment (no mention

of money!) let us be therewith content.Paul rightly expected, being in full-time ministry, that his basic needs should be met by

the saints, and he shouldnt have to go hungry or in rags. Jesus told His evangelizingdisciples to eat and drink such things as their hosts offered, for the laborer is worthy of his

hire (Luke 10:3-8). Amazingly, Jesus told them to take nothing for their journey, save astaff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse!

Heres one Scripture I have never ONCE heard any Prosperity preacher expound on: III

John 7 (yes, theres 3 epistles written by the Apostle John, in addition to the Gospel of

John). That tiny gem of a book comes right before Jude and Revelation. That one littleverse throws a monkey wrench into the notion that money must be collected at each and

every church meeting. It says: Because that for His Names sake they went forth, takingNOTHING of the Gentiles. Even today, most of Gods Church is composed of Gentiles. It is

perfectly scriptural and often necessary to collect offerings from people, but even freewillofferings arent compulsory under the New Covenant, or they cease to be freewill offerings.

Obedience to God, however, is mandatory for believers, and if He tells you to give, by allmeans give, or youll feel like youve missed an opportunity to do good for Gods Kingdom.

God desires His people to have a liberal heart; then the giving and good works will follow,

12


13/24

as you are truly able. In this context, Johns fellow laborers in the Gospel chose not to takedonations from poor Gentiles they preached to.

A vast proportion of Pauls converts were unpaid, penniless slaves. But the prosperousCorinthians were without excuse. In refusing to lighten Pauls heavy load, they disobeyed

the heart of the Law: Thou shalt love they neighbor as thyself (Galatians 6:2; James 2:8).In I Corinthians 4:6-18, Paul draws a sharp contrast between their wealth and his

privations. He says in verse 8: Now ye are full. Now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kingswithout us. Clearly, these people were abusing their liberty, and Paul was suffering need as

a result. But never once did he ever use that as an excuse to suspend their God-givenliberty and impose a new tithing tax upon them.

In II Corinthians 11:5-11 Paul reiterates his resolve not to be burdensome to theseaffluent Christians, and to minister to them free of charge. Another, much poorer, church

gladly met his need ( II Corinthians 8:1-6; 11:9; Philippians 4:15-19). In verse 18 he letsthe Philippians of Macedonia know he has received the things (their giving meant more

than money) sent from them, and calls their freewill offering an odour of a sweet smell, asacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. At that time, these Macedonian brethren were

the only Christians Paul could depend on for steady support!

If love for God wont inspire godly liberality, some ministers think, fear of Hispunishment might. Paul might have threatened the much wealthier Corinthians with the

wrath of God for refusing to share their bounty with him, but he didnt. If Paul knew thattithing on wages was binding on Christians and still refused to teach this doctrine, even outof softheartedness, he stands guilty of gross negligence and failure to declare the whole

counsel of God. But he didnt fail on that point (Acts 20:27).

Tithing: Money Just Doesnt Fill the Bill

One unscriptural scripture preachers use as leverage over the laity is: The first tenthof your paycheck belongs to God. Wrong! It ALL belongs to God, because we ourselves

are His purchased possession!Some think theyre doing God a favor by reinventing and transplanting Old Testament

Laws (ones they deem profitable) into the Body of Christ. But did God really tell the people

to take the first item off the pile to pay as a tithe, or the tenth? Lets dig into a little moreScripture, and you just might get an even more vivid picture of how ridiculous it is, tryingto marry the Old Covenant, with its obsolete rules and regulations, to the New, which is a

Covenant of Liberty in Christ Jesus. Talk about strange bedfellows!Lets review our definition of tithable commodities with Leviticus 27: verse 30: And all

the tithe OF THE LAND, whether OF THE SEED or OF THE LAND, or OF THE FRUIT OF THETREE, is the LORDS. It (not money) is holy unto the Lord.

Verse 31: And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto thefifth part thereof. How can a dirty dollar bill, which has passed through countless sinful

hands, possibly be redeemed as a holy thing? How can you redeem money with moneyanyway? Does God run a Savings and Loan, authorizing His supposed representatives to

charge His children a prime rate of 20% interest? I maintain that if some of the rules of Old

Testament tithing on farm produce apply to tithing on a New Testament Christians cash

wages, then they all do! If you borrow $100 of tithe money to go see the doctor, youvegotta pay God (the preacher?) back $120, or you break that same Law youre so anxious

to return to, and youre counted as a transgressor!Verse 32: And concerning the tithe OF THE HERD, OR OF THE FLOCK, EVEN OF

WHATSOEVER PASSETH UNDER THE ROD (Ever seen a twenty-$ bill toddling on two legs topass under the rod?) , the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.

Hang onto your hat: Verse 33: HE SHALL NOT SEARCH WHETHER IT BE GOOD OR BAD,NEITHER SHALL HE CHANGE IT: and if he change it at all, both it and the change shall be

holy; it shall not be redeemed. How comical, the idea of applying this principle to filthy

13


14/24

lucre. Imagine dividing your $1000 salary into 10 $100 bills, then putting them in a bag toshuffle them up. Then you pull them out one by one, till you get to the last one. That one,

not the first, counts as the tithe. And even if its a dirty, faded bill, youve still got tocount that one as the tithe. But money-hungry preachers tell you, regarding tithing: Give

of your best and first tithe (money) to the Master, before you meet every other obligation.But the aforementioned passage is proof that it was the TENTH item counted in a series of

tithable commodities which was set aside by farmers and herdsmen as the holy tithe underthe Old Law; not the first, and not necessarily the best one. The word tithe simply means

tenth. Even if a ranchers tenth cow was the scrawniest of the whole lot, it was stillcounted as the tithe. The best of the tithes, or a mere 1% of the total, were to be offered

by the Levites, not the laity, as described earlier.Offerings brought to the Altar always had to be without spot or blemish (Deuteronomy

15:21). Since tithes were taken at random from every tenth item counted, and worshipperswere not to search (check) a tithed animal whether it be good or bad before counting it

as the tithe, the peoples tithe didnt qualify for the Altar anyway. All this sanctimonious spinabout rank-and-file Gentile Christian laity offering up tithe money, an inedible item on

the Altar just doesnt wash with Scripture! Only that 1% of all the produce OF THE LAND OF

ISRAEL, the Heave Offering (KJV) hand-picked from the peoples tithe and PAID BY THELEVITES to the High Priest, was ever presented at the Altar!

What about those times where terms like without spot or blemish, firstfruits orredemption money are applicable? Lets dig up a few more Old Testament observances,and after reading the following sections tell me whether youd like to go back to keeping this

mind-bogglingly complicated Scroll of the Law, with its 600-odd ordinances. Or rather, justread it so you can better appreciate what a colossal burden Christ has delivered you from!

The Law: Fulfilled In Christ, but Misapplied

God has opened my eyes. Now I am able to see through the religious hoopla going on in

churches and miracle crusades presided over by Prosperity gurus. One favorite fund-raising gimmick is to prime the pump of pious fervor by throwing around a lot of Old

Testament buzzwords, and doing it with the right theatrics. At least once I was in a meeting

where the preacher appealed to his flock to present a wave offering to the Lord (withcabbage of the highest denominations, what else?).Knowing his trusting, bah-h-h-ing sheep would readily follow, the man said, God loves a

cheerful giver. Lets see you wave your biggest bill as your firstfruits offering unto the Lord.Thats it! Wave those bills high now, and make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

Now, in a crowd of thousands of excited people, you must have enough sanctifiedcommon sense to master your own emotions and be grounded in Gods truth enough to

judge the collective blessing by the strict yardstick of Scripture. Have you ever read ofthe Apostle Peter groaning to organ music and appealing to Levitical laws to make the

money flow like milk and honey? What did the Firstfruits offering and the Wave offeringconsist of anyway, and what was the significance of these ancient rituals?

It was upon the Altar that the Firstfruits, the very first ripening fruits of a harvest, were

brought in a basket (not a checkbook) by the Israelite farmer (see Exodus 23:19; Numbers

18:13; Deuteronomy 26:1-11; Nehemiah 10: 35-37). From this the wavesheaf was takenand offered up as holy unto the Lord (Leviticus 23: 9-12; ). This ritual was performed on the

second day of Passover, or 7 weeks before Pentecost (verse 15).The Firstfruits is not synonymous with the tithe of the whole harvest offered by the

laity of the Nation of Israel. The tithe was payable later in the season, when the whole cropripened. Nehemiah Chapter 10 describes how sacrifices, tithes, and offerings were resumed

after being discontinued in exile. Notice in verse 37: And to bring the firstfruits of ourDOUGH (bread dough, that is!) and our offerings, and the FRUIT OF ALL MANNER OF

TREES, unto the priests, to the chambers of the House of our God; and the tithes OF OUR

14


15/24


16/24

of one Mosaic ordinance, that individual must place himself under ALL of the Law of Moses!Its a package deal! If one Mosaic ordinance is transferable to the New Testament Age of

Grace, every other Mosaic ordinance is transferable and binding, not just the money-makers! The whole Law includes circumcision for men, periodical seclusion and pigeon

offerings for women, ritual cleansings and washings, animal sacrifices, physical inactivity onthe Sabbath, abstinence from pork BBQ, going to the Priest to have your zits checked, and

paying a redemption fee for your firstborn child.Thanks to Christ, we are redeemed from thecondemnation of imperfect Law-keeping, without having to muddle through all those

Levitical Laws and fees (Isaiah 52:3; I Peter 1:18).You really open up a can of worms when you try to enforce Old Testament Laws in this

Dispensation of Grace. Even if monetary fees still had to be paid today in fulfillment ofancient Levitical law, God wouldnt accept U.S. currency, with its mystical inscriptions and

images of men, as these violate His Law against making images (Exodus 20:4). Ministerssimply couldnt accept $3.00 as a redemption fee for a baby girl, instead of three Shekels of

the Sanctuary! The Jews of Christs time had to exchange their Roman coins, engravedwith images of Caesar, for acceptable Temple shekels (Matthew 21:12). Even then, those

coins were not used to pay tithes, but taxes for the maintenance of the Temple, as in the

census tax taken of every Israelite over twenty (Exodus 30: 11-16). Each person, whetherrich or poor, was charged the same amount--half a shekel. That would constitute far less

than 10 %of a rich mans income. Under Nehemiahs leadership, God allowed this small sumto be reduced to one-third of a shekel, perhaps because the people at that time were underforeign tribute and needed a bit of relief. This is one example of Gods compassion.

The Temple Tax, however, cannot be used to argue that money secured the eternalredemption of the Israelites, even if this tax was easily affordable by most everyone. Psalms

49: 7-8 tells us that nothing we can give God can ransom anyones soul from death, and theredemption of our soul is precious (costly). It is the Blood which makes atonement for sin

(Leviticus 17:11; Hebrews 9:22). Rather, paying that census tax was a tangible reminder(memorial) of the faith each person directed toward the God Who inhabited the Temple,

and also symbolized the fact each Old Testament saint had an equal vested interest in thebenefits of its rites. The money paid for the upkeep of a Temple which performed

substitutionary animal sacrifices on their behalf. These rites were crucial in the salvation of

believing Israelites in that they served as promissory notes before God until their ultimatefulfilment in Christ, the perfect Lamb of God. The Blood of Christ, not silver and gold, hasredeemed us (John 1:29; John 1:29; I Peter 1: 18-19). Faithfulness to ritual obligations,

as in paying the Temple tax, showed their faith in the future coming of the final Sacrifice forsins, Jesus. In every dispensation, good works spring from true faith ( James 2:26).

Back then, census-taking was a sin unless God authorized it. King David, a man afterGods own heart, committed a census sin once. He, rather than the Lord, ordered a

national census taken of Israel, Gods heritage. He wanted to know how many warriors hehad on hand to protect his kingdom. As a result of this transgression, a plague fell on Israel

( II Samuel Chapter 24).Some preachers keep a watchful eye on who gives what byrequesting that envelopes be filled out, supposedly for purposes of tax deduction. Carnal

preachers feel their kingdom is more secure, just knowing they have a core group of big

tithers they can count on. Its easier to trust in the Lord if the projected numbers for the

coming fiscal year are already predictably high. Then the building committee can go aheadand set a firm time frame for the new choir loft, or the renovations on the parsonage. But

that doesnt excuse the tithe. Besides, drawing attention to your big contributions is notGods way. Jesus prefers us to give in secret (Matthew 6:1-4).

Lay Your Money Down....Where?

Monetary gifts and tax money could enter the Temple, as when Jesus referred to the

gold of the Sanctuary in Matthew 23:17 But gold was never placed on the Altar but in the

16


17/24

treasury (Luke 21:1). When Jesus referred to placing a gift on the Altar ( verse 18) heclearly meant animal sacrifices, as He did when he told one leper he had cleansed: Go and

offer the gift that Moses commanded as a testimony to others (of his cleansing). Thisprocess of ceremonial, in contrast to the actual cleansing Jesus did, was a complicated

business: The first phase of the gift consisted of an initial offering of two sparrows, andthen, after a week of shaving, washing, and ritual seclusion, another offering had to be

given, comprised either of two lambs, or one lamb and two birds. (Leviticus chapter 14).Actually, there were two altars in the Temple; one the Brazen Altar, where animal

sacrifices were offered by fire ( a picture of the spotless Offering of Christ), the other, theAltar of Incense, where sweet incense (which pictures the worship of saints) was burned.

But money was never sacrificed on either Altar! Can you imagine a pile of fat checks and$20 bills going up in smoke? That would be a televangelists worst nightmare! So much for

preachers pleading: If you dont lay your money on the Altar, you cant offer yourself to theLord, either! Paul says in Romans 12:1: I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God,

that ye present YOUR BODIES (no mention of money!) a living sacrifice, holy, acceptableunto God, which is your reasonable service. Giving, not tithing, as God leads to meet

genuine needs comes as a result of a transformed heart. The Law of Moses had the power

to show a person his faults, but never to impart righteousness to him (Romans 8:3). Whenwe walk according to the Love of the living Christ within, we walk in the the Law of Liberty.

We obey His leadings out of love, rather than fear. For example, Acts Chapter 4:35 saysbelievers were of one heart and one soul (true unity) and there was none that lacked.

Distribution was made to each person (not just the clergy ) according to his need, not

his greed!Those same preachers who so eagerly seize upon the Old Testament Law of tithing to

increase funds dismiss as impractical the example of the newborn Church, where nobodyclaimed exclusive ownership of anything.

A Hypothetical Case: Sally in Titheland

Sally, a widow with a two-year-old son, makes $300 a week at her nursing job. 30%

of her salary goes for Social Security, state and federal tax, BEFORE she even tackles her

spiralling rent, which seems to increase every other month. More goes for child care,utilities, work-related expenses, and car payments. Her net income, before paying all thosewhopping bills, is only $210, but her pastor habitually warns: (I actually heard something

like this once): Just try and withhold Gods tithe. If you break this Law He has set inmotion, youll reap the consequences. God will withdraw His protection and youll end up

paying it anyway, either through a hospital bill, or for medicine and doctors!Sally looks at her little son. Fear has tied her to the tithe. What responsible mother

could risk her own childs safety and well-being over a little money? So with moreheaviness than hilarity she writes out a check for $35. The extra $5.00 constitutes her love

offering, so God wont think shes a tightwad. The $30 was one-tenth (the tithe) of hergross income, but exactly one-seventh of her net (disposable) income. By appealing to the

punitive force of a law God never meant for New Covenant believers, tithe teachers snag

much more than 10% of a persons take-home pay.

So what is poor Sally to do, moonlight at McDonalds so she can afford to tithe on herfirst paycheck? Doesnt she deserve a few minutes of quality time each night with her son

so she can read him a bedtime story and tell him how much Jesus loves him? Doesnt shedeserve a decent home life at least as much as the tithe-extractors do? Does God really

prefer sacrifice to mercy? Is He, as some insinuate, only pleased with His children whenthey are suffering privation for the Kingdom of God?

Sally tosses and turns all Saturday night. Next morning, shes way too tired to go tochurch. She can just go for the evening service. Surely, she reasons, the church wont go

bankrupt before she delivers her tithe check.

17


18/24

But does Sally have the right to fulfill her inner need to break free? Is it safe to eveninvestigate the validity of her pastors claim on her money? She flips open her Bible to I

Thessalonians 5:21. Prove all things, hold fast that which is good.Sally must know for sure. She prays for guidance. Far from rebuking Sally from wanting

to be sure, God honors her prayer. He shows her where to dig to find the nuggets of truthshe needs, in her own Bible reference books and on the Internet. She discovers a host of

other souls who have been set free to examine teachings in the light of Scripture, peoplewho have learned to reject that which is false.

How odd, she thinks, her pastor has never preached on THESE Scriptures! A weight ofoppression lifts from her soul. She has church right there in the privacy of her home,

worshipping and praising God.Sally tears up her tithe. Thats one pastor she just cant afford.

Sally has been liberated from fear imposed on her by a manipulative, money-obsessedpastor who appeals to negative forces to punish people who dare to break free from flawed

religious traditions. One modern heresy making the rounds is that laws (impersonalforces) govern everything, and even God is subject to them. Dont buy this lie! God still

sits on the Throne of the universe. Hold fast to the truth as revealed in the Gospel of

Grace. Trust in God to be your Defender against all the deceiving spirits who would fill yourheart with fear of breaking with bad traditions. He will give you courage to hold fast to the

truth, although others might prefer traditions of men to truth, and would deny your libertyas a blood-washed, Spirit-indwelt child of God.

Sally would have found tithing much more merciful under the Old Covenant. As a landless

widow, she wouldnt have been expected to tithe at all. She would have helped consumethe tithe instead of paying a religious tax on her limited income.

Speaking of tax-paying, so long as the Israelites remained under Gods originaltheocratic government with judges as their leaders instead of kings, they never had

imposed upon them other big income taxes in addition to bringing in the tithe of the land.Big taxes only came with big government, after Israel demanded that God give them an

earthly king. Todays tithers pay heavy secular taxes before tithing on the original figure,which is never even in their possession.

The tithe, as preached and enforced by legalistic ministers of Christendom, allows no

exemptions for poverty or personal hardship. When the candy-coated religious veneer isstripped away, any Spirit-guided student of the Word can see what sternly enforced,mandatory tithing truly is: Paying protection money to men in fancy suits who, for all

practical purposes, paint a picture of a ruthless godfather. No mercy is shown by suchcarnal, greedy men whose appetite for the finer things in life is insatiable (Isaiah 56:11).

They play on the fact that while most adults can read, lots of folks cant yet rightly dividethe Word of Truth in order to discern solid truth from hyped-up error based on one or two

Scriptures twisted and taken out of context. By playing on people's nagging fears ofoffending God, these wolves in sheeps clothing judge those who refuse to cough the

money up as being cursed with a curse for not giving in to their arm-twisting!These greedy wolves dare paint God as just another wolf at the door! Shame on them!

And, in the minds of petrified parishioners, those self-serving lords over Gods

Heritage are equated with God Himself, to be paid off with fear and trembling.

Christ Didn't Demand Tithing of His New Testament Church

In Revelation Chapters 2 and 3 Jesus Christ Himself appears to the apostle John on the

Isle of Patmos to deliver a message which John is to write to seven different churches. Theseven churches are in different stages of spiritual maturity. Two of the churches (Smyrna

and Philadelphia, receive no rebuke from Christ. In Revelation 2:9 Jesus comments onSmyrna's temporal poverty, but He does not suggest that the destitute Christians of Smyrna

"start tithing" to "prove God" to try and better their lot in this world, as so many prosperity

18


19/24

preachers exhort the poor to do these days! Instead, Christ commends this church for beingrich spiritually. How many modern-day churches would receive this particular endorsement

from Jesus?The proof positive is that Christ rebukes the other five churches for sins or sins of varying

magnitude, ranging from lack of vigilance to fornication and spiritual adultery. Even whenwe get to the final church on Christ's list, carnal, worldly Laodicea, there is no mention of

failure to tithe. Non-tithers are accused BY MEN of being selfish and covetousness. Non-tithers are accused BY MEN of lacking zeal for the things of God. In Revelation 3:15-16

Jesus calls the Laodiceans lukewarm and exhorts them to repent. In verse 17 Christ rebukesthe Laodiceans for being proud of and content with their earthly prosperity (sound familiar)?

The Laodiceans might be materially rich but they lack something. In verse 18 Jesus exhortsthese people to buy of Him gold tried in the fire, that they might be rich indeed. Jesus does

not tell them that the way to cure themselves of selfishness and gain more zeal for spiritualthings is to start tithing! Nor, incidentally, does Jesus ever mention failure to fast in His

rebukes of the five erring churches (another sacred cow which preachers sometimes use toinstill guilt in the people of God).

F.A.C.T. or Fantasy?

How crafty the devil is as he deceives the people of God! If certain cherished teachingsare exposed by correctly interpreted Scripture as rank heresy, satan doesn't give up. Hewill not willingly let God's people out of their cages of doctrinal bondage. He will bewitch his

prisoners into seeing legalistic bondage as beautiful and altogether desirable (Gal.3:1).Compromise and spin are the order of the day. Confronting religious leaders over dodgy

doctrines is held to be a sin, although Paul confronted the apostle Peter over his ownhypocritical behavior (Gal.2:11-14). We are to speak the truth in love (Eph.4:15). But it

must be the truth nonetheless. We must contend earnestly (not half-heartedly) for the faithoriginally preached unto the saints (Jude 3). Doctrines given by the Holy Spirit to the

Church were taught by the original apostles. If Peter, John, James and Paul didn't teach aspecific doctrine as being part of a Christian believer's faith and practice, then that doctrine

ought to be rejected as false. Religious heresies cooked up by prelates of the false

institutional church systems of the Dark Ages are not binding upon us today.Only eternity will tell the multitudes who have stayed away from church because theycouldn't afford the membership dues imposed on them from the pulpit! How many weary,

frustrated fathers or mothers felt forced to take an extra job because on top of state andfederal taxes, they felt obligated to pay an extra ten percent of their gross earnings to the

institutional church?Jesus is the only High Priest (mediator, or middle man) between His subordinate New

Testament priesthood and God (I Tim.2:5). In order to take "tithes" in God's Name, andpresent them to God on our behalf, a preacher must actually place himself or herself in the

office of Jesus Christ Himself, Whose priesthood is permanent (Heb.8:23-25)! Not only that,no man is ever authorized to add his own ordinances to the Word of God (Deut.4:2). Even if

we had to keep the Mosaic Law today, no preacher would have the right to include money in

the list of EDIBLE products God wanted tithed in the Old Testament (Lev.27:30; Deut.14:22-

23). Collecting and presenting monetary tithes in the Name of Christ is offering strange firebefore the Lord which He commanded not (Numbers 3:4). God cannot bless such

confusion! And blessing can't be measured merely in dollars and cents. Unless we do thingsHis way, and give only in His way, there is no eternal reward forthcoming for our service

unto Him.Despite the FACT that New Covenant Tithing has been proven to be the mother of all

doctrinal deviations, preachers desperately try to salvage this shipwrecked heresy to protecttheir own bank accounts. If you get folks to cool off and compromise, half the battle for

damage control is done. Make 'em feel good about doing things your way, even if it isn't

19


20/24

God's way! That old cow patty won't seem like a smelly disgusting thing if you repackage itin a candy box. If you're clever enough you don't need to get all bent out of shape when

you defend your right to first dibs on another man's paycheck. A little sugar sure does go along way. Make folks feel like they're carrying on a great tradition of God-honoring faith by

being sweet and reasonable. Presto! Their defenses are lowered. Their sense of indignationabout being fleeced vanishes. Everybody can get along just fine and be in agreement on

how money should be collected in your church. No need to get all hot and bothered. Peopleactually think they're still living in liberty even if they go on tithing. And like docile sheep,

they forget all about this notion of freedom as you convince them that only in bondage canthey be truly free. Success! Those people, and their paychecks are in your camp once

again. You've built up their self-esteem to the point where they won't even mind partingwith their hard-earned dollars anymore. Everybody is the best of buddies and on the same

wavelength, and your offering plate won't lose a solitary cent!One clever tactic making the rounds is F.A.C.T. (Faith-based Abrahamic Covenant

Tithing). Man, if Father Abraham could look down from heaven and see some of the stuntsbeing pulled by pulpiteers in his name, he'd be shocked!

Let's forget all the religious fairy dust being sprinkled around and take another good look

at the type of tithe paid by Abraham, No minister ever likes to mention the fact that thesource of the very first tithe recorded in Scripture was a town full of cathouses and

bordellos! That blows their argument clear out of the water!Let's revisit the scene of Abraham's tithe to Melchisedek. In Genesis Chapter 14 Abraham

wins a miraculous victory and rescues Lot and the other citizens of Sodom. Not only are Lot

and his family rescued from captivity, but all the people and goods of Sodom are recovered(Gen.14:16). Afterward, the king of wicked Sodom comes out to meet Lot. Melchisekek,

the priest of the Most High God, also comes to Abraham and brings him bread and wine.Melchisedek blesses God for Abraham's victory and he also blesses Abraham. In verse

20 Abraham gives (not pays) tithes of all the spoils of war to Melchisedek.Normally a tither will be told that ninety per cent of his paycheck belongs to him, after

paying his tithe. So Abraham has ninety per cent of the spoils left for his own use aftergiving ten per cent to Melchisedek? Does Abraham consider this stuff his own property

which he has just tithed from? No. The king of Sodom covets the souls Abraham has

recovered, but tells Abraham he may keep the other booty for himself. In verses 22 and 23Abraham swears by the Lord that he will not claim anything for himself, not so much as ashoestring. Abraham NEVER considered the spoil of Sodom his own property which he paid

tithes on! He didn't want any of it! Abraham was a great friend of God, and anything Godasked him to give he would give, even his own son Isaac. But nowhere does Scripture ever

say that Abraham ever tithes again, or regularly tithes on his business or personal estate.As for systematic tithing being a part of Abraham's faith covenant with God, tithing is

never again mentioned as being done either by him or any of his descendants until Jacobmade that deal with God in Genesis 28:20-22. IF God would take good care of Jacob first,

THEN Jacob would give God ten per cent of all he had. If Abraham truly taught all hischildren to tithe, then why would Jacob be in any position to make a bargain with God and

wait some twenty years to start paying on it? That's about how long it took Jacob to get

back to the Promised Land after making that vow. Jacob would already be obligated to pay

that amount to God, and if so, how would he do it, except through some humanintermediary? Bargaining with a bill you ALREADY owe is just as ridiculous as vowing to pay

your landlord the rent if he does something nice for you!In Genesis Chapter 15 God appears to Abraham and ratifies his covenant. Abraham will

have descendants as numerous as the stars and inherit the Land. Abraham offers up animalsacrifices to God. Abraham doesn't do much after that. Abraham takes a more passive

role. He falls into a deep sleep, during which time God tells him what will befall hisdescendants in Egypt. Abraham offers up sacrifices unto God, but NOWHERE in that

covenant is tithing of any kind ever mentioned!

20


21/24

Think about it. Abraham's ONE-TIME tithe came from the spoils of wicked Sodom, aplace so sordid God wiped it off the map! Here's a brief description of the kind of place

which was the source of Abraham's tithe:Jude 7: Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving

themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example,suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

If you want to follow Abraham's example in tithing, you'll have to give SOMEBODYELSE'S STUFF to the preacher, preferably from a house of ill repute. That's about as close as

you can get to Sodom today. Remember, Abraham claimed NONE of the plunder as his own,either before or after tithing on it to Melchisedek. And if tithing was to be part of the

covenant of Abraham who was justified by faith alone (Rom.4:3,9; Gal.3:6), then why didn'tGod ever mention any kind of tithing when He came down from heaven to ratify this

covenant?.This F.A.C.T. fabrication folds like a house of cards, doesn't it? How can a work never

once commanded by God (monetary tithing) be preached as a key element of a vital faith inGod? How can a one-time act of tithing sourced from wicked Sodom serve as an example

which we are commanded to follow? For that matter, which of the apostolic epistles ever

mentions Faith-based Abrahamic Covenant Tithing as a standard of Christian generosity?Show me the Scripture! Properly applied Scripture alone is to be our guide, plain and

simple.Here is the anagram God gave me to show what He thinks of a dead doctrine which

money-hungry preachers refuse to let go of:

REPACKAGED

UNSCRIPTURALSATANIC

TITHING

Monetary tithing is a dead corpse of a doctrine which has been repackaged into aF.A.C.T. and perfumed to seem like somethin' it just ain't.

Monetary tithing is an overwhelmingly unscriptural doctrine which deserves to be buried

in the sweet sea of forgetfulness. Calling something a F.A.C.T. just don't make it so. FACT:Two plus two will never equal three!FACT: Monetary tithing began long after the death of the first apostles as a voluntary

custom, then through satanic deception and greed of men was made law by the clergy ofinstitutional Christendom during the Dark Ages.

NOWHERE is monetary tithing ever taught to believers in the New Testament, and noteven in the Old. No preacher can wiggle their way out of that simple fact!

Tithing is part of the Law of Moses, given specifically TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL BYMOSES FROM MT. SINAI (Lev.27:30-34). Christ took the old ceremonial laws to the Cross

with Him (Eph.2:15; Col.2:14). They were abolished to make way for a better covenantbased on better promises (Heb.8:6). If tithing is binding on today's Christian, then

circumcision, animal sacrifices, and the death penalty for breaking the Sabbath are also in

effect today.

So many preachers today still lust for the rust. Jesus instructs His disciples to lay uptreasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust corrupts (Matt.6:19-21).

Here are a few Scriptures which warn the rich:

James 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come uponyou.

VERSE 2: Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.

21


22/24

VERSE 3: Your gold and silver is cankered (rotted away); and the rust of them shall be awitness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure

together for the last days.VERSE 5: Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your

hearts, as in a day of slaughter.

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erredfrom the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows (I Tim.6:10).

Liberty Must Be Defended

Be on your guard. Let the Scriptural truths I have just shared with you fortify you

against the wiles of the devil, who appears as an angel of light. He will even use zealous,unscriptural sermons to try to shame you into tithing anyway, to try to steal more and

more of your God-given liberty by degrees. Give satan an inch and hell surely demand a

mile. He has as his end the impoverishment of the Bride of Christ, and its re-enslavementinto the bondage of fear. So he uses spiritually blind religious leaders to enforce a Law of

Tithing by using his favorite below-the-belt tactic: instill guilt toward God into a people who,at conversion, received the gift of peace with God through faith. Those who are keen onfilling their coffers but cant fool believers who have studied their Bible will say: If you

really loved Jesus, you wouldnt be so contentious about it, or resort to intellectualarguments to get out of it. Lacking Scriptural backing for this destructive doctrine, theyll

resort to mysticism, and wrest (twist) Scripture to their own advantage, as Peter warns in IIPeter 3:16. Scripture correctly applied in context must be the final authority, not the biased

reasonings of someone who has an extensive seminary education.I once read a booklet written by a well-known expounder of Scripture. In it, he gives a

birds eye synopsis of the major themes of the minor prophets, one of which is Malachi. Inthat section he zooms straight up to...guess what? The Tithing Scripture in Malachi chapter

3! Despite his glowing enthusiasm he says nothing new, just what Ive heard preachers say

before: Just imagine, tithing is YOUR chance to prove God! His little blurb was like a peptalk, encouraging people to master their misgivings and put God to the test, because thatsone area where God puts Himself in a box!

His articles on science and world events are well-researched, but on the subject oftithing he misses by a country mile. Without any Scriptural backing he just glibly assumes

its a given that the tithe applies to modern Christians, and applies to money, and it shouldfill Christians with joy to comply with this tradition. The central theme of Malachi is never

mentioned: Gods efforts to set a crooked priesthood straight. I, a housewife with a JuniorCollege degree and 30-odd years informal teaching by the Holy Spirit, have already

shared more than enough solid evidence to rest my case on that point, and Id be surprisedif tithe-collecting theologians have never come across or wondered about the very

Scriptures Ive shared with you. Peter and John didnt even have a high school diploma

(Acts 4:13), but their words rang with a truth which set people free. Even Jesus held his

own in the Temple when He was a boy of twelve discoursing with some very learned Rabbis.One argument Ive heard for obligatory donations is: You must die to self (i.e. your

own feelings and needs). You might think you know the truth, tithe-teachers will tell you,but youd better shut up and pay up anyway, or your heart isnt right with God, and youre

just being selfish and divisive.Hogwash! If anybodys being greedy, its those blind leaders of the blind who are living

like royalty at the expense of the Body of Christ! And the more luxuries they enjoy, themore they want.

22


23/24

Lots of Christians believe in defending their Constitutional liberties, because they realizemuch blood was shed in the past to secure those freedoms. I maintain that it is infinitely

more important to defend your spiritual liberty in Christ from unwarranted encroachment.Jesus did indeed shed His own precious Blood so we could live in liberty. Scripture instructs

us to earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jude 3).Paul tells us to prove ALL things (even deeply entrenched religious traditions); hold fast that

which is good (I Thessalonians 5:21). And the flip side of the coin is to reject that whichisnt good. Never, never, never shrink away from your God-given right and duty to examine

all teachings in the light of Scripture just because some bigwig in a fancy suit tries to pullrank on you to lay claim to the fruits of your labor. Remember your position in Christ Jesus

as an heir of God, and joint-heir of Christ (Romans 8: 14-17). You have the mind of Christ,and He will reveal all truth to you through the Spirit, so that you are able to distinguish

between doctrine which springs from mans so-called wisdom and the true counsel of God(John 6:45; 14:26; 16:13, I Corinthians 2:11-16; I John 2:20, 27). We are not to be bound

by questionable doctrines, but our hearts are to be deeply rooted in the grace of God( Hebrews 13:9).

Weve feasted on the solid meat of the Word, now for the dessert:

In Numbers 18:20 the Lord says to Aaron: Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land,neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance amongthe children of Israel.

So we read that the Lord Himself was the inheritance of the Levites, rather than the landwhich grew the tithe. In Ephesians 1: 12-14 it says: That we should be to the praise of His

Glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word oftruth, the Gospel of your salvation: In whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with

that Holy Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption ofthe purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory. Like the Levites, we can truly say

the Lord Himself is our inheritance!Now remember, it was the fruits of the Old Testament worshippers inheritance that

mandatory tithes were paid on, and nothing else! In applying principles of Scripture, you

must do it strictly by Gods rules, or your doubtful doctrine is built on shifting sand, andcollapses like a house of cards! Now if we must tithe, we ought to do it the Biblical way,dont you think? That means we must tithe just like the Israelites did, on the inheritance

God has given us! Now I challenge any expert on Christian finance to answer me this:How can a modern believer tithe on the fruits of his God-given inheritance, which is a

heavenly inheritance, of which the Holy Spirit Himself is the down payment! Can you titheon the fruits of the Spirit? Nonsense! How do you put 10% of the Spirits love, joy, and

peace into the offering plate!?!Acts Chapter 15 tells of a great theological dispute among early church leaders. Were

non-Jewish believers obligated to keep the Law of Moses in order to earn and keep theirsalvation? None other than the Apostle Peter says that if the Old Law was hard for Jews to

bear, why should Gentile believers, who were already justified by faith, have that

burdensome yoke placed on them?

The apostles reached a sensible decision. Only four restrictions would be placed uponthe liberty of the Gentile believers:

To refrain from:

1. Foods offered to Idols2. Fornication

3. Meat from strangled animals4. The consumption of blood

23


24/24

Those original builders of the Church believed that if just those four things wereobserved, God could surely take care of the rest. Conspicuous by its absence is the Law of

Tithing.

Documents

Set God's People Free