God Without Religion_ Can It Really Be This Simple_ - Andrew Farley [19]
Each tribe gave a tenth to the Levites. This enabled them to serve God in full-time ministry without being concerned about money. But tithing under the law involved more than just 10 percent of your income. It also meant contributing grain and other offerings that added up to much more.
So here’s a question: If we were supposed to be tithing a mandatory 10 percent today, to whom would it go? The priestly tribe of Levi is gone. Their function as mediators between God and humans is over. And the Bible tells us that our high priest is not our pastor, our minister, a Christian leader, or our church. We have one High Priest, Jesus (Heb. 7:26–28). In addition, every member of the body of Christ is a priest (1 Pet. 2:9; Heb. 13:10).
So to whom would the tithe go?
We Christians are free from the law. Consequently, we’re free from a mandatory 10 percent standard for giving. Tithing is not a system that is in place for us today. There is not one single instance of instruction in any New Testament epistle for Christians to give a 10 percent tithe.
“But what does Jesus say about tithing?” you might ask.
In the Gospels, Jesus refers to tithing only three times. Each time, Jesus criticizes the Pharisees because they were beating their chests in pride about their tithing. They thought they were doing well in giving the right amount of money. But Jesus says they were not doing right as they ignored the spirit of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Luke 11:42; 18:11–14; Matt. 23:23).
Mel’s Place
The book of Hebrews does mention the term “tithe” (a tenth). It’s found in a history lesson about Abraham and his gift to a foreign priest, Melchizedek. Some argue that because Abraham paid a tenth to Melchizedek before the law, the concept of tithing precedes the law. Then they suggest that giving 10 percent is a God-given requirement. They say it’s still in effect for today’s churches, despite our freedom from the law.
This argument doesn’t hold up for three reasons. First, Abraham’s gift to Melchizedek was entirely voluntary, not a required command from God. In fact, it was a common practice in the Middle East after winning a battle to give a tenth of your stolen goods to a royal figure out of respect for their position. Second, Abraham gave this tenth only one time in his entire life. It was not a regular or habitual giving to Melchizedek. If we Christians were to follow Abraham’s act as a model for our giving, it would only be fitting for us to give once in our lifetime. Lastly, note that Abraham offered a tenth of his spoils of war. In following Abraham’s model for giving, it would then be justifiable for Christians to engage in war with other people groups, take their belongings, and then put 10 percent of the loot on the church lawn.
The truth is that Abraham offered a gift to Melchizedek purely out of respect for his priesthood. It was a picture of Christ’s priesthood to come. This was not a required gift, nor is it an example that we must follow. Instead, Hebrews simply retells this event to show that “the lesser person is blessed by the greater” (Heb. 7:7). This means that Abraham (and Levi, who would descend from him) was lesser than Melchizedek. Therefore, Levi and Old Testament priests are lesser than Christ.
This is the logic behind recounting the event. There are no life application verses in this Hebrews passage, meaning there is no instruction of any kind for New Testament Christians to give a required tenth. If God had wanted New Testament believers to give exactly a tenth, wouldn’t he have put that instruction in at least one epistle?
Freedom in Giving
From Romans to Revelation, there is no passage that instructs Christians to give a required 10 percent. In fact, we find the opposite—under God’s new way, there’s no minimum and no maximum. It’s entirely up to us:
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give,