FEATURE ARTICLE

Dr. David AkintimoyeThursday, September 15, 2016
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California, USA

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REJOINDER: IN THIS ERA OF GRACE CAN CHRISTIANS ROB GOD OF TITHES?

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his is my rejoinder to the article written by Dr. Ejukwa Osam on the above topic and published in the Nigeriaworld.com. He has written parts 1 and 2 of his article and he is yet to conclude it. I do not intend to comment on everything he said in his article. I only want to address the portion of his article dealing with the issue of tithing under the New Testament.

I agree with Him that there is not a single verse in the New Testament that commands a Gentile Christian to tithe. I also agree with him that Hebrews Chapter 7 did not command Christians to tithe. I completely agree with Him that a born again Christian cannot go to hell for not tithing. But I will add that he may miss out on God’s material provisions here on earth. To the extent that his article seems to suggest that tithing has no place under the New Testament, I will respectfully disagree. I will argue below, that though tithing is not a commandment to Gentile Christians, they are nevertheless admonished or encouraged to tithe, short of a commandment. My position is based upon a careful reading of Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42

Mat 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

The passage clearly indicates that the primary target of our Lord’s criticism in the above passage are the scribes and Pharisees. The scribes were religious law experts and the Pharisees were a prominent religious sect during the earthly ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ. The law required the Jews to devote a tenth part of all their property to the support of the Levites, Num 18:20-24. Another tenth part they paid for the service of the sanctuary, commonly in cattle or grain, but where they lived far from the place of worship they changed it to money, Deu 14:22-24. Besides these, there was to be every third year a tenth part given to the poor, to be eaten at their own dwellings Deu 14:28-29; so that nearly one-third of the property of the Jews was devoted to religious services by law. This was besides the voluntary offerings which they made.

A mint in the passage refers to a garden herb, in the original so called from its agreeable flavor. It was used to sprinkle the floors of their houses and synagogues to produce a pleasant fragrance. An Anise is commonly among us as “dill.” It has a fine aromatic smell, and is used by confectioners and perfumers. A cummin is a plant of the same genus, like “fennel,” and used for similar purposes. These were all herbs of little value. The law of Moses said that they should pay tithes of the “fruits of the earth,” Deu 14:22. It said nothing, however, about herbs. It was a question whether these should be tithed. It is noteworthy that our Lord encourages the Scribes and Pharisees to continue to tithe those plants and vegetables but also pointed out that doing justice, showing mercy and having faith are more important than tithing! See Albert Clark’s Commentary on Matthew 23;23.

Luk 11:42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

As you can see, the two passages are very similar and I intend to discuss them together. Dr. Ejukwa Osam took the position that the two passages strictly applied to the Jews and not to Gentile Christians. He perhaps, based his view on the literal reading of those passages. I must respectfully disagree with him. The sayings, parables and teachings of our Lord in the synoptic gospel- Matthew, Mark and Luke and the Book of John- have primary and secondary audience. The primary audience were the Jews who were physically present or who were living when

Jesus made his statements during his earthly ministry. The secondary audience are Gentile Christians of all ages i.e. those who became Christians after his death, resurrection and ascension. The position that Dr. Osam has taken would make all the statements of Jesus in the four gospels inapplicable to Gentile Christians.

For example, Mark 16:14-18 reads as follows:

Mar 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had seen Him after He had risen.

Mar 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

Mar 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Mar 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

“Them” in verse 15 is referring to the eleven disciples mentioned in verse 14. A literal reading of Mark 16:14-18 clearly showed that Jesus primarily directed his eleven disciples to carry out the great commission (Judas the 12th disciple had committed suicide before Jesus made his statements in the passage). But does that mean that Jesus only intended the 11 disciples to carry out the great commission? All Gentile Christians without exception know that the great commission is a task for all Christians of all ages.

Let me cite another example. Gentiles Christians often quote Luke 10:19 as the basis of the authority of the believers over demonic powers and evil spirits. But verse 17 indicates that Jesus was primarily addressing the seventy disciples whom he had sent out to preach the gospel and had come back to him to tell of their results. There is no question that the primary target of Luke 10:19 were those seventy disciples. See verse 17. But verse 10 and other similar scriptures in the gospel have been relied upon by Gentile Christians ever since as the basis of their authority to confront the kingdom of darkness.

In John 3:1-7, there was a discussion between Jesus and Nicodemus on the subject of born-again. It is clear from verse 7 that Jesus made his statement, “ye must be born again” to Nicodemus. Was Jesus telling only Nicodemus to be born again since the statement was directly made to him alone? Or was Jesus asking every person to be born again?

There are so many passages in the four gospels that I can use to buttress my point that the statements of our Lord primarily applied to believers living during his earthly ministry and secondarily to Gentile Christians of all ages. In most cases, what Jesus said to one he said to all.

Hebrew Chapter 7 does not mandate Christians to pay tithe.

In Hebrew 7:1-10, we read about Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him. After that Abraham gave Melchizedek 10% of all the spoils he got from the slaughter of the king. The writer of Hebrews was merely repeating the event recorded in Genesis 14:17-22.

A careful reading of both passages showed that Melchizedek first blessed Abraham before Abraham gave him the 10% of his spoils. So the tithe was not given to elicit the blessing because the blessing was already conferred on Abraham by Melchizedek before Abraham gave him anything.

Additionally, the entire Bible revealed that Abraham only gave tithe once in his lifetime. Apart from the event recorded in Genesis 14:17-22 and late repeated in Hebrew 7:1-10, there is no evidence from the Bible that Abraham paid tithe on a regular or periodic basis.

Also, Abraham only paid tithe on the spoils not his personal wealth.

Finally, the Bible did not state that Jehovah commanded Abraham to pay tithe to Melchizedek. The only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from their encounter was that Abraham voluntarily paid tithe from the spoils.

I said all that to point out that Hebrew Chapter 7:1-10 does not teach that Gentile Christians should pay tithe unless we want to read into the passage what is there.

I respectfully submit that it is unscriptural to teach that Christians who do not pay tithe will burn in hell. We are saved by Grace not by works. It is very unfortunate that people who teach that error have either not done a very good study on the doctrine of salvation or soteriology or do not fully understand it.

The word translated “save” in the New Testament is the Greek word “sozo”. It means total or absolute or unconditional salvation. Let me use two scriptures to explain what I mean.

Tit 3:5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,

Eph 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Eph 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

The Greek word “sozo” means to “ to save, that is, deliver or protect (literally or figuratively): - heal, preserve, save (self), do well, be (make) whole.”-Strong’s Concordance.

Once Christ has saved a person, it cannot be undone by anyone including the person that has been saved.

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never lose it or perish throughout the ages. [To all eternity they shall never by any means be destroyed.] And no one is able to snatch them out of My hand.” John 10:28 AMPC

When Jesus died on the Calvary cross about 2000 years ago, the Bible says that he bore all our sins, not some of them. That would include the “sin” of not paying tithe.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

1Pe 2:24 who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.

I am less than 50 years old. Jesus save my soul when I was about 18 or 19 years old. That means Jesus prospectively bore all my sins before I was born. Because I could not have committed any sin before I was born, the sins that Jesus bore had to be the sins that I have committed since I was born until I will die. He bore all my past, present and future sins 2000 years ago. And that should include the “sin” of not paying tithe or not paying all my tithe.

Two, Christ has been punished for all the sins that all Christians of all ages have committed or will ever commit. No Christian will ever be punished for any sin. If a Christian is sent to hell for committing a sin that Jesus paid for (and Jesus paid the penalty for every sin), Jesus must have died in vain on the cross! Even, human law prohibits double jeopardy. A person cannot be punished twice for the same crime. If the law provides that A will be killed if A does not pay his tithe unless B agrees to die for A. Once B is killed because A does not pay his tithe, A can no

longer be killed. It will be grave injustice to kill A in that situation. Jesus agreed to die for all of our sins so that we will not be punished for them.

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 NLT

Isa 53:5 He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well.

Isa 53:6 All of us were like sheep that had wandered off. We had each gone our own way, but the LORD gave him the punishment we deserved. (CEV)

Jesus was the lamb of God that took away the sins of the world. He was the propitiation for our sins. That is, he was the sacrifice that assuaged God and caused the wrath of God against our sins to go away. You know in African culture, tradition and belief, if an idol or god is angry with its worshippers, they appease him by offering it a good sacrifice. Once it accepts the sacrifice, its anger goes away. God is angry with us because of our sins. Jesus sacrificed himself for us on the cross. God accepted that sacrifice as good enough for him to deletes our sins and treat us as if we have never sinned. Hebrews 10:10-14.

The scape goat of the Old Testament that the Israelite High Priest would confess the sins of his people upon and send to the wilderness to die was a “type” of Christ.

Assuming that failure to pay tithe is a sin, Jesus not only took the sin from us, he also bore that sin and was punished for it. If God were to deprive a Christian of going to heaven for not paying tithe, God would have just inflicted punishment on Jesus on the cross for nothing. Remember that Jesus was punished for all our sins-including non-payment of tithes, not just some sins.

Third, every sin is capable of sending us to hell had Christ not died for our sins and rose for our justification. Assuming that Jesus is not in the picture for the moment, if you tithe but you commit any other sin just once in your lifetime, you will burn in hell. In other words, any sin will land the sinner in hell even if he is paying his tithe, assuming for the moment that Jesus did not die on the cross.

Jas 2:10 If you obey every law except one, you are still guilty of breaking them all.

Jas 2:11 The same God who told us to be faithful in marriage also told us not to murder. So even if you are faithful in marriage, but murder someone, you still have broken God's Law. (CEV)

1Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1Jn 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1Jn 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

The first Epistle of John was written to Christians. So I John 1:8 and 10 is addressing Christians, not unbelievers. Notice the use of the word “we” in the passage. The apostle was referring to himself and other Christians!

There is no general overseer, bishop or pastor who can say that he has never transgressed the law of God at any time since he was born to date.

Isa 64:6 But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.

Notice Isaiah used the word “we’ and “our” in that passage. The great prophet was humble enough to admit that he was unclean thing and that his righteousness was like a filthy rag.

Every Christian still commits sin. There is no Christian that does not commit sin. Paying tithe regularly does not mean a Christian is free from other sins!

Four, we are sinners from birth. This is called the Adamic sin. If a person is born into this earth and never commits any sin before he dies, he will still go to hell unless he gives his life to Jesus Christ.

Psa 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.

Job 14:4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!

Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.

Notice that the scripture says that by the disobedience of one man (Adam), many were made sinners. People were made sinners because of what someone else did! We were deemed sinners because of the sin of Adam. If the sin of Adam is now added to the sins that we commit, we are double sinners. There is no hope for us outside Jesus. Will paying of tithe redeem us from the Adamic sin that we inherited? Will paying of tithes equally redeem us from our own sins? Only the blood of Jesus does.

Can a Christian rob God of tithing?

Preachers who teach that a Christian can rob God often rely on the well-known passage of Malachi 3:7-10 quoted below because of its importance to this discussion.

Mal 3:7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the LORD of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?'

Mal 3:8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

Mal 3:9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

Mal 3:10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

The underline portion of Mal 3:7 indicates that God was addressing people who were required by law (or ordinances) to pay tithes. God gave the law of tithing to the Jewish nation through Moses.

Please note the underline words in Mal 3:9 (even this nation). God was very specific on whom he was describing as robbers-the nation of Israel, not every nation under the earth!

To further prove that God had only the nation of Israel in mind, read Malachi 1:1-the prologue to the entire book of Malachi.

Mal 1:1 The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.

The Gentile Christians were not in contemplation at all in the passage. Jesus never quoted the passage. Apostle Paul never quoted it. Apostle Peter and other New Testament writers never quoted it. It is apparent that they understood that the passage was written to the Jewish nation to remind them of their obligation under the law to pay tithes.

A careful study of the New Testament indicates that all the regulatory and ceremonial ordinances or laws of Moses expired when Jesus died on the cross. The law came through Moses but grace and mercy came through our Lord Jesus Christ. The dispensation of law was replaced by the dispensation of grace when Jesus rose from the dead.

I respectfully submit that a Christian who does not pay tithe is not robbing God. And because he is not robbing God, he is not going to hell.

No one should teach others to pay tithe based on extra-Biblical revelation.

This idea that people must pay tithe because a preacher claims that God personally told him to say so or because another preacher said he saw a vision of people burning in hell because they did not pay tithe is really childish. Any doctrine that is not clearly taught in the New Testament is not mandatory for Christians. One pastor said he saw a vision that he made a mistake in marrying his wife who bore him four children and that he was told in the same vision to correct the mistake by divorcing his wife He said he was further told in the vision to marry his female Choir mistress. I said that to point out the foolishness of relying on visions, dreams or voices when they contradict the word of God or the Bible.

Paying of tithe should be encouraged as an act of worship and to support for the work of God but not as a commandment.

Jesus endorses the way the Pharisees and Scribes were paying tithes in Matthew 23:23. It is therefore a good thing to tithe.

Two, when we tithe, we place God first in our finances. We acknowledge that we love him and that we are willing to give something of value to him.

Three, tithing is the principal way every local church is funded. Offerings are not very reliable. A local church can make a realistic budget because of some parishioners who regularly tithe.

Four, God will bless anyone who gives to him in proportion to the gift. The liberal soul will be made fat. He who sows sparingly shall real sparingly and he who sows bountifully shall reap bountifully. Because the amount people give as tithe is usually more than what they give as offering, they will receive more blessing from God.

Five, tithing is a very good way to inculcate financial discipline, which may lead to discipline in other areas.

Six, tithing helps us to deal with greed which is innate in every one of us.

Name Calling is unwarranted. We should educate the people of God but we should not ridicule ministers of the gospel.

I respectfully think that it was unwise for Dr. Osam to attack Pastor E.A. Adeboye or Bishop Oyedepo and any other preacher by name even if he thought that their teaching on tithe was incorrect. There is no Mr. Know-it-all. He should have written a private letter to them to point out that they were in error. And if they reject his correction, he should leave them to God and educate the public without mentioning their names. It is not wise to mention respected Christian leaders by name and to castigate them in the public, as Dr. Osam has done. Having said that, I have to admit that Dr. Osam’s article was well researched and I agree with almost all the views he expressed except for the minor disagreement that I discussed above.

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