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The next aspect of giving concerns the recipients. Having defined how the New Testament Church is to give we need to determine who is to receive this gift. There are five recipients outlined in the New Testament.

First is the believers family. First and foremost in God’s plan for Church giving is for the family. It is every believers responsibility to provide for the needs of his own family. Paul gives a warning to those who do not provide for their families when he outlines to Timothy how widows are to be taken care of in the church.

1 Timothy 5:8(NIV) 8If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

When a believer fails to provide for the family that God has given them, he fails to Glorify God and brings dishonor on the name of God. The unsaved world will look upon those who fail to provide and wonder how their God can allow such a thing, thus dishonoring His name. They then become worse than an unbeliever. The believer and his family are to be a testimony to the unsaved world concerning God’s nature and being. When you do not provide for their needs then the unsaved have a negative, false impression of God.

The second recipient of giving should be the ministry and the work that the ministry performs. This includes a broad range of people and activities, and is not just the local church. The New Testament considers the Church as all believers and not just the local body of believers. Today we have many denominations and local assemblies that are part of the universal Church. It is my belief that there are believers in most of the various denominations. It is the total of all those who are believers which make up the universal church, and it is the ministry of the universal church that is to receive the gift.

It is the responsibility of the believer to determine where and to whom he is to give. Within this universal church is the local church and certainly the local church would receive a goodly portion of that gift. Within the local church are those who need to be taken care of, among whom are the evangelist (missionaries) and pastor.

1 Timothy 5:17-18(NIV) 17The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. 18For the Scripture says, “Do not muzzle the ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”

The third recipient should be the Jew. This is perhaps the most overlooked recipient of our wealth. The New Testament is specific that the gospel needs to go to the Jew first and that would include Missionaries to the Jews. God has not rejected His people Israel and would have us witness to them concerning their Messiah.

The forth recipient is the Bible teacher as stated in Galatians.

Galatians 6:6(NIV) 6Anyone who receives instruction in the word must share all good things with his instructor.

This could include a pastor or Sunday School teacher in the local church. It could also mean someone who teaches via the media such as TV, internet or radio. It could mean anyone who has the gift of teaching and utilizes the gift as God commands. There is no lack of those who are giving much of their time and talent and should be compensated by those who enjoy the fruits of their labor.

The fifth recipient should be the brother in need.

James 2:15-17(NIV) 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

There are times when believers through no fault of their own, find themselves in a position where they must rely on others to survive. This does not mean those who have the capacity to provide for themselves but fail to do so. We all have times when we need to turn to other for support, not only financial, but also spiritual. We are obligated to sustain our brother or sister during these times. All believers are part of the body of Christ and when one suffers the whole body suffers.

There is more persecution of believers today than there has ever been. These people need more than just our prayers, but they need our financial assistance also. Paul took up a collection for the Jerusalem Church because of persecution and poverty which resulted. It is and example that we should follow.

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2 Corinthians 9:6-15(NIV) 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

The above verses give us some more insight into Biblical giving for the Church. The first point is a universal point that has applied throughout history. You will reap what you sow, not only monetarily, but also morally and physically.The first principle stipulated is that a generous giver will be given more so that he can give more. It does not mean that you will become rich, but rather that God can trust you to provide for those within the family of God. Your generosity demonstrates your willingness to do God’s work.

The next point is that when we give out of our ability it should be with a cheerful attitude. Tithing destroys this attitude by demanding that you give a certain percentage to a specific purpose. It then becomes an obligation and not a joy. The gift becomes unacceptable to God. God loves a cheerful giver because it is based upon faith and not upon a commandment. We give because God has given us the abundance and it is our honor and privilege to do God’s work.

The next point is shown in verses 8-11. God will supply all of your needs and this will free you to give what God directs you to give. We have a tendency in this country to be self reliant. We have been brought up to think that we are in charge of our life and have the responsibility and obligation to succeed by our own strength. It becomes difficult to accept the fact that we are not to live that way. We have been bought with a price and belong to God. Everything we do and have are His to be used according to His purposes. It becomes difficult for us to release our self dependence to an outside entity. We often fail to believe that God will truly keep his word and provide all of our needs which leads us to withhold our giving so that we can provide for our own needs and not rely upon God.

A word of caution. This does not mean that God will make us rich. It simply means that God knows what we need and will provide us with that need. I do not agree with the prosperity gospel presented by many preachers today. The life of Paul demonstrates that the Christian life is not always pleasant and easy, but it is a life that is fulfilling beyond measure. The more we trust God the closer we get to Him. We can say boldly with Paul that nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:31-39(NIV) 31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The next point is that not only will your giving supply the needs of God’s people, but that is is also a means to worship God. (vs. 12) Part of worshiping God is thanksgiving, and the act of giving for the needs of God’s people is also an act of thanking God for the ability to give. It is an act which demonstrates God’s ability to supply the needs of His children. It is a demonstration of our dependence on His grace.

Not only is our giving an act of worship it is also a testimony to everyone of our faith. (Vs. 13) It demonstrates your obedience to the Gospel and brings praise to God for you. It provides proof of our love of God and brings God glory and praise from others. Not only this, but it also brings us fellowship with those who receive the fruit of our giving. (vs. 14). This invokes prayers of thanksgiving for the blessings that you have received from God.

The final point is found in verse 15. All of this is summed up by pointing to the indescribable gift God has given to us which makes all of this possible. That indescribable gift is non other than Jesus Christ our Lord. Without His sacrifice we would have nothing and it is only because of Him that we can share in the Gory of God. Nothing is possible without the Son, and because of Him all things become possible.

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1 Corinthians 16:1-2(NIV) 1Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.

If the tithe is not meant for the Church then what is the responsibility of individual Christians when it comes to giving? The New Testament does not leave us without an answer. There are many passages that deal with giving under grace and I would like to look at each one of the three major verses that deal with this subject to see what can be gleaned from them.

The above verses give us some insights into the New Testament philosophy of giving. Paul has been encouraging the Gentile churches to take up collections so that the suffering Jewish saints in Jerusalem could be helped. It is first of all interesting to note that Paul nowhere called this a tithe nor did he mention what percentage one was to give. Paul lays out some very important principles that we need to look into and follow, which if done, could increase the coffers of the church today.

The first principle Paul gives us is to lay up money every week. Each family is to set aside money weekly. Notice what he does not say. He does not say to then give that money to the church every week. They are to “save it up” or put it into a family account and let it grow for future use. Paul does not say that all the money collected was to go to the ministry to help the Jerusalem believers. He simply say’s that from this stored up money give some for this purpose so that a special collection will not be required.

The first thing we learn from the above verse is that giving is an individual responsibility. There are many causes and the best way to meet all the needs is to set aside income every week to meet God’s needs in the ministry. The idea is that there will always be money available when needed for whatever God requires. It does not say that this entire amount belongs to the Church to be spent as the Church determines. This does not mean that we are to ignore the needs of the Church but rather there are other needs outside the Church that are also important to God’s work and that decision should rest with the individual or family who sets the money aside.

The next thing we notice about the money that is set aside is that it is to be proportional to the income. Does this mean that it should be 10%? No, but rather that the wealthy should put aside more because they have been blessed more. It is much easier for a wealthy person to put much more that 10% aside and not be burdened by the loss of income, than someone who cannot afford to feed their family if they were forced to give 10%. This is common sense economics.

Every family knows what they need to live on every week, or should. If they do not then we have other problems that need to be dealt with. As Christians we are to live within our means and understand that what we have belongs to God and not waste His possessions on our own lusts. Whatever is left over from our weekly expenses should be set aside for God’s use.

How do we then use the money that is set aside? That would be determined by what God reveals the needs are. A portion of that money should be given to support the needs of the local Church. The needs may vary over time, but you can adjust your giving to meet the justifiable needs of the local assembly.

There are always special needs that arise that require money be available. One of the Church members may require a large sum of money for medical needs or other unavoidable problems. The Church may require a sum of money for some special project or need. A friend may be in crises and needs monetary assistance. A missionary may require your help. All these things can and do come up that the money set aside can handle. The Church will find out that they receive much more when their members use this biblical way of providing than is they are forced to give 10% of their income weekly.

We will look at another verse 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 next post.

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Many today understand that we cannot use the Mosaic Law as an argument for tithing and thus rightly look to other portions of scripture to back up their belief in the tithe. They point out that the tithe was used prior to the Mosaic Law and then proclaim that this proves that it is a universal principle and thus applies to the Church today. There are three versed in Genesis that predate the giving of the Law. We need to examine each of these in context.

Genesis 4:3-7(NIV) 3In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. 6Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.”

Without getting technical, the above verses are used by some to indicate that the tithe was used in this passage and that Cain failed to “divide it properly”, or did not give the correct portion, and thus it was acceptable. This argument uses the Septuagint translation of the text to back up its claim. The Massoretic text which is used in most modern translations does not substantiate any claim that this offering was associated in any way with a tithe. I would not use a text that had problems proving my position and thus would not try to read into this text something that it probably does not say. The next two verses, however, do indeed speak directly to tithing and  need to be discussed.

Genesis 14:17-20(NIV) 17After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). 18Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, 19and he blessed Abram, saying, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. 20And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Genesis 28:20-22(NIV) 20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God 22and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

These two verses definitely do establish the fact that it was common to give a tenth of earnings. The fact that tithing was practiced in the ancient world is not new. It was very common for governments and temples to ask for payment so that they could survive. The problem is that it is not easy to separate the secular tithe with the religious tithe in the ancient cultures because the secular and the religious are not easily distinguished. They were very much the same in many instances. With this in mind, the above verses become more clear as to why the tithe was given or promised. In both cases it is impossible to remove it from the political or secular realm and thus it would seem to be more of a tax than an offering directly to God.

It is not my intent to go into great detail concerning Melchizedek, but briefly let me state that in the context the “Kingship was stressed, as well as the “Priesthood”. The fact that he was King of Jerusalem the future capital of the monarchy needs to be taken into consideration as well. From the information provided I would hesitate to stipulate from the Genesis 14 verses that this was a religious tithe, but it would seem to me to be more of a political tax which was do to Melchizedek’s position as King of Salem, as well as the fact that he was priest of the Most High God. This again would make this as much a tax as it is an offering to God. There is also no indication that Abraham was forced to give this offering, but paid it willingly because of the victory God had provided for him. There is also no indication that he ever repeated this tithe or continued paying a tenth of his possessions. Genesis 26:5(NIV) 5because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws.”  This verse indicates that Abraham was under God’s revealed law even though the Mosaic Law had not been implemented and as such his actions still do not reflect the freedom that we have in Christ and therefore his actions are not binding on us as Christians.

The verses in Genesis 28 are very much in line with this theme of the monarchy also. The location of the pillar of stones that Jacob set up was Bethel. Jacob said that this would be the house of God, and if God would take care of him then he would give back a tenth. The fact that the monarchy of the ten northern tribes chose Bethel as a place from which they would rule and worship after they rebelled against Rehoboam can not be ignored.(Amos 4:4) This tithe can be linked to the monarchy and as such should not be used as a universal rule that all people must abide by. The very fact that Jacob is bargaining with God would tend to refute the notion that he is following the law of tithing. This whole section shows us the character of Jacob and the very beginning of what would be a huge problem in the future. We should not in any way take this verse to try to justify the tithe being used in the Church today.

When one looks at the verses that describe the tithe prior to the Mosaic Law it still seems to indicate a correlation to the monarchy. It was the monarchy which really implemented the law of the tithe in Israel. The tithe, though it was used prior to the monarchy was not  firmly implemented until the creation of the monarchy as indicated in Samuel 8:11-18. Samuel warned about what would happen if they established a monarchy and that included paying tithes of everything they possessed. Although this link may seem weak it is still there and would indicate that the tithe was very much a tax for the survival of the monarchy as well as the priesthood.

The fact that the Law of Grace was not in affect indicates that in whatever dispensation people lived in, they followed the rule of the Law of God. Salvation is always by grace, through faith, but it is only attained by obeying what God has revealed. Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness. All those who were saved prior to Christ had to come to Him in faith and believe what was revealed. That is why it is said that Abraham  obeyed his commands and laws. Since the death of Christ we are now under the Law of Christ. There is nothing in the New Testament that would indicate that those who belong to Christ are under any obligation to tithe. Are we like Jacob who promises that we will give a tenth of what God has given to us? We have been bought with a price and we are not our own. We belong to Him 100%. We will be judged on how well we use all that He has given us. We are His stewards only, and have nothing apart from Him. We are not called to give a tenth of what we have, we are called to give everything. We will discuss how this is accomplished in future posts.

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It was recently brought up at a meeting that I attended that the principle of tithing should be stressed more from the pulpit. The statement was made that it is far to important a principle to be ignored. I bit my tongue to avoid any conflict that would arise if I challenged that particular statement. I realized that I was in no position to question the leadership outright and spared myself the frustration of trying to explain what the New Testament teaching regarding giving was. I resolved to look into the matter more thoroughly and present my findings here.

When a Christian is asked if the Church today is under the law the vast majority of us would answer that we are not under the law because Christ was the end of the law. We would stipulate that we are under Grace which is separate from the law. The below verses unequivocally testify to this fact.

Romans 11:6(NIV) 6And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

John 1:16-17(NIV) 16From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another. 17For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Galatians 3:19-25(NIV) 19What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was put into effect through angels by a mediator. 20A mediator, however, does not represent just one party; but God is one. 21Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. 24So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law.

The fact that we are not under the Law of Moses, but rather under the Law of Grace which is through faith in Christ is indisputable yet many try to put us back under the Law of Moses by saying that the very law given to Moses has two aspects to it. The first is the moral law which we are still under (the 10 commandments), and the second is the religious law which dictate the temple worship etc. They tend to ignore the fact that scripture says that if you break any part of the law, moral or religious you have broken all of them. The scripture fails to distinguish the difference between the two.

The Church today seems to accept the fact that we are not bound by the law for the most part. There are exceptions to this however, those being, keeping the Sabbath and tithing. There are very good reasons why both the Sabbath law and the law of tithing are not mentioned in the New Testament. Neither of these commandments are relevant to us today.

Tithing in the Mosaic Law, and the rest of scripture, had two purposes. First was religious and the second was to keep the government running, or a form of tax. The first was to allow the priesthood to make a living, and the second was to allow the monarchy to do what it needed to do. Tithing was very common in all cultures during this period and was viewed more as a tax that government or temples placed upon the people. Our present form of income tax, and other taxes we pay,  would be considered our tithe today.

The Sabbath was given to Israel because it was a nation and as such could allow it’s citizens to follow the law because it was a national law. The church today is not a national church and must abide by  the laws of the country it lives in, which may not allow following the Law of the Sabbath. We are ambassadors for Christ and not a nation thus, keeping the Sabbath would be a needless burden on our lives in many countries. God spared us this in the present age.

It is also important to remember that if you decide you are going to keep the law of the Sabbath and tithing then you must do it according to the Mosaic Law, which of course we do not do in either case. The Church today fails in many ways to understand the differences between the dispensations and tries to bring what was meant for Israel into the Church today. When we do this we place ourselves again under the Law and reject the Law of Grace which is given us in Christ.

The next argument that is made concerns the pre Law use of tithing. Before the Mosaic, law tithing is mentioned in several scriptures, and the argument is then put forward that tithing predates the Law and thus is a universal law that is still in effect today. I will cover this argument in my next post.

Another argument is that Christ mentioned tithing in Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42 and thus introduced it into the church as a governing principle.  This will be discussed in future posts also.

The New Testament presents Christians as stewards and as such defines what our responsibilities are as members of the body of Christ. We will look into the role of stewards, and Lord willing, will have a much better understanding of what our responsibilities are to God, not only in the way of monetary giving, but also giving of ourselves to Him.

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