The Spiritual Disciplines of Christian Stewardship Series Lecture # 2: The Undeniable Answer

Please note: I have herein attempted to do a short series on the subject of Christian Stewardship, which will take into account the concept of tithing and it's applicability to Christians today. I have lectured on this topic, and this CT is a written form of my lecture.

Show Me Your License

If a police officer pulled you over, and he came up to your window and asked, "What gives you the legal right to drive?" What would you say to him or show to him to prove your legal right to drive? Undeniable Answer: You would show him your driver's license.

Let's reverse this for a second. Let's now say that you are the police officer, and you have just pulled someone over for a traffic violation, and you ask to see his driver's license. However, instead of showing you his driver's license, he starts talking about his legal rights as a U. S. citizen, and he quotes from the American Constitution, and then proceeds to give you a history of his driving. What would you say to this person? Answer: "Sir, I don't care about all that; I just want to see your driver's license."

What is my point? My point is this. If there is an undeniable answer to a question, only a fool or an ignoramus would give anything other than that undeniable answer. The current driver's license is the undeniable answer to the question, "What gives you the legal right to drive?" If something is The Rule, or the undeniable answer, why would you give any other answer?

Illustration: I remember one time a friend and I were painting his house. We had paint all over ourselves, and paint brushes and rags with paint on them strewn all about. A buddy of ours drove up, and he asked us the most stupid question in human history. He said, "Hey! What are you guys doing?" My friend said something like, "Well, duh . . . We're laying beside a lake trying to get a suntan; what does it look like we're doing!" And, I just started laughing. Why was my friend so jestingly snide? Because there was an undeniable answer to the question that our friend should have arrived at before ever asking the question. In other words, the answer was obvious.

An undeniable answer is an answer that makes a fool out of those who ignore or deny it. Now, I would like for you to keep in mind the idea of an undeniable (obvious) answer as we look at a couple of passages of Scripture from the New Testament. The Apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthian Christians, and he says to them,

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don't we have the right to food and drink? Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who must work for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat of its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink of the milk? Do I say this merely from a human point of view? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain" [Deut. 25:4]. Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely he says this for us, doesn't he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn't we have it all the more? But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ. Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel (1 Cor. 9:1-14).

Now, let me set the stage for you. In essence, these people asked Paul much (in principle) what the cop asked the driver, "Show us your reason for your right to our finances (show me your driver's license)." Paul's answer is very revealing here. If the "tithing" passage from Malachi 3:10 is really the undeniable answer to why Christians should give their finances to the Christian church (as many preachers like to say it is), then I must ask this question, "Was Paul an ignoramus when it came to the Old Testament?" Why didn't Paul just say, "Well, duh . . . Malachi chapter 3 verses 8 through 10 say, "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me . . . in tithes and offerings. You are under a curse . . . because you are robbing me."

Since Paul, as an inspired writer of the New Testament, did not say, "Well, duh" and then quote Malachi 3:8-10, I have to conclude that this Old Testament tithing text is NOT the undeniable answer that many preachers say it is, otherwise Paul would have used it. Yet, if you ask most preachers today, "Why should I give money to the church," most preachers will say, "Well, duh" and then go straight to Malachi 3:8-10. For many preachers today, asking why you should tithe is as dumb to them as a guy asking two guys painting a house what they are doing. For many preachers today, the answer is "obvious and undeniable!" Malachi 3:10 becomes their undeniable answer.

So, now, I have to ask this question: Are modern day preachers smarter about the Old Testament laws and how they apply to New Testament Christians than the Apostle Paul was? Notice that Paul doesn't quote Malachi 3:10. In fact, he doesn't speak of tithing at all! In fact, Paul jumps back to a law in Deuteronomy, which says, "Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain" (Deut. 25:4).

Sometimes, a lot can be learned from what people don't say. If someone asked you what 2 + 2 equaled, you wouldn't say "Six." Why wouldn't you say "six"? Because "six" is not the correct answer. So if someone thought that the correct number was six, but then he heard you say that the number was "four," he can learn two things from your response: (1) Your verbal response is the right answer, i.e., "four." (2) Your silence regarding the number "six" means that "six" is not the correct answer. I don't know about you, but if I have to choose (and I do, and so do you) between the interpretative abilities of modern preachers of today and that of the Apostle Paul, I am going with the Apostle Paul! Paul, in his silence (not saying "six" so to speak) tells us what the answer is not .
There were lots of things that went on in the Old Testament Temple, but can you tell me the two things that people were to bring to God in the temple services? Answer: (1) The tithe and (2) animal sacrifices.

Remember when I told you about my Jewish Rabbi friend who laughed at me when I asked him if his people tithed? Well, there was one more point that I should have made. He also said, "Rick, we don't do animal sacrifices either! No temple, no animal sacrifices, and no temple, no tithe."

So, does this mean that there is no giving required by Christians today? Does Paul say to the Corinthian Christians, "Hey, you don't have to give any of your finances to support the work of the Kingdom of God"? No! That's not what he says either. There is a balance to be found here. It is called, Christian Stewardship. It is not called tithing , and Malachi 3:10 does not apply to us today. However, giving our finances does apply to us, but it is not to be confused with the tithing law of the Old Testament.

Let's look at another New Testament passage about the giving of finances to support the work of the Kingdom of God.

Phil. 4:15-20 "Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days . . . not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

You know what's missing from this text? The word tithe or tenth or any implication thereof. I remember many times hearing preachers stand in pulpits in financially wealthy churches and say things like:

You can help parachurch ministries with your finances, but your tithe belongs here. If you want to give money to help the poor and needy in India (or in your own family and home town for that matter), you may do so with your "offerings" but not your tithes. If you want to give "over and above" your tithes, then that's okay, but Malachi says that you are to bring all of your tithes into the storehouse, and that is now your local church. So, if you give your tithes anywhere but the local church, you will be, as Malachi says, "robbing God." And, if you are robbing God, then you are sinning against Him and His church.

This is utter nonsense. Again, I have to ask, why didn't Paul make this point (or Peter? or John? or James? or Luke? or the writer of Hebrews" or Matthew? or Mark)? If what some modern-day preachers say is correct, and if there was the slightest chance that the Philippian Christians might misunderstand Paul and send their "tithes" to him and thereby sin against God, he would have certainly said to them, "Oh, by the way, I am not talking about your tithes! That belongs to your local church. But, if you want to help my ministry 'over and above' your tithes, then you may." Can you imagine someone like the Apostle Paul-being inspired by the Holy Spirit-accidentally leading people to sin against God? Of course not, and yet he doesn't think it important enough to make this grand distinction between tithes and offerings that many preachers today do. Why do you suppose that is?

Well, it goes back to the fact that tithing is not the undeniable answer to the issue of financial giving to the work of the Kingdom of God. Of course Paul doesn't make an issue of tithing with them because tithing was not an issue.

Is tithing mentioned at all in the New Testament? Why . . . yes it is! So thoroughly entrenched in the psyche and mentality of the church is the idea of tithing, that The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia , Fully Revised version (Eerdmans, 1988, vol. 4, p. 863) says, "Several NT passages refer to tithing . . ."

Oh really? Well, let's look at those "Several New Testament passages referring to tithing." Below I have listed all of the N.T. passages referring to tithing. Now you might be saying "All of them?" Yep, all of them, but don't worry, there aren't very many.

Some might argue that other passages which refer to giving money without using the word tithe or tenth , refer to tithing, but that simply begs the question and argues in a circle. In other words, you cannot simply say that a passage of Scripture which refers to giving finances is referring to tithing. You have to prove it does, and no one has done that (at least that I am aware of). So, here are all the N.T. passages that refer directly to tithing. You read them and you decide for yourself if you think that the N.T. teaches tithing as did the Old Testament .

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law-justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former (Matt. 23:23).

Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone (Luke 11:42).

Who is Jesus talking to? Those under the Old Testament Law. Notice that Jesus says that justice, mercy, and faithfulness are "more important matters of the law" than tithing. Gee, in so many of today's churches, you would think that tithing is the most important part of God's Old Testament laws. But, that's not what Jesus says. Does He say that they should not have tithed? No, for those people who were under the law; He says that they should have done their tithing just as they did, but they should have done the more important matters of the law as well. Like these Pharisees, some Christians today have the wrong idea that as long as they tithe, they are safe with God, and that they are righteous.

Also, I would like to make this additional major point: There are some people who have given a tenth of their income to their church for years who have never given a dime to God. For many people, tithing is a have-to law, and they perform their "giving" much like paying a bill. If your attitude is that you are "paying your tithe as a bill," then don't kid yourself into thinking that you are giving to God. Some of the Pharisees of Jesus day were doing that, and Jesus called them hypocrites.

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:9-14).

Here, Jesus points out that fasting and tithing do not make you justified before God. Honest repentance does.

This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people-that is, their brothers-even though their brothers are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt the lesser person is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham, because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor (Heb. 7:1-10).

Well, that's it. Those are ALL of the New Testament passages dealing with tithing. Boy! If the New Testament is teaching that we should carry on the concept of the Old Testament tithe, I sure missed it! Did you see it anywhere? Do you see any passage here that puts the idea of tithing into a "command" for the Christian?

Interestingly, the Apostle Paul, who wrote on matters of giving of finances to help carry out the work of the ministry and to help financially less fortunate Christian brothers and sisters, and who wrote about two-thirds of the New Testament never mentions tithing one time. Did you catch that? Not one time.

Someone might say, "Well, the New Testament writers were just being subtle-tithing is implied." But, wait just one minute. The New Testament authors knew how to teach. They knew how to command and tell Christians to do things. Let me give you just a few examples:

Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you . And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt. 28:18-20).

There is no question about this one. Jesus says, "Do it." We do not have to guess when God wants us to do something. He says very plainly, "Do it!" Notice this part of Jesus' words: "teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you." Does Jesus command Christians to tithe? Nope. Then why do so many preachers spend so much time teaching them to obey something that Jesus never commanded them? Here is another example of a command (see if you can see it in this text).

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit" (Acts 1:4-5).

Did you catch the command? You see, Jesus did not have any trouble making commands. After all, He is God. One thing about Jesus' teaching is that you never have to guess at what He is saying. You don't have to "read between the lines." Jesus said what He meant, and He meant what he said. Let's look at how clear the Apostle Paul was when he wanted to teach something.

If anyone speaks in a tongue, two-or at the most three-should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said (1 Cor. 14:27-29).

No one ever had to say to Paul, "Come on Paul, quit beating around the bush; tell us what you really think." Paul was bold and clear in his teaching. On one occasion after Paul gave Timothy some instructions, he closed with these unambiguous words: "Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame" (1 Tim. 5:7).

Just in case you need some more convincing about how CLEAR the New Testament is about teaching something and making a command, let's look at one more example from the pen of the Apostle Paul.

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage-with great patience and careful instruction (2 Tim. 4:1-2).

God is not bashful nor are His ambassadors

Jesus never said, "Gee, I would sort of like you to do this thing for me." To the rich young ruler, Jesus said, "If you want to be perfect, go ,sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come ,follow me" (Matt. 19:21). Clear enough? "When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth" (Matt. 19:22). But, notice this, Jesus never chased after the man. He didn't say to him "Wait! Perhaps you misunderstood me! I wasn't really saying that you had to sell everything and give to the poor." In fact, Jesus just turned away from the guy, and said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" (Matt. 19:23-24). Easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God ! That's pretty picturesque. That's clear. No beating around the bush. When God wanted the Israelites to tithe, he said to them:

Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me . . . in tithes and offerings. You are under a curse . . . because you are robbing me .Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. " Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it" (Malachi 3:8-10).

Now, does that sound subtle to you? Do you see even one such clear cut passage of Scripture in the New Testament that teaches that we are to tithe?

Description and Prescription

One other point that I should make is this. Do not confuse description with prescription. If something is described that is not the same thing as it being prescribed. Not everything mentioned in the Bible is for us to do. Some things are mentioned for us to know that it happened. Yes, the word tithe is mentioned in the New Testament, but as a description. There is not a single prescriptive passage on tithing in the New Testament, and the prescriptive passages for tithing in the Old Testament were for a certain people at a certain time and in a certain place in the context of the Temple.

So are We to Give Finances?
Of course Christians are to give of their finances. Another passage to look at is 1 Cor. 16:1-2:

Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On 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.

Where is the word "tithe" or "tenth" in this passage? It doesn't appear. Why? There was no continuation of the Old Testament tithe to the New Testament Christians. And, if someone says, "Well, it is alluded to when Paul says, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income," I have to ask, "Why wasn't Paul more clear? Why didn't he just say, "each one of you should set aside a tenth of his income"? Such a command would have been in keeping with their income, and it would have had Old Testament precedent as well.

Well Everyone Knew That They Were to Tithe
A person cannot argue that the concept of tithing was so well-known that everybody knew that Paul was talking about tithing when he said, "set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income." Why? Because the Corinthian church was not made up of only Jews who were familiar with the temple concept of tithing. In fact, Paul's teaching and preaching to the Jews was not well received by them, and "he turned to the Gentiles . . . and this resulted in many believing. There were therefore both Jews and Gentiles in the Corinthian church" (Donald Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, Downers Grove, IVP, 1990, Page 432.)

In this passage, 1 Cor. 16:1-2, who does Paul say that this collection is for? Answer: God's People. Not for the local church's bills.

Conclusion

If tithing is such an undeniable answer with regard to Christians giving finances to the church, why didn't any of the New Testament writers repeat it?