The early church did not keep the tithe law, but Christians of today are trying to keep it. Did the LORD Jesus command Christians to keep the tithe law? If He did, why did the early church not practice it? What was the tithe law?
The law on tithes was one of the many laws that God gave the Israelites. The books of Deuteronomy and Leviticus record the various laws that were given to the Israelites. In these books we can find the law on tithes as it was given them by God through Moses.
“Every year, you must take a tithe of what your fields produce from what you have sown and, in the presence of Yahweh your God, in the place where he chooses to give his name a home, you must eat the tithe of your wheat, of your new wine and of your oil, and the first-born of your herd and flock: and by so doing, you will learn always to fear Yahweh your God.
If the road is too long for you, if you cannot bring your tithe because the place in which Yahweh chooses to make a home for his name is too far away, when Yahweh your God has blessed you, you must convert into money, and with the money clasped in your hand, you must go to the place chosen by Yahweh your God, there you may spend the money on whatever you like, oxen, sheep, wine, fermented liquor, anything you please. There you must eat in the presence of Yahweh your God and rejoice, you and your household. Do not neglect the Levite living in your community, since he has no share of his own among you” (Deut. 14.22-27)
`In the third year, the tithing year, when you have finished taking the tithe of your whole income and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan and the widow so that, in your towns, they may eat to their heart’s content, in the presence of Yahweh your God, you must say: I have cleared my house of what was consecrated… (Deut. 26:12).
In the tithe law, the LORD God instructed his people to tithe in two ways: yearly and every third year.
Every year, they were to present themselves before God with a tithe of their wheat, new wine, oil, & flock. In His presence, they were to eat their tithe produce together with the Levites. If the LORD’s temple was far away, making it difficult to transport the goods, they would convert the goods into money, and then come to the presence of Yahweh and spend the money on whatever their heart desires.
Every third year, the tither is not allowed to eat his tithe. The tither will give his tithe to the Levite, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. The receivers of the tithe will present themselves before Yahweh and eat the tithe produce in His presence. The tither will then present himself before the LORD God and say that he has cleared his house of what was consecrated.
The whole purpose of the regular tithing was for them to learn to fear the name of Yahweh always.
The tithe law was given to the Israelites in the desert. They settled in the promised land of Canaan. Some years after they had settled in Canaan, they forsook the laws of God and were taken captive by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. After 70years of captivity, they returned from the Babylonian exile and rebuilt the destroyed temple but most of them had lost the significance of their customs and laws. Ezra and Nehemiah re-educated the people on God’s laws. The people resumed worship in the temple of God, but they still neglected some of the temple practices. One of these temple practices which they neglected was the practice of bringing their tithe before God. God spoke through his prophet Malachi calling on them to bring in their tithes as they did before, because the orphans, the strangers, the Levites who were God’s people were suffering from the neglect.
“When I came to you to do justice I shall demand the immediate punishment of the sorcerers and the adulterers, of those who swear false oaths, who oppress the wage-earner, the widow and the orphan, who do not respect the rights of the foreigner. They do all this and have no fear of me, says Yahweh. No, I Yahweh do not change, and you have not ceased to be children of Jacob. Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have evaded my statutes and not observed them. Return to me and I will return to you, says Yahweh Sabaoth. You ask, ``How do we cheat you?” Over tithes and contributions. A curse lies on you because you, this whole nation, try to cheat me. Bring the tithes in full to the treasury, so that there is food in my house, put me to the test now like this, says Yahweh Sabaoth, and see if I do not open the floodgates of Heaven for you and pour out an abundant blessing for you” (Malachi 3:5-12)
The poor, the stranger, the widow and the Levites were God’s own possession. God identified Himself with them. They are the ones on whom the third-year tithes was spent on. If they were cheated, it means God was cheated.
In the days of Apostle Paul, some of the Hebrew Christians were forcing the gentile Christians to practice circumcision. When Peter and the other Apostles heard of this, they held a meeting to decide the status of the gentile Christians as regards the Law of Moses. In response, the apostles and the Holy Spirit wrote a letter to the gentile believers.
ACTS 15.1-35
The Jerusalem Council
Then some men came down from Judea and started to teach the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised according to the Law of Moses, you can't be saved." Paul and Barnabas had quite a dispute and argument with them.
So Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to confer with the apostles and elders about this question.
They were sent on their way by the church, and as they were going through Phoenicia and Samaria they told of the conversion of the gentiles and brought great joy to all the brothers.
When they arrived in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, the apostles, and the elders, and they reported everything that God had done through them.
But some believers from the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The gentiles must be circumcised and ordered to keep the Law of Moses."
So the apostles and the elders met to look into this claim.
After a lengthy debate, Peter stood up and told them, "Brothers, you know that in the early days God chose me to be the one among you through whom the gentiles would hear the message of the gospel and believe.
God, who knows everyone's heart, showed them he approved by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as he did to us.
He made no distinction between them and us, because of their faith-cleansed hearts.
So why do you test God by putting on the disciples' neck a yoke that neither our ancestors nor we could carry?
We certainly believe that it is through the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, that we are saved, just as they are."
The whole crowd was silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul tell about all the signs and wonders that God had done through them among the gentiles.
After Paul and Barnabas had finished speaking, James responded, "Brothers, listen to me:
Simeon has explained how God first showed his concern for the gentiles by taking from among them a people for his name.
This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written,
'"After this, I will come back and set up David's fallen tent again. I will restore its ruined places and set it up again
so that the rest of the people may search for the Lord, including all the gentiles who are called by my name," declares the Lord. 'He is the one who has been doing these things
that have been known from long ago.'
Therefore, I have decided that we should not trouble these gentiles who are turning to God.
Instead, we should write to them to keep away from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from anything strangled, and from blood.
After all, Moses has had people to proclaim him in every city for generations, and on every Sabbath his books are read aloud in the synagogues."
The Council's Letter to Gentile Believers
Then the apostles, the elders, and the whole church decided to choose some of their men to send with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. These were Judas, who was called Barsabbas, and Silas, who were leaders among the brothers.
They wrote this letter for them to deliver: "From: The apostles and the elders, your brothers To: Their gentile brothers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings.
We have heard that some men, coming from us without instructions from us, have said things to trouble you and have unsettled you.
So we have unanimously decided to choose men and send them to you with our dear Barnabas and Paul,
who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah.
We have therefore sent Judas and Silas to tell you the same things by word of mouth.
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to place on you any burden but these essential requirements:
to keep away from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from anything strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you avoid these things, you will do well. Goodbye."
So the men were sent on their way and arrived in Antioch. They gathered the congregation together and delivered the letter.
When the people read it, they were pleased with how the letter encouraged them.
Then Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said a lot to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
After staying there for some time, they were sent back with a greeting from the brothers to those who had sent them.
Both Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch to teach and proclaim the word of the Lord, as did many others.
The controversial issue of keeping some of the old laws, be it circumcision or tithes or any other law did not arise just today. This issue was neatly addressed by the Holy Spirit and the apostles. Gentile Christians are not supposed to obey the Law of Moses except for three: to keep away from food sacrificed to idols, to abstain from blood from the meat of strangled animals and from prohibited marriages (as stipulated in Lev 18). The Holy Spirit wrote a letter to Non-Jewish Christians many years ago, addressing this matter.
When you give tithe just because you want to receive back, are you not selfish? If you give all your property away without love you give in vain (1 Corinthians 13.3). All must be done in the spirit of love. Your obedience to the law of Christ is more valuable than any sacrificial offering (1 Samuel 15.22-23).
Even if anyone must follow the law today, there must strict and complete compliance to the law. Modifying the law for whatever reason defeats the purpose of the law.
God no longer dwells in temples made by hands. He now dwells in believers. More so, the tithes were not used to maintain the tabernacle of God rather the tithe was eaten by the tither and the less privileged in the clan. Can the churches practice the tithe law exactly as it was written?
Even if we tithe today, then it should a choice made out of love and generosity (in obedience to the law of Christ), and not because we want to obtain the blessing of keeping the Old Covenant. If we choose to tithe today out of love, then the poor Christians in the house should be the receiver. The pastors and general overseers are not Levites. Under the new covenant, all Christians are called to serve as priests unto God, with Christ Jesus as the High Priest (1 Peter 2.9).
Christians are not under the Old Covenant law. The Old Covenant is obsolete (Hebrews 8.13). Christians are under the new covenant law. Under the new covenant, the letter does not apply, rather the spirit. The tithe law was not the only law that was given to the Israelites. Other laws were given: burnt offering, the cereal offering, the communion sacrifice, the sacrifice for sin, the sacrifice of reparation, voluntary sacrifices, offerings for the purification from contagious skin diseases, the feast of shelters, the feast of weeks, the Sabbath, the feast of the Passover, the first sheaf, the sabbatical year and the year of jubilee, the circumcision etc. The Old Covenant also had many rules: the washing of hands before eating, bathing after a sexual activity, menstruation, etc. If we must follow the tithe law, then we must follow the rest of the laws to be found righteous. If we choose to follow all the OT laws but fail in one, we are guilty of breaking all (James 2.10). If you follow the old law, then you have fallen from the grace of the new covenant. Those who operate under the Old Covenant law are under a curse.
On the other hand, all those who depend on the works of the law are under a curse, since scriptures says: Accursed be he who does not make what is written in the book of the law effective, by putting it into practice.’ Now it is obvious that nobody is reckoned as upright in God’s sight by the law, since the upright will live through faith, and the law is based not on faith, but on the principle, `whoever complies with it will find life in it.’ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by being cursed for our sake since the scriptures says, Anyone hanged is accursed, so that the blessing of Abraham might come to the gentiles in Christ Jesus and that we might receive the promised spirit through faith (Galatians 3:10-14).
The law brings people under slavery (Galatians 4). The burden of tithing is not of Christ. The burden of circumcision in the days of Apostle Paul was not of Christ (Galatians 5.1-6). Christ freed us from the slavery of the old law (Galatians 5.1). We are freed to belong to another master. The Lord Jesus has given us an easy yoke. It is the debt of love that we owe one another (Romans 13.8). By loving one another, we fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6.2).
Christians ask many unnecessary questions about tithe: "how to tithe correctly", "what should tithe money be used for", "who does tithe money belong to", etc. These questions are baseless. The right question should be: Are Christians obligated to tithe?
When Christ fulfilled the righteous demands of the old law on the cross, He gave us a new law (Matthew 5.17). A new law was given to replace the old ones. It is obeying this new law that guarantees us provision for our earthly needs (Mathew 6.33-34) and inheriting the kingdom of God. A Christian does not receive God’s supply of provision by keeping the tithe law. He receives God’s supply when he enters God’s kingdom and obeys his words and righteous commandment in Christ. His new commandment is this:
And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment (1 John 3.23).
When God’s kingdom and rules is the sole purpose of our hearts, all the other needs will be provided for. Many Christians are still to empty their hearts for God. You must love God and serve him only. Your career, your spouse, your children, your dreams, your plans, your purposes, your possessions must not overtake your hearts. You must obey /and fear God always. Serving and obeying only God is what guarantees heaven’s provision. Tithing does not give you any security in the new covenant.
The early church did not practice tithing, rather they practiced total renunciation. God does not want 10%. God wants your all (Luke 14. 26-33). The early church sold their possessions and distributed among themselves as each other needed.
The whole community of believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but rather they shared all things in common. With great power the apostles bore witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, for all of them were living in an exceptional time of grace. There was no needy person among them, for those who owned land or houses, sold them and brought the proceeds of the sale. And they laid it at the feet of the apostles who distributed it according to each one's need (Acts 4.32-35).
The disciples sold their properties to meet the need of the poor. The sales proceeds were never used to build any synagogue. The only way to eradicate poverty is for the rich to give to the poor (Deuteronomy 15.4). The receiver is blessed by receiving and the giver is blessed by God.