Well I'll take a shot at this one although not in a conventional sense.
What did Jesus teach?
Matthew 28:16-20 says:
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 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, 20 and teaching them to OBEY EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
Did He COMMAND the tithe? No.
He mentioned to the Pharisees that it was right for them to bring the tithe however, the context of this teaching is during a time before His death and resurrection which means the law was still a factor in His response. Since He fulfilled the law and gave us a better covenant, the law in no longer relevant because we live by a higher standard.
How did He send out people?
Luke 10:1-12 says:
1 After this the Lord appointed 72 others. He sent them out two by two ahead of him. They went to every town and place where he was about to go. 2 He told them, "The harvest is huge, but the workers are few. So ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest field.
3 "Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. 4 Do not take a purse or bag or sandals. And don't greet anyone on the road.
5 "When you enter a house, first say, 'May this house be blessed with peace.' 6 If someone there loves peace, your blessing of peace will rest on him. If not, it will return to you. 7 Stay in that house. Eat and drink anything they give you. Workers are worthy of their pay. Do not move around from house to house.
8 "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set down in front of you. 9 Heal the sick people who are there. Tell them, 'God's kingdom is near you.'
10 "But what if you enter a town and are not welcomed? Then go into its streets and say, 11 'We wipe off even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet. We do it to show that God isn't pleased with you. But here is what you can be sure of. God's kingdom is near.'
12 "I tell you this. On judgment day it will be easier for Sodom than for that town."
Notice he tells them to take nothing with them OR to demand payment, although they are worthy of pay.
This contradicts the teaching of paying tithes, the Old Covenant was 'bring this tithe, bring that tithe' but in the New Covenant He demands more, He wants you. My problem with the teaching related to paying a tithe in this dispensation is it has become a win-win situation for pastors who love money and 'converts' who don't want to do anything for God. The lover of money demands the tithe (I'm not assuming that EVERY PERSON who teaches tithing is of this spirit so please save your fingers :-) ) so that he can 'finance the gospel' and the tither pays the tithe so he doesn't have to spread the gospel (or feel conviction about not doing so). Win-win...
Additionally, anyone who teaches paying tithes must go to the Old Covenant to do so. If this was a cornerstone of the New Covenant (as many preach) more would have written about it, but this is not so. To assume that this practice continues on in the New Covenant is not truth (in my opinion) because if we take this practice forward we must take all of the law forward, including the sacrifice, the temple, and the whole ball of wax, this is consistent with Paul's position in the Epistles because the Old Testament 'believers of YHWH' were not free to choose which parts of the law we should obey and discard.
I can't see that unlimited funding would help to preach the gospel to all nations although I do see a need for bible translation etc. However, IMHO I can see that a sold out church WOULD fulfill the Great Commission because they lack nothing, they are already in the highways and byways.
In the end it still comes down to Jesus wanting us.
People will always have an excuse for being cheap (lovers of money) that's the nature of Adam, but through God's grace we can overcome that nature.
I have to agree with the above folks, there are 2 requirements: give cheerfully, give secretly.
Thank you very much for listening to me!
In Christ, Earl J |