Let me begin from the outset by saying 99 percent of the pastors in this community will disagree with this article about tithing. Therefore, I challenge all who disagree to a debate with the only source of reference being the Word of God.
I will admit I was very hesitate to teach this truth to my congregation because for decades I believed what various Pastors and Believers have said about tithing. I am a tither and will continue to do so, but the truth of the matter is GOD DOES NOT REQUIRE US TO PAY A TITHE.
Tithing, (10%) is a requirement under the law that was established in the Old Testament. Under the law tithing is a payment. According to Colossians 2:14, Jesus Christ has wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us and nailed it to the cross. Galatians 3:13 says Jesus Christ has redeemed us from the law. If you are paying tithes out of a sense of necessity or obligations you are denying the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Every believer has been purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ and saved by grace, which means we are under the dispensation of grace and not the law.
The most used scripture to justify the payment tithes in the church is Malachi 3:10. I too have uses this verse to encourage and motivate believers to tithe because I was taken it out of context. But once I came into the knowledge of the truth I can no longer do so. God says the more truth you attain the more truth will be revealed to you.
Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it..” First of all, through Malachi, the Lord was talking to the Levites, and not the congregation. Secondly, according to 2 Chronicles chapter 31, the storehouse was not the Tabernacle, it was not later the Temple, and it is certainly, not now the church. The storehouse was exactly what it said; a house to store the tithes. Under the law, tithes was NEVER MONEY. They were primarily crops and animals. Many have been taught for years that the church is the storehouse which is a lie that has been permeated for centuries. As a matter of fact the church is not the building where we have worship services. The church is not brick and mortar. The church is people. As a believer you are the temple of God, you are the house of the Lord. According to Peter, the church is made up of lively stones, (Born-again people), who make up a spiritual house and a holy priesthood of the Most High God.
Thirdly, many have been deceived into paying tithes because if we do so, God said he would open up the windows of heaven and pour us out a blessing that would be too big for us to keep it all. In its proper context, opening up the windows of heavens always in the Old Testament meant RAIN!!! If you will allow the Holy Spirit to teach you, you will be able to see the truth and reality of the entire Book of Malachi.
Malachi 3:10 is a perfect example of the difference of being under the law versus being under grace. The law was about you doing something so God can do something for you. Grace is about what God has already done and you responding to his grace. More importantly, those believers who have a law mentality because of the way they have been taught, are always trying to do something in order to get a blessing. But those of us who truly understand we are under grace have a mentality of knowing I AM ALREADY BLESSED AND I RESPOND TO GOD BECAUSE I AM.
To be more specific, there are actually three tithes required under the law. In order to meet the requirements of the law, most Jews paid 23.33 percent in tithes yearly. So if you believe you are required to pay tithes and you are only paying 10%, you are in violation of the law!!!
But again, we are not longer under the law. We are under grace. As a result, you can never be under a curse, you can never rob God because there is no longer a requirement or a necessity to pay a tithe.
God cannot accept the payment of tithes because of what Jesus has done. But God will accept you GIVING A TITHE. He will not punish you if you do not give a tithe. There is a big difference in paying tithes and giving tithes. God does not was us the pay Him anything because everything has been paid by His Son, Jesus Christ. Since we are now under grace all of our giving is based on 2 Corinthians 9:7, which says every man should give as he is purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity because God loves a cheerful giver. God does not obligate anyone to PAY him a tithe.
I was a little hesitate to share this truth with my congregation at first. But since the first time I taught this truth our giving has increased substantially. It is amazing what the truth will do!!!
By Gilbert Owens
Contributing columnist
Pastor Gilbert Owens is pastor of Kingdom of God Ministries Church.
