What is the Correct Biblical Injunction on the Tithe for the New Testament Church?—Part 4
The New Covenant brought a new paradigm
A recap
We have discussed tithes as an Old Testament injunction and noted that making it a New Testament command negates the essence of the New Covenant in Christ1. Now, let us discuss the New Covenant and what it means for the believer in Christ.
A shift from old to new
Whenever there is a paradigm shift, many people remain stuck in the past and find adjusting to the new way of doing things difficult. They try to mix the old and new ways of thinking and doing things within a new framework, which is disastrous!
With the introduction of the New Covenant by Jesus, the entire framework of the Old Covenant was revoked. In Matthew 9:14-17, Jesus used the metaphors of patching old clothes with new cloth and pouring new wine into old wineskins to illustrate the incompatibility of new scriptural concepts with an old doctrinal framework.
Jesus' discourse on fasting highlighted the emergence of a new way of doing things under the New Covenant, making it clear that attempting to impose Old Covenant practices, such as tithing, on New Covenant believers was inappropriate, unhelpful, and useless. He inferred that such admixture would destroy both the old and the new. So, to preserve the 'new', it must be tended within a new framework. Thus, the New Covenant must embody the grace of God in all its ramifications. Unfortunately, the tithe was of the Law, not of grace!
The silence of teaching on the tithe in the New Testament
Neither Jesus nor His apostles, including Paul (who received direct revelations from Jesus, not being one of the Twelve), mentioned the tithe as a requirement for New Covenant believers. The absence of such instructions underscores the Early Church's understanding that they operated within a New Covenant distinct from the Old Covenant.
For instance, the apostle Paul recounts the Lord's institution of the Holy Communion (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). Though not present at the Last Supper, Paul received revelation about it directly from the Lord, as he noted in 1 Corinthians 11:23,
"For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you …" (NKJV)
Furthermore, Paul mentions his revelation on the gospel thus:
"For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Corinthians 15:3-4, NKJV)
So, as Paul received revelation on Communion and the gospel message from Christ, he could also have received the revelation about tithes and passed it on to us! But he did not receive any and could not have passed on what he did not receive.
The absence of instructions from the apostles about the tithe for New Testament believers indicates their awareness of the non-applicability of the tithe regime under the New Covenant. Jesus instituted the New Covenant before His crucifixion but indicated its coming into effect after His death and resurrection thus:
"This wine represents the new agreement from God to his people. It will begin when my blood is poured out for you." (Luke 22:20, ERV)
Thus, Jesus set aside the Old Covenant and established a new one. The New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31-33) in the Old Testament, introduced a seismic shift in how people were made right with God.
If there was nothing wrong with the first agreement, then there would be no need for a second agreement. But God found something wrong with the people. He said, "The time is coming, says the Lord, when I will give a new agreement to the people of Israel and to the people of Judah. It will not be like the agreement that I gave to their fathers. That is the agreement I gave when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. They did not continue following the agreement I gave them, and I turned away from them, says the Lord. This is the new agreement I will give the people of Israel. I will give this agreement in the future, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write my laws on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. Never again will anyone have to teach their neighbors or their family to know the Lord. All people—the greatest and the least important—will know me. And I will forgive the wrongs they have done, and I will not remember their sins." God called this a new agreement, so he has made the first agreement old. And anything that is old and useless is ready to disappear. (Hebrews 8:7-13, ERV)
The above Scripture verses emphasise God's initiation of a New Covenant, replacing the Old Covenant, which was faulty because of the inability of its practitioners to adhere to its terms. The Old Covenant was not inherently faulty; it was the people who were, due to their stubbornness in refusing to follow its provisions, including the tithes, as we have earlier copiously expressed. Thus, the Old Covenant is obsolete, outdated, outmoded, and done away with. The New Covenant, which replaces the Old, involves internalising God's laws, forgiving sins, and personal knowledge of the Lord. Its composition includes the grace for Christians to live as God desires if the believers would submit to the Holy Spirit's work of sanctification in them.
The prevarication of Jewish Christians
The Christians hardest hit in the Early Church by the transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant were those who once practised Judaism. This necessitated the Holy Spirit to inspire the writing of the Book of Hebrews, an epistle or letter to Christians of Jewish origin who were wavering between Christianity and Judaism. They prevaricated between Christ on the one hand and angels, Moses, and the Aaronic priesthood on the other hand. So, the Holy Spirit said, concerning the prophets of old, angels, and Moses, and I summarise and paraphrase,
"Jesus is greater than all the prophets; He is greater than the angels and even Moses, whose laws you cherish. God gave Moses the covenant, but Moses was just the messenger. He was the builder of the house, so to speak, but Christ is the owner of the house, and we know that the owner is greater than the builder."
Next, the Holy Spirit addressed the Aaronic priesthood, noting that Christ, as God's High Priest today, is in the mould of Melchizedek. This was the same Melchizedek to whom Abraham gave a tenth of his spoils of war. He was God's high priest, without father, mother, or ancestry. He was called the King of righteousness and Salem (or peace), both titles of Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit thus demonstrated to the prevaricating Jewish Christians that Melchizedek, a type of Christ, blessed Abraham and received a tithe from him to show Melchizedek's, and therefore, Christ's superiority over Abraham. The Holy Spirit was not trying to perpetuate the tithe regime of the Old Testament (Hebrews 7:1-7). Instead, He affirmed that being a priest like Melchizedek, Christ's priesthood is greater than the Aaronic priesthood. The Holy Spirit also noted that once the priesthood changed from the temporal Aaronic priesthood to the eternal Melchizedek priesthood, every ordinance regarding the priesthood also changed (Hebrews 7:12-20), including the Old Testament tithe regime.
Therefore, we must expressly state that the Book of Hebrews focuses on Christ's superiority, not on perpetuating Old Covenant practices.
Apostle Paul's teachings on provision for ministers of the gospel
Paul never mentioned instructions on the tithe or tithing for New Testament believers. Instead, he emphasised giving. In 1 Corinthians 9:1-6, Paul spoke about his rights as an apostle thus:
"Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord. My defense to those who examine me is this: Do we have no right to eat and drink? Do we have no right to take along a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?" (NKJV)
In addressing his rights as an apostle, Paul emphasised that those who minister spiritual things should receive material support. He cited the Mosaic injunction about not muzzling the ox that treads the grains to emphasise that those who work for God should receive the fruit of their labour (Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9).
However, Paul did not mention the tithe, which, according to contemporary teaching, could have conveniently taken care of the problem. Rather, he insisted that God expects that ministers of the gospel be supported by those they minister to. Paul further emphasised that he chose not to exercise his rights to demand sustenance to avoid hindering the gospel's propagation.
In Galatians 6:6-8, Paul especially notes that,
"Those who are taught the Word of God should help their teachers by paying them. Don't be misled; remember that you can't ignore God and get away with it: a man will always reap just the kind of crop he sows! If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him." (LB)
Paul could have told the people to tithe rather than go through all that 'sowing and reaping' stuff. In 1 Timothy 5:17-18, Paul asked that the people,
Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, "Don't muzzle a working ox," and, "A worker deserves his pay." (MSG)
In Acts 20:18-35, he gave a lengthy scripturally sound and emotional farewell speech to the elders of the Church of Ephesus at Miletus. For all that Paul said to the Ephesian elders, he never once mentioned that they tithe to support the work of ministry or the ministers. Instead, he spoke of how he worked to earn an income to care for his and his companions' needs. Paul emphasised the need to serve and make sacrifices to care for the weak and needy, noting that,
'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' (Acts 20:35, NKJV)
If tithing were a doctrine of the New Testament Church, Paul would have at least mentioned it in any of his epistles, but he did not! Neither did any apostle write to Christians to tithe. They never once said, "There is a problem in the church and your life because you guys are not tithing." No, instead, they emphasised giving.
Conclusion
The silence on tithing in the New Testament, coupled with the emphasis on supporting ministers through voluntary giving, clearly proves the understanding of the Early Church that the tithe, as an Old Covenant provision, was not to be imposed on New Covenant believers. The shift from the Old to the New brought forth a message of grace, giving, and voluntary support, distinct from legalistic obligations.
Thus, the New Covenant is a paradigm of freedom, grace, and sacrificial giving rather than adherence to Old Covenant practices like tithing.
Shalom.
