- by Alan Adaschik

To be a Christian one must believe that Jesus Christ is God and that the Holy Bible is his inspired word. This second requisite is necessary because without the Bible, we have no way of knowing anything about God or his intentions. The Bible is God's handbook that tells us what to believe and how to behave in order to find favor with Him. Therefore, for Christians, the Bible is the final word on truth and intentional distortions of that truth are a sacrilege. A minister or priest is the recognized leader of his congregation and as such, holds ultimate responsibility for the integrity of God's word. Unfortunately, to promote the financial well being of their churches, many ministers have distorted God's word and created a false impression of Christian responsibility.

The Bible contains two major divisions; the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament, called "The Preparation" because it lays the groundwork for the coming of Jesus Christ, is concerned with the Old Covenants. A “covenant” is a formal agreement between two or more parties. In the Old Testament, God entered into covenants with the people of Israel such that if they obeyed his commandments he would bless them and provide them with a homeland. The majority of these covenants are called "Levitical Laws" because they come from the book of Leviticus. They dealt with all aspects of Jewish daily life including food preparation, dressing, sexual relations, grooming, business, inter-personal relations, planting, harvesting, healing, worshipping, sacrificing, fasting, support of the church, etc. Most of these God ordained Levitical Laws, although still observed by Orthodox Jews, are obsolete for Christians save one; support of the church through tithing.

Like all Old Testament law, the one concerning tithing was explicit. It first appeared in Genesis 28:22 when Jacob promised God that: "Of all that thou dost give to me I will surely give a tenth to thee." It was reaffirmed by God himself in Leviticus 27:30-32 when God told Moses: "Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lords; it is holy to the Lord. And for every tenth part of herd or flock, whatever passes under rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord." Tithing, therefore, was an important but small part of the Levitical Laws adhered to by the people of Israel in the Old Testament.

The New Testament, which commences upon the birth of Jesus Christ approximately 400 years after the close of the Old Testament, is a new beginning for mankind. Jesus Christ was born to save the World and to do so, established a new relationship between God and Man. This "New Covenant" was foretold by God within the Old Testament in Jeremiah 31:31-33 where He says, "Behold, days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, but this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days, I will put my law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My People."

God specifically spoke of a new covenant that will be “not like" the old covenant. This point is clearly made by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 9:13 which reads: "When He (God) said a new covenant, He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear." God never intended to include part of the old covenant within the new covenant because one is entirely different from the other. The old covenant was behavior orientated and finding favor with God was a matter of religiously following an extensive set of laws and commandments. In the new covenant, salvation is a gift from God and is dependent upon accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. This point is succinctly made in 2nd Ephesians 2:8: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast." and in John 3:16: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not parish, but have eternal life."

There is nothing in the New Testament that remotely suggests that a Christian should give ten percent of their earnings to the church similar to Jews in the Old Testament. The sole mention of tithing in the New Testament appears in Hebrews 7:5&6, and is in reference to tithing as required in the Old Testament. On the contrary, the New Testament is clear about the financial responsibility of Christians toward the church. In 2nd Corinthians 9:7, the Apostle Paul says, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver." Therefore, a minister or priest who urges tithing as a Christian responsibility, does so in contradiction to the Apostle Paul and contrary to the new covenant established by Jesus Christ when He said at the last supper, “All of you drink this, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is being shed for many unto the forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:27&28).”

The last quotation in the above paragraph is taken from the King James version of the Bible which is the most respected translation Of the Bible available. Curiously, if one reads this same passage from the New American Standard Bible, a newer translation that is subscribed to and recommended by many fundamentalist Christian ministers, one notices that "blood of the new covenant" has been changed to read "blood of the covenant." The dropping of the word "new" in the New American Standard Bible is significant because it changes the intent of Christ's message to us and paves the way for the acceptance of passé levitical laws into Christian theology.

Irrespective of scripture, the act of donating ten percent of all income to the church, as practiced by Old Testament Jews, is not comparable to donating ten percent today. When the early Jews gave ten percent of their earnings to the church, they were giving to their government which was the church. Therefore, the tithes given were not just for religious purposes, but also funded non-religious services that are now typically provided by our federal, state, and local governments. To illustrate this point, consider the situation where a married couple in America has a taxable income of $50,000 yearly. Today, this couple would pay approximately 17% of their earnings to the federal government in taxes. If this same couple chose to tithe, they would be paying a combined total of 27% to church and state, as compared to the 10% paid by their Old Testament counter parts.

At this point it is reasonable to wonder if tithing is not a part of our Christian heritage, how have so many people come to believe that it is a Christian responsibility? The answer to this question is simple; a significant number of today's ministers realize that belief in tithing increases church revenue. Therefore, they do nothing to rectify these misconceptions, but instead help perpetuate them. For example, there exists a pamphlet written by Kenneth S. Keyes of real estate fame, who founded the Keyes Company. This Pamphlet entitled, In Partnership With God: A Business Man’s Testimony Regarding Christian Stewardship, is published by The Keyes Foundation and is actively distributed in a large number of churches throughout this country and the World. Although this pamphlet is deceptive in regard to statements made about Christian Stewardship, no leading Christian minister, has come forward to denounce it.

It is not possible to reprint In Partnership With God here in its entirety, but it is important to discuss some key points made by Mr. Keyes. Mr. Keyes begins his essay by pointing out that we owe everything to God; our lives, possessions, abilities and souls. Mr. Keyes then concludes that God also has first claim on our money because our income is derived from the abilities He gave us. While this may be true, Hr. Keyes fails to understand that under the New Covenant, God has placed no claim on our earnings, but has left support of the church a matter of individual choice and conscience. Mr. Keyes then claims that God must be first in our pocketbooks if He is to be first in our lives and states that Jesus emphasized this truth when He said: "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). However, Mr. Keyes does not quote the two verses immediately preceding Matthew 6:21, which give an entirely different meaning to this verse. These passages read: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon Earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Mr. Keyes continues his essay by telling us about our obligation to tithe and about how tithing brings blessings". The problem is that all his justifications concerning these obligations and blessings are taken from the Old Testament and are no longer valid or binding for Christians. He offers no justification at all from the New Testament because there is none. Mr. Keyes then goes on to give testimony from others about the blessings they have received from tithing and proposes that, because God is entitled to the first ten percent of our income, our giving only begins after He has received his first tenth. This is a subtle way of saying that if you really are a good Christian, you will give more than the ten percent tithe. There is no New Testament substantiation for this statement and it is contrary to New Testament scripture.

In describing how to tithe, Mr. Keyes again distorts the intent and meaning of scripture. He advises that we should separate ten percent of our salary each payday from the money that we spend on ourselves. To justify this procedure Mr. Keyes quotes part of 1st Corinthians 16:2 as follows: "Upon the first day of the week let everyone of you lay by him in store as God has prospered him." However, reading 1st Corinthians Chapter 16:1&2 reveals a slightly different meaning for the passage than the one claimed by Mr. Keyes: "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week let each one of you put aside and save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come." It is clear from reading this passage that while the Apostle Paul did endorse setting aside a portion of weekly earnings for the church, he did not endorse donating a specified amount. Furthermore, Paul also recommended a respite from collections for the duration of his visit to Corinth, which is in direct opposition to the concept of tithing.

Mr. Keyes concludes his essay with a summary where he makes the following statements:

1. Tithing is a God-ordained plan by which believers recognize His claim on their time, resources and earnings.
   Tithing is not God's plan. It is an Old Testament Levitical Law that has been replaced in the New Testament with the New Covenant. God makes no claim on our time, energy, ability and money in the New Testament.

2. Tithing is a means of showing our love and appreciation to God for His goodness toward us.
   There are many ways of expressing our love and appreciation to God, that unlike tithing, are in keeping with New Testament scripture.

3. Tithing was endorsed by Jesus Christ.
   This statement is not true. Jesus Christ came into the world in fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy and to establish a New Covenant with mankind that replaced the Levitical Laws of the Old Testament including tithing.

4. Tithing will enhance our lives as Christians.

5. Tithing often is financially rewarding.

6. Tithing is a way of obeying God's commandment: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul and with all thy mind."

There is no basis or justification for these statements in the New Testa-ment and they are contrary to New Testament scripture.

Karl Marx wrote, "The ends justify the means". That philosophy has allowed communist leaders to impose a multitude of sins and atrocities on their subject peoples, all in the guise of building a better society. In this country we recognize the rule of law among individuals and nations, and subscribe to the philosophy that it is not so important whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that counts. In other words, we believe in truth, honesty, honor and fair play, which is part of our Christian heritage. It is true that our churches need money to operate and grow. As Christians, it is important for all of us, according to our own conscience and ability, to financially support our church. But, is it right for church leaders to distort scripture and misrepresent God's intentions toward us for the purpose of increasing church revenues? Do the ends justify the means? The answers to these two questions should be obvious to us all.