Tithes and The Tithing Controversies

By Yemi Olakitan

Tithing has created great controversy in and out of the church in Nigeria. Many people feel that tithing is a way of enriching the flamboyant lifestyle of pastors and men of God. Some are convinced that it is a way of putting loads of money in the purse of the church. They swore that Jesus Christ didn’t command tithing and that the Apostles of old, in the New Testament didn’t give or command the payments of tithes. This category of people is convinced that Pastors are exploiting the poor by collecting tithes. They even took it upon themselves to preach to the brethren to stop paying tithes. To such people, tithing is a fallacy, a doctrine of men that should be expunged from Biblical Christianity.

The other school of thought felt tithing is the passport to heaven. They explained that love is only demonstrated by giving. Pastor David Ibiyeome of the Salvation Ministries in Porthacourt, said we cannot claim to love God if we don’t give in his service. 

This school of thought believes that without a systematic channel of giving, the church is open to bankruptcy. The late Pastor Kenneth Hagen, a fervent believer in tithes and offerings said. the collection of tithes and offerings remains the only way to finance the Gospel since Jesus Christ himself commanded Christians to give. In Luke 6 Jesus said: “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” (Luke 6:38).

This school of thought argues that Tithing is just one of the many ways a Christian can give. It is a way of demonstrating one’s love to God and supporting the Gospel of Christ.

 Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Church said,Tithing is the passport to prosperity and without tithing one cannot prosper in the kingdom of God. Pastor Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God said, ''anybody, who is not tithing cannot make heaven.''

Some other pastors go on to quote Malachi 3: 8-10-12. They swore that brethren who do not tithe are cursed with a curse but if they tithe the Lord will bless them accordingly and rebuke ‘the devourers for their sake.’’ And so the debate rages on and on.

Biblical History of Tithing 

Abraham was the first account in the Bible that demonstrated tithing that we have seen. Abraham met with Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of the Most-High God, after returning from the slaughter of the kings and they had communion. Melchizedek blessed Abraham and Abraham paid him tithes of all. (Genesis 14:18-20) Abraham paid him tithes of all because he loved God and was grateful that he delivered him and his nephew Lot out of the hands of their enemies. This was before the Law of Moses.

According to American pastor, Creflo Dollars of the Crefol Dorllars Ministries, ‘’this is our first glimpse that tithing is about gratitude, faith, and love. The next account of tithing that we see is when Jacob, Abraham's grandson, made a covenant with God and said, "IF you protect me, bless me, and bring me back to my father's house in peace... you will be my God and I will pay you tithes of all."(Genesis 28:20-22) Jacob made a covenant with God to protect him and prosper him; In return for God's provision and protection... he would pay him tithes of all that he made.’’

 "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. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts."

What did Jesus Christ teach about tithing?

 Here's the text of Luke 11:42:

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” (ESV)

And Matthew 23:23:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.” (ESV)

Some have interpreted this to mean that Jesus was speaking specifically to the Pharisees and not to all his followers. The implication of this is that only the Pharisees and scribes ought to tithe and not the rest of the Christians. It will also mean that only the Pharisees and scribes ought to follow after justice and mercy and not the rest of Jesus' followers.  We all know that this cannot be the case. What Jesus was saying is clear. You ought to tithe but you also must follow after justice and mercy because they are more important. 

According to Pastor Paul Adefarasaing of House on the Rock, Religion teaches us that we have to perform many works of our own efforts for God to love and bless us, and many churches have mistakenly bought into that way of thinking. This philosophy has seeped into what is taught about money, namely that we must tithe a certain amount or God will curse and punish us. The truth is, because of what Jesus did we are now under grace and no longer under the Law, and therefore no longer under the threat of punishment or condemnation. God wants us to give freely and with a grateful heart, not out of a sense of obligation.

A. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

When Jesus talks about the “least” and the “much,” He means that money is the least important way to demonstrate our trust in God. The “much” includes healing, prosperity, abundance, peace, and all of the promises of God.

The concept of giving and tithing is not based on money itself, it is about trust.

When we give, it is no longer just giving money—it is authenticating our trust in God.  The Scriptures teach us to give generously, with a cheerful, joyful heart (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7, 15).  We give because we want to, not out of necessity. It is of the mindset of giving, not paying.  Another reason to give is because it is a way to express our thanks for what Jesus did for us by His grace.  If love is not our motivation, whatever we give equals zero and amounts to nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).   True giving, the way the Scriptures teach us, has nothing to do with our works and everything to do with the state of our hearts.   Under the old covenant, the people would be cursed unless they did everything just right, remembered every detail, and did not leave out any steps in the process of following the letter of the Law.

But now, we are under grace, and Jesus’ blood delivers us from any curse (Galatians 3:13).  We are blessed, so not tithing will not revert God’s blessing back into a curse.  The idea of tithing, which is giving 10 percent back to the Lord, originated in the Old Testament when the people lived under the Law. We still tithe, even though we are under grace. Abram tithed by choice even before the Law established that it should be done (Genesis 14:20, 23).  He did this as a way of thanking God for delivering him from his enemies.  Abrams’ tithe blessed God in return. It was done out of gratitude.  In this way, Abram acknowledged that the king was not his supply source, God was.

Because of Abram’s obedience, God affirmed He was Abram’s reward, shield, protector, and deliverer (Genesis 15:1-4).  God declared this after Abram deliberately tithed, to publicly demonstrate his trust in Him.   The idea that we will be punished if we do not tithe can be traced back to the book of Malachi—failing to tithe and give offerings can be seen as robbing God (Malachi 3:8-11).

However, if we continue reading we will see that trusting God enough to give opens the storehouses of blessings from heaven.  When we perform and try to meet the demands of the Law, we fall under the curse of trying to get God to “do” something (Galatians 3:10-14).  But under grace, it’s already been done! The Law does not justify. We are to live by faith in grace.  By its nature, the Law is not of faith, but rather of works.  The blessings come from Jesus, not from works.

Even though there is no more punishment for not tithing, it is still in our best interest to do so. Giving is spiritual, not natural. The natural person is not attuned to things of the spirit (1 Corinthians 2:14).

We can use the analogy of the parent raising the young child not able to think rationally at first. The Law was given so that we would have boundaries to keep us safe, until we automatically chose the things of the spirit.  Now that Jesus lives in us and we are under grace, we no longer need the Law.

God causes the increase in our lives so that we can have over and above what we need, to bless others (2 Corinthians 9:8).

God loves when our hearts are so grateful and thankful that we purposely give (2 Corinthians 9:7, AMP). We should give according to what we are led to give, and what we have decided in our hearts and minds to give. We receive in the same proportion of what we choose to give (Luke 6:38).

Then when we give in the right spirit and with the right heart, God takes this several steps further. He abundantly increases our giving and blesses us.