Re-examining the Institutional Church’s “Doctrine of Tithing”

To find out theBiblicalTruthabouttithing,simply go to the internet and key in anyone of the titles listed below: Having a good Biblical understanding about thetithe in relationship to the Church is of “GREAT” importance to theBody of Christ.Byunderstanding that theNew Testament Church is not required totithe,andis not“Scriptural,” it then becomes quite clear that theInstitutional Church “System”is not a God ordained system, but a man-made system.

The tithe – is it still applicable today? –Lee Underwood (Below are some excerpts from this article)

In these last days, many traditions of the Christian Institutional Church are being revealed to be nothing more than just that: man-made customs. So, in regards to these tithes, are they Biblical or are they just tradition also? Did Yahweh actually command that they be collected for use by a local assembly for its daily operating expenses? The only way to understand any of this is to take a look at “Scripture” and discern what it says regarding this practice.

“Scripturally,” we can see that the tithe was never meant to support pastors,elders,boards of directors,traveling ministers,local assembly buildings,or other things of the sort.

The Origin of the “Christian” Tithe

The first person to mention paying for the full-time support of certain members of local congregations is Cyprian (200-258 CE). The idea did not go over real big at the time. Congregation leaders were given salaries when Constantine came into office, 200 years after the beginning of the Christian religion. Tithing did not become a commonly accepted practice until the eighth century – 700 years after the beginning of Christianity. By the eleventh century it had become a legal requirement in order to fund the State-run church.

The tithe – Vision Of The Church (Below are some excerpts from this article)

"THE TITHE" SAYS THAT ONE PERSON HAS THE RULE OVER OTHERS WITHIN THE CHURCH. THE TITHE LIMITS MINISTRY. THE TITHE UNDOES SPIRIT-LEAD GIVING AND GIVING TO THE POOR WITHIN THE CHURCH. THE TITHE,BIBLICALLY, WAS THE AMOUNT OF THE SIN OFFERING THAT GOD COMMANDED ISRAEL TO MAKE IN THE OLD COVENANT.BIBLICALLY A TITHE WAS ONLY PAID TO THE HIGH PRIEST OF JERUSALEM, AND ALWAYS CONSISTED OF ANIMALS OR GRAIN (BREAD AND MEAT)--THE SIN OFFERING. THE CHURCH IN THE BIBLE DID NOT PAY TITHE.HEBREWS 10:18 SAYS IN THE NEW COVENANT THERE IS NO MORE SIN OFFERING--JESUS IS OUR SIN OFFERING. HE OFFERED HIS BODY--AS MEAT AND BREAD--THE TITHE.

The Opposite System.....In the Bible, the money was NOT given to leadership to build and operate a church building. It was Spirit-lead giving--to the poor in the church--so that no one had lack. All the houses of God were cared for, they did not exalt one man's house over another. No "Office" of priest--No tithe.....In the Bibleonly a priest collected a tithe. The “OldCovenant” had a specific priesthood--this priesthood is specifically done away with in the “New Covenant” and we are all made priests unto God--therefore there is no Christian who has the Biblical right to collect a tithe.

Exposing the tithe lie – Jack Helser (Below are some excerpts from this article)

Burdening the Body of Christ with the Tithe requires several twists and re-interpretations of “Scripture.”

1) The tithe must be imported from the OT law of Moses to the new covenant of grace by Christ’s blood.
2) The tithe must be re-defined from "flocks, herds, fruit and grain" to "money" and often "time".
3) The storehouse must be re-defined from the temple in Jerusalem to the local church building.
4) The Body of Christ must buy into the ordained clergy as the new priesthood, thereby replacing the Levite priesthood as the rightful recipient of the tithe.
5) The Body of Christ must forfeit their own priesthood and buy into the notion that they are the "laity".