Category: Church Life

Tipping, Tithing, and Grace Giving (Part 2)

THREE WAYS PEOPLE GIVE

Tipping
People who give at church do it in one of three ways. I’ll call the first way tipping. In our culture there are times when we give a few dollars to someone who provides a service. The most common example is a restaurant server. If he or she gets our order right and delivers it in a timely and cheerful way, we leave a tip of 15% or more.

This is how many people give to God. When the offering is mentioned, they go digging for loose cash, drop a few bills in the plate, and maybe wonder how they’re going to buy lunches or lattes for the rest of the week. Some may plan ahead, considering their income, expenses to support their lifestyle, and how much discretionary money is left. They will arrive at what they feel is a reasonable amount and give that to the Lord. People who give this way may be fulfilling an obligation, not wanting to seem rude or feel guilty for not participating. Or they may be truly grateful for what the church or the Lord does for them. It is possible that this is all they know, not having been taught what the Bible has to say. So, “tipping” is giving a small portion of your extra resources to God. There isn’t a biblical basis for it. It’s just what people do.

Tithing
A second way that people give is called tithing. It is often accompanied by the term offerings, as in, “tithes and offerings.” This is how many people in the church have been taught to give. Tithe means 1/10 or 10%. Many people equate the word “tithe” with giving any amount in an offering, whether it is $5 or $500, 1% or 25%. But tithe means 10%. God commanded the children of Israel to give 1/10 of all their produce (agriculture and livestock). In addition to tithing, the Israelites could give free-will offerings.

According to this teaching, since God instructed His people to tithe and to give additional free-will offerings, that is the biblical pattern for all believers for all time. God instructed His people to give tithes and offerings, and even though the New Testament doesn’t explicitly say this applies to Christians, it is the principle and pattern of giving we should follow.

Often this teaching goes to another level, saying that if you don’t tithe, you are disobeying God, He won’t bless you, and bad things will happen to you. If you tithe and give free-will offerings, you are right with God, He will bless you, and good things will happen to you.

But what does the Bible say about tithing that is relevant for Christians of today? Here are some observations:

The Old Testament instruction to tithe was for Jews. Tithing was the means for supporting the priests, providing for the needy, and sharing in a feast that occurred every three years. (Giving in the Old Testament will be explained further in the next article.)

Tithing is mentioned in the New Testament in four places. Not one of them contains instructions to Christians about tithing.

  • In Matthew 23:23 and the parallel passage Luke 11:42, Jesus is rebuking Pharisees for their hypocrisy. They tithed fastidiously from their seeds but gave little attention to mercy, judgment, faith, justice, and love for God. At that time and up until Jesus rose from the dead and the apostles gave new instructions about Old Testament laws, the requirement of tithing was still in effect. Jesus was not telling Christians to tithe. He was telling Jews not to be hypocritical. His point was that giving 10% does not make up for an ungodly heart.
  • In Luke 18:9-14 Jesus told a parable to illustrate self-righteousness in contrast to humility. Verse 12 quotes the Pharisee as saying, “I give tithes of all that I possess.” In other words, he gave more than the law required. This story illustrates a truth: Congratulating yourself about tithing is evidence of pride, and pride distances you from God. Again, it was a story illustrating a truth to Jews under the ceremonial system, not an instruction to Christians.

Before going further I want to emphatically say, that is all Jesus said about tithing! The two situations described above are the only occasions the Gospels record that Jesus’ teaching mentions tithing. However, He had a lot to say about giving.

  • There’s one more place in the New Testament where tithing is mentioned. It is Hebrews 7:1-10. This gets a little complicated, but I will do my best to make it plain. The point of Hebrews is that Jesus is superior to everything the Jewish people trusted in prior to the coming of Christ. The writer is making the case in chapters 6-7 that Jesus is a superior High Priest. In chapter 7 he uses the example of Abraham giving a tithe of battle spoils to a priest named Melchizedek. Keep in mind, the book of Hebrews was written initially to Jews. The writer’s argument follows a six point logical sequence that made sense to the Jews whom he was addressing:
    • Abraham tithed (once) to Melchizedek.
    • The priests were in Abraham’s loins (would descend from him).
    • Therefore the priests tithed to Melchizedek through Abraham.
    • That means Melchizedek is greater than all the other priests.
    • Jesus is like Melchizedek, therefore He is greater than all the other priests.
    • Conclusion: Jesus is the greatest High Priest.

The writer used Abraham’s tithe as an example from Israel’s history to illustrate to New Testament era Jews that Jesus is the superior, in fact the only, way to God. It has no bearing on the financial giving of New Testament Christians. It is a misapplication to teach from this passage that since Abraham tithed, Christians should also.

Grace Giving
The third way people give to the Lord can be best designated as grace giving. This practice is based on the New Testament scriptural instructions directed to Christians on the topic of giving. Keep in mind that Old Testament giving included animal sacrifices, tithes, and free-will offerings. Remember that Jesus Christ is our substitutionary sacrifice, so animal sacrifices are no longer necessary. Also note that the terminology of tithing is used only of the Jews under the Old Testament ceremonial system, as has been demonstrated above. That leaves one kind of giving that is not rendered obsolete, but carries through both the Old Testament and the New – the free-will offering.

In a sense we can say that grace giving has existed since the beginning, but it comes to the forefront in the New Testament. Grace giving is a voluntary choice based on an individual’s personal experience of the grace of God in bestowing spiritual blessings as well as material resources. The required tithe fades from view in the New Testament, while grace giving grows and becomes the norm in the life of the church. This will be developed in subsequent articles.

Tipping, Tithing, and Grace Giving (Part 3)

Tipping, Tithing, and Grace Giving (Part 1)

The Bible does not tell Christians to tithe. But it does tell us to give.

During my early years as a pastor, I taught that there is a principle and pattern of tithing (giving 1/10 of your income) in Scripture and that there is also a principle and pattern of giving offerings over and above the tithe. I taught this because it is what I learned from those who taught me. But as I learned the Scriptures through years of reading and studying, I became aware of facts that caused me to question my own thinking and teaching on this issue and to develop a new understanding of what God’s Word says about it.

One of these facts is that the most extensive New Testament passages on giving as a Christian are about helping other Christians in need, not supporting the work of the church. Most of the principles I had been teaching were from these passages (2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9, for example). I realized that I was bypassing the primary application of these truths, which is helping people in need, in order to urge people to give to the church. The very first “offerings” in the newly-formed assembly of believers in Jerusalem were designated to help others in need (Acts 2:45)! There are instructions to the church on giving to support the work of the church and the spread of the Gospel. But all of the passages need to be taught and applied in the way in which they were intended, and this is often not how they are presented.

Another fact is that all of the instructions on tithing in Scripture are directed to Jews under Old Testament law. Instructions to Christians in the New Testament are about giving to specific causes, people, and needs, motivated by and patterned after God’s free and generous outpouring of goodness on us. I want to emphasize this. Please understand that I am not saying there is no instruction to Christians about giving – there is a lot! But the formula, if you want to call it that, for giving as Christians does not involve calculating 10% of your income. It actually starts with considering how abundantly gracious God has been to you and then responding by giving a significant portion of your material resources to the work of the local church, the spread of the Gospel, and people who are in need. What I have observed in Scripture is that Christians are not instructed to tithe. They are instructed to practice grace giving.

This is the first post in a series on this topic. I am estimating it will require 7 more posts to address it completely. What I want to share with you is about being biblical in our thinking and practice. It’s not about giving so God will bless you. It’s not about taking care of God’s business so He will take care of yours. It certainly doesn’t eliminate the responsibility of giving. It is about appreciating and emulating our gracious God in tangible, purposeful ways.  I hope to penetrate the fog of misunderstanding of Scripture, bad preaching (mine included), and plain old human selfishness and greed. I want to show, as clearly as possible, what the Bible says to today’s Christians about financial giving. I will also suggest some very practical steps for implementing biblical giving into our lives. I hope to point us toward living by God’s Word and toward living under God’s grace.

Part 2

Revival Meeting? Evangelistic Services? Gospel Conference??

I have wrestled with the practice of having a church event which consists of a week or half-week of nightly services, the objective of which is evangelizing unbelievers and “reviving” Christians.  The churches I have ministered in over the years have held these events consistently, at least once a year.  This post is not intended to be an analysis of the biblical or philosophical bases (or lack thereof) of this practice, so I won’t go into that.  But, I say again, I have wrestled with the idea, specifically with whether or not it is truly beneficial to the church.

REASONS FOR MY STRUGGLE
There are two very pragmatic reasons for my struggle with this practice in recent years.

  • One is low attendance. In our experience the attendance at weeknight services, especially Monday and Tuesday evenings, is very low.
  • The other reason is a lack of evangelistic fruitfulness. If one of the primary purposes of these special services is to reach the lost with the Gospel, then the effort is an abysmal failure.  Hardly any unbelievers attend, and very occasionally one or two make professions of faith in Christ.  Even with attempts to disciple those few, hardly any take the steps of baptism and connecting with church life.

Low attendance and lack of immediate, observable fruitfulness are hard realities.

DIFFERENT APPROACH
This week we have such an event, with an exceptional speaker and team.  By the way, the outside itinerant speakers, AKA “evangelists,” that I have speak at our church are limited to a select few that I know well, who preach expositorily, and whose understanding of how people are saved and how they grow spiritually fits that of our church.

We determined to tag the Sunday-Wednesday services and sessions this time around as a Gospel Conference and to carry out the event with more of a conference approach than a series of church services.

  • The front of the informational brochure says, The Gospel for Real Life, A Gospel-Centered Conference Featuring Bible Preaching, Teaching, and Music. The key issues being addressed in our Gospel Conference are, What is the Gospel? and, What difference does the Gospel make in my life?
  • Some of the sessions have included clear, thorough explanations of the Gospel from Scripture that are intended to give an unbeliever an understanding of the Gospel and an opportunity to respond to it.
  • Others have been directed at the implications of the Gospel for believers, with themes including The Gospel and My Purpose and The Gospel and My Purity.
  • There have been clear, concise Gospel messages presented in targeted group settings, including a dinner for senior adults, the guys from the community that play basketball in our gym every Tuesday night, and a Gospel-focused session for teens.
  • There has also been one daytime session in which our speaker equipped the teachers in our preschool for having Gospel conversations with parents who follow a particular false belief system.

It might not seem much different from a “revival meeting” or “evangelistic services,” but I have appreciated the difference in emphasis.

WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT?

  • Without going into a lot of detail, I will just say that the idea of “revival” carries with it some theological confusion and cultural association that I don’t want to identify with. And if you invite unbelievers to “evangelistic services” they know they’re the targets for the “evangelist,” and what neighbor wants to show up for that?  And why should church people go to the effort to attend a Tuesday night evangelistic service if they’re already saved, unless they’re bringing someone to be “evangelisted” :)? And who wants to risk losing a friendship or straining a work relationship doing that?
  • In our Gospel Conference, we’re exploring the truths of the Gospel and explaining how it makes a difference in everyone’s life, whether believer or unbeliever. We are all here as learners of Gospel truth.  And there are no manipulative techniques, no “do it now or else” pressure to walk an aisle.  We are all invited to respond privately, and anyone wanting further explanation or assistance in responding to the Gospel is encouraged to talk with a pastor or counselor when the session ends or anytime in the near future.
  • The tone of the Sunday morning service is pretty much like our usual worship and preaching/teaching, but the Sunday evening and weeknight sessions are less formal, with more of a conference feel. And the way the team and up-front people are dressed would make the average neighbor or coworker who shows up feel comfortable, not like he or she is underdressed for the occasion.
  • The speaker’s team is providing music, but again, there’s a difference. They are not just performing well-rehearsed musical selections.  They sing and play with energy and skill, but in many of the songs, they are leading all of us to join them in singing a stanza or more, and each song gives attention to some aspect of the Gospel.  It is definitely not an audience watching a group perform. We are singing Gospel truth and meditating on it through the music that is shared.

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE WEEK SO FAR
Is anything really different?  Is it just terminology?  Do these things matter?  Will more people attend?  Will there be more fruit?  Well, this is the first time we’ve done it, and it’s only Tuesday, so I don’t have the answers to those questions.  We’ll see.  I definitely feel more confident encouraging our people to participate and to invite their unbelieving friends.  Maybe our church people will be encouraged by the difference in emphasis this time around and be more likely to participate and bring others next time we have a Gospel Conference.  I think the average Christian could comfortably invite an unbelieving friend to a conference where someone will explain the Gospel and the difference it makes in your life.

All of this leads to the resolution of my struggle with the concept and practice of this kind of event.  I’m pretty sure we’ll do another Gospel Conference.  My mind is already spinning out ideas for making it even more beneficial to our people and hopefully more effective in explaining the Gospel to unbelievers and inviting them to respond.  If our church people will see the value and have more passion for investigating the multifaceted truth and mining the precious treasures of the Gospel for 1, 2, 3, 4 days in a row and experience significant growth in grace from sustained concentration on these things, maybe they will put Gospel Conference on their personal calendars for those Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings.  And if they realize they won’t be embarrassed by what their non-Christian friend might see or hear that would hurt their relationship or hinder future Gospel opportunities, they might extend an invitation to attend a Gospel Conference session where their friend will hear about what the Gospel is and what difference it makes in his or her life.

. . . Christ is preached, and in this I rejoice, yes, and will rejoice.  Philippians 1:18