Is tithing part of the law?

Consider this verse:
Mt 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

I realized Jesus had not yet died, and the law was still in effect at this time. But, Jesus, many times with His disciples violated the law. He violated the law of the sabbath and others, but concerning tithing, He said that it was right to continue doing so.

Jesus never condemns tithing. What he does condemn is doing it to the neglect of the weightier matters.

To support what I stated above, Larry Burkett says,

 

Right, but you answered it. They had to tithe. They weren't wrong in tithing. The law was still in full force.

 

Pastor Bob,

Jesus never violated the Mosaic Law!!! The Jews accused him of breaking the Sabbath, but He did not break the Sabbath as God gave it, He broke the traditions that the Jews had established regarding the Sabbath. I cannot believe you actually suggested that Jesus and his disciples actually broke the Law! Show me one place!

Jesus never condemned polygamy or having children by the maid! Jacob had two wives and Abraham went in unto Hagar. The fact that Jesus did not condemn tithing only indicates His respect for the Law which was still fully in effect till the cross, a fact which you acknowledge. Larry Burkett believed that tithing was a command for NT believers, a point which he consistently demonstrated from the OT, never the NT post-cross.

Jacob’s vow was a selfish vow of giving to God to get more back! And as noted, there is never any indication that he followed through.

Preaching the Tithe is preaching the Mosiac Covenant, which the Jews broke over and over and Jesus nailed to the cross. Tithing does not demonstrate obedience to any command that Jesus ever gave to the disciples or the NT Church! Tithing and the preaching of the tithe demonstrates bondage to legalism and a law that was done away by the cross.

Illustrations are nice, if they support a clear balanced interpretation of the Word of God. Your evangelist story was a typical evangelist story, designed to result in an emotional decision based on emotional manipulation. Truth should not require such tactics.

Regarding only giving one dime, that is not in line with Paul’s clear instruction in 1Cor 16:1-2 and in 2Cor 8:1-5. You do not have to resort to Old Testament law to establish sacrificial giving, just use the NT in context.

Here is a real break with Baptist tradition, we set the offering plates on tables at the rear of the auditorium, we only pass them on occasion for special offerings. It is great to be free from the law and tradition. Oh, BTW, God meets our needs quite well without my giving a sermonette every time we pass the plate.

 

You are correct...the OT Tithe was either plant or animal (for food, obviously), and if it was redeemed for money, they had to add a fifth to it -- Lev. 23:31

for everything else, rjprince has said it best...

 

Example #1
Mt 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Ex 35:2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

Num 15:32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.


Example #2
John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Jer 17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Neh 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.

 

So. Did Jesus break the sabbath? He did not pick or eat the grain, nor did He pick up sticks.

 

rjprince:

I'm with you 100% . Jesus was incapable of breaking any OT law. frankly, i cannot believe that any would suggest He could. if He did (break the law), he would not have the 'spotless lamb' and He did not pay for anything on the cross.

Back to tithing:

I used to go to a church that taught that tithing was an OT principle. They also thought that having a loan is unbibilical, so they never had a loan...for any thing, including a mortgage. They did not have clergy (there were only 2 missonaries an a traveling speaker that were on the payroll). Many folks gave more than 10%, many less. They only passed the 'plate' around at the end of the weekly breaking of bread meeting (that was not open to non-believers) because they did not believe it was biblical to accept $$$ from nonbelievers.

I now go to a church that preaches that we should tithe (about one in every 6 sermons). they also have a mortgage and quite a few folks on the roll (pay roll, that is). They also have a fancy multimedia system in the santuary (that is always in need of a software or equipment upgrades).

I have not seen anything in the thread that changes my mind about tithing. it was an OT law, was always food, and has no application to the NT church.

 

Example #1
Mt 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.

Ex 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

Example #2
John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the sabbath.
10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

Jer 17:21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

Neh 13:19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. </font>[/QUOTE]Jesus did not break any OT laws as given by God. He did break some of the additional man-made laws added by the Jewish leaders.
As far as Ex#1, Deut 23.25 says:

Jesus did not do any work and he plucked the grains by hand, which was permitted under the law.

Ex#2: Carrying a load meant a heavy burden, probably something for sale. This is according to a footnote on Jer 17.21 from the NET Bible

This man's bed was a pallet and was probably very light. Plus, he was not carrying it as part of work or something for sale.

 

Marcia,

I am in agreement with your conclusions, but not with your method of proving them.

The Deut 23:25 passage was not in context of sabbath law. It is an excellent point, but does not directly address the issue.

Concerning carrying the bed -- no doubt the bed weighed as much as a stick. The problem with gathering sticks on the sabbath, besides the simple fact that God had forbidden it, was that it was possible to gather two days worth of sticks on Friday. It was not possible for this man to have carried his bed home on Friday. This was his first chance to do this, Jesus allowed him to carry his bed. He was Lord of the sabbath, if He granted an exception, who were the Pharisees to question? Who are we to question?!

Jesus did not break the sabbath, we agree.

 

They were also polygamists (which the law allows). Are the Mormons correct that polygamy is for today also (well until the US government forbade them)?

HankD

 

The law regulated polygamy and I guess that means allowed polygamy, though that was not God's pattern (Gen 2-3; Matt 19). However God revealed His truth progressively and we must not argue that since He allowed it He necessarily approved of it.

The law also forbad men with personal injuries from entering the "congregation of the Lord". If we are going to teach something as binding today based on the fact that the Law allowed, or even commanded it, where does it end?

 

...whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

HankD

 

Tithe teachers all conceding here?

Waiting for a response to the issues I raised in response regarding the sabbath predating the Law as well, no record that Jacob ever paid his vow, and the fact that everyone who teaches tithing uses the OT to attempt to establish tithing as binding on NT believers (of course what else could they use?).