Dr. Couch, I am fellowshipping in a group that believes we must tithe. To prove their point they reference the words of Christ and say He commands it. They would probably use Matthew 28:20 which are the words He spoke to the disciples before His ascension: Teach them "to observe all that I commanded you [disciples] …" They would say this includes the tithe. How do you answer?
ANSWER: Apparently your group is not dispensational. They glob all Bible verses together, ignoring context and the dispensational setting. This shows gross ignorance and a lack of clear OBSERVATION of what is going on in various passages.
Christ came and ministered under the Law and tithing was part of the Law. He lived and ministered during the period of the Law, which we are no longer under. In light of their quoting the Matthew 28:20 verse, I never remember Christ commanding His disciples to tithe. The tithe was part of the Law and the disciples were about to move into the dispensation of the church age. They would no longer be under Law. The old Malachi 3:8-10 passage had to do with bringing the tithe into the temple storehouse. The temple is not the church!
Now I have no problem with saying that a tenth is a good benchmark for giving but you cannot place the church under the legal obligation of the Mosaic Law. The rule for giving in the dispensation of the church age is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12. The benchmark of ten percent is not mentioned. Instead giving should be based on: sharing bountifully, cheerfully, not grudgingly, giving as one has purposed in the heart, giving liberally as supplying the needs of the saints. These criteria could mean we should give more than ten percent as one purposes in the heart not by the limited rule of ten percent from the Law. And to be forced to give because of the Law would place us "under compulsion" (v. 7).
Don't forget, in the church dispensation we are no longer under the Law. It is not the governing force of how we live out the Christian life, though all of the moral imperatives of the Law (such as prohibition against murder, theft, lust, etc.) are eternal principles and are repeated in the church dispensation. But the tithe is not repeated as a church command anywhere in the church epistles.
If I am to do all that Christ said, then if I call someone a fool I should be tossed into the fiery hell (Gahanna) (Matt. 3:22)! (By the way, on this passage Christ is using exaggeration, hyperbole, in order to get across a strong point of condemning those who demean others.)
I hope this helps, and thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
ANSWER: Apparently your group is not dispensational. They glob all Bible verses together, ignoring context and the dispensational setting. This shows gross ignorance and a lack of clear OBSERVATION of what is going on in various passages.
Christ came and ministered under the Law and tithing was part of the Law. He lived and ministered during the period of the Law, which we are no longer under. In light of their quoting the Matthew 28:20 verse, I never remember Christ commanding His disciples to tithe. The tithe was part of the Law and the disciples were about to move into the dispensation of the church age. They would no longer be under Law. The old Malachi 3:8-10 passage had to do with bringing the tithe into the temple storehouse. The temple is not the church!
Now I have no problem with saying that a tenth is a good benchmark for giving but you cannot place the church under the legal obligation of the Mosaic Law. The rule for giving in the dispensation of the church age is found in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12. The benchmark of ten percent is not mentioned. Instead giving should be based on: sharing bountifully, cheerfully, not grudgingly, giving as one has purposed in the heart, giving liberally as supplying the needs of the saints. These criteria could mean we should give more than ten percent as one purposes in the heart not by the limited rule of ten percent from the Law. And to be forced to give because of the Law would place us "under compulsion" (v. 7).
Don't forget, in the church dispensation we are no longer under the Law. It is not the governing force of how we live out the Christian life, though all of the moral imperatives of the Law (such as prohibition against murder, theft, lust, etc.) are eternal principles and are repeated in the church dispensation. But the tithe is not repeated as a church command anywhere in the church epistles.
If I am to do all that Christ said, then if I call someone a fool I should be tossed into the fiery hell (Gahanna) (Matt. 3:22)! (By the way, on this passage Christ is using exaggeration, hyperbole, in order to get across a strong point of condemning those who demean others.)
I hope this helps, and thanks for asking.
Dr. Mal Couch
