Liberation From Tithing: FREEDOM, Not a Fad

By Patricia Backora
One website criticizes believers for getting all excited about a new
fad thats going around: Christians dont have to tithe! Whats so
new about that? Christian liberty was not considered a passing fad in
Pauls day, it was considered one of the foundational principles of the
New Covenant. In the Book of Galatians Liberty in Christ was viewed
by Paul as an endangered species under threat from Judaisers who
tried to pervert (distort) the Gospel with legalism. Whenever some
preacher says Thats binding on you it should set off alarm bells
because if youre BOUND by anything, that means you arent walking
in liberty because some man wont allow it. What would Pauls attitude
be toward those who burden Gods people with tithing or any other
binding doctrine Paul never taught the church?
Gal.1:6: I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called
you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
VERSE 7: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you,
and would pervert the gospel of Christ.* * * Pervert as used here
comes from the Greek word metastrepho, which means to transform
into something of an opposite character. Certain false brethren had
crept into the church to try to change the Gospel into something the
polar opposite of what it actually was! The Judaisers wanted Gentile
Christians to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses. They wanted
to take the grace out of the Gospel of Grace and transform it into a
gospel of works.
VERSE 8: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other
gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him
be accursed.
VERSE 9: As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed (cut off from Christ and condemned to hell).
Unless there is ANY solid evidence Paul explicitly taught tithing,
preachers risk Gods wrath by burdening His people with it. The
apostles who convened in Jerusalem did NOT bind the Law of Moses or
any part of it on the disciples (Acts 15:24-29). Obviously, the apostles
did not require tithing or even recommend it as a voluntary act!
Tithing is a work of the Law, and to impose it upon Gods redeemed
people is to impose another gospel (a mixture of Law and grace) on
them. Paul pronounced a terrible curse on such preachers.

VERSE 10: For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to

please men? For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of
Christ.* * *Brethren, we can either submit to men and their false
traditions or we can submit only to Christ and to the true Word of God.
We cant be both men-pleasers and God-pleasers. Even if we tithe to
keep the peace, its a peace won at the expense of truth. People who
take the Mark of the Beast during the Tribulation will also follow the
crowd in order to avoid upsetting those in power. Bad doctrine must
never be given legitimacy by what we do.
Tithing teachers appeal to Matt.23:23 as proof text that tithing is still
required, although in that verse, Jesus was addressing corrupt Jewish
Pharisees who still lived under the dispensation of Law (the period
before Christs crucifixion cancelled out the Old Covenant). Actually,
Matt.23:23 cannot be used to support church tithing because in this
verse Jesus calls tithing part of the LAW, which we are not under
(Rom.6:14-15; Ga;l.5:18). The old Mosaic Law was discontinued when
the New Covenant started (Heb.7:18; 8:13). ALL of it, even those
parts preachers profiteer from!
Because Jesus hadnt yet gone to the Cross and ushered in the New
Covenant, the Old Covenant was still in force when Jesus okayed the
Pharisees tithing of kitchen herbs. But NOT ONCE did Jesus ever
command His disciples to tithe, not even during His earthly ministry!
They couldnt have owed any tithes anyway, since only agricultural
produce was tithable. The disciples were always on the go. They
werent farmers. They didnt even have time to grow alfalfa sprouts
for their barley bagels! Jesus never asked Peter to tithe on his smelly
sardines. Just bring the preacher a can of tuna if he thinks Peter was
required to tithe on fish (he wasnt).
Heb.8:13: In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first
old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth (grows) old is ready to
vanish away.* * *This word decay reminds me of a corpse fit only to
be buried. Which reminds me of this passage:
Romans 7:1 Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know
the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he
liveth?
VERSE 2: For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law
to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is
loosed from the law of her husband.
VERSE 3: So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to
another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be

dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though
she be married to another man.
VERSE 4: Wherefore, my brethren, YE ALSO ARE BECOME DEAD TO
THE LAW by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another,
even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth
fruit unto God.
VERSE 5: For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which
were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto
death.
VERSE 6: BUT NOW WE ARE DELIVERED FROM THE LAW, that being
dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit,
and not in the oldness of the letter.
The Old Law is dead and buried. We arent married to the dead Law.
Instead we are spiritually joined to Christ (I Cor.6:17). Many preachers
are determined to marry the Bride of Christ to the Law once again,
even if it means getting out that old shovel of condemnation and
digging that law back up themselves. Any preacher who tries to chain
the church of God to the Old Law is a Frankenstein ghoul who salvages
parts from a corpse and places dead flesh between Christ and His
Bride. That is a terrible spiritual sin being committed against the Body
of Christ today! Lust for illicit tithe money is only a small part of what
is making God mad. This abomination has gone on for most of the
Church Age, and the fullness of His glory has been veiled from the
Church and the world as a result. Gods very Throne Room within the
believer has been held under siege by money-hungry preachers.
Gods close fellowship with His Church is being torpedoed by tithe
teachers! Not only is Jesus unjustly being painted as a panhandler
always begging for money, preachers are making His own people
scared to approach Him because they cant afford the prices at the
meat market called the Institutional Church.
If we were to go back 2,000 years, I doubt wed find the apostles
dunning Christians for ten per cent of their wages! There is no record
of any such abomination being taught in the New Testament, and not
even in the Old! Some sites criticize Christians for LOUDLY proclaiming
that believers are not obligated to tithe on their overstretched
paychecks. Christians are making a joyful noise about being set free
from the preachers favorite Law. Now is that so bad? Who wouldnt
rejoice at such great glad news? Didnt American colonists rejoice after
they won the Revolutionary War and were finally free from British
taxation? Christians have just discovered that God is good, and He
isnt the hard taskmaster profiteering preachers paint Him to be.

It really hacks modern Pharisees off that Gods people are rejoicing in
their liberty. They say its because Christians are greedy and dont
want to give to God anyway. But true Christians have ALREADY
surrendered themselves to God.
God ALREADY owns us and
everything we have (I Cor.6:19). It isnt just about being able to keep
more money to meet family expenses. The truth sets Gods people
free on the inside, where it counts (John 8:32). Knowing the truth
liberates the spirit and allows the kind, loving nature of our Heavenly
Father to shine, to His everlasting glory.
The church has been lied to for way too long. God cant honor lies or
endorse them with rewards. You cant fool God with un-Biblical
doctrines anymore than you can fool a good pawnbroker with a fake
diamond. Did preachers really think that Gods people would forever be
fooled and remain content to stay cooped up in their cages of
bondage? Even an animal knows when its been set free! Any dog
locked up in a kennel for 1500 years will jump for joy and make a
joyful bark when its finally let out of its prison. If its so wrong to
make a little noise about being set free by Christ, then why is it okay
to yell at football games?
Lets put the shoe on the other foot now. Whos been yelling and
screaming at US to turn loose of our filthy lucre ever since Christianity
turned into a big business? Why is it okay for the preacher to yell
religious curses at Christians for non-tithing but Christians have to
keep their voices down when they discover preachers have had their
hand in the cookie jar since the dawn of the Dark Ages? Does that
string of degrees on the wall entitle a professional preacher to holler
for dollars and tell everybody else to zip their lip? Isnt the Holy Spirit
just as good a Teacher as that cemetI mean, seminary, your local
tithe-collector went to?
Really, now, if you caught somebody pinching your wallet out of your
pants pocket, you wouldnt give a hoot if the thief was the Grand
Poohbah of Purdue or just a poor wino from the park. Youd get
hoppin mad and make some noise about it! Regardless of his place in
society, wouldnt that thief want you to keep the revelation of his
sneaky theft under your hat? Even if the pickpocket wore a black satin
clerical robe it wouldnt whitewash his crime! Fishers for funds count
on your reverent silence (or was that submission)? All this fuss about
freedom from tithing is Christs collective voice shouting Stop, thief!
Tithe teachers raise a ruckus about how YOU have to pay tithes. But
whos got the right to TAKE them? Do pulpit ministers have that

right? When you pay taxes to the government, your employer doesnt
withhold the money and send it in to just any Tom, Dick or Harriet that
happens along. Only an official tax agent is duly authorized to take
taxes out of your paycheck. If some bright guy impersonated an IRS
agent to take gullible tax payers to the cleaners, hed end up in the
slammer till the Final Judgment. If you think every living soul, even
welfare recipients down to their last food stamp, must tithe, then at
least investigate the credentials of the representative of God
collecting your tithe. Is your preacher a descendant of the priestly
Tribe of Levi? Perhaps he IS.IF his last name is Levi, Levine, Cohan
or Cohen (cohen means priests in Hebrew). Only the sons of LEVI
received an exclusive license from God to take tithes ACCORDING TO
THE LAW (Heb.7:5)! It doesnt say the sons of Box Car Willie are
commanded by God to take tithes under Grace! If your local tithe
collector isnt a direct descendant of Aaron the High Priest, then that
preacher is collecting tithes without Gods authorization and you dont
owe that bum one red cent! And even if he whips out a valid
genealogical chart and PROVES hes descended from Moses brother
Aaron, ask him why hes more interested in your Federal Mint Lettuce
than the tomatoes out in your backyard (Lev.27:30). Ask him why
hes dunning a non-Jew for unscriptural money tithes, since Moses only
commanded genetic Israelites to tithe on OTHER greenery.
Stone-walling away the truth, ignoring the central theme of Galatians
(freedom from the Law), and accusing Gods people of not loving
Jesus enough to tithe wont wash with God. Browbeating Gods
people with false religious guilt. doesnt change Gods mind about
what applies under the New Covenant and what is now obsolete. The
real truth is: Such a preacher doesnt love YOU enough to let you
enjoy your liberty in Christ. And he doesnt love Jesus enough to stop
using Him as an ATM machine!
Were supposed to follow Jesus example. Is it un-Christlike to yell
about the tithing hoax, after so many centuries of pew people being
robbed in the Name of God? Did Jesus softly whisper at the buyers
and the sellers when He drove them out of the Temple with a
homemade whip? NO! He said something like: Get this junk out of
here! Youre turning My Fathers House into a thieves market!
God hasnt kept His people in religious and financial bondage for most
of the Church Age. The clergy of Christendom did that! The church
got infected with strange doctrines only a couple of centuries after the
death of the last apostle. In the fourth
century A.D. Emperor
Constantine allegedly found Christ. To popularize Christianity with the

masses and unify his vast empire under one religious banner,
Constantine imported many pagan customs into the church, such as
the use of images, incense, ceremonies, etc. The church has never
been the same since.
Even Martin Luther
wasnt too keen on
restoring the priesthood of all believers. Luther was more in favor of
an unscriptural clergy-laity church structure. The ordained clergy
does most of the ministry while the laity lays asleep in the pews.
No wonder Gods power was far more noticeable during the Apostolic
Age than it is now! The majority of Christs Body on earth is paralyzed
from lack of exercise! Most dont even peep a protest about the
weekly shakedown called the tithe.
Two Catholic Church councils held in 567 and 585 A.D. made monetary
tithing compulsory on pain of excommunication. Protestants think
Martin Luther liberated them from Catholicism, but Luther didnt go far
enough. Luther opposed tithing, but the central doctrine of the
priesthood of all believers took a back pew to a few privileged
characters who collect the cream every Sunday. Bits and pieces of
pagan practices and ideas from the Law of Moses have crept into
church doctrine, creating spiritual unrest among believers.
Hands
hanging onto error cannot grasp Gods real truth.
That webmaster said were gloating. Rather, there is a deep joy in the
spirit which has been set free. Legalists are very inconsistent. Ever
since the dawn of the Jesus Revolution Gods people have been taught
choruses about Christ setting them free, and how theyre a chosen
generation and a Royal Priesthood. Some churches even did victory
marches to celebrate the fact were kings kids. Preachers liked
that. UNTIL Gods kids began to figure out what it meant to be part of
Gods Royal Priesthood. Even under the Old Covenant, the Priesthood
did not tithe. When Temple tax agents approached Peter for tax money
which the Old Law commanded all males over twenty to pay (see
Ex.38:26) Jesus complied because He lived under the Law (see
Gal.4:4) and didnt want to offend the collectors. But afterward Jesus
explained to Peter that children of the King are supposed to be free of
having to pay tribute to their own kingdom (Matt.17:25-26).
Now all of a sudden, preachers arent quite so keen on sharing their
priesthood with all believers like it says to in I Peter 2:5 and 9. You
might be Gods own child, but you allegedly OWE an ongoing debt of
ten per cent of your paycheck to His first-class kids! Despite the fact
Romans 13:8 teaches us to owe no man ANYTHING (including money)
but to love one another. If monetary tithing were a valid doctrine, you
would perpetually be in debt to the preacher for a good chunk of every

forthcoming paycheck or welfare check for the rest of your life. That
isnt Christian liberty, thats serfdom.
Slaves mustnt ever be happy, and as long as you stay in your place
you get no flak from the pulpit. Whenever some legalistic preacher
sees a pew saint smiling, hes thinking: Somethings up here!
Brother Bubba is indulging in some secret sin thats either illegal,
immoral, or fattening! Tithe tyrants cant STAND to see Gods people
rejoicing in the liberty of the Spirit! The name of the game is
CONTROL! Seizing control of the church from Christ is a manifestation
of the Antichrist (instead of Christ) spirit at work among Gods
people. Legalistic preachers make it clear that theres only ONE Big
Chief in THEIR church, and all the Indians out in the pews must bring
their tribute to his teepee!
Unable to appeal to ANY written Biblical command to tithe on money,
or any command to tithe on anything at all after the Cross, the website
appealed to poor peoples duty to tithe by citing the example of
Mary and Joseph, who presented two pigeons to the Temple. Now,
thats desperate! Whos to say Mary and Joseph didnt just catch those
pigeons in the park instead of buying them from the bums Jesus
chased out of the Temple (John 2:13-16)? Mary had just had a baby,
and offering two pigeons was part of her purification ritual (Lev.12:68). Is that preacher gonna tell me that Mary could have brought in ten
per cent of Josephs carpentry income instead of the pigeons to make
atonement for postpartum bleeding? What about women who get sick
of their flowers (or was that hay fever)? Should they pay paper
pigeons to the preacher (Lev.16:28-29)? Just think of it, preach. All
those PMS mood-swingers who drop out of church for a week
(Lev.16:19-33) every single month are a gold mine! So are the new
moms who return to church after their six-weeks checkup. Rejoice,
brother! Theres money in the rock-a-bye baby for you!
Seriously, though, NOWHERE does it state poor Joseph had to shell out
ten per cent of his carpentry earnings to the priests. Poor carpenters
paid the half-shekel Temple tax along with all other Jewish men, but
unless they grew garden greenery on the side, they didnt owe any
tithes. Tithe collectors appeal to spiritual laws magically spun out of
frog fur! They rely on airy-fairy fulminations fabricated from verses
yanked out of context as proof that Gods people must tithe! Next
time some preacher appeals to Old Testament pigeon poop logic to
justify the tithe, stick strictly to what is written, not to some
modernized mutation of Old Testament Law. If Preach wont listen to
sense, bring him a bucket of fried chicken, since it would be too cruel

to catch pigeons in the park to roast on the church altar. If enough

people did that, Preach would get so sick of KFC, hed never again try
to milk money out of Marys post-partum pigeons!
Also used as an example was Jesus payment of the Temple Tax in
Matt.17:24-27. This tax was required of all Jewish MALES twenty
years old and over (Ex.30:11-16; 38:26). When this occurred, a
census was taken of all the MALES in Israel. The number of women
was not recorded (see Num.1:45-49). Notice, this tax was NOT levied
on women of any age, but only men, as Exodus 38:26 clarifies.
Preachers who hit kids up for their birthday money or lust after a poor
widows Social Security check should remember this!
Neither were the Levites to be counted in the census (Num.1:49), and
thus were not subject to the Temple tax. This agrees with Ezra 7:24,
which states that it was not lawful to impose taxation upon ministers
of the house of God, which house is constituted by ALL true believers
(I Cor.3:17).
Jesus, who lived under the Law before He died on the Cross (see
Gal.4:4) complied with the Temple tax ordinance, for He was not a
Levite. He had His (and Peters) Temple Tax coin taken out of the
mouth of a fish who acted like preachers and gobbled up money
(Matt.17:27). This money was not taken out of stingy Judas money
bag. Jesus didnt build a new plow to earn that money (75 cents
worth). It was an unearned gift of nature! This speaks of grace, not
works. Preachers forever holler about you being obligated to tithe even
out of your poverty. Jesus lived under the Law. He was a poor Man
while on earth, but He didnt pay the Temple Tax out of His own
poverty. Preachers prefer sacrifice to mercy, but Jesus Temple Tax
payment wasnt even a sacrifice! We ourselves arent living under the
Law. We are under grace (Rom.6:14; Gal.5:18).
The Temple Tax was collected only whenever a national census was
taken. Why? To prevent a plague from breaking out (Ex.30:12).
Preachers return to the harshness of the Old Law by threatening Gods
own dear children with plague and misfortune if they dont cough up
the cash. In 2 Samuel 24 a plague did break out when King David took
an unauthorized census to number the fighting men of Israel. In any
case, half a shekel was a FIXED, not proportional, sum payable by all
mature Jewish males for the upkeep of their Temple. The poor didnt
give less and the rich didnt give more (Ex.30:15). Half a shekel (37
cents!) per year would amount to much less than ten per cent of most
peoples annual income! It wouldnt even be missed by a rich man!

This tiny sum wouldnt even buy a candy bar! Even that amount was
mercifully reduced to one-third shekel in a time of great national
hardship (Neh. 10:32).
Notice, Nehemiah says: Also WE MADE
ORDINANCES for us to charge ourselves YEARLY (not weekly) with the
third part of a shekel for the service of the house of our God.* * *
*Who modified certain Mosaic ordinances in Nehemiah, God or men?
But notice the contrast. Whenever modern preachers modify the Old
Law in a dispensation of grace when we arent even supposed to be
keeping it (see Acts 15:24), they dont do it to be merciful. They do it
to be greedy and oppressive!
If you want to apply the Temple Tax exanple to your life, you have to:
1. Substitute the church building for the true New Covenant Temple
of the Holy Spirit, which is the body of the believer (I Cor.6:19; 2
Cor.6:16).
2. Impose this tax ONLY on men 20 years old and over. Dont hit
the ladies up for this tax, or youre sinning against God!
3. Collect it only ONCE a year, and take a church census of all
males able to go to war when you do it. Remember, God said its
a sin to ask for more than 37 cents worth of church tax! Even if
youve got the CEO of Microsoft visiting, better not paraprhrase it
into 37 grand!
4. If you want to follow Jesus example, you must do exactly as He
did. Travel to the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Ask a friend to cast a
fishhook in the water. Tell him the first perch that takes the bait
will have a coin in its mouth thats worth 75 cents (enough tax
for two people).
5. Dont even THINK of using U.S. quarters and dimes to pay the
Temple Tax, because God wouldnt approve of you substituting
Gentile money that has pictures of American Caesars on it
(Matt.22:19-21).
6. Reduce the church tax to 1/3 of a shekel (2/3 of 1/2 of one
shekel) when a depression hits the economy. Ive done the math
and you need to come up with a whole quarters worth of shekel
silver! Would a greedy tithe exactor show you thirteen cents
worth of mercy? When camels fly!
Like Nehemiah, the Book of Ezra concerned the reconstruction of the
Temple after the Jews began to return from exile in Babylon. Ezra
frowned upon taxing Gods priests, or even the servants of the priests,
the lower-ranking Levites.

Ezra 7:20: And whatsoever more shall be needful for the house of thy
God, which thou shalt have occasion to bestow (give), bestow it out of
the kings treasure house.
VERSE 21: And I, even Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all
the treasurers which are beyond the river (Euphrates), that whatever
Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall
require of you, it be done speedily.
VERSE 22: Unto an hundred talents of silver, and to an hundred
measures of wheat, and to an hundred baths of wine, and to an
hundred baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
VERSE 23: Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be
diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should
there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
VERSE 24: Also we certify you, that touching any of the priests and
Levites, singers, porters, Nethinim (servants of the Levites), or
ministers of the house of this house of God, IT SHALL NOT BE LAWFUL
TO IMPOSE TOLL, OR TRIBUTE, OR CUSTOM UPON THEM.
Even a heathen Old Testament king had enough fear of God in him
that he declared it illegal to tax the priesthood of Israel! This Gentile
king didnt even allow anybody to tax the servants of the lowliest
Levites! Not even in a day when the Temple-rebuilding program badly
needed finances! Todays Gentile tithe teachers curse tithes out of
New Covenant believers with Malachi 3:9, cherry-picking it out of a
passage specifically aimed by God at the sons of Jacob (Mal.3:6)! We
arent mere servants of the Levites. We are children of Almighty God
(I John 3:1-2)! We ARE the priesthood of the New Covenant (I
Pet.5:1,9)! We pay secular taxes, but we dont owe ANY preacher
tribute! It riles God up when preachers scare poor people with His
judgment to get money to squander on their own lusts!
The webmaster even appealed to Paul, who taught believers that they
are free from the Law. Paul likened himself to a priest serving at the
altar who ought to live off the things on the altar (I Cor. 9:13). I know
todays church altars hold money after the offertory service, but
money was never put on any Old Testament altar! Only EDIBLE things
like animal sacrifices and showbread were ever placed on the altar.
When David came to Ahimelech the priest, he asked him for some
spare bread (I Sam.21:3). David didnt ask Ahimelech for spare
change. David had another kind of bread in mind.
The church altar was an invention of the post-apostolic period, when
church became an institution to go to, like the county fair, the
opera, etc. The original church met mostly in private homes. Their

altar was strictly spiritual in nature, with SPIRITUAL sacrifices only

offered upon it (I Pet.2:5).
So was Paul after peoples money when he compared himself to an
altar priest? I kind of doubt it. Also, where does Paul ever appeal for
money in I Cor. chapter 9, or even mention the word money? If Paul
wanted to introduce a doctrine, he didnt beat around the bush. He
spit it out. Paul does not even HINT that anyone, rich or poor, should
pay preachers a tenth of their wages. Paul mentions only edible things
like fruit of the vineyard or the milk of the flock. Paul was HUNGRY
(2 Cor.11:27). Paul wanted to eat, plain and simple. He asks the
stingy Corinthians in I Cor.9:4: Dont we even have a right to eat and
drink? Paul wasnt even being fed by those he fed spiritually! How
many modern preachers would preach even one sermon at churches
which didnt at least spring for a Big Mac, even if the people were flat
broke?
The REAL Biblical tithe was all about eating, not fattening the bank
account of a religious organization. The true tithe of the Bible was far
kinder to the poor than todays fabricated version. Tithes were taken
from the LAND, not the labor of the poor. They fed the poor of the
land, and were EATEN by the worshipper himself (Deut.14:22-24).
Only if the agricultural produce was very difficult to transport was the
worshipper allowed to convert the tithed produce into cash, and even
when he did, he used it to reconvert it into food when he got to his
place of worship. And it was the food of his own choice.
Deut.14:26: And thou (the worshipper) shalt bestow that money for
whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine,
or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt
eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and
thine household,
This flies in the face of repeated warnings from preachers NOT to eat
your tithe. Why is it that not once in all my borned days have I ever
heard any preacher enforce this tithing ordinance like they do their
own twisted version of Malachi 3? The truth is, if youre gonna
observe any of Gods old laws, youve gotta do it HIS way, not your
way, or youre guilty of sin in His sight. God warns you not to add to or
take away from Scripture (Deut.12:32). Preachers diminish Gods
requirements by neglecting to preach Deut.12:26. Preachers add to
Gods Word by changing the tithed commodity into money, which is
never done in all of Scripture! Preacher, if you dont let your people
eat their tithe, youre sinning against God. Worshipper, if you present

tithes of money to some preacher, youre sinning by not tithing the

way God stipulated in his Book. If you arent buying anything your soul
lusts after to eat or drink (God said that includes wine and strong
drink) youre breaking the tithing law! I didnt put that in the Bible,
God did!
Preachers are embarrassed by that stipulation of the old tithing law.
Theyll say no decent Christian would ever keep an ordinance which
encourages drinking, but and God still wants tithing to be done THEIR
way, to conform to modern church tradition. But where did any
prophet or apostle ever give modern preachers permission to deviate
from what is explicitly commanded in Scripture and make their own
rules up for how to keep one of Gods obsolete statutes?
Desperate to justify their thievery, preachers spiritualize away parts
of scripture they cant fit into their program. The wine and strong
drink are spiritualized away as being the joy of the Holy Ghost. But it
still creates the awkward question: If the worshipper used money from
the sale of tithed produce to buy more literal food and drink, then the
same principle would apply today, if the preacher were right. Now, if
literal money replaces the food and drink tithed by the worshipper, and
the joy of the Holy Ghost replaces the wine and strong drink, then how
on earth can you spend tithe money to buy these things for your own
personal enjoyment? Sounds a little like Simon the sorcerer trying to
BUY the gift of the Holy Ghost from Peter in Acts 8:18-19. Peter didnt
agree that money could buy spiritual blessings, and unlike todays
preachers he didnt twist Gods Word for profit. Peter warned Simon
Gods judgment was at the door for even suggesting such a thing!
Todays preachers say just the opposite, that God will curse you and
your family for not giving in to THEIR demands for illicit gain.
Unscrupulous preachers of greed say they are the final authority and
the only ones qualified to teach (twist) the Word of God. Either you
listen to them and joyfully comply with their demands or youre in
rebellion against their self-appointed authority.
Circumcision was made spiritual only, in the putting off of the evil
deeds of the flesh (Col.2:11). Observance of the Sabbath Day was
made spiritual only for the Christian in making Christ our rest
(Heb.4:8-10). So why dont preachers agree that tithing is likewise
not binding on the church as an outward observance? Instead of being
forced by law to provide a certain percentage for church ministry and
the needy, this should be taken care of through freewill offerings given
WILLINGLY (2 Cor.9:7).

If Paul had taught (and enforced) tithing, he could have dined like a
king every day and never would have gone hungry. But clearly Paul
did not teach his flock to tithe, or even suggest that they should! If
tithing were an important, binding doctrine, and Paul refused to teach
tithing, even out of concern for Christians who were penniless slaves,
he stands guilty of gross negligence before God. But Paul says in Acts
28:27: I have not shunned to declare unto you ALL the counsel of
God.* * * If Paul ever commanded tithing under the New Covenant,
then SHOW ME THE SCRIPTURE! Distilling deeper doctrines out of
Scriptures to make them say what they dont say is to preaching what
dirty tricks was to Nixon. Only what is written to the Church applies
to us today.
Furthermore, Paul states in verse 33: I have coveted no mans gold, or
silver, or apparel.* * * Can YOUR preacher say that?
In 2 Cor.12:14 Paul says: Behold, the third time I am ready to come to
you; and I will not be burdensome to you: FOR I SEEK NOT YOURS,
BUT YOU: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the
parents for the children.*****A great answer to preachers who claim
monetary reward for being your spiritual father (also see Matt.23:9).
Paul just wanted to eat. Period. Paul plainly states in verse 18 that he
glories in sharing the Gospel free of charge. Paul didnt dare collect
tithes, not even legitimate agricultural tithes. Paul was a Benjamite,
not a Levite! Paul could not minister at the Jewish Temple altar. But he
could minister at Christs spiritual altar. The same can be said of us
too. Tithe teachers who seize on Pauls altar comments to prove
tithing conveniently forget were also priests serving God at His altar,
and may freely approach His Holy Presence in a way Old Covenant
saints could not do (Ex.19:12-13; Heb.4:16).
Preachers dont just holler about the curse of Malachi. In cunning
craftiness (Eph.4:14) preachers play on peoples fallen nature of
greed. They yell about the blessing believers supposedly gain by
submitting to this Old Covenant Law (Mal.3:10). The windows of
heaven WERE poured out upon faithful Old Testament tithers. But God
did not promise them a shower of diamonds, Rolexes, Jaguars, and
green manna from heaven. Windows of heaven actually refers to an
outpouring of RAIN, like it did in Gen. 7:11. Israel was an agricultural
economy. Israels climate was dry and sunny, so abundant rain was
badly needed. Why do so many Christians get stuck in one long rainy
day after returning to the Law?

Remember the last time a friend invited you to invest in his pyramid
scheme? All you wanted was an iron-clad guarantee that your life
savings wouldnt be wiped out by your leap of faith. So ask that
preacher whos tempting you to test God with your rent money: If
God doesnt turn Malachis rain water into Texas tea, are YOU gonna
reimburse me for my investment in that dead, defunct law of Moses?
Far better to follow Christ than Moses or Malachi. Read Christs own
words in Matt.4:7: Thou shalt not tempt (put to the test) the Lord thy
God.* * * Preachers dont care if you disregard Jesus clear warnings
so long as their pastures stay green. Put God to the test so they can
have the best!
The webmaster admitted that there is strong evidence that tithing is
NOT commanded in the New Covenant, but he resorted to that same
old tired tactic of guilt that all flustered tithe teachers use: question
the other guys love for Jesus. Essentially he said: Well, tithings not
exactly required, but how much do you love Jesus? Dont you love
Him enough to part with your money?
My answer to him would be: If you really loved Gods people you
wouldnt want to put the Old Law back on them to get them to prove
their love for the Jesus Who died to set them free from it. So put that
in your pipe and smoke it!
Well Mr. Preacher, if you want a few tithes, lets take a closer look at
YOUR family tree. Is Levi the Levite REALLY your great-granddaddy a
few hundred generations removed? Or did you order your genealogical
chart from Wannabe-Levites-R-Us?
Whenever preachers bind your spirit with threats out of the Old
Testament, theyre acting like satan who refused to release his
captives out of his prison house (Isa.14:17). I dont know about you,
but if I was in a church where I felt pressured to conform to some
false, unholy, oppressive doctrine which the apostles never taught
Christians in the first century, Id make like a tree and LEAVE!
*****
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