Nigeria – Popular political analyst and
social commentator, Femi Aribisala, in an article has branded pastors who
collect tithes as thieves.
As far as many pastors are
concerned, the most important scripture of all is not to be found in the word
of Jesus. Neither is it even in the New Testament. That scripture says: “‘Bring
all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and try
me now in this,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the
windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be
room enough to receive it.’” (Malachi 3:10).
This scripture is drummed
repeatedly into Christians on Sundays. However, the only time Jesus mentioned
tithing in scripture, he pointed out that it was not a weighty matter of the
law. (Matthew 23:23). Hebrews says people only receive tithes “according to the
law.” (Hebrews 7:5). It then insists tithing (and everything else under the
law) has been annulled: “The former regulation is set aside because it was weak
and useless.” (Hebrews 7:18-19). Nevertheless, mercenary pastors continue to
insist on the payment of tithes.
Latter-day pharisees
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for
keeping part instead of the whole law. (Matthew 23:23). That is what
tithe-collecting pastors do today. If we insist our congregants must pay
tithes, we must also insist that they keep the rest of the law. James says:
“Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty
of all.” (James 2:10). Therefore, if we insist on tithing, we should also
refrain from eating pork. We should stone adulterers, execute homosexuals, kill
Sabbath violators and restore blood-sacrifices.
Tithe-collecting pastors counter
this by maintaining the payment of tithes pre-dated the law. Here Abraham is
cited as the cardinal example of someone who paid tithes before the
promulgation of the Law of Moses, as did Jacob, his grandson. However, such
arguments are disingenuous.
Before the law, tithing was at
best an example but not a commandment. Moreover, pastors fail to mention that
Abraham only tithed once in his lifetime. When he did, he did not even tithe
his own money: he tithed the spoils of war. He gave ten percent of the plunder
he took when he rescued Lot to Melchisedec, king of Salem. But then he did not
even keep the rest but returned it (all ninety percent) to the king of Sodom.
For his part, Jacob also tithed
only once. He did this in a “let’s make a deal” arrangement he offered to God:
“Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me, and keep me in this way
that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I
come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And
this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that
you give me I will surely give a tenth to you.’” (Genesis 28:20-22). This kind
of deal about accepting God only under certain self-serving conditions should
certainly not be a term of reference for any serious believer.
Lies upon lies
The first lie pastors tell
Christians is what some have referred to as “the eleventh commandment:” “Thou
shalt pay thy tithes to thy local church.” But the bible says no such thing.
The storehouse of Malachi was not a church. It was a place where food was kept.
Pastors hide from church-members
the fact that money was not acceptable as tithe. The tithe was a tenth of the
seed and fruit of the land and of the animals which ate of the land. (Leviticus
27:30-32). That is why God says: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
that there may be FOOD in my house.” (Malachi 3:10). He does not say “that
there may be MONEY in my house.” The food was used to feed the Levites, the
poor, widows, orphans and strangers.
Pastors also conveniently fail to
teach the biblical tithe. The principles of tithing were not laid down by
Malachi. They were laid down by Moses. The study of Moses’ guidelines quickly
reveals that the biblical tithe has no application whatsoever to Christians and
is mischievously violated by tithe-collecting pastors today.
According to the Law of Moses,
the tithe was divided into three allocations. The first year, it was given to
the Levite. The second year, it was given to widows, orphans and the poor. The
third year, it was eaten in the company of the faithful before the Lord as
thanksgiving for his faithfulness. (Deuteronomy 14:22-28). In the seventh year,
there was no planting and no reaping and therefore no tithing.
So the next time your pastor asks
you to pay tithe, ask him about the seventh-year reprieve. Also ask him if you
can give your tithe to the orphanage, or bring it as food items to be eaten in
church. Believe me; he will not agree with you because it is your money he is
after.
Inapplicability of tithes
Tithing was only applicable to
Jews and to the land of Israel. When large populations of Jews lived in
Babylon, Ammon, Moab, Egypt, and Syria, these lands became tithe-able lands.
However, tithes were not acceptable from strictly Gentile lands. So you need to
ask your pastor how come he is collecting tithes in Nigeria.
Servants or slaves who worked on
the land did not tithe because the land did not belong to them. Since only
agricultural and animal resources were included, a fisherman gave no tithe of
his fisheries. Neither did a miner or a carpenter pay tithes, nor anyone from
the various professional occupations. So if you are not a farmer or a keeper of
livestock, tell your 419 pastor tithing is biblically inapplicable to you.
Moreover, the only people
authorised to receive tithes were the Levites. (Hebrews 7:5). So if your Pastor
is a “tithe-collector,” ask him if he happens to be a Jew. Remind him that,
even though a Jew, Jesus could not receive the tithe because he was not from
the tribe of Levi but from that of Judah.
The trick, of course, is for
pastors today to claim we are “Levites.” If your pastor is one such dissembler,
ask him if he lives as a Levite. Remind him that Levites had no land and did
not have private property. Ask him also how he knows he is from the tribe of
Levi, which happens to be one of the lost tribes of Israel. Point out to him
that even Jewish rabbis don’t claim to be Levites today because all Jewish
genealogical records were lost with the destruction of the Temple in AD 70,
ensuring that it is no longer possible to ascertain the true identity of
Levites.
Therefore, if Jews no longer
tithe because the Levites are a lost tribe, how can Christian pastors collect
tithes when we are not even Jewish, how much more Levites? If Jewish rabbis,
whose terms of reference remain the Old Testament no longer collect tithes,
then pastors who insist Christians are under a New Testament have no business
doing so.
The conclusion then is
inescapable. Every pastor who collects tithes is nothing but “a thief and a
robber.” (John 10:1).
You have quoted the writer, now, what is your view on this article? Are you telling Christians to stop paying tithe with immediate effect?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the real point in this article?
ReplyDeleteDoes the author suggest that pastors should not encourage church members to support the ministry financially or is he disturbed by the word “tithe”?
By the way, is Femi Aribisala writing this article as Christian theologian? An activist? An atheist? A Christian? A Muslim? A journalist?
What is he proposing as the biblical solution? Should Christians contribute less than 10%, more than 10%, whatever they wish to give, nothing?
Fighting tithes without proposing a more biblical way of supporting the advancement of the Great Commission is contribution nothing the Christian family (assuming that the author wants the good of the church)
Please whoever proposed this article here…do a thorough research (beyond what Femi Aribisala and his websites are telling us about him)…
If we know who this man is and from which perspective he is writing, then readers will react accordingly…
By the way, we all know that we have out there many ‘so called pastors’ or ‘mighty men or women of God’ who are not different from ordinary thieves, robbers… They use unethical techniques like manipulation or pure lies in order to obtain money mostly spent in selfish and ambitions like building personal fame and pay other bills that have nothing to do with God’s work. If (and only if) Femi Aribisala was talking about these false prophets (we have a number of them proponent of the prosperity gospel made in USA, rebranded and improved by Nigerians to fit the tough African harsh financial environment, then exported to Kenya and the rest of the world)…if he was talking of these people (fortunately they are very few and their prey are the ignorant Christians)…then the author is biblically sound… because we read…“Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Matthew 7:15.
In the opinion of most of us, the problem is not how you call the contribution given to the church or how big or small it is…the real problem that needs to be addressed is something else. What is that something else in your opinion???