A Rebuttal of TITHE AND OFFERING
SCRIPTURES.COM
10 Reasons to Tithe!
by Russell Earl Kelly, PHD, July 20,
2015
TOS: 1. To Honor the Creator.
“Everything we have belongs to God, and we are stewards of His
goods.'”
God owns the entire world and its substance. “The earth is the
LORD’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1).”he tithe… is the
LORD’S”! (Leviticus
27:30).
Kelly: a) No Bible texts tell the Church or Gentiles to honor
the Creator by tithing. b) The HOLY tithe of Leviticus 27 and 15 other texts is
always only food from inside God’s HOLY land of Israel. c) While it is true
that God owns everything, He only accepted as legitimate tithes FOOD from His
holy land; the description never changed from Lev 27:33-34 to Mal 3:10 to Mt
23:23. d) God only commanded OT Israel to tithe to support its Levites and
priests; in the NT all believers are priests.
TOS: 2. To Acknowledge My Heritage.
“And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs
according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29).
Kelly: Not everything Abram did was
by faith. The Bible does not tell us why he gave pagan spoils of war; he could
have been obeying the law of the land.
Kelly: Jacob the plotted and set the conditions for God to bless
him. Not a good example. He was not yet Israel.
TOS: Scripture says that Levi, Abraham’s descendant and the
father of the tribe from which the priesthood came, paid tithes in Abraham (Hebrews 7:9).
Kelly: Tithes in Hebrews are used to illustrate that Christ’s
Melchizedek priesthood was superior. The tithing law of Hebrews 7:5 was changed
(7:12) by being “annulled” (7:18). It was not transferred to gospel workers.
TOS: My heritage of paying a tithe precedes the law of Moses.
Kelly: Tithes existed in most pagan cultures before Abraham.
Being old and pre-Law does not mean being an eternal moral principle; the same
is true of idolatry and child sacrifices. Abram’s pre-law pagan spoils-tithe is
not used by Moses, Malachi, Jesus or Paul to teach tithing to the church. O. T.
tithes were never used to evangelize. And non-food producers did not tithe.
TOS: 3. To Fulfill the Covenant.
Kelly: Second Corinthians 3:11 does
not teach that! Paul did not teach any Gentiles to tithe. Give me one verse in
the NT after Calvary where God commanded the Church to tithe.
TOS: The new covenant stands supreme … If
the law demanded tithes, then how much more should we who are under the
“perfect law of liberty” give our tithes willingly.
Kelly: There is no precedent for comparison. The law only
demanded tithes from Hebrew food-producers who lived inside HOLY Israel before
Calvary.
TOS: If the law is written in the fleshly tables of our hearts
and we follow God’s commands not from outward rules but because of our new
nature
Kelly: See Romans 2:14-16. That part of the Law which is eternal
for all mankind is written in the heart by nature and conscience and enlivened
by the Holy Spirit. Resting and worship are; 7th day Saturday
Sabbath is not. Sacrificial giving is: 10% is not.
Kelly: You misunderstand the nature of the law of the spirit of
Christ (Romans 8:2). The “thou shalt nots” have been replaced in new creations
by “you will obey.” You misunderstand and misuse the word “law.” Tithing was
never part of the eternal moral nature of God.
TOS: We give willingly and liberally because the Spirit
motivates us to give what God has said is His.
Kelly: Correct. Why cannot you leave it at that?
TOS: 4. To Show My Love.
Kelly: For some 40% is not sacrificial; for others 2% is sacrificial.
TOS: Someone should print a sticker that says, “If you love
Jesus, pay your tithes!”
Kelly: Jesus, Peter and Paul did not pay their tithes.
Carpenters, fishermen and tentmakers did not qualify as food-producers inside
Israel.
TOS: … the tithe is only the beginning of his giving.
Kelly: Wrong. Since non-food producers inside Israel and
everybody outside God’s HOLY land were dis qualified,
there is no precedent. Your statement is based on a false assumption.
TOS: 5. To Fulfill an Obligation.
Kelly: You are dishonest when you
omit the context of “matters of the law.” Of course Jesus did not criticize
tithe-teaching; this was before Calvary when the law was still in full effect.
Jesus would have been sinning had He not taught tithing to the Levitical
system!
TOS: … it was something they “ought” to have
done.
Kelly: “You” refers to “scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites” ---
“teachers of the Law.
TOS: To pay tithes is something every Christian ought to do.
Kelly: This is wrong. It is not taught to the Church under the
New Covenant after Calvary. Tithes primarily supported Levite servants to the
priests (Num 18:21-24; Neh 10:37b); those jobs are now down by deacons,
greeters, singers, musicians, etc. and every believer is a priests.
TOS: It is desirable for the Christian to pay his tithes, he is
expected to pay his tithes, and he has a duty to pay his tithes.
Kelly: Notice no verifying texts are given.
TOS: 6. To Escape Condemnation.
Kelly: (1) Malachi is addressed to
Old Covenant Israel and Judah (1:1). (2) It is specifically addressed to
dishonest priests (note the “you” of 1:6; 2:1 and Neh 13:5-10). It is in the
context of the Law (Mal 4:4; Neh 10:29). (3) Tithes are still only food from
inside God’s HOLY land (3:10).
TOS: How sad it is that people who are
honest in business and who pay their debts to the bank, the store, and the
government will not pay God what belongs to Him!
Kelly: How sad it is when people to teach tithing of income
increase (1) ignore the description of food, (2) ignore the context of Old
Covenant, (3) ignore the prohibition against owning property and wealth (Num
18:20) and (4)teach New Covenant stewardship from the Old Covenant.
TOS: God does not give us the authority to use His tithes for
other purposes
Kelly: The clearly-stated Old Covenant purpose was to support
the Old Covenant Levites and priests who forfeited property and wealth (Num
18:20-28). O. T. tithes were never used to support missionaries to the
Gentiles. There is no precedent.
TOS: 7. To Spread the Gospel.
“So hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel
should live of the gospel” (I Corinthians 9:14).
Kelly: This TOS writer ignores the
context of the chapter. 9:14 does not teach tithing. First Corinthians 9 is a
list of vocations with each having its own principle of support.
9:7 soldiers are paid and receive
spoils
9:7 vineyard workers also eat the
grapes
9:7 goat herders drink goat milk
9:8 mill-grinders eat from what they
grind
9-11 gospel workers deserve support
9-12 Paul refused financial support
9-13 OT temple workers received
numerous kinds of support from the Law
9-14 gospel workers deserve support
from gospel principles of grace and faith. If 9:14 only draws from 9:13 instead
of from 9:7 to 9:13, it must allow every kind of temple support into the
Church.
TOS: Tithing is God’s way of supporting
the ministry.
Kelly: No texts. Why do ministers own property and accumulate
wealth? What happened to Num 18:20?
TOS: In the New Testament, God has called people to minister the
gospel.
Kelly: Although I am in favor of full-time gospel workers
supported by New Covenant principles, the Bible does not teach that gospel
workers must be full-time and fully supported. Paul is the prime example of
this view in 1 Cor 9:12 and Acts 20:29-35.
TOS: God’s plan is for those who preach the gospel to live of
the gospel.
Kelly: From gospel principles of stewardship: freewill,
generous, sacrificial giving motivated by love.
TOS: The application of this [ox grinding] principle is that the
minister of the gospel should earn his living from his ministry. (See I Corinthians 9:9-14).
Kelly: That makes no sense whatsoever in the context of 9:12.
You have disobeying his own principle and boasting about such. Again see Acts
20:29-25.
TOS: It is a disgrace to a church if the pastor has to take a
secular job to supply his family’s needs when there should be sufficient
tithing income available to allow him to do God’s work on a full-time basis.
Kelly: Not Paul’s opinion. He worked night and day to supply his
own needs and the needs of those who helped him spread the gospel. We are not
promised a bed of roses without the thorns.
TOS: 8. To Avoid a Curse.
Kelly: Jesus removed that curse
Gal 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:
for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangs on a tree:
The blessings of OT tithing are
connected directly with the blessings of the law of which it is a part. Only
obedience to the whole law could bring tithe blessings.
Gal 3:10
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is
written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written
in the book of the law to do them.
TOS: 9. To Enjoy God’s
Blessing.
“Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… and prove me now
herewith, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it
” (Malachi
3:10). (See also Luke 6:38).
Kelly: Shame on you. You deliberately omitted with three dots “that
there may be food in my house.” HOLY tithes were always only FOOD from
Leviticus 27:30-34 to Moses in Deuteronomy to Nehemiah (10:37-38) to Jesus (Mt
23:23).
TOS: “And prove me”
Kelly: Again I urge you to ponder Galatians 3:10. The whole law
was a test, not merely tithing.
TOS: God blesses the people who pay tithes. They do not always
have the most money or the best clothes, but they are blessed.
Kelly: You are a deceiver. Is that why you deliberately omitted
the rest of the verse? Mal 3:10 “…
prove me now herewith, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the
windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to receive it.”
If tithing really worked, Christians would be the richest
persons alive and every Christian would follow their example and tithe and
become wealthy.
TOS: 10. To Be Consistent.
Kelly: I implore you, please, please,
please study Acts 20:30-35. Paul boasted that he had spent 3 years in Ephesus
not accepting any help. He told the assembled church elders to follow his
example, work and give to the needy. You, my friend, have reversed this.
TOS: How could I receive tithes and not
pay tithes?
Kelly: O.T. priests were exempted from paying tithes (Num
18:25-28). They gave freewill sacrificial offerings (Mal 1:6-14) and even then
robbed God.
Kelly: Levites were not ministers at the altar. Read Num
18:25-28.
TOS: Paying tithes will not save a person-everyone must be born
again to be saved. But paying tithes will reap a blessing.
Kelly: You have mixed together Law and Grace, the Old and New
Covenant.
Gal 3:1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently
set forth, crucified among you?
2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the
works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made
perfect by the flesh?
4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain.
Please enter open dialog with me or close your site. Be bold in
what you publicly teach.
In Christ’s love
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD
www.tithing-russkelly.com
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Leon's Reply and My Comments
Leon:
Your response is too late.
Russ:
Why? Have you died to truth?
Leon:
I have been tithing since my first job at 16 years of age.
Russ:
No. Not unless you are an O.T. Hebrew living inside Israel and tithing food.
You have never tithed at all. You probably give sacrificially and generously
but you give by a command of the law and not of grace.
Leon:
I already know the blessings of obedience to God on the issue of tithing.
Russ:
So Galatians 3:10 is not in your
Bible; better get a better version. God doesn’t bless New Covenant givers according to O.T. laws which demanded 100% obedience to all 600+ laws before blessing could come.
Bible; better get a better version. God doesn’t bless New Covenant givers according to O.T. laws which demanded 100% obedience to all 600+ laws before blessing could come.
Leon:
I know how wonderful it feels to help others through the tithe to my local
church.
Russ:
I know how wonderful it IS to give freely, sacrificially and generously out of
love for my Savior.
Leon:
I know how great it is to be part of the Great Commission through the support
on my local church through tithing.
Russ:
You have no validating text to support your claim. The O.T. tithe was never
used to send missionaries to Gentiles. You have no precedent.
Leon:
I know the blessing of seeing the homeless and suffering blessed when I tithe
to my local church.
Russ:
“Church” is not a building in the New Covenant. You should help the needy as a
joyful generous giver who loves Christ.
Leon:
Mr. Kelly your greed concerning giving and tithing is terrible.
Russ:
Now you resort to name-calling when you know nothing about my personal giving.
I probably give a larger percentage than most “tithers”.” I am just honest
enough not to call it tithing.
Leon:
Your selfishness is NOT what being a Christian is all about.
Russ:
Being a Christian is about holy boldness to know and live the truth as it is
found in context from God’s Word. Where are your texts? Are you going to enter
an open dialog with me or not?
Leon:
You are a sad case indeed.
Russ:
I am at peace with God (Rom 5:1). I am growing in my knowledge of Christ (2 Cor
3:18). I love His Word (Jn 17:17). And I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ
(Rom 1:16).
Leon:
As for me I will keep tithing and enjoying the blessings of helping others as
well as seeing God bless me because of it.
Russ:
You will keep on hiding your head in the sand and fearing to openly defend your
faith. How sad.
Leon:
You my friend will remain under the curse.
Russ:
And you my friend need to get a Bible version that does not delete Galatians
3:10-13. Spirit-filled born-again
children of God cannot be cursed. They are indwelt and sealed by the Holy Spirit.
Leon:
Russ:
Be a lion and study God’s Word.
In
Christ’s love
Russell
Earl Kelly