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Posted on August 28, 2007 by tithing | Posted under Religion
The Tithe Principle
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First, let's define a tithe. A tithe is giving 10% of one's increase towards the work of God. There can be many other paths that lead off of this definition, but this is the broadest explanation of the tithe that most people adhere to today. So, let's define a principle. While looking up the dictionary definition, one of the statements in there really stood out as it said, "a fundamental, primary, or general law or truth from which others are derived". This is a good interpretation of what a principle is. If we read Romans 13:9,10 you can see this definition played out in different words, "For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery," “You shall not murder," “You shall not steal," “You shall not bear false witness," “You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law." In this example we can see that "love" is a good defining word for "principle". Many other commandments or laws can be summed up or fulfilled in just one law - love. Therefore love is the principle, and all the other commands are the actions that stem off of this concept. So let's get back to tithing. Does it make sense that the tithe is called a principle? Can we put the definition, "a truth from which others are derived" in the same sentence as tithing? No other truth has tithing as its basis. So in turn, tithing is the action that stems off of some other concept, and is not a principle. What is the principle behind tithing then? In other words, a principle can be defined by a purpose. What is the purpose behind tithing? In my view the purpose is generosity, sacrifice, faith, love, grace. Many other truths can be summed up in these words alone, along with tithing. Tithing is just a mere action, by which we can show a purpose. In the Old Testament, tithing was also a command given by God through the Mosaic law. It's purpose was to teach the Israelites principles of generosity, faith, love, and grace. But outside the Mosaic law and under the new covenant, there is no command to tithe. We've already ruled out the possibility of it being an eternal principle. So what actions should new testament Christians take to continue our support for these principles? There is no better way to answer our actions than by looking at the book of Acts. In the opening of the book, Acts 1:2 states, "[Jesus]He through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles". Jesus did not give the disciples commands through the Mosaic law. He had given them through the authority of the Spirit. Our actions are still held responsible to a higher power and are not left to interpretation of principles and how they should be carried out bu us. God gave us his Spirit to teach old principles through different commands the same way my soccer coach taught me principles of ball control through different drills. Each command that we are given from his Spirit is like a new drill that teaches us the same principle. God wants to teach us how to control our money through the drills from our spiritual coach. The old covenant and Mosaic law are no longer in charge of coaching his people, but this does not mean that God's principles are gone, or changed. Because God never changes. About The Author: Copyright 2007 Jared has many resources about the tithe on his website. http://churchtithesandofferings.com |
Tags: TITHE, TITHING, PRINCIPLES, SPIRIT
