The last couple of weeks have been the most controversial of all. We have been talking about Disconnecting Church Contributions from Corruption, Compulsion and Curses. This teaching has been very hard for us to present because it has the potential to alienate us from so many people who have known us for many, many years.
Already, several people, in America, have dropped off our email and Daily Lifeline lists. But that's the price we must pay for touching the "sacred cows" in a person's belief system. We truly understand because we wrestled with this for several months.
We only wish that more people would simply respond like the Bereans in Acts 17, who would search the scriptures for themselves to see if the things they were being told were true. Unfortunately we know that most will simply dismiss it and drop us.
Like them, I have always thought that giving 10% of my income was the bare minimum that was required of me. I have believed it and taught it. But when we moved to Harrisburg and began studying about tithes personally, I made some astounding discoveries. The first one was that God requires 100%, not just 10%. I also discovered that the tithe was a voluntary offering before the law. It was required under the law, and it is expected, though still voluntary, under grace today.
I was then faced with a choice. I could bury what I discovered and continue to teach the same thing I always taught or I could take the risk of losing all by proclaiming what I had discovered. For the first time I understood how the apostles must have felt by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Kingdom of God. How many relationships, friendships, and connections did it cost them to associate themselves with The Way instead of staying with Judaism?
I learned that in Genesis 28, God promised Jacob, through a dream, that HE would give him the land that he was sleeping on, and that he would multiply his descendants. When Jacob woke up from the encounter, he made a vow that he would give God 10% of the land’s increase. He said, “…and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.” He was speaking of the land because that's what God had just promised to give to him.
Well, Jacob was never able to fulfill that vow before he died. There was no priest or priesthood for him to give any increase to. However, God still held up His promise and gave Jacob's descendants that Land of Promise. GOD then required Jacob’s descendants to honor their forefather’s vow by establishing in His law that they give 10% of the increase from that promised land.
Let me repeat: God established a law that Jacob’s descendants must tithe from the land in order to hold them to the vow that Jacob had made. That’s why I have been declaring that the tithe is a voluntary offering. It was a voluntary vow that Jacob made and God established it as a law in order to hold Jacob’s descendants to the vow.
From what I observed, tithing was never meant to be a practice passed on to all of mankind, for all time. God was simply holding Jacob’s descendants accountable to a voluntary vow made by their forefather Jacob.
Please hear me closely. I didn’t start this research to refute tithing. I started the research to reinforce my beliefs, but instead I was faced with this startling reality. I had been teaching in ignorance and error regarding mandatory tithing.
So today, we encourage the people of God to be generous. Actually, in the New Covenant, we owe God 100%, not just a tithe. The goal now is to do whatever HE says, whenever HE says, because our entire life, including ALL of our wealth and possessions, belong to HIM.
Just for the record: Two years ago, when we started teaching voluntary tithing at Urban Life, the giving increased and the tithing increased. Our church family became free to worship God with the fruit of their labor without compulsion or fear of curses.
I think back to when I was growing up and how I was always exploring things in minute detail. That’s why I did so well in Biology and Chemistry in high school. Little did I know that the Lord would show me little details in the scriptures that we often overlook in order to hold on to our doctrinal positions.
All I can say is that we didn’t ask to come into this knowledge and revelation. We’re not striving to be controversial, special or cutting edge. We just want to be faithful to God and to His people. The same holds true with this teaching.
We welcome any correction that would come, if we are way off with this, but the mounting evidence has shown that all of the offerings of worship, including money, were meant to be voluntary expressions from our hearts, not commanded or connected to a curse.
Every Bible scholar will tell you that at the cross, ALL of the mandatory sacrifices and the money offerings associated with them, were wiped away. All that remained were the voluntary offerings of personal dedication, devotion, thanksgiving and fellowship. However, these offering are still expected to be presented to God.
We do all that we do, simply because we love GOD.
He who the son sets free, is free indeed!
