"A Christian's response on Tithing"
by Tom Atkinson
April 2, 2007Dear Mr. Jernigan,
My name is Tom Atkinson. A year ago I heard your message on tithing. Immediately afterward I drafted the letter that follows this introductory paragraph, but I decided not to give it to you without thoroughly researching the subject of Christian giving. This eventually became an article titled, “How Should We Then Give? A Look At Tithing Versus New Covenant Giving.” My prayer is that you would receive this information in the spirit of brotherly love and encouragement. Because God has placed you in such an influential position I beg you to please read this material and carefully consider its biblical accuracy.
Of all the messages I’ve ever heard on the subject, yours, at least, was consistent biblically. I mean, because tithing was part of the Old Testament Law it was attendant with blessings and curses. In quoting Malachi 3:8-10 you demonstrated an awareness of the connection in the Law between withholding one’s tithe from God and His curse. All others whom I have heard teach on tithing have always omitted that crucial point. The only problem was that the people you were speaking to were not Jews living from the time of Mt. Sinai until the cross, but Christians! I believe that your message on tithing was actually a serious distortion of the gospel of Christ, injurious to the saints, and a discredit to your ministry and Christian ministry in general.
Two critical facts apparently escaped your mind that day: First, that Christ became a curse for us so that we might not be cursed! Clearly, the gospel insists that “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles…” (Gal. 3:13-14) Truly, to have clearly intimated that a son of God, sanctified and perfected forever by “the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:10,14), can be subject to the curse of God by failing to keep a point of the Mosaic Law—namely, the tithe—is to misunderstand the gospel at its most elementary level! Moreover, placing believers justified by faith in Christ under the Law and its curse has a “disturbing” and “troubling” influence on them according to Galatians 1:7 and 5:12. Such a “different” and “distorted” gospel when disseminated not only does harm to the individual believer but to the church at large. (See Paul’s outrage in Gal. 1:6-9) The Christian conscience, cleansed of “a consciousness of sins” by Christ’s “one sacrifice for sins for all time” (Heb. 10:2,12) is defiled when under any Law of Moses! Furthermore, as far as God’s “blessing” is concerned, are we not “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3)? Does not God provide us with our “every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus”? —Not because we obey Moses, but because we are in His Son!
Secondly, you apparently failed to consider that Christ’s blood inaugurated a New Covenant, nullifying the Law of Moses that included the tithe (Hebrews 7:12,18-19; 8:6-13; 10:9,15-16). Set forth in Hebrews 10:9 is a basic but substantive New Testament truth: “’Lo, I come to do Your will, Oh, God.’ He takes away the first [i.e. Mosaic Law Covenant] that He may set up the second [i.e. New Covenant]…” This helps to explain why—as the New Covenant is superior to the Old Covenant—the New Covenant method of giving is superior to tithing (see 2 Cor. 3:6-11; chapters 8-9; Hebrews 7:22; 8:6).
Moreover, your message was the epitome of what Paul sought so hard to guard against—the discrediting of his ministry (2 Cor. 6:3-10). He went to great lengths, even working with his own hands (see Acts 18:3; 20:33-35; 1 Cor. 4:12; 9:12-15; 1 Thess. 2:9-10) to prevent others from accusing him of seeking financial or material gain from ministering to the saints. But what I witnessed on April 2nd was a shameless appeal for money for a new multimillion-dollar church building in a neighboring town—even to the extent of suggesting to God’s adopted sons that they were subject to Moses’ Law and its curse, in order to compel them to give! In short, the kind of thing for which you were compelling the saints to “tithe” belongs to an unknown category in the New Testament, and burdensome. Paul diligently strove to not burden the saints, but can you honestly say that you share Paul’s heart in this matter? Consider the following: “For you recall, brethren, our labor and hardship, how working night and day so as not to be a burden to any of you, we proclaimed to you the gospel of God. You are witnesses, and so is God, how devoutly and uprightly and blamelessly we behaved toward you believers… (1 Thess. 2:9-10) The same concern of Paul can be seen in 1 Timothy 5:16 where the Apostle seeks to prevent the saints’ money from going to widows who already have believing relatives to help them: “If any believing man or woman has [dependent] widows, let them relieve them, and do not burden the church, that it may relieve those who are widows indeed.” So how do you imagine Paul would view the unnecessary financial burden placed on the saints to build and maintain the physical facilities of Central Christian, not to mention the additional weight of the new multi-million dollar “church”?
Nevertheless, the common denominator is that people, not things, are to be the object of all New Covenant giving! The majority of passages show it to be Christians giving to Christians in need (Matt. 25:34-40; Acts 6:1 and 11:27-30; Rom. 12:13 and 15:26-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8:4 and 9:1,12,13; Eph. 4:28; 1 Tim. 5:16; James 2:14-16; 1 John 3:16-18). Several passages also encourage believers to give to “elders” and itinerants who serve humbly as faithful guides and teachers of the Word (Matt. 10:10; Luke 10:7; 1 Cor. 9:4-14; Gal. 6:6; 2 Thess. 3:7-9; 1 Tim. 5:17-18; 2 Tim. 2:6). The Lord also wants us to give to those in need who cross our path (Luke 6:29-30; 10:25-37). But the NT knows nothing of giving to a burdensome ecclesiastical infrastructure—large buildings, expensive building projects, maintenance, and staff salaries. It is certainly not the true church gathering from house to house referred to in the New Testament or the persecuted church seen throughout history. Furthermore, monies donated toward these institutional entities subtract significantly from the funds available to the saints to give to those sanctioned by Scripture!
I was glad to find that the church has in place a “Benevolence Ministry…to assist families during a financial crisis on a limited basis.” However, as your brochure admits, “there are a large number of requests that need to be handled,” and those in financial need may have to wait “between one to two weeks” to get an appointment with a church representative. But according to the word of God this is precisely where the church’s giving should primarily be going! So I suggest that this “ministry to the saints” (2 Cor. 9:1) be where the church focuses its money!
I sure hope this letter doesn’t fall on deaf ears. What you have done can be easily rationalized. Saul, the first King of Israel, also did what he thought was right in not putting to death the best of the sheep and oxen of the Amalekites (1Sam. 15:3-28), in order to have them “to sacrifice to the Lord.” Samuel’s reply to Saul’s religious rationalization was, “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams…” God then tore the kingdom of Israel away from Saul. I urge you to be humble and repentant of the “contrary gospel” you delivered on April 2nd to God’s beloved people—hopefully out of ignorance.
In closing, let it be remembered that it was the Lord Jesus Christ whose blood set men free from the Law’s curse in order for them to exult in the grace of God and to live out a far greater righteousness under a New and “better” Covenant—a righteousness that includes a better form of giving. I’m hoping that you, or someone after you, will lead God’s people accordingly so that messages in the future will reflect the higher standard of giving as set forth by the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles.
Because of His mercies,
Tom Atkinson
Mesa, Arizona