Femi Aribisala: Every pastor who collects tithes is a thief
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).
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