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Introduction

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Mitchell has a friend whom he has known for several years.  This friend has been homeless, in and out of hospitals, on and off drugs and alcohol, is HIV-positive, has overcome a few bouts of pneumonia, and at times is plagued with thoughts of suicide.  Further, before they were married, Mitchell's wife, Tracy, was a single mother raising a son.  At one point, she needed assistance with her utilities.

These are just two personal examples of people needing help.  To see others in need, one needs only to look around at the harsh realities of today: low income families; minimum wage occupations; widespread hunger; children having babies, having to work too young, or being undernourished; unemployment; the elderly and rising medical costs; various sicknesses and diseases; disaster victims and refugees; and the homeless.

How are such problems solved today?  Who are the caretakers?  The problems are overwhelming and lead many to believe that it is the responsibility of each government to resolve. Solutions in the United States, whether good or bad, include Medicaid, food stamps, Red Cross, child and family services, Social Security, welfare, private charities and other federally funded programs.  Regardless of the number of programs or charitable organizations that exist, the poor will always be among us (Deut. 15:11; Matt. 26:11) and in need of basic human necessities.

The problems listed above should, foremost, be the responsibility of the Christian community (Matt. 22:37-40; Rom. 15:25-26; Gal. 2:10; Jas. 2:15-16).  Despite Tracy's membership and monetary support of her local church, she was told that her church did not help people with monetary needs.  She was actually told to seek another church nearby for that kind of help!  And although Mitchell's friend received some assistance from the local church, the church was not able to supply all of his needs.

Christians should help with activities that actually provide for people. Furthermore, the Christian community should put itself in a position to help those in need in the name of Jesus. Instead of taking direction from others, Christians should take the lead, organize, and make things happen. This is not to imply that God's people should not help through participation in government or secular programs, but their primary outreach ministry should come from within, as members of the body of Christ.

Regrettably, new covenant teachings are overlooked for old covenant practices, thus limiting both Christian responsibility and freedom due to the church's regulated rules for giving.  Christians traditionally give monetary tithes and offerings to the local church.  As a result of the rules and obligations of monetary tithing placed upon Christians, some find that they are in the unfortunate position of not being able to fulfill their desire to support those in need.

Ironically, Christians are taught to let the Spirit guide their walk in Christ, yet they are given rules to guide them when it comes to their giving.  Goodness and kindness are identifying traits of the fruit of the Spirit.  Galatians 5:22-23 makes it clear that the fruit of the Spirit cannot be regulated because against such there is no law.  Consequently, the old covenant tithing ritual should not be used to govern Spirit-led giving.  Today, it is not possible to fully walk in the Spirit in the area of giving, while following modified rules and regulations of old covenant tithing.

All too often tithing Christians accuse other Christians of not obeying the whole Bible simply because they do not give tithes and offerings to a local church. Accusations are made, sometimes with love and sometimes with hostility, such as, "Do you believe the whole Bible, or just the parts you want to believe?" or, "You will be cursed for robbing God of His tithe." What some people fail to realize is that tithes and offerings, as defined in the Bible, have nothing to do with Christian giving. Neither do old covenant practices have anything to do with the call of Christians to love one another. Tithes and offerings have a purpose for those under the law. According to the Bible, however, supporting one another is handled in a completely different way under the new covenant.

The issues addressed in this book do not discourage the church from securing financial support from Christians to support those in need (Acts 2:41-45; 4:32-35; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; 2 Cor. 8:1-11).  Indeed, the church requires money to support itself and its outreach ministries, and should encourage its local members to provide accordingly.  The issues of interest, however, are those involving the method used to collect the money - through monetary tithes and offerings - and its impact on corporate and individual responsibility.

Several areas of interest are covered in relation to true Christian economics.  (Christian economics, responsibility, and stewardship, are used interchangeably throughout this book.)  More specifically, the issues addressed in this book that adversely affect the responsibility of Christian giving include:

Based on the issues covered, the authors' goal is that the reader will learn and apply biblical truths surrounding the responsibility of Christian giving.  More specifically, it is the authors' intention that every reader will realize: 1) the true calling of Christians, 2) that tithing is not for Christians, 3) that Christians are free from the old covenant laws and therefore are free to give, 4) that Christians should call their giving what it is, and 5) that Christians need to return to the ways of the early church.

The True Calling of Christians

Many people in today's church believe that tithing is the only way to give to the local church and that giving to the local church is the only way to determine their own level of godliness or faith.  In fact, some pastors teach that a person's spiritual growth is determined by simply looking at whether or not monetary tithes are given.  This ideology distorts the meaning of Christian responsibility.  In addition, it prevents church support on a much larger scale since material blessings of all kinds should be shared with one another (1 Jn. 3:16-17).

The true calling of Christians is, in fact, to focus on giving to those in need.  "The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these" (Mk. 12:31).  "The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’ " (Gal. 5:14).  "Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2).

This book covers the call to love thy neighbor as it relates to Christian responsibility under the new covenant.  In particular, it shows that the priority is, in fact, to give out of one's abundance, to those in need.  When giving to the needy, one is actually giving unto Jesus (Matt. 25:35-40).

To Tithe or Not to Tithe

Although the church needs financial support, it should not be at the expense of the needy or sound doctrine.  Unfortunately, the problem of careless biblical interpretation has led to traditional giving based on isolated portions of the tithing ritual.  Christians in the Bible did not give tithes and offerings (and for those that disagree, this very idea provided additional motivation for writing this book).  Furthermore, in the Book of Acts, although Christians did not tithe, there were no needy persons among them.  This book explains how to work towards this goal today, and ends the assumption that 'not giving tithes' automatically means 'giving less than 10 percent.'  This book points out that some Christians who are not tithers provide much more financial support to the church, and to one another, than people who claim to tithe.

When non-tithing Christians respond to the will of God in meeting the needs of fellow Christians - as well as others - they are actually giving to the church.  Not giving to the local church every paycheck should not be confused with not giving to the living church.

The Freedom to Give

It is necessary to change the mindset concerning the present stipulations put on when and why to give, since these stipulations alter and overshadow the true meaning and motivations of giving (2 Tim. 2:15).  The priority of Christian giving today revolves around supporting the local church rather than supporting the needy.  This limits the spontaneity of the cheerful giver, and keeps the Spirit of Christ within some Christians captive to superficial and unbiblical practices.  In order to unleash the charitable heart of the Spirit-led Christian, this book uncovers the hidden truths behind tithing and the consequences of biblical misinterpretation.  Once these truths are revealed, the limitations of tithing will be lifted and the grace of giving will be realized.

This book continues by showing that Christians are free from the rules of monetary tithes and offerings.  Searching God's word reveals that Christians did not tithe anything in the Bible, and therefore, should not be mandated to tithe anything in today's churches.  This book shows how giving is done freely, liberally, and without strings or human standards attached, thus, allowing Christians to mature spiritually.  Although done freely, giving is not performed in chaos or without some form of order.  In fact, Christian giving is handled responsibly.

This book provides support for non-tithing Christians who believe grace giving is 'mandatory to support the real church,' as opposed to monetary tithes and offerings as being 'mandatory to support the four-walled church' (the institutionalized form of church that most Christians attend on a weekly basis).  The giving that Christians do for the local church should be the 'desire' of the one giving the gift (2 Cor. 9:7) and not a 'requirement' of the one receiving the gift based on some measurable standard.

Call Your Giving What It Is

The Bible does not refer to Christian giving as a form of tithing, therefore, Christians should not refer to their financial support as tithing either.  Instead, the Bible refers to Christian donations as acts of grace or simply, giving (2 Cor. 8:1-7).

If Christians call their giving something other than what it is, someone may apply stipulations where none belong.  For example, suppose Christians call their giving something like 'driving' instead.  This would seem harmless if everyone knew that 'driving' only meant 'giving.'  However, someone will come along and demand Christians to obey speed limits and get regular tune-ups because of their 'driving' habits.  The problem here is obvious, in that speed limits and tune-ups relate to driving, but they do not relate to the act of giving.  Therefore, Christian giving should not be done in the name of 'driving,' otherwise, additional, non-related rules will be applied to their giving.

Similarly, if the Christian community calls its financial support to the church 'tithing,' someone can and will place additional rules on its giving.  As a result, some of the rules and regulations associated with tithing are attached to what should be an act of grace. This is what is happening in today's church.  For instance, people who want to give as they have decided in their heart to give are now told they will be cursed for not giving 10 percent of their income to the local church - all because their monetary gifts are called 'tithes.'

Applying old covenant rules and regulations to what should be Spirit-led acts, such as giving to the church, is what concerns the authors and furthers the need for writing this book.  In order to end the confusion surrounding Christian giving, Christians must first stop calling their giving by the name of tithing and call it what it is - grace giving.

A Return to the Early Church

There is a need to return to the charity work of the early church.  In the Book of Acts, for example, Christians held charity events, selling some of their possessions from time to time, and giving their money to anyone in need.  When money was collected, it was dispersed accordingly.  All of the believers were one in heart and mind, and they shared everything they had. As a result, there were no needy persons among them.  Our churches need to learn from the Christians in the Book of Acts how to work towards the goal of having no needy people among us!

Christians must reverse the trend of traditional giving.  They must move towards that of loving thy neighbor if they are to reach the level of grace prevalent throughout the early church.  Contrary to the traditional viewpoints of progress in today's society, Christianity is in a position that in order to move forward, it must first move backwards - back to the charity work of the early church.

In order to understand certain parts of this book, a distinction must be made among the phrases 'tithes and offerings,' 'supporting the local church,' and 'supporting the needy (our neighbor).'  When the book refers to 'supporting the local church,' or 'supporting the needy,' it means doing so in a manner outside of tithes and offerings.  For example, this support could be a fund raiser, a food or clothing drive, or a monetary gift or donation. When 'tithes and offerings' are mentioned in this book, it is in keeping with the definitions found in Chapters 3 and 4.

When reading that Christians should not tithe, do not assume that it means to stop giving to the Lord or supporting the local church.  These two concepts are completely unrelated.  The relationship between tithing and giving to support the tabernacle, the Levites, the church, and our neighbor in need, are all explained in this book.  For emphasis, it should be clear from the beginning that supporting the local church is a good work and should continue, but through grace, as led by the Holy Spirit, and with the correct priorities in place.