It should not come as a surprise that churches use Malachi 3 as their justification for tithing. There are plenty of OT references to tithing, particularly in the Pentaneuch, but Malachi has several important features going for it that cements its place as the Law passage par extraordinaire on tithing. We will look at the issue of giving under the Covenant of Law and then under the Covenant of Grace.
The issue of tithing begins in Leviticus 27. This passage is during the time where Moses is laying down the Law, with Blessings and Curses depending on Obedience or Disobedience to the Law. Numbers 18 is more law as Aaron is given instruction as a priest on the collection for God. Deuteronomy 12 and 14 provide more of the same, particularly the latter portion of 14. Deuteronomy 26 is yet another exhortation to tithe. By this time, as we come to the end of the Pentaneuch, it is clear that the tithe is a clear and important portion of the temple Law, even though it does not appear in the Ten Commandments specifically.
Is there a difference between the rabbinical Law and the Commandments? Rabbinical Law refers to the over 600 other laws contained within the Torah concerning ceremonial law, social law and ethical law. When Jesus says that he did not come to erase one dot of the Law in Matthew 5:18, to which is He referring? Most likely He meant all of it. Notice the way He ends verse 18: until all is accomplished. This clearly means that there is an end point. Many will understand that He is talking about His death, resurrection and ascension. But what many miss is that He is also talking about the Law. The Law must be fulfilled, accomplished, in order that His sacrifice is complete and ultimately sufficient for all of His elect. After the Law is fulfilled, and His work on the cross is completed, there will be a New Covenant in effect, instead of the Covenant of Law. At that point, the rabbinical Law will serve no purpose.
The types and shadows of the OT were always intended to point towards the coming of the messiah. The sacrificial system was set up as a model to help us recognize and understand the work on the cross. Once we have the true sacrifice, the old sacrificial system, with its temple and rabbinical laws, is no longer required. The Commandments, however, are a different matter. Love God and Love your neighbor sound simple enough. But as we have discussed before, the measure of Love is Law to the Nth power. Therefore, the loss of rabbinical law, while leaving us with less specific instruction, actually imposes a far greater responsibility upon Christians.
Giving, as described in the OT sacrificial system, is logically ended, as useless and meaningless as the temple. The fact that so many churches today discuss tithing and giving in terms of rabbinical law is nothing less than Judaizing. The whole model for giving is completely different in light of the New Covenant of Grace in Christ Jesus. The Malachi 3 appeal to stealing from God, complete with blessings and curses, is exactly from what the New Covenant liberates us in terms of the Covenant of Law. To apply threats of this sort is clearly Law and not Grace. This is not the motivation for giving that appears in the New Testament.
Looking at Paul’s appeal to the Corinthians we see, intermixed with some arm twisting, the New Covenant ideas on giving. The main issue here is that the two ledgers of the Law still exist, but we obey the Law in a different context. After being liberated from the bondage of sin and from the Covenant of Law, we subsequently obey the Law out of obedience to Christ in gratitude for our Salvation through His gift of Grace.
The two ledgers of the Law then are Love God and Love your neighbor. Luther said that we have nothing to give that God needs, so give to your neighbor. The point here is not that the church is unimportant, the point is relative to the OT sacrificial system. The needs in this world should be met as they are identified. At times, need will best be met by contributions to church. But the needs that are met directly, outside the context of church, are no less important or less valid in the eyes of God. The parable of the Good Samaritan begs this point.
The mood of the giver is described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9 as cheerful. It is important to understand the barter system described here. Many times this reward received by the giver is twisted to mean worldly wealth. The prosperity gospel that we have all heard reeks of this misrepresentation. The idea of sowing a seed that returns worldly wealth is abused nightly on some programs and networks. This has been described as a false gospel Ponzi scheme. The true reward for the cheerful giver is the certain knowledge that his eternal status with Christ is assured. While it is true that these rewards are certain for the true believer, it is the true believer who will by definition be that cheerful giver. There is no category for a true believer who does not demonstrate the fruits of the spirit, such as being a cheerful giver. There is no category of antinomianism in Paul’s mind.
While Paul says much about giving in 2 Corinthians 8, let’s focus on verse 9.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
This statement is as much about redemptive history and the mission of Christ Jesus as it is about giving. This is a clear statement of the Covenant of Grace. Christ was rich in that He was in heaven on His throne seated with the Father and the Holy Spirit and then condescended to become human, thus He became poor, placing Himself under the Covenant of Law so that, by His Grace and perfection, the Covenant of Law might be fulfilled, thereby making His elect rich in the fullness of His righteousness, heirs to His eternal kingdom. The fullness of His poverty was in His suffering and death upon the Cross. The fullness of our richness is realized on Easter at His resurrection, foretelling the measure of our inheritance in Christ on the Last Day.
And so we live, as resurrection people, as members of the New Covenant in Christ Jesus, rich in the knowledge of our inheritance, giving generously and cheerfully in this world, hopeful only for the opportunity to offer the Gospel to our neighbor as we aid him in his worldly needs.
Finally, there is the issue of giving to the church, or when the opportunity presents itself, or both. There is no doubt that the NT model for the church includes an office that proclaims the Word to its people, and administers the sacraments to His people. This office is variously called preachers, priests or pastors. While it can be argued that all of us have some responsibility to evangelize in accordance with the Great Commission, it is this office of preacher that must be honored and maintained. When a preacher speaks on the Word of God faithfully, it is as if God Himself were speaking, directly imparting His Grace on the congregation. The maintenance of this office is the primary purpose of giving to the church. Whether ministries of various types are the specific calling of the church is for another conversation, but in so far as preaching the Word and administration of the Sacraments in concerned, there can be no doubt that the corporate entity of the church requires our support.
There is no specific reference to tithing in terms of New Covenant giving. The expectation of Paul is that such a legal application is unnecessary to New Covenant members. So, give cheerfully, and Love your neighbor; not because it is commanded, but rather because it is what you will logically want to do.
--Ogre--
No comments:
Post a Comment