I have no problem with anyone giving a tenth (or more) of their income to their local church as long as it their choice to do so.

As some of you know, I have proven that the contents of the tithe was never money within the pages of scripture. Under the law, it was always food provision from the herds and the crops within the boarders of the land of Israel.

Yet modern day tithe teachers (and I used to be one of them) have taken the holy tithe and changed it into something it never was in scripture, but I’ll play along.

I’ll play along as if it is OK to change the contents of the tithe from food to money, and will demonstrate how modern day tithe teachers are still guilty of teaching it with their own made up doctrine. I was once a tithe teacher with my own made up doctrine, but I repented and now teach it Biblically.

I want to address three points you would be quick to learn if you if you were to sit under the teachings of a staunch supporter of the modern day doctrine of tithing.

1. The tithe is the first tenth.
2. The tithe is never to be used on yourself.
3. Everyone is required to give a tenth of their income, no matter who they are.

FIRST POINT – the tithe is the first tenth

The tithe is taught that it is the FIRST tenth, but what does the Bible say? Consider the following from the book of Leviticus.

And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord. ~ Leviticus 27:32

Notice, in this text the tithe came from the herd or the flock, but I’m playing along and we are pretending it can be changed into money.

Notice that this text says, “the tenth.” It does not say the first of ten. It literally means the tenth one. Consider other translations for clarity:

For every tithe of the herd or flock, whatever passes under the [shepherd’s] staff, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. ~ Amplified Bible

And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord. ~ New King James Version

Count off every tenth animal from your herds and flocks and set them apart for the Lord as holy. ~ The New Living Translation

As we can see, it was not the first of ten which was the tithe, it was the tenth one out of every ten. The animals which were designated as the tithe came after the seventh, eighth, and ninth ones. If a man had 23 animals, the tenth one and the 20th one, was his tithe.

When modern day tithe teachers claim that the first dollar of every ten you earn is not yours, but is the tithe, they are still wrong, even if it were OK to change the contents of the tithe from food to money.

Most tithe teachers appeal to the offering of first fruits and blend it into their tithe teaching, but the first fruits offering and the tithe were two entirely separate things in scripture. This is why it is so very important to study the scriptures, and rightly divide the Word of truth.

SECOND POINT – the tithe is never to be used on yourself.

Now we will consider the teaching that the tithe is to always be given to the local church and the tither has no right to use it on himself. If it were OK to change the contents of the tithe from food to money, this would still be an unbiblical doctrine, because God commanded the tither to use his tithe on himself during the feasts of the Lord.

The festival tithe was to be consumed by the individual worshiper during the three yearly festivals in Jerusalem (Deuteronomy 12:1-19; 14:22-26). The following words refer to the festival tithe:

Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away), then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the Lord your God will choose. Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the Lord your God and rejoice. And do not neglect the Levites living in your towns, for they have no allotment or inheritance of their own. ~ Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Have you ever heard anyone who teaches monetary tithing tell the people to take their tithes and go spend it on themselves and rejoice in the presence of the Lord?

Why not?

Why shouldn’t the monetary tithers in local churches be able to periodically take their tithe and spend it on themselves and get refreshed in the Lord?

Why do the tithe teachers demand that none of it be used on the tither, when under the Law, one of the uses of the tithe was for the tither?

Was there more grace for the tither under the Law than under the teachings of the modern day tithe teachers?

THIRD POINT – everyone is required to give a tenth from their income, no matter who they are.

Was everyone required to tithe under the law? No they weren’t.

Only those who owned land, and raised crops, and had livestock, were commanded to tithe. The poor and the foreigners were not required to tithe. They were the recipients of the holy tithe.

Let that sink in.

The poor (widows, orphans), and the foreigners living within the boarders of Israel were “recipients of the tithe.”

In fact, a person who was a Gentile from another country could not possibly bring a tithe to the temple because it would be unholy to offer, as a tithe, that which was not raised and grown within the holy land of Israel.

If we are going to change the contents of the tithe from food to money, we ought to have enough “scriptural integrity” to at least use the “tithe money” for the intended purpose for which the tithe was given to Israel, and that was to feed the people within the land of Israel.

If it were OK to change the contents of the tithe, then let’s buy food for those who are poor and allow the tithe to cover the cost of groceries for the ministers who receive the monetary tithe, and yes allow God’s people to use the tithe to get away and enjoy eating what ever they want as they refresh themselves in the Lord.

The tithe was not given to pay salaries, build buildings, or any other use other than food provision in the Bible, and that is why it was always (and only) FOOD!

Truly there was more grace for the tithers under the Law than there is for tithers under the modern day tithe doctrine.