Paul did not Receive Tithes

Paul's missionary efforts should make it abundantly clear to everyone that the tithe, whether on agricultural products of livestock, or 10 percent of income, is not a New Testament teaching. Of all the New Testament writers, Paul of all people should have been able to use the Old Testament Scriptures to get people to tithe to him and/or his church planting effort so that his expenses would be taken care of. The fact is, Paul did not quote a single tithing Scripture to make people give, not one. He most certainly could have, because the Temple and its sacrificial system was still going on during his lifetime, but Paul knew only Levites could collect tithes. Paul could have made some Levites his treasurer and then gotten the tithes, but he did no such thing. When he quoted the Old Testament to justify receiving financial help from Christians, he quoted Deuteronomy 25:4, "You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain." (1 Cor. 9:9) He quotes it again in 1 Timothy 5:17,18, "Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads the train,' and 'The laborer is worthy of his wages.'" (The words for double honor in the Greek include monetary remuneration.)

Why didn't Paul just blast them with some real good, strong tithe Scriptures, and then throw the Malachi "you are robbing God" thing at them like many modern “preachers”? Because Paul knew the Old Covenant much better than modern “preachers”! He knew that there was a new temple, a new priesthood, and new covenant, and a new way of giving out of the love of Christ in your heart! Just as our Father gave, "For God so loved the world that He gave ..." Here is our example of giving. "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,' but I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." (Matt. 5:43-48)

"Remember this-meager sowing means meager reaping; generous sowing means generous reaping. Each person must make up his own mind what he is going to give. He must not give as if giving hurt him, or as if the money was being forced out of him. God loves a man who enjoys giving. God can give you more than enough of every good gift, enough for you to have plenty for yourselves always and in any circumstances, and to have enough left over to contribute to every good cause. As scripture says: 'He gave generously to the poor; his kindness lasts for ever.' God, who gives seed to sow and bread to eat, will give you an abundant supply of seed, and he will make it grow into a plentiful harvest, which will be the result of your charity to others. He will always make you rich enough to be generous to every claim on you, and your generosity will make many people thank God when we have distributed it to those who need it; for this piece of Christian service, which you have accepted as your duty, not only supplies the needs of God's people, it also overflows in a tide of thanksgiving to God. This service, which you are rendering, will be proof to those who receive it that you really are pledged to obedience when you publicly declare your faith in the gospel of Christ. They will also see how generously you share what you have with them and with all. And, when they see this, they will praise God for it. Because God gave you a superabundance of his grace, their warmest affection will go out to you, and they will be praying for you. Thank God for his gift, which has no price, and which is beyond words to tell of." (2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Barclay Translation)

The Pharisee, whether Jewish or Christian, will always put burdens upon other people's backs that they are unwilling to put upon themselves. In the beginning of Paul's missionary work, he provided for himself from his tent-making abilities. "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive." Many of his early converts were Jews. Surely, if Paul had legal rights to tithes, they would have given them to him, but it was not legal. Paul was a Benjamite. Later in his ministry, when some churches had been established, he "robbed some churches to preach to others." "Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God free of charge. I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you." (2 Cor. 11:7,8) Some Christians do not give to ministries at all because they believe the minister should also have a job and take care of their own expenses. They do not really take all the Scriptures into account when they come to that conclusion. Some Christians use the tent-making Scripture as an excuse to not support those who labor in God's vineyard full time. This excuse to hide their own selfishness is not supported very well in the Scriptures. All of us, who are Christians, are called to be full time Christians. Unfortunately, too many Christians are Christians for two hours on Sunday, and maybe an hour or so at mid-week. There are also those who are called into full time ministering in many different ways. Some of these, Paul says, are worthy of "double honor." This Greek term includes far more than a "congratulations for a well done job." The term speaks of financial remuneration as well. (1 Tim. 5:17)

"Do you not know that those who minister the holy things eat of the things of the temple, and those who serve at the altar partake of the offerings of the altar? Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel." (1 Cor. 9:13,14, NKJV) Again, please note all of Paul's references to Old Testament types, and yet he never quoted any of the tithing passages. He didn't because he knew he was ministering from a different temple. He was a priest after a new priesthood, and he was ministering from a new place, not from the letter of the law that kills, but from the Spirit that gives life. Paul would never use some of the deceptive ways many ministers use to extort money from people.

Ministers use the story of Ananias and Sapphira to firm up their Sunday message to get a good offering. This account in the book of Acts, however, has nothing to do with tithing. They probably gave much more than ten percent of the sale of the property. It has everything to do with lying to God! "You have not lied to men but to God." (See Acts 5:1-11) Some denominational headquarters even go so far in twisting Scriptures that they say 1 Corinthians 16:1-3 says that church moneys should go to headquarters and then redistributed.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to churches of Galatia, so you must do also: on the first day of the week let each of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem." Just a little bit of Bible and historical study should show that what Paul was storing up was food for the believers in Jerusalem who were experiencing a famine. Acts 11:27-30 tells us, "And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul."

Just a little study into history using Bible dictionaries and chronological charts, we find Claudius Caesar reigning from 41-54 A.D. 1 Corinthians was written, according to scholars, at the end of Claudius reign. The "collection for the saints" was a voluntary relief program made up of free-will offerings that were to be distributed to other believers in distress! Again, we do not hear the word "tithe." In fact, if one goes to a concordance and looks up the word "tithe" or "tithes," and searches through Paul's pastoral epistles, letters leaving instruction to church leaders on how to conduct church business, he fails to mention these two words even once! That should tell us something.

Part 8 of The Tithe

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