1. law, govt and politics

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TITHING
REDEFINED
‘’ when you give your tithe to the
poor and needy, God receives it’’
Olumuyiwa Olaolu Oriowo
© Olaolu Oriowo/www.redefinedfuture.com
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Tithing Redefined
ISBN-13: 978-1500725174
ISBN-10: 150072517X
Copyright © 2014 by Olumuyiwa Olaolu Oriowo,
All rights reserved.
This book cannot be distributed by any electronic or
mechanical means, in print or online.
No part of it may be altered, reproduced or
downloaded without the express written permission
of the author and Createspace.
Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptures quotations
are taken from the New King James Version of the bible.
For more information, contact the author;
E- mail:[email protected]
SMS: +2348179800806.
© Olaolu Oriowo/www.redefinedfuture.com
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‘’A PARADIGM SHIFT ON
GIVING OF TITHES’’
Tithing is an important covenant
principle of God from the beginning.
And it has become one of the most
controversial, highly debated subjects,
privately and publicly all over the
world.
There is an argument for and against
giving of tithes. One is Tithing to the
church and the other; doing away with
Tithing as an Old Testament law. But,
this groundbreaking book disapproves
both assertions.
So, this book is written by the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit to clear
the air and open your eyes on tithing.
It reveals:
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 The historical records of tithing.
 Tithes were also for the needy in
the Old Testament.
 Jesus redefined tithing.
 Jesus never receive tithe from
anyone nor instruct the apostles on
it.
 The apostles never receive tithe
from anyone nor instruct the
church.
 Martin Luther preached against
tithing to the church.
 Tithes are for the poor and needy
in the society.
This book will open your eyes on how
your tithes can be used to transform
the world around you in practical
terms. And you will be glad you are
making a difference where you live,
work and play.
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What others are saying about
Tithing Redefined
‘’It is a compendium of truths and an
eye-opener on the subject of Tithing.’’--Reviewers
‘’ … you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free’’
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Dedication
This book is dedicated to all people
who have raised their voices against
‘’ tithing to the church’’ doctrine. And
to all who will not keep mute in
opposition to it.
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Acknowledgement
We are not smarter than our forefathers. We are just children born in
due season.
Firstly, we acknowledge all who
have labored, and those still working
to see the church recognized not as an
organization but a powerful force for
societal transformation.
Secondly, we appreciate the efforts
of Martin Luther, John Wesley, Charles
Spurgeon and Billy Graham.
Acknowledgement also goes to Russell
Earl Kelly for his extensive research on
tithing, Sunday Adelaja for his
example on how tithes can be used to
transform societies.
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Contents
Preface: From the Author 10
Introduction: Facts and Truths on Tithing 15
Section One: The Old Testament
Chapter 1: The Beginning 25
Chapter 2: The Levitical Period 31
Section Two: The Change
Chapter 3: The Messianic Period 40
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Section Three: The New Testament
Chapter 4: The Early Church Period 70
Chapter 5: The Dark Ages’ Period 79
Chapter 6: The Modern Church Period 86
Chapter 7:The Post-Modern Church Period 95
Conclusion 104
Notes 108
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Preface
From the Author
In 2009, I was still an undergraduate in
one of the Universities in Nigeria. As I
occasionally do in those days during
holidays and strikes, I stayed with a
friend in Ikorodu-a town in the suburb
of Lagos. During this period, it’s
usually a joyous moment to gather
with old friends whom were my
classmates in the polytechnic, there in
Ikorodu.
On a particular day we gathered at a
certain place after some of those old
mates came checking on my friend and
I. It was a great moment for me after
long absence from home.
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As we began to chat, each of us
started inquiring how individuals are
doing after our national diploma
program. Each one rolling out
questions based on what needed to be
known about the other person. We
were five in numbers, and I was the
only one still in school at that time.
The rest of them prior to that time had
graduated from the polytechnic.
One of them suddenly asked me
about my plans for the future. But
before I could muster an answer, my
friend whom I was staying with
quickly gave an answer. He said: Laolu
(as I’m fondly called) wants to be a
pastor. I nodded in agreement;
confirming God had called me earlier
in 2008.It was in the early hours of the
morning of a particular very cold day,
after an all night labor on the drawing
board.
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There was a burden for a stain on
the church
My good friend who asked the
question then replied sarcastically. He
said: ‘‘it’s good; after all you will
collect tithes and offerings from the
people.’’ Immediately, I heard that
statement, tears began rolling down
from my eyes. The opinion of my
friend on the reason I wanted to be a
pastor hit me so bad. He jokingly
reiterated I wanted to be a pastor
because of tithes and offerings.
For me that was a big insult,
because I had hated ‘free lunch’
growing up. In fact, though still in
school, I was an intern in an
architectural firm at that time.
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A spiritual research was inspired
Later on I asked my friend; is it not
possible for a pastor not to collect tithe
in the church and still make great
impact? After all, I never heard nor read
from the bible that Jesus did collect
tithes, neither the apostles. I’m going to
search this out in the bible. From that
day, I carried a burden that led to
rigorous research with prayer and
fasting on tithing. And after five years,
I became fully convinced ‘tithing to
church doctrine’ is unscriptural. And
one need not collect tithes from the
people to be a successful pastor.
All the facts and truths
authenticating the error of ‘tithing to
the church’ doctrine is what you are
holding in your hand right now. It
contains revelations that relief me of
my burdens on the issue of tithing to
the church doctrine.
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This book is very dear to my heart. I
pray your eyes be open as you read. In
Jesus name. Amen!
---Oriowo
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Introduction
Facts and Truths about Tithing
Unarguably, tithing is one of the most
controversial subjects in and outside
the four walls of the church. It is one of
the most debated topics privately and
publicly, especially in this twenty first
century. But, regrettably it is the least
understood and most exaggerated
subject in Christendom for the past
two decades.
Moreover, there is an argument for
and against giving of tithes. One is
Tithing to the church and the other;
doing away with Tithing as an Old
Testament law. But, this
groundbreaking book disapproves
both assertions.
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Tithing to the church is not the key
to financial prosperity
The cliché: ‘If you don’t pay tithe to
the church, things will be tight for you’
is a false doctrine, half truth and one
the greatest perpetuated lie in this
generation. This is so because half
truth is still a lie. As we are all aware,
there are many very wealthy people in
the world who don’t give tithes to any
church organization.
In fact, majority of the top richest
people in the world don’t give tithe to
any church organization.
It’s a fact that the richest
individuals in the world and Africa
respectively don’t pay tithe to any
church. But make no mistake, these
people do give tithes. Irony! Yes, they
are addicted givers to the poor and
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needy. They give far above one tenth
(2Corinthians 9:6-7). Their tithe is in
their big donations to foundations and
charity, helping the poor and needy,
solving various diverse problems in
their communities and around the
world.
No wonder history has it that the
richest man of all time till date –
German descent, American John. D.
Rockefeller Sr. does tithe his income to
charity.
Nevertheless, he supported
churches financially throughout his
life time. He was a devout Northern
Baptist and lived by the dictum of John
Wesley: ‘’gain all you can, save all you
can, and give all you can’’.
Therefore, giving tithe to church
organization contrary to popular belief
is not in any way the key to financial
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prosperity. We are to give tithe as a
covenant principle, but scripturally,
there is no such thing as giving tithe to
the church, as a commandment.
Tithing is just a covenant principle
of God to show us the minimum
percentage of our income we shouldn’t
keep to ourselves.
Jesus Redefined Tithing
Jesus Christ, our example and head
of the church, even though he has the
right to receive tithe as a
commandment being a priest forever
in the order of Melchizedek according
to the law, yet didn’t receive tithe from
anybody. Why? The law of tithing
changed when he arrived and by his
death on the cross.
I know if you are a good student of
God’s word and an advocate of tithing
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to the church you are already thinking
about Matthew 23:23, where Jesus
himself advised the Pharisees and
scribes to pay tithe. Relax and open
your ears.
Firstly, that is the only statement of
Jesus concerning tithe throughout the
whole New Testament book.
Secondly it was a statement not for
instruction to pay tithe specifically but
to rebuke the Pharisees and scribes for
overemphasizing tithing as a law over
more important laws—Justice and
Love.
And we know there is no love
without giving, especially to least of
the society-needy and poor. Jesus
called the Pharisees and scribes
hypocrites. Why? They prefer to give
tithe in the temple than to give to the
poor and needy. And this is exactly
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what many of us are doing today. We
are like the Pharisees. We are
hypocrites. God forgive us!
Listen, this is wisdom; Jesus
redefining tithing to them. No wonder
he never collected it. He gave no
instruction to his disciples or the
apostles to neither give nor collect it.
Also, the apostles upon whom the
church was built followed Jesus’
example. It will shock you to know
that they too never receive tithe from
anyone throughout the early church
period, even though they were ‘priest’
called and ordained by Jesus himself.
In fact, tithe was not mentioned in
the early church. But giving to the poor
and needy was emphasized. They
understood as they were taught by the
master that when they give one tenth
and above they have automatically
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paid their tithe. The key is not to give
below one tenth of every income.
Proverbs 11:24 says: ‘’There is one that
scatters yet increases more; and there is
one who withhold more than is right
but it leads to poverty’’. It means don’t
keep to yourself more than what is
expected of you else you become poor.
House of God is misunderstood
In case you are asking right now
about the Old Testament. It will be
interesting to know that tithing
according to the law was also for the
needy and poor.
There are a total of about thirty-five
verses of scriptures on tithing
appearing in eleven books in the
whole bible. Twenty-eight of these
verses are in Old Testament and seven
in New Testament. And the ones that
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stand out are Malachi 3:8 and 10-the
most popular tithing scriptures: ‘’ Bring
all the tithes into the store house that
there may be food in my house, and
prove me now in this says the lord of
hosts, if I will not open for you
windows of heaven and pour out for
you such blessing that there will not be
room enough to receive it’’.
I know you are happy to be
reminded of Malachi 3:10 the famous
tithing rhetoric. Lol! But I will not
spare to ask you where and what is the
house of God after Jesus died and
resurrected? The house of God is the
‘People’, all people, not some separate
kind of people. .So, that is exactly
where your tithes should go to or who
should receive your tithes.
The word of God says: ‘’we can do
nothing against the truth, but for the
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truth’’. Moreover, 1 Corinthians 8:2
says: ‘’and if anyone thinks that he
knows anything, he knows nothing yet
as he ought to know’’. Therefore, let’s
go through the pages of this book as
we understand how Jesus redefined
tithing for the purpose of
transformation in our personal lives,
societies and the world.
This era is just like the days of
Samuel, when there was no
widespread revelation and the word of
God was rare (1 Samuel 3:1). A book
like this is being released to cause that
widespread revelation of the original
purpose of tithing even as it was from
the beginning. And this is a key to
societal transformation.
Let the genuine transformation
agenda begins with you!
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SECTION ONE
OLD
TESTAMENT
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Chapter One
The Beginning
Tithing existed before the law
The subject of tithing is an important
covenant principle of God recorded as
far back as in the book of genesis. It is
one the principles of God that was
from the beginning.
Let’s quickly look at Genesis 14:1820: ‘’Then Melchizedek king of Salem
brought out bread and wine; he was the
priest of the most high’’.-18
“And he blessed him and said: blessed is
Abraham of God most high, possessor
of heaven and earth”.-19
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‘’And blessed be God most high, who
has delivered your enemies into your
hand. And he (Abraham) gave him
(Melchizedek) a tithe of all’’.-20
(Emphasis added).We saw in verse 20
that Abraham gave tithe to
Melchizedek the priest of most high
God. Therefore, one can reasonably
conclude that since we are children of
Abraham and desired to walk in the
blessings of Abraham as it is written in
Genesis 12:2-3: ‘’I will bless you, and
make your name great; and you shall be
a blessing’’.- 2
‘’I will bless those who bless you, and I
will curse him who curses you; and in
you all the families of the earth shall be
blessed’’.-3
These were the promises of God to
Abraham before it came to pass in
Genesis 14:19.
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It’s noteworthy therefore to
understand that Abraham paid the
tithe after he was blessed. This
showing us an example that if truly we
are children of Abraham we ought to
follow the footsteps of Abraham by
giving a tithe of all that God have
empowered us to acquire from time to
time.
Also, we need to understand that
the reason or purpose Abraham gave
the tithe to this priest was not stated.
Moreover, the personality of this priest
was not revealed. But we have a
complete word of God. We need not be
confused or kept in the dark as to what
kind of personality is this Melchizedek
and for what purpose Abraham did
gave the tithe of all.
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Melchizedek was Jesus in a figure
The book of Hebrew chapter seven
revealed to us the personality of this
priest of most high God. Hebrew 7:1-3:
‘’ For this Melchizedek king of Salem
priest of the most high God who met
Abraham returning from the slaughter
of the kings and blessed him to whom
also Abraham gave a tenth part of all,
first being translated ‘’king of
righteousness’’, and then also king of
Salem meaning ‘’ king of peace’’,
without father, without mother,
without genealogy, having neither
beginning of days nor end of life, but
made like the son of God, remains a
priest continually’’.-3.A careful study
of these scriptures above reveals that
Melchizedek was a man made like the
son of God. And that is Jesus. Also, in
the latter part of verse three, it was
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stated that he remains a priest forever,
which is a statement only attributed to
Jesus in Psalm 110:4, according to
David’s revelation of Christ: ‘’The lord
has sworn, and will not relent, you are
a priest forever according to the order of
Melchizedek’’.
Now, to uncover the reason
Abraham gave the tithe to
Melchizedek, we must understand first
that the tithe belongs to God and not
man. But, because God is a spirit, and
it takes flesh to relate with flesh, he
chooses all the time not to do anything
on earth without a man.
Therefore, for God to receive the
tithe from Abraham he had to send a
representative(a man) in form of Jesus
his son, who is also the form of God
the father to collect it on his behalf. No
wonder when the law was given to
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Moses by God. It was stated that the
tribe which received the office of the
priesthood will be saddled with
responsibility of collecting the tithes
on behalf of God, just as did
Melchizedek. So, it was stated in
Hebrew 7:8: ‘’ Here mortal men receive
tithes, but there he (God) receives them
of whom it is witnessed that he
lives.’’(Emphasis added)
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Chapter Two
The Levitical Period
Moses a prophet of God, a man from
the tribe of Levi. A Tribe among the
twelve tribes of Israel was the one the
God almighty gave the laws by which
the children of Israel were to live by.
Moses had unusual access to God,
that even God himself testify of him in
Numbers12:6-8: ‘’ Then he (God) said,
hear now my words: if there is a prophet
among you, I, the lord make myself
known to him in a vision and I speak to
him in a dream, not so with my servant
Moses; he is faithful in all my house. I
speak with him face to face, even
plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he
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sees the form of the lord. Why then were
you not afraid to speak against my
servant Moses?’’(Emphasis added).
Tithing became a law
God gave Moses the law of tithing at
that time after Israel was delivered
from Egypt. It therefore shows how
important it is to God as a covenant
principle. So, the principle didn’t end
with Abraham, but continued till the
Levitical period--the exclusive reign of
the Levites as priests of God on earth.
The Levites now represent
Melchizedek
The Levites were chosen and
separated by God among the twelve
tribes to be priests (God’s
representative), and to receive the
tithes from the rest of the people on
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behalf of God. Leviticus 27:30: ‘’And
all the tithe of the land, whether of the
seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree
is the lord’s. It is holy to the lord.’’ The
book of numbers gave us a clear
exposition of the duties of the Levites,
and the reason they were separated by
God from the rest of the tribes.
Numbers 18:6-7: ‘’Behold, I myself have
taken your brethren the Levites from
among the children of Israel; they are
gift to you, given by the lord, to do the
work of the tabernacle of meeting.
Therefore you (Aaron), and your sons
with you shall attend to your
priesthood for everything at the altar
and behind the veil; and you shall serve.
I give your priesthood to you as a gift of
service, but the outsider who comes near
shall be put to death.’’ (Emphasis
added).
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These two scriptural verses above
clearly indicate the duties of the
Levites and the major reason God
separated them. They were to do no
work at all, unlike their brethren. But,
they were to do the work of the
tabernacle of meeting—the place the
children of Israel do assemble to hear
the word of God and to receive
answers to their problems. Hence, God
gave a commandment that all the tithes
from the children of Israel should be
given to the Levites as an income for
their work in the tabernacle of
meeting. Numbers 18:21: ‘’ Behold, I
have given the children of Levi all the
tithes in Israel as an inheritance in
return for the work which they perform,
the work of the tabernacle of meeting’’.
Also, Numbers 18:24: ‘’ For the tithes of
the children of Israel, which they offer
up as heave offering to the lord, I have
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given to the Levites as an inheritance;
therefore I have said to them, among the
children of Israel they shall have no
inheritance’’ .
Looking at Numbers 18:24 above,
we see that tithes being given by the
people to the Levites belongs to them
as an inheritance since they have no
part in sharing of the land of Canaan.
Therefore, in today’s language it will
mean that pastors called into the
church business should do no work or
business to acquire anything, except
tithes given to them by the people.
Moreover, we see in Numbers 18:26
and 28 that even the Levites are
commanded by God to give tithe of the
tithes collected from the people. So, no
one is excluded from the law of tithing.
This is also stated in Hebrew 7:9-10: ‘’
Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid
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tithes through Abraham so to speak, for
he was still in the loins of his father
when Melchizedek met him’’. Levites
are sons of Abraham, so they have to
pay tithes to do the work and walk in
the blessings of Abraham.
Tithes also belong to the poor and
needy
We have seen so far in this chapter
that tithes belong to the Levites or
pastors, in today’s language. But,
before you justify anyone who claim
tithes to the priests or pastors
exclusively. I want you to quickly look
at this verse of scripture; Deuteronomy
14:22-29.But, our emphasis is on verse
29: ‘’ And the Levites, because he has no
portion nor inheritance with you, and
the stranger and the fatherless and the
widow who are within your gates may
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come and eat and be satisfied that the
lord your God may bless you in all the
work of your hand which you do’’.
Whoa! What a revealing scripture, I
hope you can see what I saw. The
tithes also belong to the strangers,
fatherless and widows in the society.
Friends, before you argue against
this, kindly check Deuteronomy 26:12
for a confirmation. It’s written; by the
mouth of two or three witnesses a word is
established.
Seriously, this shouldn’t be a
surprise or generate any argument if
we understand the basis for the law of
tithing to the Levites in the first place.
They have no inheritance or land to do
business. And that is exactly the case
with strangers, fatherless and widows
at that time. They too can’t have
inheritance: strangers don’t belong to
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any tribe, fatherless and widows are
victims of circumstances. They are
handicapped.
So, they need to be supported with
the tithes as it was with the Levites.
They are in the same category-‘needy’,
as far as God is concerned.
Friends, in case you have asked
before now who receive the tithes of
the Levites. Kindly refer to Numbers
18:26 and 28 mentioned above. Now
you know the answer—‘the strangers,
fatherless and widows’-needy!
Please before you throw stones,
read this book to the end.
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SECTION TWO
THE CHANGE
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Chapter Three
The Messianic Period
Jesus the messiah came to the earth as
God in human flesh. He was that son
of God which was referred to in
Genesis 14, as king of Salem, priest of
the highest God (Hebrew 7:1-3).
Please let’s understand there were
still priests and temples where people
take their tithes to when Jesus was
born and throughout his ministry. He
himself was dedicated in the temple.
He sat with the teachers of the law in
the temple. The people of his days
were still obeying the Law of Moses in
giving tithes. Luke 18:12 says: ‘’ I fast
twice a week; I give tithes of all that I
possess’’.
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This is a scripture above is credited
to a Pharisee in a boast against a tax
collector. It revealed to us that tithing
was still very much in full practice
during Jesus time on earth.
Jesus is God in human flesh
Jesus, according to the scriptures, is
God in human flesh. He came to show
us the lifestyle of heaven-the mind of
God in all things. Why? It is because
all the previous prophets-Moses, Elijah
and the rest couldn’t reveal God in
totality. They only revealed God in
part. They had flaws and mistakes.
They were not perfect. So, God had to
come down himself to show us how to
live.
No surprises that Jesus had to
declare boldly, loudly and clearly in
his famous teaching on the mount that,
‘’ Do not think I came to destroy the
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law or the prophets. I did not come to
destroy but to fulfill’’
As a matter of fact, a lot of people
find it difficult to understand this
statement. Some misquoted it to mean
the laws are still in force as Jesus
himself said he had not come to
destroy them. But they fail to ask
themselves sincerely what he meant by
to 'to fulfill it'. Sure that is the bone of
contention. Sure, that is the bone of
contention.
But, if you will trust God to open
your heart, you won't have a hard time
understanding the word, 'fulfill', as it
was used by Jesus.
To fulfill means to redefine for
better
Interestingly, Jesus, full of wisdom,
didn’t leave us in the dark concerning
what he meant by the word, ‘fulfill’.
Thus, he explained in details the
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meaning of not destroying the law but
to fulfill it. This he did through his
sermon on the mount. The messages
are on murder, adultery, marriage,
oaths, revenge, love, prayer, fasting and
the rest.
According to these teachings of
Jesus on the mountain in Matthew
chapter five and six (Matthew 5 and
6).We see that the word fulfill means
change. So, he didn’t come to destroy
the laws but to change them. One can
change something without necessarily
destroying it. Changing the laws here
mean they are still to be obeyed but in
a different manner or operation. It is a
kind of modification.
In addition, we see that Jesus
began his teachings on each of these
subjects in Matthew five and six with a
statement: ‘’ you have heard that it was
said to those of old’’. And after stating the
topic he wants to talk about, he would
then quickly add: ‘’ But I say to you.’’
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Matthew 5:21, for example. Isn’t this an
indication of change? I want to believe
your answer is a resounding, yes!
Now let’s look at some of those
changes in brief, based on his famous
teaching on the mountain as recorded
in Matthew chapter five and six.
Murder: Matthew 5:21-22: ‘’ You
have heard that it was said to those of
old, you shall not murder, and whoever
murders will be in the danger of the
judgment. But I say to you that
whoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in the danger of
the judgment. And whoever shall say to
his brother, Raca! Shall be in danger of
the council. But whoever says, you fool!
Shall be in danger of hell fire.’’ Murder
according to the law is a sin. That is
when one takes the life of another
man. But based on the above scriptural
verses Jesus redefined murder to mean
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being angry with another man without
a cause or reason. The law of murder
was not destroyed but fulfilled or
changed.
Friends, under the new covenant or
testament you don’t only have to take
the life of another man to commit
murder, but get into anger without a
reason. Come to think of it, doesn’t this
change really make sense? Sure you
agree it does. Really, anger is the root
of murder. Jesus was addressing the
root cause of sin to destroy the fruits.
He knew if you are angry with
someone without a cause, it’s just a
matter of time you will eventually kill
the person, with a very good
opportunity.
Adultery: Matthew 5:27-28: ‘’ You
have heard that it was said to those of
old, you shall not commit adultery. But
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I say to you that whoever looks to a
woman to lust for her has already
committed adultery with her in his
heart.’’ The change here is that,
whoever looks to another man’s wife
and desires to have sex with her have
already committed adultery because
with a good opportunity he will do it.
This change really helps us because if
one can restrain himself from desiring
to have sex with another man’s wife
then one can be sure of not falling into
the temptation of adultery. Every act
starts with a desire.
Divorce: Matthew 5:31-32:
‘’Furthermore it has been said, whoever
divorces his wife, let him give her a
certificate of divorce. But I say to you
that whoever divorces his wife for any
reason except sexual immorality causes
her to commit adultery and whoever
marries a woman who is divorced
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commits adultery.’’ The Law of Moses
(Old Testament law) permitted divorce
as long as certificate of divorce is
issued. But Jesus redefined it.
One may still divorce and
certificate may still be given, but it
should only be because of sexual
immorality. Any other reason is not
accepted. In the Old Testament one can
divorce for any reason. It will not be a
sin, as long as you give a certificate of
divorce. That’s crazy! Sure you think so
too.
Now, imagine a man just wakes up
one day and says to his wife, ‘I have
divorced you’ and the wife asked,
honey why? Then the man boldly
replied: you didn’t sweep the floor of
my room yesterday. What! ‘Lol’.
Friends, truly the law is weak. Thank
God, Jesus came to bring this change.
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What is the change here? A man cannot
divorce his wife for any reason except
for sexual immorality. That is the
change. I know some men will prefer
the old law to perpetuate evil. But I am
sure you are not one of them. Even if
you are, prior to your reading of this
book, you are delivered now in Jesus
name.
Oaths: Matthew 5:33-37: ‘’ Again
you have heard that it was said to those
of old, you shall not swear falsely, but
shall perform your oaths to the lord.
But I say to you, do not swear at all;
neither by heaven for it is God’s throne
nor by earth, for it is his footstool; nor
by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
great king. Nor shall you swear by your
head because you cannot make one hair
white or black. But let your yes be yes
and your no be no. Whatever is more
than these is from the evil one.’’ The
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Old Testament law permits us to
swear, make an oath or vow. But it
must not be done falsely and must be
performed once taken. Jesus changed
it. Vow or oath taking was redefined—
do not swear or vow! No wonder it was
written even in the old testament in the
book of Ecclesiastes 5:5: ‘’ It is better
not to vow than to vow and not pay’’
.That is why it’s not right for a pastor
to persuade people to vow or take a
pledge when raising fund for whatever
reason in the church. People are being
put in bondage through such an act.
Please let’s allow people to give freely
and willingly. Now, receive freedom in
Jesus name.
There was an incident which
happened sometime ago on a particular
Sunday in a church denomination that
I attended at that time. The pastor in
charge after a wonderful and
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impacting message began to persuade
the people to make a vow for donation
towards a proposed land property the
denomination was about to purchase.
He emphasized the importance of a
vow and its prompt payment, citing
some scriptures.
Sincerely, he was really making
sense. And people were already getting
persuaded, including me of course.
The pastor being an orator with a lot of
charisma was doing a good job of
persuasion. But, fortunately for the
people and unfortunately for him,
perhaps, he mentioned Ecclesiastes 5:5;
‘’ It is better not to vow than to vow
and not pay’’. Immediately, it was like
wool being pulled away from people’s
eyes. Almost everyone whispered ‘’oh
ohh!’’. And it sounds loud enough for
the pastor to hear. The scripture the
pastor wanted to use as an object of
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further persuasion was now used by
the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of the
people.
I pray that is exactly what will
happen to you as you read Malachi 3:10
from now, in Jesus name.
Lastly, let’s consider one of the
most important, if not the most
important of all the changes Jesus
made in the law.
Love: Matthew 5:43-47: ‘’ 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 shine on the
evil and on the good and send rains on
the just and on the unjust. For if you
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love those who love you what reward
have you? Do not even the tax collectors
do the same? And if you greet your
brethren only, what do you do more
than others? Do not even the tax
collectors do so?’’ The Law of Moses
said we should only love our
neighbors and hate our enemies. But
Jesus changed it. He redefined love for
us all. He stated, there is no loving God
without loving people, even if they are
your enemies or have wronged you.
Why? God loves them. Hence he
doesn’t withhold his goodies of
sunshine and rain from them. How
then are you like God or will be like
God if you don’t love your enemies?
The change is, love people all the same
even if they don’t deserve it. Yes! Love
them, they betrayed you, love them.
They cheated on you, love them. Love
all peoples the same, irrespective of
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who they are, their tribes, ethnicity and
color. Love them. This can’t be
overemphasized.
It is noteworthy to say at this
junction that the greatest revelation
anyone can have especially in this
twenty first century is that Jesus came
for a change. So, it is wisdom to always
seek the change he brought, and then
we begin to understand God and his
word. Our greatest undoing as people
is that of failure to seek, accept and
follow to the letter, the change Christ
has brought in all ramifications.
Now that we have seen and
believed that Christ came for a change
of the law to fulfill them. And having
considered some of those changes, I
know you are eager to see that of
tithing also.
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Tithing: Matthew 23:23, also
repeated in Luke 11:42: ‘’ But woe to
you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and
rue and all manner of herbs, and pass by
justice and the love of God. These
(justice and love of God) you ought to
have done without leaving the others
(tithing of things) undone.’’ (Emphasis
added).Friends, these two verses
(Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42) are one.
And it is the only verse of scripture
credited to Jesus on tithing.
Interestingly, it was a statement of
rebuke and pronouncement of woes or
curses rather than instruction to pay
tithe. Jesus first and foremost
acknowledges their payment of tithes.
But he was quick to add that there are
some things greater than their paying
of tithe which they are not doing. They
are weightier matters of the law than
tithing to the temple, according to
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Jesus. Those things we saw in the
above scripture-Justice and Love of
God. These they supposed to have
done. They outweighs far better and
greater than the paying of their tithe in
the temple. Jesus was redirecting their
focus to the real temples—humans. He
simply was telling them that, look I’m
not against you giving of tithe… you
are obliged to do it. But I’m against the
way and manner you are doing it. And
that attracted a curse.
Also we need to be reminded that,
Jesus when asked to point out the
greatest of all the commandments. He
simply told them it’s Love. And he was
quick to add that, upon love hang all
other laws (including the law of
tithing) and the prophets (Matthew
22:34-40).
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Therefore, I strongly believe it’s
unscriptural and against the will of
God for any pastor to preach against
the people giving tithes directly to the
poor and needy.
The above statements may sound
confusing to you, except you know
how to read in between the lines and
draw conclusion. The love of God is
demonstrated in giving (John 3:16).This
is simply because one can give without
loving, but no one loves without giving.
One can give tithe without loving God, but
you cannot love God without giving tithe.
Tithing will not make you to love God, but
love of God will automatically make you to
tithe. And the love of God can only be
demonstrated towards your neighbor.
The Love towards God and to your
neighbor are alike according to Jesus
(Matthew 22; 37-40).And who is your
neighbor? That is anyone in need of
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help; especially the afflicted of the
society. That is why Jesus answered
the question with the story of the man
who fell into the hands of robbers in
the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke
10:25-37), (Matthew 25:35-46).
Therefore, if you accept that love
for God is also love for your neighbor.
And giving to God (which is
unarguably a demonstration of your
love) is also giving to your neighbor.
Then it will be foolishness to go
against giving your tithe to your
neighbor. Since, it’s the same thing as
giving it to God.
There is no law that prevents you
from giving your tithes to the poor and
needy-- which Jesus said you always
have around you, at all times.
The religious people of Jesus days
because of their addiction to the law
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prefer giving tithe in the temple to
giving to the poor and needy. The
widows, strangers, fatherless are being
neglected and cheated.
The Pharisees and religious leaders
are supposed to take care of them.
Instead, they are only interested in
collecting from them. Whoa! You just
said, ‘’ as it was in the days of Noah so
it is in our time, sang a popular
Nigerian gospel musician.’’ A lot of
people today just like the Pharisees
will choose to give their tithes to the
‘church’ than to give to the poor and
needy.
If you prefer the former to the
latter, you are passing by the weightier
matters of the law. The love of God
doesn’t dwell in you. But in case you
are saying: but one can do both; I can
give tithe to the church and still give
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one tenth to the poor at least to be on a
safe side. Then you are a hypocrite. I
know how difficult it is for you to pay
even the compulsory one tenth to your
church denomination. People must
come before projects.
The love of God is only
demonstrated towards people.
Ministry is all about people not
buildings and properties. You are not
like the Samaritan Jesus spoke about
in the bible. Well, as a matter of
freedom, you are only free to give
whatever you want to give to your
church denomination after you have
fulfill the law of love by giving your
tithe to the poor and needy.
How can you say you love God,
who you cannot see, when you pass by
fellow human beings like you, whom
you can see with your ’korokoro’ eyes.
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There is no loving God without loving
people. Moreover, you cannot give to
God without giving to people. That’s
what Jesus was telling them.
Some people have argued that
after all Jesus told them to tithe. Of
truth he never abolished tithing unlike
that of vow which he said we should
not do at all (Matthew 5:33-34).He was
redirecting their focus on the change to
come. The destruction of the temple
made with brick and mortar (Mark
13:1-2).And the people becoming
temples (Mobile Temples).It’s written
also in the scriptures, the words of
Jesus: ‘’ destroy this temple and I will raise
it in three days--speaking about himself. ’’
Based on Matthew 23:23 we can see
that tithing was still relevant in Jesus
days. But he never collected tithe even
though he had the right as a priest.
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Why? He needed to effect the change
by showing example for the apostles to
follow. And that became a blueprint
for the church after his departure.
Friends, am sure you need more
reasons Jesus didn’t receive tithe as a
priest and a high priest forever for that
matter. He knows what we don't know.
One of such knowing is this: Matthew
25:35-40:‘’ for I was hungry and you
gave food; I was thirsty and you gave
me drink; I was a stranger and you took
me in; I was naked and you clothed me;
I was sick and you visited me; I was in
prison and you came to me’, then the
righteous will answer him saying, lord
when did we see you hungry and feed
you, or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and
took you in, or naked.’’
What will you do with that tithe in
your wallet?
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Imagine yourself on a Sunday
morning going to church. While on the
road you noticed a child lying down
helpless. As you approached, it was
discovered the child had been hit by a
speeding vehicle. People gathered and
decided to take the child to the nearest
hospital to save his life. So, you
decided it will be nice to be a Good
Samaritan on a Sunday morning. And
you joined the sympathizers.
On getting to the hospital it
became apparent some money had to
be deposited before the dying child
will be treated. No one had money to
deposit. But here you are in the midst
of them with only your tithe. A
decision had to be made quickly to
save the child life. Also, you have to
obey the law of tithing to your church
denomination without delay.
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Inevitably, you are left with the
two options to either deposit the
money for the dying child to be treated
or to obey the law of ‘tithing to the
church’ without delay.
Sincerely which option will you
chose prior to your reading this book? I
guess you will choose to go pay the
tithe to the church first and hope God
understands or even pray that by so
doing God will supernaturally heal the
child. Hypocrisy! That was exactly
what Jesus was communicating to the
people of his days through the parable
of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).
If you choose not to deposit the
money for the child to be treated, you
have passed by the weightier matters
of the law, because of the law of
‘tithing to the church’. You ought to
have dipped your hand into your
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pocket, bring out the money and pay
the hospital bill—this is the love of
God which the Pharisees ought to have
done. And giving your tithe to your
neighbor –the dying child, is the
‘others’ Jesus said the Pharisees
shouldn’t neglect (Matthew 23:23).
By so doing, you have fulfilled
the law--the law of love. You are
justified. You have paid your tithe. All
the laws and prophet hang on the law
of love, Jesus told us loud and clear.
Believe it many people have died
under our very nose due to lack of
love. And a lot of people have sinned
against God by passing by their fellow
man just in the name of serving God
with their tithes. Tithes belong to the
strangers, fatherless, widows, poor and
needy around you.
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It is noteworthy to say also that
Jesus never ever gave instruction to the
disciples on tithing. But he spoke a lot
about giving to the poor and needy
(Matthew 26:9).He did that a lot to the
extent that the disciples thought he had
instructed Judas to go give to the poor
when he told him to do quickly what
he was about to do--to betray him
(John 13:19-30).
Giving to the poor and needy was
not a once in a while (as it is
convenient thing) for Jesus and the
disciples. It was a regular affair. They
gave consistently to the poor and
needy. There is no one who will obey
Jesus on giving their tithes to the
needy and will not give consistently.
To conclude this chapter, let us
consider the change in a nutshell.
Tithes in the Old Testament belong to
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the priests exclusively at first. Later the
strangers, fatherless and widows were
added to the list. And finally Jesus
added to the list; the naked, the
hungry, prisoner, thirsty and the sick.
All these put together mean the needy
and poor.
There was no church before Jesus
The church started after Jesus died
and resurrected. There was nothing
like church before Jesus. Church is the
assembly of Christ’s followers which
the Pharisees are not part of. Though
they believed in God but not the
principles and the change Jesus
brought.
Anyone who doesn’t believe or
follow the words of Jesus is like a
Pharisee. Church began with the
apostles. Jesus himself said he will
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build his church. It was not built until
after his departure.
Therefore, let’s look at the
activities of the early church, built by
Jesus, as we consider the subject of
tithing in the New Testament.
The New Testament started after
Jesus left. There is no testament in
force when the testator is still alive. So
the death of Jesus on the cross of
Calvary is what actually enforces all
the changes we have considered so far,
including that of tithing.
The activities of the early church
show the real enforcement of those
changes Jesus instituted. The
messianic era was a transition period
for those changes. The New Testament
gives the full account of the
enforcement of the changes in the law.
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Therefore, let’s joyfully consider
the New Testament to observe the
subject of tithing in the church of God.
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SECTION THREE
NEW
TESTAMENT
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Chapter Four
The Early Church Period
Surprisingly, the greatest discovery
about tithing is that: there was no
mention of the apostles collecting it or
the disciples giving it in any of the
early churches. This is shocking! Isn’t
it? The only mention of tithing in the
New Testament was found in the
letters of Apostle Paul to the Jews in
Hebrews chapter seven and eight.
Careful observations of these
chapters reveal to us the reason tithes
was not mention in the church as
regards collection and giving. The only
thing the apostles were concerned
about was giving to the poor. The
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master (Jesus) had taught them so
(Galatians 2:7-10).
The apostles through the teachings
of Jesus understood the purpose of
tithing. They knew tithing is wrapped
up in giving, generally. It is wrapped
up in your giving to the poor and
needy. Moreover they also knew the
needy can be anybody; priests,
strangers, widows, fatherless, hungry,
naked, thirsty, sick, prisoner.
The book of Acts chapter two (Acts
2:42-45) is very elaborate and
instructive on the whole activities of
the early church. And tithing to the
church was not mentioned at all.
Moreover, Act 4:32, 34-37, and Act 6:1
further revealed the activities of the
early church. Tithing to the church was
far from being mentioned.
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The law of tithing changed with the
arrival of Jesus as the eternal high
priest
Apostle Paul, by the inspiration of
the God wrote in the book of Hebrews
chapter seven and eight to the Jews the
change which has come and is in force.
In chapter seven of the book of
Hebrews we found the proofs
confirming the change in the law of
tithing.
This chapter interestingly was
written specifically to address the issue
of tithing. A careful study of the whole
of Hebrew chapter seven revealed to us
that Jesus even though was not a Levite
but from the tribe of Judah became a
priest and not just a priest but a priest
forever. That was a change, because the
Law of Moses states that a priest can
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only come from the tribe of Levi. So it
was written in Hebrews 7:12:‘’ for the
priesthood being change of necessity
there is also a change of law’’. So the
law of only the Levites collecting the
tithes was changed. Anyone
irrespective of his tribe or lineage can
receive tithes. Why? The law of tithing
under the Levitical priesthood was not
perfect. It did not achieve its original
purpose, people abused it. Hebrew 7:11
says: ‘’ Therefore if perfection were
through the Levitical priesthood (for
under it the people receive the law),
what further need was there that
another priest should arise according to
the order of Melchizedek and not called
according to the order of Aaron
.‘’(Hebrew 8: 7&13).
Now, this is the crux of the matter
concerning tithing in the New
Testament. Tithes belong to all priests
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irrespective of their tribes and lineage,
whether Jews, Greeks or Gentiles. But
the ultimate question is who the
priests of Jesus are after his death and
ascension? The book of Revelation 5:10
answers this question. Revelation 5:10:
‘’ and have made us kings and priests to
our God and we shall reign on the
earth’’.
Christ by his death on the cross of
Calvary and his resurrection have
made us all kings and priests in him.
Everyone potentially became priests
and kings through the work of
redemption. People were neither
priests nor kings during the Levitical
period. Only the Levites were priests.
But later at the period of reign of
kings, we have other tribes as kings
and priests. Hence, David was called a
prophet and a king. He was not a
Levite but from the tribe of Judah.
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After Jesus, all people became
kings and priests. Now you see that
tithes belong to all people. It is not an
exclusive right of some special people
like in the Old Testament.
Another way Christ death and
ascension authenticate the change in
the law of tithing was the destruction
of physical temples. Man became the
dwelling place of God. God dwells in
tabernacles, tents and temples in the
old testaments. So people take their
tithes to those places. But now in the
New Testament God doesn’t dwell in
the temples made with hands (Acts
17:24).Man became the temple of God.
Corinthians 3:16-17: ‘’do you not know
that you are the temple of god and the
spirit of god dwells in you, if anyone
defiles the temple of God, God will
destroy him. For the temple of god is
holy, which temple you are.’’
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The apostles understood it so well
that they never spend their time
building houses of brick and mortar
for God calling it the house of God or
dwelling place of God. But, rather
spent the whole of their life building
the real temple or house of God
through teaching and free will giving
to the people.
People are the church buildings.
This is a message of the kingdom of God
which is rarely preached in most church
denominations all over the world. And
this message is worthy of acceptance.
Tithing to the church was never
mentioned in the early church of the
apostles
History had it that the early church
period lasted for about three hundred
years(AD300) after the death of Jesus
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.And it will be clearly seen that, not
only did the apostles of the New
Testament not teach tithing to the
church, they didn’t collect it. Those
who followed after them as leaders of
the churches throughout this period
never did.
While most people will laugh at
the thought, not only was tithing not a
doctrine, it was very far from being
discussed by the early church. History
had it that it was first suggested at the
middle of the third century (AD200300).
Moreover, it will be interesting to
know that the issue of tithing in or to
the church was fiercely opposed by
some faithful Christians after the
apostles left at about AD70. And at this
period of its suggestion some of the
people who strongly opposed the idea
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were, clement and Didache (AD100)
,Justin martyr(AD165),
Tertullian(AD230) ,Origen(AD255),
Cyprian(AD258). Nevertheless, after
this time of AD300, tithing to church
began gaining prominence. But
actually didn’t become a local church
law or doctrine until after AD500.
How did the church of God got
into this biblical error of tithing to the
church as a doctrine? Sure you also
want to know. Then let’s go through
the next chapter as we look at what
happened between the end of the early
church period and the beginning of
reformation. This period is what is
known as the dark ages (AD500--AD1500).
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Chapter Five
The Dark Ages’ Period
The dark ages for the sake of this book
based on the subject of discourse is
between AD500—AD1500.
So far, based on the truth in the
New Testament books of the bible and
historical facts of the early church
period, we have seen that tithing to the
church have not always been in
existence. The church Jesus founded on
the apostles have always operated and
followed the free will giving which
was spontaneous and consistent.
But, unfortunately, the church
during the Dark Ages’ period began to
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decline. The decline was slow and
steady. Also it was in stages.
The first stage of decline was the
removal of freedom from the people to
operate in their personal spiritual gifts.
The second stage was the
distinction of the bishop as a level
higher than the other elders in the
church. This was formerly equal in
position but not in operation.
The third stage of decline occurred
when the bishop was given a high
priestly status with spiritual power
over the other people.
The fourth stage is that the bishops,
elders, and the deacons were
encouraged to stop doing secular work
and devote themselves full-time to the
church. Then later tithing became the
fifth stage of decline.
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Tithing to the church was
introduced
Tithing gradually was reintroduced into the church (after that
of the mid-third century) as a result of
this decline in the New Testament
doctrine. When it was first reintroduced into the church, it was
voluntary and was built on an
erroneous comparison of the New
Covenant bishop as a high priest to the
Old Testament priesthood.
Moreover history have it that the
church for the first time substantially
enforced tithing under its own
authority precisely AD567.There was
an enactment of decrees to
excommunicate ‘non-tithers’. The
church began to decline and was
corrupted when it became united to the
government. The church is supposed to
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be separate from the government as an
institution. In fact the government
according to God’s design is supposed
to be subjected to the church. That is
why in every society from time
immemorial, where the church goes
that the society goes.
The state of the church has always
being the determining factor in the
well being of the society. And it will
continue to be the true reflection of
any society.
History also reveals that tithing
became a “Christian” doctrine only
after the Roman Catholic Church
joined hands with secular and political
forces during this period.
However, just as tithing law was an
unprofitable ordinance which never
produced spiritual growth in national
Israel under the Old Covenant, even so
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tithing to the church never led to
spiritual growth when used by
Christians.
Roman Catholics have been guilty
of oppression and persecution
regarding state mandated tithing laws.
And, like Old Covenant tithing in
national Israel, nothing good has ever
resulted from such attempts to enforce
tithing to the church on one another.
Tithes, contrary to apostles’
doctrine were used to support
ministers
Another major setback of the
church was the emergence of the first
church building during this period.
Also, ministers of the gospel
started supporting themselves with the
people’s tithes around the AD800
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during Charlemagne reign as the holy
roman emperor. But despite this
decline; there were men who spoke
against tithing to the church in this era.
Some of these men according to
historical facts were Waldenses 1150,
Thomas Aquinas 1275, John Wycliffe
1384, and John Huss 1415.
This decline continues until the
time of reformation. God began to
raise men to oppose the errors of
church leaders. One of such men was
Martin Luther; the German Roman
Catholic monk. He led the protest
against so many atrocities in the
church. Hence, the revolution gave rise
to the protestant churches, which
eventual birth the modern church.
Before the reformation, there was
only one universal church-the Roman
Catholic. But after the reformation, we
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began to have various church
denominations. So, the modern church
period unlike the other periods was
characterized by denominations.
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Chapter Six
The Modern Church Period
This period, (for the purpose of this
book and the subject of tithing) is
dated around AD1500—AD2000.It is a
period of further scriptural decline on
tithing.
The church began to experience
gradual further decline during this
period as a result of
denominationalism. The emergence of
denominations further deepens
disunity in the church. Men began to
build empires and kingdoms for
themselves in the name of building the
church for God. Everyone began to
desire to have their own thing, in their
own way. We forgot the blueprint the
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master (Jesus) gave to the apostles on
what, why and how of the church.
As denominationalism continue to
gain prominence in the church, there
came an ever increasing need for
money to build church structures and
to fund other unnecessary programs
and activities not included in the
blueprint of Jesus. Then the modern
churches came to be.
God raised up Martin Luther
It all started when a man raised by
God stood up to challenge the leaders
of the church. A man named Martin
Luther became tired of the corruption
and unscriptural activities of the then
universal church—Roman Catholic.
Martin Luther a German monk,
Catholic priest, professor of theology
and seminal figure of the 16th-century
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movement in Christianity known later
as the Protestant Reformation.
He strongly disputed the claim that
freedom from God's punishment for
sin could be purchased with monetary
values. He confronted indulgence
salesman Johann Tetzel, a Dominican
friar, with his world famous
revolutionary book (Ninety-Five
Theses) in 1517.And this led to his
excommunication from the church by
the then pope Leo X in 1520.
Luther’s book was one of the first
in history to be aided by the printing
press. It was printed and widely copied
in January 1518.And within two weeks,
copies of the theses had spread
throughout Germany, within two
months throughout Europe. People
began to listen to Luther’s sermon of
change. Every believer was now able to
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have access to the word of God because
of the printing press which was a new
invention by Gutenberg, Luther’s
friend.
Luther’s revolution led to church
denominations
As the revolution was going on in
the church, people’s eyes became open
to the truth of God’s word. The people
now saw the wrongs of the leadership
of the church. So, within a short time
by 1526, Luther found himself
increasingly occupied in organizing a
new church. Hence the protestant
church was founded. And this marked
the beginning of denominationalism.
Luther had great intentions of true
reformation of the church. He desired
to see the church operate as it was in
the days of the apostles. But the early
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church model which was the blueprint
for the church of Jesus was not
achieved. Luther, in other to avoid
confusing and upsetting the people, avoided
extreme change. He based his order on
the Catholic service. This became the
undoing of the reformation agenda of
great man Luther.
Luther spoke against Tithing to the
church doctrine
As a result of the lack of total and
extreme change, denominations began
to surface gradually overtime till now
in the twenty first century. But note,
tithing to the church was among one of
those things Luther was against.
Therefore, he preached against it in a
message titled: How Christians Should
Regard Moses. This message was
preached August 27, 1525.
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Luther’s reformation doesn’t accept
the idea of tithing to the church. A few
excerpts from the message reads: “The
Law of Moses Binds Only the Jews and Not
the Gentiles. Here the Law of Moses has its
place. It is no longer binding on us because
it was given only to the people of Israel. And
Israel accepted this law for itself and its
descendants, while the Gentiles were
excluded.” “Moses has nothing to do with
us. If I were to accept Moses in one
commandment, I would have to accept the
entire Moses.” “We will not regard him as
our lawgiver - unless he agrees with both
the New Testament and the natural law.”
“For not one little period in Moses pertains
to us.” “But the other commandments of
Moses, which are not by nature, the Gentiles
do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the
Gentiles, such as the Tithe and others
equally fine which I wish we had too.”
More so, it wasn’t only Martin
Luther who was against tithing to the
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church. There were other faithful and
truthful men who spoke against it
during the time of reformation.
According to history; German
Peasants 1520, Anabaptists 1525,
Erasmus 1536, and Otto Brumfels
1534.Also very many have opposed it
after Luther till now. But notable
among them are; Philip Melanchthon
1560,,English Parliament 1650,John
Cotton 1652 Puritan, Roger Williams
1636 Baptist, Oliver Cromwell
1658,John Milton 1658 Puritan,
Quakers 1768,John Gill 1771 Baptist,
John Wesley 1791, Charles H Spurgeon
1832 Baptist.
Nevertheless, the tithing abuse
gained a greater prominence towards
the end of the nineteenth century after
its introduction into the Baptist church.
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It came as a result of the state
withdrawing from funding the church.
With the rise of Pentecostal and
charismatic movement in the twentieth
century, the abuse of tithing came to its
zenith. The church of Jesus was
dragged to the height of financial
corruption synonymous to the buying
and selling Jesus opposed in the
temple in his days.
Some have raised their voices;
Henry William Clark 1891 English,
David MaConaughy 1918 Episcopal,
Francis Pieper 1953 Lutheran, John
Macarthur 1982-2000, Charles Swindoll
1990 Dallas Seminary, Russell Earl
Kelly 2001 Baptist, Mark Driscoll 2008,
Roman Catholic Church, Jehovah’s
Witnesses, New Worldwide Church of
God, even me! What about you?
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God is set to transform the church.
The church is going back to the early
model of operation. And one of the
errors to be corrected to get the church
back to the original plan of God is
‘tithing to the church doctrine’.
So, watch it! Anyone who stands
against this change will be swept
away. Why? This is the time God have
set in his heart to undo this error of
tithing to the church doctrine.
Get ready for transformation in
your church!
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Chapter Seven
The Post-Modern
Church Period
The post-modern church period is a
period of transformation in the church.
This period began at the dawn of the
twenty-first century about a decade
and half ago. It is an era of the third
millennium (AD2000---?).
Tithing to the church doctrine will
be a thing of the past
It will be a period of total removal
of ‘’ tithing to the church’’ doctrine.
And it has started already. Tithing to
the church doctrine in this period will
be disobedience to God, opposition to
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the transformation agenda. And,
eventually it will be a thing of the past.
This is because there cannot be real or
total transformation in the church
without the removal of tithing error.
Why? Tithing to the church as we have
seen based on historical facts, was one
of the major errors introduced into the
church after the early church period.
And this brought about corruption and
decline of the scriptural truths about
giving in the church.
How the introduction of tithing to
the church did affect not only the
church but also the society? It affected
the society because the church focused
on building itself physically instead of
the society. The money that was
supposed to be channeled for
transformation program in the society
were being abused and misused for
personal aggrandizement, instead of
the church influencing the society
especially economically; the society is
now influencing the church negatively.
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Moreover, do not forget that
financial corruption in the church will
definitely rubs on the society. Even
though the church is a business, please
understand it’s a spiritual business,
and it should not be operated as a
natural business. The church from the
beginning has always been for
transformation of societies. This is
because Jesus did not just redeem the
man but also the land. But how can a
tool transform another without it first
being transformed. It’s been said by a
wise man: ‘’where the church goes there
the society goes ‘’.
The society is a true reflection of
the church in that society. The more
corrupt the church in a society, the
greater the corruption in that society.
Tithing to the church is one of those
corrupt practices of the church.
If we want corruption to reduce
drastically in our society then tithing to
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the church must be abolished. Any
church denomination that is not
transforming its surrounding society
practically is not fulfilling the purpose
of God for this hour. And sincerely,
there is no church that can transform
its society without removal of ‘’tithing
to the church’’ doctrine. It is not just
truth but fact.
Tithing to the church is not just
wrong scripturally but detrimental to
the society. And Africa among other
continents seems to be the most
affected. America, yes they practice
this false doctrine in majority of their
churches too, but don’t forget they are
well given to charity. It is in the fabric
of their society. America has majority
of the big foundations and charity
organizations in the world. So the poor
effect of economic development did
not affect them that much.
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An example of what tithes are
meant for
At the beginning of this twenty first
century God proved to us through a
church denomination in Eastern
Europe that the statement; ‘’ there is no
church that can transform its society
without removal of tithing to the
church doctrine’’ is true.
The whole world witnessed the role
the church played in the
transformation of Ukrainian societies.
This led to what is called the Orange
Revolution. The transformation was
real and is still on.
Ukraine became a center of
attraction to the world in 2004 when
her citizens stood up for a change in
their country. Friends, the church was
at the forefront of this notable historic
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revolution. It was one of the most
peaceful political revolutions the
world has ever experienced in recent
times.
But a careful study of what
happened prior to the revolution,
reveals to us the will of God to
authenticate the national
transformation agenda for the twenty
first century. And it cannot be realized
without the church making itself
available as the tool God will use.
Please note that a decade before the
Orange Revolution, the church in that
country has been undergoing
transformation. And one of the things
that made it possible was their social
responsibility. It was a major factor.
This was achieved because of their
understanding of tithe being for the
poor and needy of the society. This
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church denomination was at the
forefront of the revolution in Ukraine.
The church gives hundred percent of
the tithes to charity. All their tithes go
to the poor, afflicted, dejected and
needy of the society.
In fact some members of this
church are allowed to give their tithes
directly to the poor and needy in the
form of organized outreach ministries.
A lot of societal problems are being
solved by the church through this act.
People’s tithes are being used to cater
for the need of the least among you
that Jesus spoke about in Matthew
chapter 25.
Some members of this church
denomination have restaurants that
feed over three thousand hungry
people for free, every day. That’s
mind-boggling! This is exactly an
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example of what tithes are meant to be
used for.
It is noteworthy to say here also
that, this particular church
denomination never had a building for
about fifteen years in existence as a
church in that country. This church to a
large extent became a model of what
the church will look like in the twenty
first century.
The church of the 21st century will
be synonymous to that of the early
church in model and character.
Your Tithe is for the needy!
Friends, please imagine everyone
giving their tithes directly to charity
through various outreaches. Just
imagine everyone using their tithes to
serve the poor and needy in their
neighborhoods. Believe it, the world
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will be a better place than what we
have now.
Please note, as you give your tithe
directly to the needy, the blessings
attached to the covenant of tithing still
holds true.
Let this change start with you!
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Conclusion
In conclusion, tithing to the church is
unscriptural and detrimental to societal
transformation. This we have proved
by looking at the subject of tithing in
old and New Testament. Also we
considered the time of Jesus as it was
recorded in the bible. Moreover
historical facts about tithing were not
neglected in this book.
Tithes, we saw are for the poor and
needy in the society. But most
importantly, that poor or needy could
be anybody.
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Consider the words of God’s
Generals on the subject of tithing to
the church
Great men of God in the past
preached against tithing to the church.
Men like Martin Luther, John Wesley
and Charles Spurgeon.
I humbly leave you with the
thoughts of great men on this subject: ‘’
But you are not under a system similar
to that by which the Jews were obliged
to pay tithes to the priests. If there were
any such rule laid down in the Gospel,
it would destroy the beauty of
spontaneous giving and take away all
the bloom from the fruit of your
liberality! There is no law to tell me
what I should give my father on his
birthday. There is no rule laid down in
any law book to decide what present a
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husband should give to his wife, nor
what token of affection we should
bestow upon others whom we love. No,
the gift must be a free one, or it has lost
all its sweetness.” Charles H Spurgeon:
Christ’s Poverty, Our Riches
Metropolitan Tabernacle, April 18,
1880, and Sermon 2716.
John Wesley, On Tithing: (1
Corinthians 16:2); ‘’ According to this
lowest rule of Christian prudence, if a
man when he has or gains one pound
give a tenth to God, when he has or
gains an hundred he will give the tenth
of this also. And yet I show unto you a
more excellent way. He that hath ears
let him hear. Stint yourself to no
proportion at all. But lend to God all
you can’’
As we commit to give our tithes
and even far and above the one tenth to
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the poor and needy in the society.
There will be unprecedented
transformation in our societies;
economically. This will also reduce
financial corruption in the church,
especially at a time such as this when
financial scandal is at its peak.
On a final note, some concerned
mature Christians are afraid the
message of this book might be too
risky; as it can weaken the faith of
many. But on the contrary, the faiths of
many have been weakened over the
years as a result of this error. And I
strongly believe it’s a greater risk to
continue in this error and not the truth
of God’s word.
Above all, by correcting this
unnecessary error, people’s confidence
of the church’s integrity as the hope of
a dying world will be restored.
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Notes
1. Sunday Adelaja, ChurchShift (Florida:
Charisma House, 2008).
2. Russell Earl Kelly, should church teach
tithing? (2001).
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About The Author
Olaolu Oriowo
Olumuyiwa Olaolu Oriowo is a visionary
and a steward of the mysteries of God. He is
an ardent teacher of the truths of God’s word
for the 21st century.
He is an unconventional author of three
‘Tradition Busting’ titles-Tithing Redefined,
TimeShift and CHARACTER.
He is member and an advocate of
ChurchShift Movement.
Also, Olaolu holds a leadership diploma
certificate in bible studies. He studied
architecture at Lagos state Polytechnic and
University of Jos respectively.
Olaolu lives in Lagos with his ‘Tradition
Busting’ manuscripts.
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110
Connect with Olaolu
Online:
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OTHER BOOKS BY Olaolu
TimeShift: The error of the 12midnight
TimeShift is a revelation on the error of starting
your day at twelve midnight and its negative
impact of blocking the flow of divine ideas. Also,
it shows how the error affects personal achievement
and balanced global development.
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CHARACTER: The Nine Inevitable
Natures of Effective Leadership for the
Digital Age.
Think you know what will make any kind of
leadership not to fail in this digital age? Think
again!
CHARACTER reveals it is identifying, cultivating
and nurturing the natures of effective leadership.
Everyone is a leader, but not everyone is or will
automatically be an effective leader. Why? An
effective leader has or will identify, cultivate and
nurture the natures of effective leadership.
© Olaolu Oriowo/www.redefinedfuture.com
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REDEFINED FUTURE
Feeding You
With
Tradition Busting
Divine Ideas
© Olaolu Oriowo/www.redefinedfuture.com