From the website sbcheritage, What Is My Tithe? A 1920′S Southern Baptist Response Posted on July 31, 2013 by Drew Wales For nearly as long as there have been Baptists, they have been questioning leaders about tithing. One deacon wrote into the Baptist Message in 1924 regarding the tithe. The editor’s response, and the question, are both very interesting. The well-meaning editor sounds more like an accountant than a religious paper editor. The article is below. Editor, Baptist Message: You have asked me to reply to the following question, propounded to you in a recent letter: “please answer the following though the columns of The Message: My employer pays me a salary of $300 per month and provides me a residence worth about $75 per month free. What is the minimum amount of my tithe?—Deacon. It appears that we must first understand what is to be tithed. In Deut. 14:29, we find this clause, “Thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase,” and in Lev. 27:30, these words, “all the tithe * * * it is holy unto the Lord.” I believe, therefore, that these scriptures, together with others, which might be quoted, would fully defend the following statement: To correctly tithe, one must give one-tenth of one’s net income. Again, it would appear that there could be little argument over the proposition that no living expenses are properly deductable against the Lord’s holy one-tenth, but that all material obligations ought to be met out of our nine-tenths of the increase. The only charges that occur to me which may be properly deductable from a salary are those expenses exclusive of living expenses absolutely essential to the earning of the salary. In the case cited, if the offer was for a salary of $375 and the deacon furnish his own house there could be no argument but that $37.50 would be the proper monthly tithe less, as stated above, the necessary expenses other than the necessary living expenses in order to earn this salary, such as car fare, etc. In a case where the salary is given, $300 and a residence given valued at $75 per month, I believe that the deacon would have the moral right to properly appraise, for his own use, the value of the residence to him per month and, therefore, for his tithe put a valuation on his monthly salary at a figure less than $375 if he could honestly under value the rent at less than it was appraised to him, and then his tithe would be based upon his full figure of the total value of his salary. Very truly yours, Ben Johnson My Reply: While the question was interesting, the answer was incorrect. The answer contained portions of Scripture taken out of context to prove a false premise that we are required to tithe our money. Notice: Deuteronomy 14:28 (KJV) 28 At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay [it] up within thy gates: Deuteronomy 14:29 (KJV) 29 And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which [are] within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest. In the Deuteronomy passage, we see the tithe spoken of was not speaking of money, but rather food. It was to be fed to the less fortunate every three years. This is not a command for a monetary tithe. Again... Leviticus 27:30 (KJV) 30 And all the tithe of the land, [whether] of the seed of the land, [or] of the fruit of the tree, [is] the LORDS: [it is] holy unto the LORD. In Leviticus 27:30, we see that the tithes that God said were holy were not monetary. They were agricultural; i.e., seed of the land, fruit of the tree, and every tenth animal to pass under the counting rod (v. 32) But notice the last verse in the chapter... Leviticus 27:34 (KJV) 34 These [are] the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai. The tithe Law was for the children of Israel, not any other geographical location. In Numbers 18, we read that God gave His tithes to the Levitical Tribe of Israel. There is no other nation in the Word of God authorized to collect tithes. Even in Hebrews 7, the author states that the sons of Levi still had the command to take tithes of their brethren according to the Law... Still an agricultural tithe! The monetary tithe requirement doctrine being taught in Churches today is unScriptural. God never gave pastors or Churches authority to collect tithes.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 11:28:22 +0000