The Charismatic Gift of Giving or the Law of Tithing? Which?
FATEB – 27 January 2006
Dr. Peter W. Dunn
Acts
2.41 So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added
that day about three thousand souls. 42 And they devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread
and the prayers.
43 And fear came upon every
soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in
common; 45 and they sold their possessions and goods and
distributed them to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day,
attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook
of food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and
having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day
those who were being saved.
Acts
4.32 Now the company of those who believed were of
one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed
was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And
with great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the
Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There
was not a needy person among them, for as many as were possessors of lands or
houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35
and laid it at the apostles’ feet; and distribution was made to each as
any had need. 36 Thus Joseph who was surnamed by the
apostles Barnabas (which means, Son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of
Romans 12.6
Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use
them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; 7 if
service, in our serving; he who teaches, in his teaching; 8
he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who contributes, in liberality; he
who gives aid, with zeal; he who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
Introduction: Having
taught the books of Acts several times at FATEB, I have read several exegesis
papers on the Acts 2.41-47 and Acts 4.32-37.
There was even at least one sermon here in chapel on one of these passages. What has struck me is that in every case
Fatebian exegetes and preachers have placed the emphasis so squarely upon the
imperative: this is what we must do if
we wish truly to be the community of God.
When I have taught Matthew 5.20, where Jesus says that unless our
righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees, we will surely not
enter into the
Nothing illustrates the pharisaical righteousness of many
evangelicals better than our teaching about tithing. Most of us have been exposed at one time or
another to the teaching of the “law of tithing”. It
goes something like this: the tithe is 1/10
of all our gross earnings before tax, not of the net income; the tithe belongs
to the local church—if you want to give to another charitable organization or to
the poor or needy, such gifts are to be given above and beyond the tithe; if
you fail to pay the tithe of all sources of income, you are robbing God and so
you can’t expect God to bless you in return; if you give more than 1/10, those
are “offerings” which you freely give above and beyond the tithe, which is
God’s right.
A lady from a charismatic church to which we used to belong
told me that her pastor told her that if she didn’t pay her tithe on her
welfare cheque, she could no longer participate in the ministries of the
church, be it in the Sunday school or worship team. This pastor, for one, was going to put an end
to the robbing of God that his leadership team had committed. Had it occurred to him that this woman, being
on social assistance with a son, barely had $150 per month after paying her
rent and utilities? Instead of having
mercy on her situation, this “pastor” had become a hireling (John 10.12), who
wanted to rob the widows and orphans instead of making sure that they received the
attention of the church (James 1.27: “ Religion that is pure
and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in
their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”) The irony of this whole scene is that it took
place in a Vineyard church, which emphasizes the grace of God over His justice,
His mercy over judgment. It happened in
a charismatic church, which emphasizes the charismatic gifts and the work of
the Spirit. This is especially ironic
since I believe that the New Testament, which attests to our new and better
covenant that we have with God and makes many of the Old Testament laws passé,
does not teach this law of tithing.[1] Proponents of the law of tithing, as I
described it above, must invariably make reference to the Old Testament. But while never once teaching this law of
tithing, it is not at all as though the NT has nothing to say about giving, au contraire. I would like to propose from our reading of
the passages above that the NT views giving not as a obligation mandated by law
as we too often teach in our churches, but as a charismatic gift. This point of view is most neglected in
charismatic and Pentecostal churches, in my experience, which are the most
earnest in the teaching and the enforcement of the law of tithing.
In Book of Acts, the community planted by the apostles had
as its first stimulus the descent of the Spirit upon the community. Thus, Luke is not giving prescriptions for the
healthy Christian community as every exegesis paper and sermon that I have
heard on these passages would suggest.
Rather, Luke is describing the Spirit-filled community. This same Spirit of prophecy who descended
upon the followers of Jesus in the first century is a promised gift to all of
us who come to know and trust the Lord Jesus Christ and to worship the Father
in his name. Thus, the generous giving
of the early Christians, so that no needy person was found amongst them, was a
response to the amazing reality of the Holy Spirit poured out into the hearts
of the believers. To confirm that this
generosity was seen as a response to the Spirit of God, Paul writes in Romans
12, that each should exercise his “charisma”[2] in
proportion to the faith that they have.
Just to be sure that we don’t miss the point, prophecy is the first gift
mentioned. In the list, giving is
mentioned with at least two different words, “contributing” and “acts of
mercy”. It is clear in any case to me,
that if Christians give to local church or if they give to a Christian charity,
or if they simply give money to the poor, they do so according to Paul not
because some law was brought down to them, but as a result of the Holy Spirit
who has poured out God’s grace and love into their hearts, and so they
generously and cheerfully respond.
Here are some of the differences between viewing giving not
as law but as a charismatic gift:
(1)
People often obey law for fear of punishment.
Thus, people may obey the law of tithing in fear that, if they don’t,
God will allow Satan to rob them, and this is to a degree true (cf. Malachi 3.6-12). But
charismatic giving is done with cheerfulness (Rom 12.8). Elsewhere Paul says that God loves a cheerful
giver (2 Cor 9.7). Jesus says that it is
more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20.35). I can attest that this is true. I have been on the giving end and on the
receiving end. I can tell you that I
have more joy in giving than in receiving, knowing that with the blessings that
God has given to us, we can help the poor and work toward the advancement of
the
(2)
The law sets strict limits. Charismatic
giving has no limits. The law of tithing
says you must give 10% and anything above that is a freewill offering. When the widow gave her mite, she was despised
by the people, but Jesus said that she gave more than the others because that
was all she had (Mark 12.42). If a rich
person gives 10% and nothing more and spends his remaining wealth extravagantly
and selfishly, he has satisfied the law of tithing. But is such a one filled with the Holy
Spirit? If poor people give small
offerings out of their poverty but cannot yet give 10%, they are guilty under
the law of tithing. When giving is seen
as a charismatic gift, even the poor are able to make contributions in faith
that God will bless them.
(3)
The law is satisfied with compliance no matter what is in the heart. People who give to the church under the
rubric of the law of tithing can be bitter, unhappy, and controlling, and yet
they can still satisfy the law of tithing.
When charismatic giving is active, giving is done with cheerfulness and
the church is wary of counterfeit gifts.
When Ananias and Saphphira gave the proceeds of the sale of their
property (Acts 5), Peter rebuked them for holding back a portion but pretending
to give the whole amount. Thus, Satan
had inspired them to try to counterfeit the charismatic gift of giving. Just as there is false prophesy in the
church, there is also false giving. The
Holy Spirit used Peter to show the church that God is displeased with
counterfeit giving.
(4)
A pastor working under the law of tithing may manipulate his congregation to
enforce the law. A pastor working under
the idea that giving is a charismatic gift earnestly teaches the people in his congregation
how to attain spiritual growth and maturity, how to trust God in all
circumstances for their well-being. A
pastor who sees that the congregation is not generous will pray for his sheep
that God would pour out his Spirit into their hearts and set them free from the
chains of self-centeredness by which Satan keeps them prisoner.
(5)
In the law of tithing, one often expects that God is also bound by the
law. Thus, if I give, God is bound by
law to give back to me, sometimes 10 fold sometimes 100 fold. In this scheme, giving is no longer an act of
faith, but it becomes magic, a means of manipulating the hand of God. In charismatic giving, one gives out of a
heart overflowing with the Spirit of love who guides our actions. Because God loves us, we love others and are
willing to give sacrificially to see that others are cared for both physically
and spiritually. Charismatic giving is
also an act of faith, believing that God is able to keep us and to bless us.
In
conclusion, I would recommend to us all a re-reading of the NT teaching
regarding giving. I think that the
evidence shows that the NT does not view giving as a law but as a charismatic
gift. Paul says that as Christians we
are free from the law to live according to the Spirit of God. In this way, our covenant is better than the
old covenant of the law which mandated tithing.
This sets us free to give not because we have to, but because God has
poured out his love into our hearts and given to us so much that we can’t help
but show our appreciation through our generosity in our gifts to help the
advancement of his Kingdom and to help the poor and needy whom God also loves. It sets us free from manipulative false
teaching in the church. It sets us free
also from the bondage of materialism, of trusting in material possessions
instead of in the God who created all things for our enjoyment. May the Lord help us to understand his word
today.
[1] Matthew 23.23-24 could be seen as an exception:
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you tithe mint and
dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice
and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the
others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” However, we must remember that this Gospel
has been traditionally seen as stemming from a Jewish context where the Torah
was still maintained by Jewish Christians—Matt. 23.2-3 says: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’
seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they
do; for they preach, but do not practice.”
Such a passage makes sense only in a Jewish context where the Torah was
still kept and not in an essentially gentile environment—the gentiles were not
expected to keep the Torah, as can be seen from the Jerusalem council onwards
(Acts 15; cf. Gal).
[2] The word “charisma” is derived from the word grace and is a reference in Paul to the gifts of the Spirit. Cf. esp. 1 Cor 12-14.