Against tithing in the modern-day christian church Essay

Against tithing in the modern-day christian church - Essay Example Tithing should not be practiced in the modern-day Church. There are several reasons for this, five good ones being the following: God does not dwell in churches made with human hands; the old Covenant cannot justify men through works and righteousness anymore; there would be less prosperity churches as well as their propaganda; the church can have a different approach towards giving than tithing; and the practice of tithing ended with the last book of the Old Testament in Malachi. These are just a few of the many reasons why tithing should not continue to be practiced in the modern Christian church. Tithing is an outdated notion which only serves to place a burden upon the people who have very little already—and casts a pall over the church as an organization that is only motivated by money and getting congregation members to handily donate or give to the Church. II. God’s New Covenant Dwells in a Body of Believers, Not a Physical Building Under the new Covenant, God do es not dwell in churches made with human hands—but rather dwells within a temple that is made of the body of believers. This is significant because Christians should not be focusing entirely on the revenue that a church creates through tithing, but rather make it a situation where people can donate or give openly or anonymously—in whatever fashion they see fit that is in line with church standards. Additionally, now believers under the new Covenant are now God's temple—and as such, the issue of tithing and giving 10% of one’s income is not an option.... , and—while people should still be encouraged to give freely to the church if it is within their power to do so—people should not be bullied into giving such a large portion of their income over to the Church, an obvious fact. III. Christ’s Appearance Abolished the Necessity for Tithing People used to tithe in the church in order to ensure that the Levirate (the priests who were descendants of Levi) were taken care of in order so that they could serve the church. Therefore, ten percent of the peoples’ offerings went to the priesthood. To continue such a practice by supporting pastors with ten percent of one’s income is not only based on a Biblical concept that is now out-of-date, but also unnecessary. The old Covenant cannot justify men through works and righteousness anymore, as Christ has already come. Since Christ came to the world because he loved the world—God having given ‘His only [begotten] son’ to pay recompense for the sins of the world—it no longer became necessary for the old rule of tithing to continue to stay in place.1 Christ died in order to bring the new Covenant into fruition, thus becoming the fulfillment of the law. People no longer had to abide by doing good works and seeking righteousness in order to secure their place in heaven. That is not saying people should not do good works or continue to live righteously—but works and righteousness are evidences that a Christian is still practicing the faith. These are the fruits of righteousness, which ever Christian should display. This is more important than some fabricated obligation to â€Å"give God 10%.† Christ should be the focus in the Church’s congregation, with every church appropriately divining God’s message as the churches’ missions are developed into full-fledged