Should the Church Teach Tithing?
A Theologian’s Conclusions about a Taboo Doctrine
Russell Earl Kelly, PHD
Note: Charles Ross has helped a lot of people with good financial advice in areas other than tithing. I commend him for that.
CHARLES ROSS’ TITHNG ERRORS; YOUR PERSONAL FINANCE
God’s Plan for Your Financial Success, Charles Ross
Pages 55-74, Tithing portion reviewed by Russell Earl Kelly
P55: “The Bible seems to indicate that Abraham was the first [tither].”… “With Abraham we are first introduced to tithing—giving a tenth.” …. “The first time the word tithe appears in the Bible is Genesis 14:20. [quotes] Thus tithing was practiced more than 500 years before the Mosaic Law.
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KELLY: Abraham was NOT the first tither. Tithing was a well-know pagan practice around the early world long before Abraham was born. It was practiced in Babylon when he was a child. When commentaries discuss Genesis 14:21 (after verse 20) they often attribute the 90% to pagan Arab tradition. Therefore Abraham was probably REQUIRED to give the local priest-king a tithe of the spoils of war. Also the tithes Abraham gave were not the same as later holy tithes from a holy people from a holy land to a holy Yahweh.
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P56: “Abraham stared it and Moses commanded it.” [Quotes Deut 12:6] and Jesus upheld it [quotes Lk 11:42].
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KELLY: Again, Abraham did not START tithing. And Moses never referred to Abraham’s tithe as an example for the Law. The two tithes have nothing in common. Under the later Law pagan spoils of war did not go to the Levites and priests but went into the temple treasury.
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P56: “[Abraham’s rescue of Lot] was where tithing came into the picture.
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KELLY: This is only where the pagan tithe of spoils of war entered the picture.
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P57: “Abraham responded to the word of Melchizedek as if it were the word of God.”
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KELLY: The Bible does not say that! He probably gave spoils of war tithes in obedience to an old Arab tradition which is well-documented in early literature.
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P57: “How did Abraham know to give a tenth to Melchizedek? Well, we really don’t know. Perhaps Abraham knew in his heart what to do.” [Discusses Rom 1:19, 20; 2:15 to imply that tithing is an innate eternal principle written in the heart of every person and, therefore, not tithing is a sin!] “A naïve notion that those who have never explicitly heard the gospel are not under condemnation is corrected in this passage. What may intuitively be known about God is placed in the minds (heart, conscience) of all people by God.” [Quotes Gen 1:26, 27; Heb 8:10; 9:14 to prove that Christians should know God’s will.]
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KELLY: With no justification or correlation whatsoever, Ross trys to teach that tithing is an eternal moral principle written within the heart and conscience of every person on earth. However, while that may be true of giving per se, it is not true of a set percentage of ten per cent. This is really a disgusting twisting of God’s word to use the texts presented as justification to teach that tithing is included.
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P58: [Quotes Gal 3:8; 5:18, 22-23 to prove that Abraham’s knowledge of the gospel prompted him to tithe.] “Abraham knew to give a tithe, a tenth, because his faith and knowledge of God may have told him what God would want him to do.”
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KELLY: This is another twist of scripture which has not been used by any other tithe-advocate I have read. The sentence is contradictory within itself. You cannot say that Abraham “knew to give a tithe” and then say the knowledge of God “may have” told him such. It is neither. It is merely Ross’ conjecture which he presents as Bible fact. He goes from “perhaps” to a statement of fact.
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P58: “There is ultimately one reason why every Christian should be a tither: because Jesus said we should.
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KELLY: Wrong! Jesus never said that “we,” the “church,” should tithe. In Matt 23:23 (Lk 11:42) he was addressing Jewish disciples and Pharisees who were still living under the jurisdiction of the Law. He was discussing “matters of the law.” Jesus never told Gentiles whom he healed to show themselves to the priests either because such would have been against the law.
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P58: Tithing was so deeply embedded in the Jewish conscience that it needed virtually no mention in the NT. Tithing was an assumption in Israel when Jesus came on the scene. [Quotes Mt 23:23]
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KELLY: According to Acts 15 and Acts 21 (especially 21:20) the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem were indeed still tithing –to the Jewish temple!!! They were still zealously observing ALL of the Law. It was not an “assumption” but a “commandment” of the Mosaic Law to all who were under the jurisdiction of that Law. The Gentiles were not and the Gentile Christians of the Church were not.
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P59: “If tithing was a part of the Law that would or could be dropped under the new covenant, that was the place our Lord would have done it. He did not.”
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KELLY: Wrong! In Mt 23:22 (Lk 11:42) Jesus was continuing a long discussion of the Mosaic Law. He was not discussing matters of the Church or of the New Covenant. Read preceding chapters.
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P59: “Tithing teaches us to put God first in our lives so that we may learn “to revere the Lord our God always” (Deu 14:23). It reminds us that we owe all we have to God. That God owns it all and allows us to keep the remainder is a testament to His ownership. It was no easier for the people of Israel to tithe than it is for us today. Tithing is an opportunity to test God’s promise to provide.”
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KELLY: These statements sound good, but they fall far short of the truth. They applied to a select few in Israel who were farmers and herdsmen. The tithe of Deuteronomy 14 which Ross alludes to was EATEN by everybody in the streets at festival time. In fact, even an Israelite could not bring as a tithe of food or animals which were grown outside of the holy land. Also the tithe was not the “first” but the “tenth.” In Leviticus 27:30-33, the first tithe was not even the best. It was the “tenth” to the Levites, regardless of quality.
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P59: [Quotes Malachi 3:10] “Another reason we should tithe is that Jesus Christ is concerned with the salvation of our souls.”
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KELLY: In my opinion this is blasphemy –making tithing essential for salvation! Few people read all of Malachi. Malachi 1:6; 2:1 and 3:2, 3 are clearly addressed to the dishonest ministers and not the people. Malachi 1:14; 2:2 and 3:8-10 are curses on every priest in the nation for stealing what they vowed from the tithes from God in 1:14. See also Nehemiah 13:5-10.
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P59: “Tithing works because it changes you. … Giving always guarantees receiving. … When you give you can be assured of this: God’s resources will work their way back to you in many unexpected and bountiful ways.”
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KELLY: Not necessarily money.
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P60: “To have that good life you have to give some of what you have received: ‘Freely you have received, freely give” (Mt 10:8).”
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KELLY: Read Matthew 10 and Luke 10 for the context of “freely you have received, freely give.” The disciples and the 70 were penniless migrant preachers living off the daily generosity of those who took them in while they were preaching. These are not prosperity texts or tithing texts.
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P61: “Throughout the book of Proverbs you will find that if you add human giving to God’s blessings you will get your material needs met “ [Quotes Prov 3:9-10;11:18; 11:24; 22:9].
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KELLY: Tithing is not discussed in Proverbs. Firstfruits are not the same as tithing.
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P63: [Uses Daniel and Jeremiah as examples of faithful givers.] “They remained faithful and were rewarded.”
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KELLY: This discussion has nothing to do with tithing. In fact the temple was used for pagan worship during the time of Daniel and Jeremiah (read Ezekiel and Jeremiah). There were no holy Levites and priests during their lifetime.
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P63: “God in his infinite wisdom and according to His purpose in our lives chooses which of his faith people He will prosper. But both Daniel and Jeremiah were satisfied with the calling that God had on their lives.”
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KELLY: I agree, but make up your mind! Either teach that God must financially bless every Christian who tithes or else teach that he only blesses whom he chooses to bless. Jeremiah was certainly NOT blessed financially.
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P64: “No matter what we do for a living, God promises that He will rebuke Satan so he can’t destroy our fruit, which is the blessings that God will give us as the result of our tithes and offerings ” [quotes Malachi 3:11]. … This is the only place where God says that he will rebuke the devil if he tries to take the blessings from tithing and giving our offerings from us. I am telling you, if you haven’t been convinced to tithe after hearing that, then you just don’t understand God’s word in regard to giving, and you just don’t want to be blessed.”
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KELLY: The promise found in Malachi is not unique or new. It was the standard “blessing” for obedience to ALL of the Mosaic Law and is found in Deuteronomy 26 – 28 and also in the first part of Leviticus 27.
Mal 4:4 “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.” The exact wording of the tithing statute is found in Numbers 18 and no church follows any part of that statute today.
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P64: “God said ‘Bring ye the whole tithe into the storehouse.’” Don’t hold back any of it. The obedient Israelite didn’t ask if he could give 7 per cent instead of 10, or whether he could tithe on the net rather than the gross. Whatever God provided, whether in the form of material or cash or benefits of any sort, 10 per cent belonged to God.”
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KELLY: Malachi 3:10 is the most mis-interpreted verse in the Bible.
The “whole” tithe never was supposed to go to the Temple! According to Dr. Russell Earl Kelly in his book, Should the Church Teach Tithing?, the usual interpretation of Malachi 3:10’s “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse” is wrong for three reasons.
First, the Levitical cities must be included. God never told ordinary Israelites to bring the whole tithe to the Temple in Jerusalem. According to Nehemiah 10:38 that duty belonged to the Levites and priests. The Levites lived on borrowed land surrounding 48 cities. After the exile they lived in the 13 priestly cities in Judah such as Jericho and Hebron. Nehemiah 10:37b makes it clear that the people were to bring the tithes to those cities. Numb 18:21-24; 35 all; Josh 20, 21; 1st Chron 6:48-80; 2nd Chron 11:13, 14; 31:15-19; Neh 12:27-29; 13:10 and Mal 1:14.
Second, the correct interpretation of Malachi 3:10 must include the 24 courses of the Levites and priests. Only the older males ate tithes at the Temple and then normally only one week out of 24 weeks! Do the math! That is only 4% of the total work force! And with the wives and younger children staying at home it is only 2% of the total work force who needed to eat tithes in the Temple! 1 Chronicles, chapters 23-26; 28:13, 21; 2 Chron. 8:14; 23:8; 31:2, 15-19; 35:4, 5, 10; Ezra 6:18; Neh. 11:19, 30; 12:24; 13:9, 10; Luke 1:5.
Third, the word “you” of Malachi is referring to the dishonest priests and not the people: “Even this whole nation of you –priests.” In Nehemiah 13:5-10 the priests had clearly stolen the Levites’ portion of the tithe. Also, in Malachi 1:14 the priests had stolen that portion of the tithed animals which they had vowed to God from their herds. Read all of Malachi. God’s anger towards the priests and His curses on them are ignored by most interpreters (1:14; 2:2 and 3:2-4).
When the Levitical cities, the 24 courses and God’s anger towards the priests for stealing are considered, then Malachi 3:10 only makes sense when it only refers to priests who had stolen from God. Proof-text hermeneutics cause error.
It makes no sense to tell the people to bring 100% of the tithe to the Temple when 98% of those who needed it for food were still in the Levitical cities.
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P65: “Tithes were paid. Offerings were given.”
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KELLY: “Were” means “during the Old Covenant.” There is not a word about tithing given to the Church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit after Calvary.
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P65: “There were three tithes for the people of Israel. One supported the priests and Levites. Num 18:21 ‘And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.’ [Refers to Num 18:24.]
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KELLY: Ross ignores the impact of these texts. Those Levites and priests who received the tithe were not allowed to own or inherit land in Israel. Today rich preachers collect the “tithe” and are great landowners. Also, the Levites who received the first whole tithe were NOT ministers. They were the servants to the priests and king. Those paid from the first whole tithe were carpenters and builders (Num 3). They were guards, choir members, musicians, bakers, animal skinners, janitors, treasurers, politicians and judges (1 Chronicles 23 to 26). This does not carry over to the church at all.
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P65: “Another provided for a sacred festival.” [quotes Deut 12:17, 18; 14:23]
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KELLY: Ross does not suggest 20% tithes. This tithe was eaten in the streets of Jerusalem during the three annual festivals.
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P66 “A third tithe was for the poor, orphans and widows [quotes Deut 14:28, 29; 26:12, 13]
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KELLY: He almost got it right. Read the texts. It was also eaten by the Levites and priests who were supposed to be among the POOR. Ross has to omit that fact because later he will teach that preachers should be paid even more than they deserve. Read the texts.
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P66: “The tithe or firstfruits was recognized as belonging to God in the first place. Since the tithe was considered God’s, people were not giving a tithe, but paying it to the one to whom it belonged.”
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KELLY: It is a common lie to call tithes firstfruits. Yet all of the financial gurus who deal with money and numbers tell this lie as if they do not know the difference between “first” and “tenth.” If anyone bothers reading Deuteronomy 26:1-10 he/she will discover that “firstfruits” were a very small token gift which would fit in a small basket. Nehemiah 10:35-37a says that the firstfruits went directly to the temple while the tithe went directly to the Levitical cities.
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P66: “For Israelites, not paying a tithe was not an option. They paid tithes out of obedience and duty.” But the tithe was only a starting place. They could choose to give additional offerings.”
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KELLY: There are several false assumptions here.
The first is that everyone was required to tithe in Israel.
Use God’s Word to define “tithe.” Do not use a secular dictionary! Open a complete Bible concordance and you will discover that the definition used by tithe-advocates is wrong. In God’s Word “tithe” does not stand alone. Although money existed before tithing, the original source of God’s “tithe” was never money. It was the “tithe of food.” This is very important: True biblical tithes were always only food from the farms and herds of only Israelites who only lived inside God’s Holy Land, the national boundary of Israel. The increase was gathered from what God produced and not from man’s craft or ability.
There are 15 verses from 11 chapters and 8 books from Leviticus 27 to Luke 11 which describe the contents of the tithe. And the contents never (again), never included money, silver, gold or anything other than food from inside Israel! Yet the incorrect definition of “tithe” is the greatest error being preached about tithing today! (See Lev. 27:30, 32; Numb. 18:27, 28; Deut. 12:17; 14:22, 23; 26:12; 2 Chron. 31:5, 6; Neh. 10:37; 13:5; Mal. 3:10; Matt. 23:23; Luke 11: 42).
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The second false assumption is that food was the same as barter money.
One argument to support non-food tithing is that money was not universally available and barter from food must have been used for most transactions. This argument is not biblical. Genesis alone contains “money” in 32 texts and the word occurs 44 times before the tithe is first mentioned in Leviticus 27. The word shekel also appears often from Genesis to Deuteronomy.
In fact many centuries before Israel entered Canaan and began tithing food from God’s Holy Land money was an essential everyday item. For example money in the form of silver shekels paid for slaves (Gen 17:12+); land (Gen 23:9+); freedom (Ex 23:11); court fines (Ex 21 all; 22 all); sanctuary dues (Ex 30:12+); vows (Lev 27:3-7); poll taxes (Num 3:47+), alcoholic drinks (Deu 14:26) and marriage dowries (Deu 22:29).
According to Genesis 47:15-17 food was used for barter only after money had been spent. Banking and usury laws exist in God’s Word in Leviticus even before tithing. Therefore the argument that money was not prevalent enough for everyday use is false. Yet the tithe contents never include money from non-food products and trades.
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The third is that everybody BEGAN their giving level at ten per cent. Only those Israelites who earned a livelihood from farming and herding inside Israel were required to tithe under the Mosaic Law. Their increase came from God’s hand. Those whose increase came from their own crafts and skills were not required to tithe products and money. The poor and needy who did not tithe and received from the tithe gave freewill offerings.
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P66 “The Old Testament mentions voluntary or “freewill offerings.” (Num 15:3; Lev 22:18-23; Deut 12:6, 17). P67: “Voluntary freewill offerings were contributions beyond the tithe.” P67: “When the temple needed to be rebuilt, the people were asked to provide freewill offerings.” [Quoted Ezra 1:4-6].
P68: [Quotes Exodus 36:5-7 for freewill offerings: note, this is before the tithe was introduced]
“Remember what was above and beyond the tithe.” P68: [Quotes 2 Chron 29:3, 6-9 for freewill offerings.]
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KELLY: Ross and most tithe-teachers falsely teach that one does not give freewill offerings until after one has paid a tithe. This falsely assumes that everybody in the OT was required to tithe. I also ignores the fact that freewill offerings were given before tithing was introduced. It ignores the fact that the temple required certain offerings from everybody whether they tithed or nor. It also ignores the fact that the widow did not give a tithe to the Levites; rather she gave a freewill offering into the basket for the poor. In the OT tithes could not be used to build the temple; today, many churches use tithe money to build their buildings. The phrase from Malachi 3 better means “tithes” from tithe-payers such as farmers and herdsmen and “offerings” from everybody. The guilty party in Malachi was not the people, but the thieving priests to whom Malachi is directed in 1:6; 2:1 and 3:2, 3. The priests clearly stole that part of the tithe they had vowed to God in 1:14 and had clearly stolen the Levites’ portion of the tithe in Nehemiah 13:5. It is a shame people do not read all of Malachi and Nehemiah.
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P69: [Quotes Acts 11:29 as an example of freewill offerings.]
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KELLY: Again the Jewish Christians in the book of Acts knew nothing but freewill offerings for the church. That is because they were still Jews first. In Acts 2:46 they still worshipped in the temple daily and this would not be possible if they had stopped supporting that temple. In Acts 15 and 21:20 they are still “zealous” Jews observing all of the law, including tithing to the Jewish system.
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P71: “I believe the tithe should go directly to the local church.” … “Paul further called it [the tithe] the minister’s “right of support” from the church. [quotes 1 Cor 9:3-12]
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KELLY: This is very strange considering Paul had just refused material support in the strongest of terms.
1 Cor 9:12 If others be partakers of this power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless we have not used this power; but suffer all things, lest we should hinder the gospel of Christ.
1 Cor 9:15 But I have used none of these things: neither have I written these things, that it should be so done unto me: for it were better for me to die, than that any man should make my glorying void.
1 Cor 9:16 For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!
1 Cor 9:17 For if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward: but if against my will, a dispensation of the gospel is committed unto me.
1 Cor 9:18 What is my reward then? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel. KJV
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P72: [Quotes 1 Cor 9:13, 14] “Paul felt that the faithful church minister and missionary should be, and paid very well. Being paid more than they need gives them the opportunity to live as examples to congregations.”
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KELLY: Next to making tithing a requirement for salvation, this is the second most outrageous statement made by Ross!!! In 1st Cor 9:7-14 Paul was illustrating how each occupation supplies material benefit out of its own principles. (1) The soldier gets a small salary and shares from spoils of war. (2) The vineyard owner eats and drinks from the vineyard. (3) The herdsman drinks milk from the herd. (4) The ox grinding the grain eats from the grain it grinds. (4) The OT Levite and priests ate and drank from offerings provided by the Mosaic Law. And (5) the gospel preacher received support according to gospel (not law) principles of grace and faith. If the “even so” of 9:14 only referred back to 9:13, then it proves too much and compels the gospel minister to be sustained by ALL principles which sustained the OT temple worker. Yet none of the principles found in Numbers 18 are followed by any church today.
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P72: [Quotes 1 Tim 5:17, 18] Double salary implied.
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KELLY: The context of 1 Tim 5:17, 18 is a discussion of DISCIPLINE from verses 1-20. Paul was merely saying that when disciplining the pastor/elder double caution must be taken before accusing that person. The Greek word for “worthy” is not translated as “money” anywhere in the NT in any non-paraphrased version of the Bible. This is only hopeful thinking by Ross and others is goes against what Paul said in the remainder of Timothy.
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P72: [Quotes 1 Cor 16:2] “Paul didn’t encourage believers to give to a needy cause on their own; rather, he felt they should consolidate their funds and give to and through the local church.”
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KELLY: The Bible does not say that! Many commentaries says that “lay by store” in 1 Cor 16:2 refers to storing up at home and not in a church building that did not exist in the first century. Each individual church member brought food supplies to Paul when he arrived to load it on his ship.
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P72: [Quotes Acts 4:34-35] “Many of the early Christians sold property and let the spiritual leaders distribute funds to those in need.”
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KELLY: Again this is not a discussion of tithing because those Jewish Christians in Acts 4 were still supporting the Jewish temple as seen in Acts 15 and 21. The disciples in Acts 2 and 4 did not take 10% out for themselves and it is absurd to suggest that they did so. In fact they distributed what was given evenly to everybody in the church community. That is not tithing of any sort.
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P73: “In OT times one might give above and beyond the tithe and offerings to the needs of an individual, yet basic giving to God was to a centralized location. That location was the temple, for distribution by the Levites.”
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KELLY: Totally wrong. Actually the priests, the OT ministers, received the smallest portion of the total tithe. They received only 1% of the first tithe (a tenth of the tenth: Num 18:26; Neh 10:38). The tithe did NOT go to the Temple but was scattered among 48 Levitical cities. I have already discussed this in great detail.