Before I proceed, I would like to start with a few interesting facts about tithing:

1. Abram paid tithe to Melchizedek. His grandson Jacob also vowed to give God a tenth of all that the Lord blesses him with. These two events happened over 400 years before tithing was instituted under the law in Israel.
2. Tithes in the Old Testament were in the form of farm produce, livestock etc.
3. The tithes were to be given to the Levites (members of the priestly tribe of Israel whose duty it was to work in the tent of meeting) – Numbers 18.21.
4. Every third year was the year of tithing – Deut. 26:12.
5.  People were given the liberty to change their tithes into money to buy whatever they so desired for their enjoyment, providing where they had to go and pay their tithes was too far away – Deut. 14:25
6. The LORD dared the people of Israel to put him to test by paying their tithes and see if he wouldn’t open the windows of heaven for them and pour out His blessings on them – Malachi 3:10
7.  In Leviticus 27:30 it says, every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the LORD.
8. Though the tithe is used for the maintenance of the house of God, it is still referred to as a ‘…contribution to the LORD…” – Numbers 18:24

From the above-stated facts, we can tell that tithing was very important to the Israelites and their worship to God. Tithing was a form of sacrifice or worship instituted by God himself to ensure that there was enough food for those who had dedicated their whole lives to serving him and those who didn’t have enough to feed themselves. The few times we see tithing being mentioned in the gospels, it was done to point out the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. They were a bunch of people who followed the Law to the letter. As a result, their discipline in following the laws of God gave them the impression that they could judge and condemn others who weren’t as ‘righteous’ as they were. Jesus said this concerning them ‘’But woe to you Pharisees, you tithe mint and rue and every herb and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42). Let’s note from this quotation that Jesus was not necessarily against tithing, but he was against the fact that it had become a religious ritual – a thing almost done on ‘auto-pilot’. The Pharisees strictly adhered to the tithing laws but they lacked the pursuance of Justice and the love of God.
The question is often asked, ‘to whom are we to pay our tithes?’. This is a legitimate question considering the fact that the Levites in the Old Testament were the primary recipients of the tithes. Does that mean that where there are no Levites, tithes should not be paid? Are our tithes to God or to Levites?
The church was established on the foundation of God’s relationship with Israel in the Old Testament. Israel is God’s special chosen people through whom he established his salvation plan on earth. In these end times, the church is being used to do exactly the same thing. Therefore, the priests and Levites of our time are the clergymen. The problem is that we often stop there. We take care of only the men of God, leaving the other people who work in the Lord’s house. The tribe of Levi had a clan called Kohathites; members of this clan were the ones who took charge of the various vessels in the tent of meeting. They can pass for the ushers of the church today. They were Levites too, therefore I am tempted to believe even they got their portion of all tithes received. Let us learn to prioritize the needs of all who work in the house of the Lord.

Still, on the issue of whom we are to pay our tithes to, I know many would disagree with me that it is still necessary for us to pay tithes. I strongly stand by the position that tithes are still needed in the church. I believe it is important to make a monthly financial commitment to God with the aim of providing for those who work in his house and those who don’t have enough. One thing we need to understand about giving to God is that it doesn’t need to be done directly to him. The very moment you give according to the will of God it is equal to giving to God. We all know the tithes are received by the Levites, however, Leviticus 27:30 says every tithe belongs to the Lord. That is exactly the point I made earlier: giving to God means giving according to his will and not necessarily to him directly. We must see ourselves as stewards of everything God has given us. Therefore, we must be prepared always to give out to provide for the needs of those who are financially disadvantaged because of circumstances or because of the calling upon their lives.
In Hebrews 7, we are introduced to a very interesting analogy about Jesus Christ. I doubt there is a chapter in the New Testament that treats the topic of tithing more extensively than this one. The chapter is largely about Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness and Peace and Priest of the Most High. Abraham (then Abram) met him when he was returning from the slaughter of the kings. Melchizedek came bearing wine and bread. He blessed Abraham and he in return gave the Priest a 10th of his spoils. This happened over 400 years before Moses received the law. Therefore, we can see that Abraham was not compelled to give to meet the requirements of the law but he did so by his own volition. He gave it out of reverence for God and an understanding of the love of God. Abraham was coming back from the slaughter of the Kings – he had gone to rescue his nephew Lot – so we can say he gave out of appreciation to the Lord for granting him victory. Remember what Jesus said to the Pharisees (stated in the 3rd paragraph)? I doubt Jesus would have had a problem with their tithing if they did so out of appreciation for God. The tithe Abraham paid to Melchizedek should be the module of all tithes. He did so after seeking justice for his nephew Lot and also because of his understanding of the love of God. These were the very things Jesus spoke to the Pharisees about.

I get all those who say the tithe is an Old Testament doctrine and thus, must not be practiced in the New Testament. I understand. One thing people must understand is that not everything in the Old Testament is the LAW. We see the grace of God portrayed in so many ways even in the Old Testament. Abraham believed God and it was credited to his account as righteousness, this is the central theme of the Gospel appearing in the Old Testament. Therefore, the practice of paying tithe to God out of love, appreciation and a genuine concern for the welfare of people who need support in the house of God and beyond should not be discouraged.
Are there blessings attached to paying tithes? Of course, there are. Under the new covenant, nothing is earned. Nothing is for sale. Nothing is given in exchange for blessings. However, God rewards! Therefore, a person who makes a financial commitment to give God a certain percentage of his salary out of appreciation and as a reaction to the love of God is clearly a person walking in faith and love. God rewards such people. The blessings will always far outweigh what they give.
Another concern people raise is that, what if the pastor of your church misappropriates the money that comes into the church’s coffers? This is clearly not a fertile ground to be sowing seeds on. At the end of the day, you would expect your tithes and offerings to cater for the needs of the church, church workers (including the Pastor) and the poor and needy. If one is certain beyond any doubt that the church’s money is being used for something other than these, I believe one of the wisest things to do is to leave the church and go elsewhere. Don’t just up and leave though, at least make the effort to ask questions and even correct the errors in the way church money is being used. If this fails just leave and sow your seeds somewhere else. (This is my personal opinion). The integrity of the recipient of the tithes is in itself a motivation to the givers. *Pastors, take note.

Please do not give your tithes to Aaron (under the law). Do not tithe as the Pharisees did. Be like Abraham and give your tithe to Melchizedek. Give your tithe to the one who is a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Give your tithe to the King of righteousness, the King of Peace and the Priest of the Most High. Do not do it as a ritual devoid of the love of God. I didn’t come to tell you whether to give your tithe or not. I agree with Joseph Prince when he said ‘tithing is not for everybody’ hence people shouldn’t be forced to tithe. I came to tell you why and to whom you should give it. Give it to the one who lives forever and not under compulsion by any pastor or church tradition.

Furthermore, here [in the Levitical priesthood] tithes are received by men who are subject to death; while there [in the case of Melchizedek], they ARE received by one of whom it is testified that he lives [perpetually] – Hebrews 7:8 (AMPC)

Many people believe that there is an inherent evil dwelling in the heart of all men. Christians would like to call it “The Original Sin”: the sinful nature we inherited from Adam. By this, we were sinners before we could even speak. One man’s sin, brought a curse unto all of creation. One doesn’t have to comb through a pile of newspapers to find a story on a heinous crime perpetrated by the most unassuming person. There is bad news everywhere. In the midst of it all, the bible calls Christians Holy People. It is more than a tag; It isn’t like a honorary doctorate degree either. For an honorary doctorate degree is given to someone in recognition of his excellence in a particular field. The Sainthood of the New Testament believer is a mystery that can only be described in one word, Grace.

Before we proceed, I would like to lay the foundation of this truth: we are holy by being Christians. Our holiness was not achieved by anything we did, but purely by our faith in Jesus Christ – especially in his finished work on the Cross. Therefore, when a person becomes a Christian, apart from his conduct, there is no physical evidence of his newly found faith. All the difference and tremendous transformation take place in the spirit. Hence, it is referred to as being born again. Literally that is what happens. Heaven discards all past records of the said individual and so he doesn’t have a past. The bible says, *Eph 4:24 KJV* And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness”. The new man that you become (spiritually) after accepting Christ has righteousness and holiness preinstalled in him. It is just like upgrading the operating system on your computer – same device but new operating system. In Christ, you remain the same physically but there is a total transformation on the inside of you.

What next? You are holy, so what? Does it mean you must fold your arms and go to sleep? Well, not so at all. This is where the Mirror Effect comes in. In the bible, both God and his Word are referred to as mirrors. The interesting thing here is, only God and his word can change the condition of the heart of a man. David said “thy word have I hidden in my heart that I might not sin against you”. James admonished us to be doers of the word and not just hearers, for any man who hears the word and doesn’t practise it is like a man who stares intently at his image in the MIRROR, walks away and forgets what he looks like. Interesting analogy there. It means, the definition of ourselves we are privy to in the Word of God should of a necessity be visible on us in our conduct. God has made you holy and righteous not to amuse himself but so that it will reflect in your works. Remember, God calls the things that be not as though they were… and they become. It is also said that we are God’s workmanship (inventions), created unto good works. God wanted to invent a ‘device’ that is holy and righteous… so he created you. He created you and called you holy so that you can be holy. In Christianity, we don’t work to get rewarded, we work because we are rewarded. It is in reverse. We don’t do holy deeds to attain holiness, we are first holy so we can do holy deeds. It is very easy to act out your nature than to act outside your nature to attain a certain status. That is the stress in the Old Testament. They were sinners who were trying to attain holiness by following a bunch of rules hoping their deeds would be pleasing to God enough. That is stress!

Christians sin. Yes we sin. If God is holy and never sins, and we are also as Holy as Christ is, then why do we sin? The walk with God is really a matter of who we are and not merely what we do. It is a matter of which camp you belong to and not just actions. That is why no matter the good deeds of Cornelius, God still required him to be saved, hence he sent Peter to preach to him. This doesn’t mean our deeds mean nothing, just walk with me and we will arrive at the truth together. I would like to outline a few things first:

Our holiness is service to God

God has made us holy and expects us to present ourselves to him holy and acceptable. Just like the parable of the Talents, the master will one day come and ask what we did with what He gave us graciously. Therefore scripture says:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, HOLY, acceptable unto God, which is your REASONABLE SERVICE. Romans 12:1

Perfecting Holiness

Perfection is not acquisition. You can only perfect that which you already have. So the bible says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, PERFECTING HOLINESS in the fear of God (2 Cor7:1)”. It only means we are holy already but need to perfect it. Back to the operating system analogy, when you are more comfortable using Windows XP on your computer, upgrading to Windows 10 is a huge difference. Therefore, though you may have a new operating system there is the need to perfect how to use it. You may still want to do things the Windows-XP way and get stuck or realize it isn’t the way things are done on the new operating system. This is what happens with Christians and our holiness. We were once sinners, but we were transformed instantly when we accepted Christ. Therefore, we need to perfect this new life we have received. The verse above says, it can be done only in the fear of God. So hear me loud and clear, when a Christian sins, he is betraying his nature. A Christian betrays who he is when he sins. That is why 1 John 3:9 says, Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

How do we perfect holiness?

I am not preaching the law here. I am not saying there are a bunch of things we need to do to attain holiness. We are holy; we do holy deeds because we are. The flesh is in a constant battle with the spirit. The spirit wants to please God, the flesh doesn’t. This is why we need to perfect the act of making the spirit win everytime. In 2 Corinthians 3:18, it says  But we all, with open face beholding as in a MIRROR the glory of the Lord, ARE CHANGED INTO THE SAME IMAGE, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Once again, we see the Mirror Effect here. Basically, we are glorious beings. But when we keep our eyes on God, we will be transformed from glory to glory… from our level of glory to his level. This is what it takes to perfect holiness: keeping your eyes on God. It sounds like an easy task but really, it is a lot more than gazing at an image. It involves praying, reading the word, fasting etc. consistently. These are all deeds that stimulate the spirit in you to win the battle against the flesh.

You may be wondering what relationship holiness has with glory because of the verse I quoted above. Well, the truth is, holiness has a very strong relationship with glory. Glory is the visibility of holiness. Isaiah 6:3 says And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory. In Isaiah’s visions, the Seraphim called God “holy” and said that the whole earth is full of his holiness? No! They called him holy and proclaimed that the whole earth is full of his GLORY.

Holiness is the highest level of intolerance for sin. Most people think the bible referring to us as holy and the righteousness of God means we should fold our arms and go to sleep. Indeed it is a status conferred on us by grace, but it is a duty too. We are the righteousness of God. Meaning, when the world is looking for a righteous God, God won’t have to come down again to show himself, we are his righteousness so we need to show up on the scene. To me, this is a responsibility and not merely a title. Only Grace can empower us to do this perfectly. Grace got us here, Grace will keep us. Therefore, be ye holy because the LORD your God is holy and He has made you Holy.