The Dry Fish In The Water

I know, you are all tired of hearing about tithing. I think I will have officially have beat this subject to death...after this post.

In many tithing arguments, (those that argue tithing is either a model of giving today or a law we are still under) it is Luke 11:42 that is bantered about like some sort of winning point. But alas, upon closer inspection, it reveals how wrong the modern New Testament "tithing" message is. Which is a ridiculous grouping of words - as ridiculous as "the dry fish in the water" since there is no tithing commanded.

Quick backtrack - tithing in the New Testament is false because -

Biblical Old Testament tithing requires a temple to be in existence to support, a Levitical priesthood to accept the tithe and a need for sacrifices to be made. Since those three are not part of the New Covenant, tithing is not necessary, commanded or required by scripture. The Mosaic Law commands 10 percent of the increase of seed, not of the gross of all seed. In addition, "seed" is not money. In the New Testament, Holy Spirit led giving is the new model. Giving has not come to an end, but tithing under the Mosaic Law has. See older posts for more on that.

Okay - back to Luke 11:42.

But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.

In order for this to be a command for the New Testament believers to tithe it would have to say "But woe unto you, Pharisees! for you tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs and not tithe 10 percent of your personal income! I don't want your silly herbs I want your money!

Let's start with what is tithed. Mint and rue and all manner of herbs are tithed. Here is a perfect opportunity for Jesus to keep at least a scriptural Old Testament "tithe" in place. Why not say, "when you tithe in the future, don't don't forget judgment and love. Jesus does not condemn what he tithed, but that he passed over righteous judgment and the love of God.

Now lets look at the form and tense this is translated - it is the "Past Modal Active" tense. It is past tense! You should have done this when you were tithing - notice he does not use present or future tense. The same way we would say "When you were in 8th grade, you ought to have studied more." If there was still an opportunity to right this wrong, you would not use this tense. You would say "Don't waste your opportunity - make it right when you go to class tomorrow!" However, Jesus spoke in past tense of how it "ought to have been done" since he was the end of the law. Jesus even says "The law and the prophets were until John." (Luke 16:6)

Many take this passage as a command for the church to tithe. Notice the audience - a Pharisee that is still operating as under the law. It is correct to speak to him that he was wrong to pass over the weightier matters of the law. With all tithing that is discussed in the New Testament, it is used to make a point, not to re-establish this under the New Covenant.

How should we give and live in the New Testament? As the Spirit, who writes God's laws on your heart, directs you. The Holy Spirit will guide you to give radically and to be generous on every occasion. So give!