4. Tithing was never taught to New Covenant believers

Another reason that preachers teach tithing is that they believe it has been taught again in the New Testament. This is because there are four passages in the New Testament which include references to tithing (Matt 23:23, Luke 11:42, 18:12 and Hebrews chapter 7).

The Gospels

But the first thing to realise is that ‘New Testament’ does not always mean ‘New Covenant’! The fact that tithing is practiced during Jesus’ lifetime is to be expected, as the Jews in Jesus’ time were still Old Covenant believers who were obliged to keep the whole Law.

Matthew Narramore explains: “[Jesus’] death, burial, and resurrection did a radical work in the spirit realm that forever changed the way that man relates to God. Although his statements on tithing are recorded in the section of the Bible that we call the New Testament, they really occurred during the Law and pertained to that period of time … Jesus merely confirmed that the people he was speaking to were under the Law and that tithing was a part of their covenant obligation. He was not giving instructions to the New Covenant believer.”

(Matthew Narramore – Tithing: Low-Realm, Obsolete and Defunct pp 54, 87)

Russell E Kelly also explains: “At the very moment of Christ’s death, when he cried out, "It is finished," the veil of the Temple was ripped from top to bottom, exposing the Most Holy Place to all mankind. At that very moment the Levitical priest lost his job (and his tithe) in the mind of God. Finally, every believer became a priest with direct access to God and the Most Holy Place of heaven. Also gone were the sacrifices, temple offerings, rituals, holy days, food laws, and all of the cultic* ordinances, such as tithing.”

(Russell Earl Kelly - Should the Church Teach Tithing? pp 134-135

*cultic means ‘specifically and exclusively concerned with national Israel under the Old Covenant’ p 44)

Hebrews chapter 7

So in the references in the Gospels, Jesus was not addressing New Covenant believers. But what about Hebrews chapter 7? Granted, this passage was written to New Covenant believers, after the New Covenant had been established. However, if we look more closely at both the details and the overall context, we will find that the references to tithing here do not relate at all to the New Covenant.

Firstly, what is the purpose of this passage? It is not to teach on finances, and neither is it to provide an example for us to follow; rather, it is to establish the uniqueness of the Priesthood of Jesus. In order to make his point, the writer compares two historical different examples of the giving of a tenth - Abraham giving to Melchizedek, and Israel tithing to Levi – both examples of tithing by Old Testament believers.

The fact that these examples are utilized here as part of an argument to support another doctrine means nothing in itself - otherwise we could support teachings such as baptizing for the dead, on the basis that Paul referred to this practice to reinforce his teaching about the resurrection (1 Cor 15:49).

And this is not the only place where the Biblical writers seem to stretch an analogy (or even to contradict themselves). Paul also used the example of the contemporary Levitical priesthood to strengthen his point that New Covenant ministers have a right to be supported by their people (1 Cor 9:13-14) – but in the face of other Biblical teaching (e.g. Heb 9:8, 10; 10:18), this by no means can be used to say that Paul believed in the continuance of sacrificial temple worship.

The writer of Hebrews himself seems to be particularly fond of using Old Covenant examples to help him make points about New Testament truths, e.g. he also utilized the example of the ongoing service of the Levitical priesthood (8:3-5). And in order to teach us about the obedience that comes from faith, he mentioned favourably practices such as sacrificing animals (11:4), keeping the Passover (11:28), and even living in tents (11:9)! We could support all of these outmoded practices and more, using the same reasoning that is applied to Hebrews 7:1-10 to teach tithing under the New Covenant.

Another important point to note is that the topic of the whole passage in Hebrews chapter 7 from verses 1 to 10 is Melchizedek, not Jesus. In other words, verse 8 does not refer to Jesus receiving tithes from us now! The context is the historical Melchizedek receiving a historical tithe from Abraham, which the writer is referring to only in order to contrast two kinds of priesthood. It is only in verse 11 that the writer starts discussing Jesus, and then he emphasizes (in verses 12 and 18) that there has been a change in the law along with the change of priesthood.

This brings us to some startling truth:

  • There are no references at all to tithing by any New Covenant people.

  • There are no references to anyone tithing by anyone in the pre-Law period either, in the way it is taught today.

  • There is no teaching on tithing outside of the Law period, either before or after.


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© Julie Groves (2010), P O Box 1626, Shek Wu Hui, Hong Kong