A Rejoinder to Uncle Charles - Must Christians Tithe? (Part 2)
Following from Part 1 of this rejoinder, I will now proceed to explain the New Testament order of giving and what constitutes the storehouse in the New Testament church.
Bring the tithe into God's Storehouse and not Caesar?s
It is written, 'Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it? (Malachi 3:10). Scripture acknowledges that in ancient Israel the 'storehouse' was God's temple where priests and Levites dwelt (see 2 Chronicles 31). Many believers will acknowledge that in every generation God called a prophet unto the generation (among many other prophets) as well as a high priest. The purpose of the prophet unto the generation and the high priest is to ensure that authentic doctrines of scripture are preserved with God?s remnant.
Throughout scripture we see tithes being presented to a priest. Is there any spiritual significance to this for people who say they are Christ like? Well let us see. It is written, 'And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God?And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all? (Genesis 14:18-20). Abraham (who is recorded in scripture as being a prophet) gave tithes to a ?priest of the most high God? before the institution of the Levitic priesthood. Then, in Numbers 18 we see God actually committing His heave offering of the tithe to the Levitic priesthood by covenant. God speaks to Aaron the high priest specifically: 'And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever'
And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel: I have given them unto thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it. All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the Lord, them have I given thee'
All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer unto the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord unto thee and to thy seed with thee'
And the Lord spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel. 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. Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance? (Numbers 18:8, 11, 19, 20-23).
Three important things need to be pointed out about God committing His tithe to the Levitic priesthood. The first is that God gave his heave offering to the house of Levi 'by reason of the anointing.? The anointing refers to a measure of the Holy Spirit poured out upon a person to empower him or her for divine service in whatever capacity they are called. The anointing is different from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Elijah ran faster than a chariot because of the anointing. Samson carried out magnificent military style exploits and demonstrated supernatural strength because of it. The anointing always flows from an authentic priest of God?authentic as in he is actually called by God and does His work by the power in the anointing?to the congregation when they obey God in giving their tithes and offerings. This fact is in harmony with the verse that says, ?But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you? (Matthew 6:33).
The previous verse says look for what your role in God?s kingdom is and do what is right in God?s eyes; God will provide everything you need according to what you are called to do. God knows who He has called and anointed and therefore who should receive tithes and who should not. After all, it is God?s work and it only has meaning if He is the one leading it. Otherwise it is a ?vain? or meaningless work and will not lead to the establishment of God?s Kingdom (the order of heaven) on earth. It will only lead to the tradition of ?playing church? which I am more than sure you are familiar with. The problem with today?s believers is that many have set individuals who God has not appointed to the priestly role over the affairs of their lives. Many of these church leaders can be seen as Caesar's agents because they are funded by secular government agencies. This is why they register with the governments of their respective localities and offer tax receipts in return for donations. In return, they tone down God's truth in order to meet government requirements on what registered religious organisations can and cannot say or do. However God is not mocked. As they have sown, so will their congregants reap the powerlessness and carnality of the leaders that are over them. You see, a tax receipt cannot be compared to God's anointing which flows from the mantle of God's authentic priest to the people. Please note that in the New Testament, the priest is called an apostle. I will let scripture prove this to you in a moment but first let me touch on the subject of the anointing.
The anointing of the Holy Spirit breaks the ?yoke? or temporal limitations of the flesh as it flows from the priest to the congregation. The anointing also causes the congregation to go in the direction God desires (this does not mean that anointed people cannot choose to sin). The anointing also ignites the revelation and spiritual gifts that are on the inside (or inner man) of the believer.
Moving along, the second thing God did in making the Levitic covenant is that He specifically separated one group to do the work of the tabernacle (house of worship). In other words, he preserved authenticity by calling one group to do this and provided ample warning to impostors or self-willed men. The Levites were anointed for their work. With God, everything is called according to its purpose and anointed thereof. This is why we say that God is orderly and not the author of confusion. Even in the New Testament church everyone is called according to a specific calling and gifted with spiritual gifts and grace (or anointing) accordingly. From history, we have King Saul ben Kish as a perfect example of what happened in ancient Israel when a non-Levite ventured into priestly territory attempting to do the work of the priest: God cut off his family line from keeping the governing role in Israel.
NOTE: Today, many call themselves ?priests? by virtue of having been to seminary even though God did not call them according to this calling. Others called as evangelists or pastors are also commonly seen trying to do the role of the New Testament priest who is called an apostle. Their false doctrines and lack of grace for this role testify to the truth of their lack of divine qualification. For if you are doing the role of a priest whereas God did not call you to be priest, you have no light of day and you will eventually know His judgment because of it.
The third and last thing God did in establishing the Levitic covenant and ordering its duties and receipt of tithes is that he made it a ?statute? or written law ?forever?. Yes, God put it in writing for all to see and know the truth. The fact that the covenant is forever should tell you that we have authentic Levites and Levitic priests in this generation as we did in the past.
Having established the truth about the foundations of the Levitic priesthood and its connection to tithing, we may ask: is tithing just for Israel? Well, that would be the case if and only if one does not understand that Israel was intended to be a model nation for other nations of the earth. It would also be the case if one did not understand that in ancient times a ?stranger? or foreigner could actually join Israel and become as ?one born in the land? of Israel (I mean of biological descent). You don?t believe me? Well see for yourself in what God commanded Moses (the prophet) and Aaron (the high priest) to do: ?And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee [Israel], and will keep the passover to the Lord, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof? (Exodus 12:48). How else do you think that some modern day European groups can claim being ?Jewish? whereas there is more than ample evidence that they have no biological ancestral connection to ancient Israel? Well here is part of your answer. However, please note that in Christ, matters of the flesh like biological lineage are of no significance when it comes to salvation. Again, being of Israelite biological descent confers no special status with respect to salvation. Now I am going to wrap this up and prepare for another article in which, God willing, I will discuss the subject of offerings as distinguished from tithes. Sincerely speaking, I do not think I will need to do this.
The Order of giving in the New Testament Church
The order of giving in ancient Israel always involved a priest of God who was often referred to by the Hebrew term ?kohen? (chief). This pattern of giving has been preserved in the New Testament ministerial order. It is written, ?Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular. And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues? (1 Corinthians 12:27-28). The ?first? or chief in the New Testament church which consists both of Hebrew descendant and non-Hebrew descendant people is called an ?apostle?. This is why in Acts 4:33-37 it reads, ?And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus, Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet? (Acts 4:33-37).
That ?great grace? was upon ?all? indicates a strong presence of the regulating power of the Holy Spirit which comes from the anointing I spoke of earlier. Also, notice that the offering taken from the things that were sold was laid specifically at the apostles? feet. Even a Levite (Joses) honoured God?s order of leadership as ordained for the New Testament church. So then, why is it that today?s church assemblies largely refuse to acknowledge the existence of apostles after the twelve of Yeshua's time and Paul have passed on? Why do so many church assemblies not even have apostles? Why are most assemblies being started and run by ?pastors? and not apostles (it is apostles who have the authority to do this)? Why does the word of God make absolutely no reference to any ministerial title known as ?reverend? but specifically speaks of apostles as ?first? in the body of Christ? Well, the fact that so many Christians do not experience the four (4) blessings noted in Malachi 3:10-12 is the direct result of their refusal to tithe and offer where God scripturally expects them to do so. In other words they are sowing into bad soil. Even Israel was warned about this type of behaviour (see Deuteronomy 12:5-14 if you wish).
The Conclusion of the Matter
The modern tradition of going to church wherever you choose is unbiblical. Many believers in Yeshua choose to go to a church assembly for comfort sake knowing very well that their lives are filled with sin and that the overseeing leader will not address the issues of sin in their lives. This is why a nation like Ghana or a city like Detroit can have immense growth in its number of church assemblies but no manifestations of increased righteousness or ?right-doing? to go with this.
God validates a church assembly based on the authenticity of the overseeing authority and what he teaches. It is this validation as a ?priest? or ?apostle? that qualifies an individual to take tithes from those who have been put with him to do the work that he is called to lead. However, even before God qualifies an apostle He trains the individual and puts him through testing. For the record, true apostles are always called directly by God and not man. God does this in order to preserve their loyalty to Him, thereby dealing with any tendency to cave in to pressures to please man before God. Some interpret this apostolic tendency as being unsubmissive to other brethren or refusing to be accountable. The reality though is that true and tested apostles will not please men in violation of God's word. Men pleasers are very common in Ghana's church culture. They are spiritually blind (without discernment), and usually judge church matters with favour to those who obey them, but in opposition to God's word. Men pleasers often please men by teaching false doctrine or watered down sermons for material gain. True and tested apostles will not do this. They will even choose to starve and be homeless rather than accept a tithe from someone who is not walking in obedience to God in areas of life that are apart from the tithe.
With all that I have written, it is my prayer that in these times Africans will wake up and break away from holding fast to apostate European church traditions among which are Europe-inspired denominationalism. I pray that they would take study of the word of God more seriously. Finally, Brother Charles, that you may know that God?s seers can truly see into your life, consider this message from your Father. The Lord says, ?Do you know what you are doing?? Peace, and God bless you.
Sincerely, Apostle Mawuetornam Dugbazah Apostle?s Revelation Ministry (ARM)
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