I read a piece in Present Truth last week on giving a tenth to God. Now I should like to know if I am to give a tenth of all I receive, or to take out first the cost of materials used, which I have to pay for. If you can help me in this matter I shall be pleased. Also, how am I to give this? I am not a member of any chapel. I go to the Baptist meetings and Bible class, and the adult school on Sunday mornings.
A little consideration of what the Scriptures say about the tithe will make this matter clear, and the question and answer may be of benefit to many others, whose minds are not clear on this subject. Let us read the first, "All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's; it is holy unto the Lord." (Leviticus 27:30)
That this was not a mere ceremonial regulation, that was local and temporary, is evident from two things:
a) We find the tithe paid by Abraham and Jacob as a matter of course, long before there were any Jewish ceremonies, or even any Jewish nation. See Genesis 14:17-24 and 28:20-22, which we shall talk about presently.
b) We have the words of Christ, plainly stating that the tithe ought to be paid: "Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of law, judgment, mercy, and faith; these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone." (Matthew 23:23)
The Saviour did not pronounce a woe upon the scribes and Pharisees for being strict in the payment of tithe, but for neglecting the vital principles of the Gospel. He said that they ought not to have left undone the payment of tithe, even upon the smallest bunch of herbs in their garden, and that they ought at the same time to have kept judgment, mercy, and faith. Therefore we know that the tithe is not a ceremonial, local, and temporal regulation, but that it applies to all time. It also concerns all people, for "the tithe ... is the Lord's," (Leviticus 27:30) and one class of people has no more right to appropriate what belongs to the Lord than another class has.
Now let us note the first recorded instance of the payment of tithe. It is that of Abraham, when he was returning with all the goods of the city of Sodom which he had received from the kings who had carried it away. The king of Sodom went out to meet him, and Melchizedek, also, king of Salem, or Jerusalem, and priest of the most high God, met him, bringing bread and wine. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, and to him, as God's priest, Abraham gave tithes of everything. Note the words: "He gave him tithes of all." (Genesis 14:20)
Then the king of Sodom said to Abraham, "Give me the persons, and take the goods to yourself." (Genesis 14:20)
But Abraham would not seem to be under any obligation to the king of Sodom, and he said, "I have lift up my hand unto the Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth, That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich." (Genesis 14:22-23)
Of the young men who were with him, however, he said, "let them take their portion," (Genesis 14:24)
That is, they were entitled to what they had eaten while engaged in the work. From that we learn:
a) That Abraham tithed all that he captured from the kings, giving the tithe to the Lord's representative;
b) That he did not recognize the tithe as belonging to the king of Sodom at all; for he was not taking anything from him, in paying tithe on the property. When the king of Sodom's property came into the hands of Abraham, and belonged to him by right of capture, he used his right to give to the Lord that which belonged to Him, and then returned the rest to the original owner.
We learn, in short, that one is in duty bound to tithe the whole of his income--all that comes into his hands so as to be called his own; but it is also self-evident that the amount necessarily expended in securing that income must be deducted from it. Thus, if a man's income during the year is £200, and he has had to expend £50 for help and materials for his work, it is plain that his real gain is only £150. A strict tithe does not demand that he should tithe the £200, but only the £150, since it is to be supposed that he had already paid tithe on the £50 which he paid out.
This is really the sum of the matter, technically considered; the religious significance will be considered in the article just following. The question, however, remains, "To whom the tithe be paid?"
The answer is, to those to whom is especially committed the charge of the Lord's work. The church of Christ is a body existing solely for the purpose of doing the work of the Lord; and if one is connected with any branch of the church he will naturally pay his tithe to the one who has charge of the funds used in carried on the Lord's work. A general rule, which would cover all, whether professedly members of any church or not, would be this: Pay your tithe to those who, the most fully of any that you know, stand as the Lord's representative in spreading the knowledge of His truth.
It must be recognized that the tithe is entirely separate and distinct from offerings for the support of the poor, or other special purposes; but of this we shall speak in the consideration of the question which follows.--Present Truth, September 18, 1902.