Does Your Preacher Teach Weekly Tithing?

First, let us understand that the New Testament of Jesus Christ nowhere teaches “tithing.” It does teach that Christians should give back to the Lord bountifully, cheerfully, with purpose, and as you may prosper, but does not demand a tenth (2 Cor. 9:6-7; 1 Cor. 16:2). Understand, you can give a tenth, but it is not required–that was a regulation of the Law of Moses. And if one seeks to keep tithing, he is a debtor to do the whole law (Gal. 5:3-4).

Second, many preachers do teach on giving. They teach the members of their churches that the Lord requires you to give to support the work of the church, including the preacher’s salary. This is all well and good, as the Bible supports such (1 Cor. 16:1-2; 9:14; Phil. 4:15-17). Preachers teach that this giving is to be done weekly on the first day. They may cite 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.” The preacher will point out that “on the first day of the week” means each and every first day of the week. This is true and we have no dispute whatsoever. However, while they teach weekly giving, they do not teach weekly observance of the Lord’s supper, though the language is the same.

Luke recorded, “Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight” (Acts 20:7). This breaking of bread was the Lord’s supper as can be seen in Acts 2:42 (cf. Matt. 26:26-28; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). Notice this was done “on the first day of the week,” that is, weekly since the first day comes every week.

Friends, why is it that preachers will teach you to give every Sunday, but neglect to teach you about remembering the death of the Lord in a memorial feast every Sunday? They say the former is commanded, but the latter is optional. They say giving is to be done every Sunday, but partaking of the body and blood of the Lord can be done one, two, three, or four times a year. Why the difference? Could it be one affects their salary, while the other doesn’t? If you want to know why this is, ask him.

Steven F. Deaton

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