should still Christians pay tithe?

INTRODUCTION

I actually have chosen to focus on this topic as a means of expressing my frustration within the Church in Ghana. (by using Church I suggest the entire Christian Church in Ghana although the Methodist Church Ghana has been referred to for purposes of illustration). My frustration has to do with the various reviews of corruption and immorality in the media towards the Church which the leadership is powerless to cope ensuing in the Church being perceived as corrupt.

CORRUPTION

The Australian high fee to Ghana, Andrew Barnes, an atheist become pronounced to have noted that he changed into shocked at the stage of corruption in Ghana, a nation dominated through Christians". To Mr Barnes, corruption may still now not be an issue eating up a country wherein Christians represent about 71.2 p.c of the total inhabitants.

He went on to say that however he did not accept as true with in the existence of God, he knew corruption was clearly in opposition t Christian teachings" (the Ghanaweb of 30 September 2019). here is a serious indictment and condemnation of the Church in Ghana and its leadership by no suggest someone however an atheist. How has this take place?

The argument is that if 71.2% of Ghanaians are Christians, then it is affordable to anticipate that 71.2% of crimes and corruption in Ghana are committed by means of Christians. here's essential good judgment however a profound statement and an embarrassing belief of Christianity. The reason behind this unfortunate humiliation of Christians, for my part, is the incontrovertible fact that the Church in Ghana is puzzled as to whether Christians belong to the ancient Covenant or to the new Covenant or Grace.

The reality is that Tithing, which is the discipline of this paper, is one in every of many doctrines that the Church in Ghana has adopted which have delivered to this confusion and the reason the Church is unable to exert its hav e an impact on on society. for example, Christians are advised to supply Tithe, no longer as a result of any scriptural or spiritual consideration but because Tithe has the capacity to generate appreciable incomes for the Church and here's what has attracted charlatans and fraudsters into the Church.

These people have formed splinter and sole-proprietorship churches within the crannies of the whole nation, developing havoc in the minds of the individuals, extorting money from blameless and gullible Ghanaians in the guise of Tithing. The Church, besides the fact that children, appears on unconcerned for which motive the Church is perceived as corrupt.

DEMOCRACY

The Church in Ghana is enjoying the ostrich beneath cover of democracy, freedom of affiliation and faith, freedom of speech and many others. Democracy does not imply that if a person is destroying your company, you cannot shield your company, painting the decent aspect of your manufacturer and enable society to decide. it is just like the Church has opened the Pandora box and anyone, even crooks and quacks, have entered the church and using the "fear of God element" to almost extort money from innocent participants in the name of God.

the brand new COVENANTThe reality is that Tithing is an old testomony Jewish law. Christians of these days are of the new Covenant are hence no longer required to give Tithe as pointed out within the Mosaic legislation. Our allegiance should be to the brand new testomony handiest and the best Tithe Christians need to supply is as Our Lord teaches in Matthew 23:23. St. Paul says that:

• "now not that we're equipped in ourselves to claim anything else for ourselves, however our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a brand new covenant—now not of the letter however of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the spirit offers lifestyles (2 Corinthians three:5-9)"

• He additionally spoke of that "wi th the aid of calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one out of date; and what's out of date and out-dated will soon disappear (Romans 8:13)

• "For sin shall no longer be your master, since you don't seem to be under the legislation, but below grace."(Romans 6:14).

If the legislation is out of date and out-dated and would soon disappear, why do we hang on to it? As Christians, we're of the new Covenant and hence we should not have to supply Tithe as demanded in the historical Covenant. We should give Tithe as demanded in the New Covenant (Matthew 23:23).

ADDENDUMThe situation is that the textual content and letter of the legislation (the old Covenant/testomony) has no longer modified. it is the Spirit of the legislation that has modified with the introduction of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ which is expressed within the New testomony.

therefore the fact that the historic and New Testaments constitute the Holy Bible below one cover d oesn't suggest the allegiance of Christians or followers of Christ must be to the letter of the historic testament. the brand new testomony is the authority on the lifetime of Christians.

• thus on vengeance, Christians we are not required to obey the historic testament legislations of, "a watch for an eye fixed, and a tooth for a enamel" (Exodus 21:24). we are required to submit to what Our Lord teaches in Matthew 5:39, "if anyone slaps you on one cheek, flip to him the other cheek also".

• within the historical Covenant, every male should be circumcised within the flesh(Genesis 17:10ff). in the New Covenant, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The best issue that counts is religion expressing itself through love" (Galatians 5:6).

The ancient testomony will also be regarded as an addendum to the brand new testomony which is the embodiment of the Holy Spirit. The ancient testament serves to provide account of hobbies within the Jewish length, explain, and convey that means and lifestyles to the total Holy Scriptures. for example, if one wants to get the entire weight of Stephen's speech to the high Priest in Acts 7:17-53, and to understand and admire the vigor of God in the deliverance of His americans from Egypt, then one has to read the publication of Exodus.

TITHING within the NEW TESTAMENTOur Lord mentioned in Matthew 23:23 that "You provide a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. however you have got left out the greater important concerns of the legislation—justice, mercy and faithfulness", that Tithing must be achieved with a deep situation for justice, mercy and faithfulness.

within the story of the decent Samaritan, assuming that all of the three gamers, the Priest, the Levite and Samaritan, have been going to the temple to provide their Tithe, the Priest and the Levite would arrive with their Tithe intact. The Samaritan would have arrived late within the temple without a Tithe to supply. He had used his first rate judgment to extend his travel with a purpose to attend a toddler of God loss of life on the street; he had mercy on a death baby of God, and used the total store for his shuttle to attend to a dying newborn of God. He had the faith that when in need throughout the commute, God would give.

here's the Tithing the Church in Ghana should have subscribed to where our difficulty for justice, religion and mercy are greater critical than the ten% of our earnings and it leaves no room for false men of God to operate.

TITHE AND providing

The management of the Church in Ghana is oblivious of the undeniable fact that:

a) Tithing and providing in the church are two separate hobbies. Tithing is limited in scope as to who can provide, get hold of and by way of what capacity it can also be given or obtained. providing is open; any one can give and receive in any quantity and through any potential, even in money or in kind. So Tithing and providing within the Church are not the same.

b) once more, Tithe skill 10% of agricultural produce and nothing else; the 10% of money emoluments as Tithe we supply these days is a introduction of the Church in Ghana. it is a corruption of the law and it isn't within the scriptures. Deuteronomy 12:17 says, "Tithe of your grain" and Deuteronomy 14:23ff additionally says, "be certain to set apart a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. during the Holy Bible, the emphasis on giving Tithe has been agricultural items.

c) This additionally implies that handiest americans in agricultural production (farmers) need to pay Tithe in line with the law.

The Church in Ghana hence has unequivocally altered the commandment of God to go well with its own whims. here is absolutely blasphemous and sacrilegious because the Holy Bible says that "You shall no longer add to the observe which I command you, nor take from it, (Deuteronomy 4:2f f). It additionally says, "For I testify to everyone who hears the phrases of the prophecy of this book: If any person adds to this stuff, God will add to him the plagues that are written during this book; (Revelation 22:18)

TITHE IS A CONTRADICTION TO NEW testomony educating ON GIVINGTithing is illogical and contradicts the teachings of Our Lord on giving. here's as a result of Tithing changed into mounted at 10% of 1's agricultural produce. nowadays it is fastened at 10% of each member's cash emolument.

on the other hand, the brand new testament instructing has been that Christians should provide voluntarily, from their coronary heart and without any compulsion. "So let each one provide as he purposes in his coronary heart, now not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a contented giver."(2 Corinthians 9:7), "And some thing you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and never to men."(Colossians three:23)In Tithing nowadays, we are below compulsion to pro vide as a result of what we provide is recorded and there are certain facilities which as members of the church we would now not get pleasure from if we are not latest within the giving of Tithe.

OUR LORD did not supply TITHE

a) it is abnormal that right through His existence on this planet, Our Lord outlined the time period "Tithe" simplest as soon as within the Holy Bible and that become in Matthew 23:23-24 and Luke 11:forty two when He reprimanded the Pharisees and Scribes, calling them hypocrites, for corrupting and polluting the laws, together with the legislations on Tithe. If really Tithing is a Christian obligation, as we now have been made to consider, then we should still predict that Tithing would have featured strongly in Our Lord's teachings.

b) The Pharisees and the Scribes engaged Our Lord on many events on the problem of charge of taxes. He paid his taxes (Matthew 17:27) and in Matthew 22:21, He advised the Pharisees to "supply unto Caesar w hat belonged to Caesar and to God what belonged to God". despite the fact, on no occasion did the Pharisees and the Scribes interact Him on the payment of His Tithe.

surely, the Pharisees knew He and His disciples were now not engaged in any farming activity for a dwelling and hence they had been not bound through legislation to pay Tithe. How come that nowadays the equal Pharisees are compelling every member of the Church, together with city employees who are not engaged in agricultural construction to pay Tithe which is not in the law?

c) Tithing changed into instituted for the Levites as their inheritance for their work in the temple and on condition that they might don't have any different inheritance (Numbers18:24). Who in Ghana nowadays can claim to be a Levite, a Jew of the tribe of Levi and for this reason qualifies to obtain Tithe? Which Osofo in Ghana these days can declare he has no properties of his own which he will sooner or later bequeath to his children ? Is it no longer greed for Osofoi and "guys of God" in Ghana to claim to be Levites (after they are not) and therefore entitled to acquire Tithe?

It is obvious from the arguments above that Tithing as we follow it nowadays has changed so tremendously from the law that it has become Tithe in name. It isn't any longer the Tithe as instituted within the Mosaic legislation. If the situations underlying the institution of the Tithe have changed, let us retire the legislations. we are within the age of the new common. We can not find the money for to do issues in the historic techniques, else we will perish.

MALACHI three:8The time-honored Bible verses church leaders use to result in contributors to pay Tithe is Malachi 3:6-10, "Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. "but you ask, „How are we robbing you?‟ "In Tithes and offerings. Leaders of the Church recognize that the whole publication of Malachi changed into about the despicable practices of the Jewish priests. within the introduction to the publication, Malachi 1:6-eight, here is what the Prophet says, "but you ask, „How have we shown contempt on your name?‟ 7 "by using providing defiled meals on my altar".

but you ask, „How have we defiled you?‟ "it is you monks who demonstrate contempt for my name. So, it became not the mass of the americans who had robbed God, it changed into the clergymen themselves. They were either not giving their Tithe of Tithes or sending unwholesome gadgets to the excessive Priest.

it is misleading for the Church Leaders of nowadays to redirect Malachi's reprimand of the monks to the individuals to create the affect that Malachi become talking to the americans. it's the clergymen who had been robbing God and never the generality of the americans.

CONCLUSION

now not all church buildings in Ghana pay Tithe; Catholics and a few other churches do not pay Tithe. by the way, it changed into no longer until the Eighti es that the Methodist Church began paying Tithe suggesting that the colonial Methodist missionaries didn't raise Tithing of their bags once they landed in the then Gold Coast.

Revs John and Charles Wesley have been respectable students of religion who had personal stumble upon with the Holy Spirit. most likely, there need to be compelling the explanation why they did not introduce Tithing into the church they headquartered. it's for this reason inappropriate that the Methodist Church Ghana has sacrificed the views and options of the Founders on Tithing on the altar of increased profits for the church.