Why Early Churches Did Not Practice Tithing, but Joyful Giving

If you grew up in, or are part of the church who teaches tithing, it might come as a shock to you to find out that early Christian gentile church did not tithe.  For those of you who do not know, tithing was an Old Testament practice of honouring God with the first 10% of one's increase, so the rest would be blessed as well. It was to be given to the priests and used for their sustenance and for helping the poor. The earliest biblical example we have of it was when Abraham gave the tithe of the spoils of war to a priest called Melchizedek, and later it became part of the  temple system law.


It is interesting to note that Jesus never talked about tithing, but  He talked a lot about giving generously to those around us who are in need. As a matter of fact, the only time Jesus even mentioned the tithe was when he rebuked the Pharisees for paying so much attention to tithing and so little attention to more important tenets of the Law.


Perhaps many churches today are committing the same error. The leadership of way too many churches today is not bothered when their church members engage in sinful lifestyle, when they commit sins such as adultery, idolatry, fornication, or when they take financial advantage of the poor or refuse to pay back what they borrowed, as long as they tithe...


Early Christian church, on the other hand, especially the gentile one does not seem to have practiced it at all. There is not a single mention of tithing in Acts of the Apostles or in the letters of the Apostles to the churches, even in passages about giving and supporting financially the ministers of the gospel. Also the counsel of Jerusalem, when they were asked about what gentile churches should observe did not mention it either.  Have you ever wondered why?


I did wonder about that ever since a pastor in Poland whose church did not practice that either, pointed it out to me. And now I think,  I understand why.


You see, when Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead, he fulfilled the Law and restored those who accepted His gift of Salvation to the free fellowship with God. Before people get saved, they try to earn God's favour by doing as  many "good deeds" as they can in hopes of earning it, but when they get saved they do them because they are right things to do. They don't do what is right to get saved, but because they already are saved.


In the same way people in the time of Old Testament  gave tithes,  so they could get blessed, now in Jesus we are already blessed, so we give because we ARE blessed, not to get blessed. Though it is true that when we give, we get blessed even more, but it should not be the reason for giving. And the amount such as 10% is not specified in New Testament like it was in the old because we are expected to go way beyond it in our giving.


If you have conviction to give tithe, by all means give it, but understand that you are free to give any amount you like to give, according to your ability. Ten percent is a good place to start, but don't limit yourself just to that, and know that giving is not just about giving your money or things (originally tithe was never money but things), it is also about giving of your time, love, and care to others in the name of Jesus. Giving is about sharing joyfully with others what God has already blessed us with. So, don't allow people to manipulate you into giving by saying that if you will not ( give to them or their church), then God will Curse you( quoting Scriptures taken out of context of the entire Bible), or that you should give in order to receive as a some sort of get rich quick scheme. Don't give to such people, especially if you see that they are living a lavish lifestyle out of offerings. But listen to the Holy Spirit and give generously to the churches, ministries, or people in need that He wants you to give to and do it freely knowing that you are already richly blessed.


"H who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32 )

Discerning Between True and False Apostles and Prophets

There is no doubt that we are living in the end times. The Lord Jesus warned us that during this time period, especially the closer we get to His glorious return, we will see the emergence of false

prophets, and His apostles warned us on the pages of The New Testament against false apostles and teachers as well.

So, how do we know if someone is a false apostle, teacher, or prophet? Well, we just need to carefully study the Bible as it spells out very clear criteria for those individuals, though we have to be also careful not to give anyone a label of  a false prophet, teacher, or apostle rashly. Too often people these days call someone a false prophet just because they do not agree with their message or do not believe in the operation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in modern day Church. The Bible teaches us that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, so His Words and works do not change from one era to another. The New Testament encourages us to receive and to operate in the  gifts of The Holy Spirit, so calling people whom we do not know without biblical basis for it a "false prophet" is slander and it is very dangerous to denounce men and women who truly serve God as such because it can bring you under judgement. We are to discern and judge  teachings, dreams, or visions that we come to contact with, but unless we know someone very well and clearly see that their fruit is bad, we should not give anyone such label.

That is why I am not going to give any particular names or people as examples here, but  I am going to share with you instead biblical principles that will help you to discern between true servants of God and impostors, so that you can stay away from the latter.

God is in the process of restoring to the Church the true apostolic and prophetic ministries and it is a great blessing to all of us. Apostle Paul taught us in his first letter to Thessalonians chapter 5 and verse 20, not to despise prophetic utterances and Apostle John in the Book of Revelation states that, "...the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." ( Rev.19:10)

But whenever there is a fresh move of the Holy Spirit on the earth, there is also a counterfeit from the enemy, so we must judge and discern prophecies without rejecting the prophetic altogether. I encourage all of you to read the Bible from cover to cover ( you could do it by reading 3-4 chapters a day in one year) paying special attention to the way in which God communicated through the ages with humanity. You will notice that He often spoke to people  and revealed things to them through dreams and various visions. Studying those biblical dreams and visions will teach you the symbols God uses to communicate with us as well as His heart.

Right now I am studying the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, which clearly states what is the difference between true and false prophets. It boils down to one major difference. True prophets call people to repentance when people of God go astray, while false prophets prophesy only what the people would like to hear. God's heart is to bless His people, but when they begin to walk away from Him and engage in sinful activities, He will call them to repentance and if they refuse, He will discipline them, by removing His hedge of protection from them in hope that they will repent and return with their hearts to Him.

Moreover false prophets and apostles promote and elevate themselves  instead of being humble and seeking to give glory to God. They use their God given spiritual gifts for selfish gain. The Bible teaches that gifts and calling of God are irrevocable, so it is possible for someone to operate in them while living in sin. That is why accuracy of prophecies,  healings, deliverances, or miracles themselves are not a sign that someone is truly serving God those these are still the works of the Holy Spirit, because He will always honor the name of Jesus. This explains why Jesus said that in the future some will come to Him and say that they did all these things in His name, but He will still call them the "workers of iniquity" and reject them saying that He never knew them. (Gospel of Matthew 7:23)

It means that it is possible to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and not have a personal relationship with Jesus anymore. That is why we should not fellowship or sit under the ministry of those who claim to His followers, but live in sin such as greed, adultery, fornication, or idolatry and not wanting to repent of it. it can sometimes happen to people of God to fall into a time of backsliding for a time, or to commit a sin because of temporarily walking in the flesh, and they can be restored if they truly repent, but if you see that someone is just sorry that they have been caught or begin to excuse their sins because they are "under grace and not the law." Keep away from such people. True servants of God have repentant hearts, they are also not stuck au on titles.

You know an apple tree or banana tree does not need to proclaim that they are an "Apple Tree" or "Banana Tree" because everyone can see that they bear apples and bananas. In the same way and apostle or prophet do not need to use their offices as titles and demand that people call them that, people will simply know them by their fruits.

So, if you are called to prophetic ministry refrain from calling yourself a prophet, especially during your training. Do not say "The Lord told me" if you did not actually hear His voice telling you that because it is a presumption. That is why I never call myself a prophetess even though I do operate in prophetic gifts. I also avoid saying , "The Lord told me" or "Thus says The Lord" unless I clearly heard Him say that. Instead, I just share my dreams, visions, and what I see in the spiritual realm and let you judge it. Judge it against the Bible and also ask the Holy Spirit to show you if something is true or not, He always confirms that which truly comes from Him.