SHOULD CHRISTIANS PAY TITHES?
By Cyrus Simmons
THE word "tithe" means the one-tenth part. "All the tenth in Israel" was given by God to the Levites "for an inheritance." Num. 18:21. It was given to support the Levitical priesthood, who ministered in the tabernacle and in the temple during the old dispensation. The tithes were given of fruit and of seed (Lev. 27:30) and of all things (2 Chron. 31:5). We are told by the wise man to "honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase." Prov. 3:9. The law to support the ministers of the sanctuary or temple on earth is explicit and was well understood by the Hebrews. When the types and shadows were fulfilled, and the vail of the temple was rent in twain, and the necessity for the continuation of the Levitical priesthood ceased, did the necessity of paying tithes cease also? It was certainly no longer obligatory to support by tithes an ecclesiastical function that God had clearly indicated had fulfilled its purpose. The Gospel era gave a new message to the world. Messengers were to go "into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15. Does God want the ministers of the Gospel to be supported by tithes, as He directed the maintenance of the priests officiating in the earthly sanctuary? The Two Tabernacles or Temples.
The Scriptures speak of two tabernacles or temples, one in heaven and the other on earth. The tabernacle built by Moses was a pattern of the true tabernacle in heaven. "And thou shalt rear up the tabernacle according to the fashion thereof which was showed thee in the mount." Ex. 26:30. When it was no longer necessary for the tabernacle to be moved from place to place, the Lord gave David the plans and specifications of a permanent temple, to be erected in Jerusalem by his son Solomon, "All this, said David, the Lord made me understand in writing by His hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern." 1 Chron. 28:19. This shows that both the tabernacle built by Moses and the temple built by Solomon, after the pattern given them by God, were direct representations in design and furnishings of the true temple in heaven—"a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands." Heb. 9:11. "The true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:2. As there are two tabernacles, so there are also two priestly orders. The one is the Levitical priesthood, that was ordained to officiate in the tabernacle and in the temple on earth. Num. 1:50. The other is the priesthood "after the order of Melchisedec." Christ is our High Priest. "We have such an High Priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb. 8:1. "Christ being come a High Priest of good things to come." Heb. 9:11.4 Melchisedec was not Christ, but he was a priest-king, a type of Christ, our High Priest in the courts of heaven. "For that after the similitude of Melchisedec there ariseth another priest." Heb. 7:15. Note the parallel. The word Melchisedec means "king of righteousness." "Being by interpretation king of righteousness." Heb. 7:2. Isaiah, in speaking of Christ, says, "Behold, a King shall reign in righteousness." Isa. 32:1. "And this is His name whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jer. 23:6. Melchisedec was king of Salem. Heb. 7:1. Salem in Hebrew means "peace," "king of Salem, which is, king of peace." Heb. 7:2. Christ is "the Lord of Peace." 2 Thess. 3:16. He guides "our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:79. His name shall be called "The Prince of Peace." Isa. 9:6. Melchisedec was "priest of the most high God." Heb. 7:1. "By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament." "The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a Priest forever after the order of Melchisedec." Heb. 7:22, 21. Tithes to Melchisedec and to Christ.
Abraham paid tithes to Melchisedec when he returned from the slaughter of the kings; and by that act "Levi also, who receiveth tithes, paid tithes in Abraham" (Heb. 7:9), thus showing that the Levitical priesthood who received tithes from their brethren, actually paid tithes with their brethren, in the person of their father Abraham, to Melchisedec, who represented Christ as priest. It is evident, therefore, that the tithing system did not originate with the establishment of the Levitical priesthood. Gen. 14:20; 28:22. Did the obligation for paying tithes cease when that priestly order had finished its mission in the tabernacle and temple on earth? The fact of Abraham, as the father of the blessed, paying tithes to Melchisedec, the representative of Christ, plainly shows that it is the obligation of every Christian to do as his father Abraham did. By paying tithes to help support the ministry the Christian declares his faith in the fact that Christ died, arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is now officiating as his high priest in the presence of God. By being Christians we are reckoned as children of Abraham. "And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are then the children of Abraham. Abraham paid tithes to the one who represented the priestly office that Christ was to fill. We, his children, should pay tithes to Christ as our high priest. As the church, the body of Christ, is the immediate recipient of the tithes, God considers that they are paid to Him, and if we fail to pay an honest tithe, we are guilty of tithe-stealing; stealing not from man but from God. "Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed ME. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? [Answer] In tithes and offerings." Mal. 3:8. "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." Mal. 3:10. Is not this promise good enough and large enough for every follower of Christ to pay to Him an honest tithe and to give liberal offerings? CYRUS SIMMONS.