Is the tithe part of the moral law?
A.W. Pink wrote:
What about the other tithes in the OT (Leviticus 27:30-33, Deuteronomy 14:22-27, Numbers 18:21-24)? How do these translate into NT terms, and, specifically, regarding cultural differences (i.e., wages vs. agrarianism, taxes, etc.).
Also, should considerations like tithing in the OT used for taxes, governments, welfare, etc. have any bearing on the NT saint's tithe?
A part of me thinks "When the NT saint "tithes" he's not really tithing in the OT sense (i.e., the other tithes), therefore, it is not right that one should claim he is really tithing.... Another part thinks "The tithe principle and practice is there in the OT, but can it be rightly said that it is binding on all peoples in all places (moral law) for an absolute 10%?
Lastly, can all these variables be rightfully summed up as "general equity" (WCF XIX:4) for the NT saint? As many here know, the WCF does not teach the tithe. Incidentally, I have always wondered why it does not if tithing was morally required for the NT saint.
A.W. Pink wrote:
In the previous section of this article the attempt was made to show three things: first, that tithing existed among the people of God long before the law was given at Sinai and that in the brief record we have of that early history we learn that Abraham, the father of the faithful, gave tithes unto Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, and that Jacob, when he had that revelation from the Lord on his way out to Padan-aram, promised to give a tenth unto God. Second, we saw that when the law was given the tithe was definitely and clearly incorporated in it, but, like almost everything else in that law, Israel neglected it, until, in the days of Malachi, we find Jehovah expressly telling His people that they had robbed Him. In the third place, we found that in the New Testament itself we have both hints and plain teaching that God requires His people to tithe even now, for tithing is not a part of the ceremonial law, it is a part of the moral law.
What about the other tithes in the OT (Leviticus 27:30-33, Deuteronomy 14:22-27, Numbers 18:21-24)? How do these translate into NT terms, and, specifically, regarding cultural differences (i.e., wages vs. agrarianism, taxes, etc.).
Also, should considerations like tithing in the OT used for taxes, governments, welfare, etc. have any bearing on the NT saint's tithe?
A part of me thinks "When the NT saint "tithes" he's not really tithing in the OT sense (i.e., the other tithes), therefore, it is not right that one should claim he is really tithing.... Another part thinks "The tithe principle and practice is there in the OT, but can it be rightly said that it is binding on all peoples in all places (moral law) for an absolute 10%?
Lastly, can all these variables be rightfully summed up as "general equity" (WCF XIX:4) for the NT saint? As many here know, the WCF does not teach the tithe. Incidentally, I have always wondered why it does not if tithing was morally required for the NT saint.