Tithing And Employment

QUESTIONS ON TITHING AND EMPLOYMENT.

 

"HONOR THE LORD WITH THY SUBSTANCE"

 

(1) Question:

 

"Please explain about the firstfruits offerings and tithe paying."

 

What system of tithing was first implemented during the early stage of the Davidian movement, and what was the required amount.

Ans.

 

“Solomon admonishes: "Honor the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase." (Prov. 3:9.) "Thou shalt not delay to offer the first of thy ripe fruits, and of thy liquors: the firstborn of thy sons shalt thou give unto Me." (Ex. 22:29.) "And this shall be the priest's due from the people, from them that offer a sacrifice, whether it be ox or sheep;...the firstfruit also of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the first of the fleece of thy sheep shalt thou give Him." (Deut. 18:3,4.) "That thou shalt take of the first of all the fruit of the earth, which thou shalt bring of thy land that the Lord thy God giveth thee, and shalt put it in a basket, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord thy God shall choose to place His name there." (Deut. 26:2.)

 

"As it is written in the law:...to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the Lord." (Neh. 10:34, 35.)

 

“From these scriptures we are not, however, to draw the erroneous conclusion that all of the firstfruits are demanded by the Lord. God requires only an offering of the first of the firstfruits, as is proved by the fact of the wavesheaf, presented to the Lord before the individual could harvest his crop of firstfruits (Lev. 23:10); that is, besides the tithe, we owe an offering, and should not hold back God's portion but pay it at once, before we appropriate to ourselves any of our increase.

 

"The tithe was to be exclusively devoted to the use of the Levites, the tribe that had been set apart for the service of the sanctuary. But this was by no means the limit of the contributions for religious purposes. The tabernacle, as afterward the temple, was erected wholly by free-will offerings; and to provide for necessary repairs, and other expenses, Moses directed that as often as the people were numbered, each should contribute a half shekel for 'the service of the tabernacle.' In the time of Nehemiah a contribution was made yearly for this purpose. From time to time, sin-offerings and thank-offerings were brought to God. These were presented in great numbers at the annual feasts. And the most liberal provision was made for the poor." -- "Patriarchs and Prophets," p. 526.

 

"The contributions required of the Hebrews for religious and charitable purposes amounted to fully one-fourth of their income. So heavy a tax upon the resources of the people might be expected to reduce them to poverty; but, on the contrary, the faithful observance of these regulations was one of the conditions of their prosperity. On condition of their obedience, God made them this promise: 'I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field....And all nations shall call you blessed; for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts'." -- Id., p. 527. (2SC #10 pp9, 10)

 

“Moreover, we, as leaders in this reformatory work, are now able to set for all Present Truth believers the right example in respect to paying tithe and free-will offerings.  That is, besides making free-will offerings, Mt. Carmel's inhabitants are now paying a double tithe on all their increase, which rule of practice will bring our individual tithe and offerings up to between 25% and 30% on all our personal "increase," thus bringing us up to the ancient Jewish standard of benevolence.” (4SC #s1, 2, 3 p1)

 

Ques.

 

Besides the Levites, what else can the first tithes be used for?

 

Ans.

 

“As the Levites also were required to make an offering for the poor, and the sick, etc., which naturally came from the tithe, for that was their only income, it proves that any worthy enterprise in the plan of God supported by offerings can be maintained by the tithe also. Hence, if Bro. Houteff is spending a part of the tithe for paying on land where "the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind," the orphans and the aged may find a refuge, Elder G's accusation in reference to the tithe proves that every bone in Bro. Houteff's body is an honest bone and that Elder G. is incapable to discriminate between the honest and dishonest bones.”  (1SC #14 p3) (Please see 2SC #2 p7)

 

Ques.

 

What other system of tithing was also implemented other than the Jewish standard of benevolence, and what was required.

 

Ans.

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Mal. 3:6-9 -- "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.  Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?  Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed Me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee?  In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."

 

Mal. 3:10 -- "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."

 

Ques.

 

What constitute tithes?

 

Ans.

 

“The Message therefore announces unequivocally that the Davidians who will please the Lord, will faithfully and systematically contribute a second tithe of his increase to this necessary fund, and thereby help build a defense-wall against the possibility of the Enemy's bringing unholy, time-and-spirit-killing traffic into our devotional and educational gatherings. By so doing, each faithful believer will automatically be investing in this sacred insurance policy which will insure his own and his family's needs not only in this life but also in the life to come.

 

"If one's income is $15 a week, then his first tithe will amount to $1.50; and his second tithe on the remaining $13.50 will amount to $1.35. Thus, his first and second tithe on $15 increase will total $2.85. Is this too much, Brother, Sister, for a work so great and grand as that presented in the Davidian message, so vital to your salvation and welfare?

 

"Let all Present-truth believers faithfully pay a first and second tithe as far as possible.” (4Ans. pp 51, 52.)

 

Ques.

 

To whom does the tithes and offering belong, can they be appropriated according to ones desire?

 

Ans.

 

“The tithes and the offerings are of the Lord's substance, and those who think that they can so manipulate them as to accomplish whatever end is desired, are deceiving themselves, not God, for His command is, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse,

that there may be meat in Mine house. "Mal. 3:10. The storehouse is the only place designated where one may bring the tithes and offerings and unload from his shoulders the heavy responsibility which a faithful stewardship imposes. To do otherwise with them, is to leave one's account in the heavenly ledger standing in the red, even though one may appropriate them to some meritorious work of charity.” (4 Tr. pp43, 44)

 

Note: In 1943, no exemption was granted the use of the second tithe for meritorious work of charity by individuals.

 

Ques.

 

Is second tithe the same as freewill offering?

 

Ans.

 

“You have hard luck?  You cannot make ends meet?  Start paying your tithes.  Note carefully that God requires not only tithe but tithes; that is, tithe and free will offering." (2 TG. #30 p19)

 

“Though the Lord commands, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse" (Mal. 3: 10), He does not say to bring all the offerings. Thus, He shows that if we would engage in some personal charity or missionary activity, we should sustain it from offerings, not from the tithe.” (4Ans. p45). See also 2SC #12 p9.

 

“So the second tithe, while on a more voluntary basis than the first, is just as important, and is actually a divinely ordained, long-range contribution to one's own welfare. At present it constitutes our general offerings. (In cases where it is impossible to pay a full second tithe, then, of course, a part is acceptable).” (4 Ans. pp62, 63 )

 

“For this work to be carried out systematically by the Lord's treasury through gifts and free will offerings, sometimes called second tithe, we cannot but do likewise if we are to find favor with God.” (1TG. #21 p11)

 

Note: In 1944, exceptions were given for not returning the second tithe to the store house, either in part or in full if we were engage in some personal charity or missionary activity. Free will offerings is also called second tithes.

 

Ques.

 

Is it sin to withhold the tithe, and if so, should we pay our tithe to the "storehouse" if we know that it is not used rightly?

 

Ans.

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The question is fully answered by the Spirit of Prophecy in the following quotations:

"The tithe is the Lord's, and those who meddle with it will be punished with the loss of their heavenly treasure unless they repent. Let the work no longer be hedged up because the tithe has been diverted into various channels other than the one to which the Lord has said it should go. Provision is to be made for these other lines of work. They are to be sustained, but not from the tithe. God has not changed: the tithe is still to be used for the support of the ministry." -- "Testimonies for the Church," Vol. 9, p. 250.

 

"The tithe...is the Lord's.' Here the same form of expression is employed as in the law of the Sabbath. 'The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.' God reserved to Himself a specified portion of man's time and of his means, and no man could, without guilt, appropriate either for his own interests." -- "Patriarchs and Prophets," pp. 526-7.

 

"Mark carefully what the above references teach. The tithe is the Lord's, and is to be used for the support of His message. But though it may be misused by the ministers it must be turned in for their use UNTIL He calls our attention to the evil and asks us to make the change. Then if we fail to respond to His voice and make use of the remedy He provides to counteract the waste of His means we would be held responsible for this as well as for withholding that which is His." 1SC #14 P12.

 

 

"Knowing that our tithe belongs to God's storehouse, our greatest burden should be to see that it is faithfully paid there. Nowhere in the Bible do we find that the Lord has laid upon any tithe payer the policing of the channels through which these funds pass.

 

"The Lord's treasury is under His control, and if He Himself should not see fit to correct an abuse in the handling of His money, certainly we could not correct it however hard we might try. If we guard carefully that part of His work which He entrusts to us, our only concern will be to find out where His "storehouse" is, and then faithfully to deposit His money there. He has not made us responsible for its use; that, He will personally take over--even as He is now "taking the reins in His own hands." (4Ans. p46) See 4SC #10-12 p5, 6)

 

Note: Only under the administration of the prophet, were Gods tithes rightly used.

 

“The tithe is sacred, reserved by God for Himself. It is to be brought into His treasury to be used to sustain the gospel laborers in their work. For a long time the Lord has been robbed because there are those who do not realize that the tithe is God's reserved portion.

 

“Some have been dissatisfied and have said: "I will not longer pay my tithe; for I have no confidence in the way things are managed at the heart of the work." But will you rob God because you think the management of the work is not right? Make your complaint, plainly and openly, in the right spirit, to the proper ones. Send in your petitions for things to be adjusted and set in order; but do not withdraw from the work of God, and prove unfaithful, because others are not doing right.”  {9T 249} (See also 2SC #1 p7)

 

Ques.

 

Where is one to look for God's storehouse, and who are most guilty of robbing God?

 

Ans.

 

“Wherever God's Truth is for today, from wherever "meat in due season" is dispensed.

 

“The statement, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse," implies that some are already bringing into it, but not all.  This, along with the charge that the whole nation is robbing God, positively shows that the tithes are now brought, not to God's storehouse, but to some other house.  To repeat, God's storehouse has ever been and ever will be where "the message of the Hour" is, where "Present Truth" is, the house from which "meat in due season" is dispensed at the time the tithes are paid.

 

“Since the old message, the "Judgment for the Dead," is out of date as is the message of Noah's flood, it is plainly seen that inasmuch as the Denomination as a whole has rejected and is fighting the message of the hour, but is still collecting the tithes of the people, it is indeed robbing God.

 

“His people are, therefore, asked to send their tithes to the "storehouse" whence Present Truth is dispensed, for it is Present Truth that the flock needs now.  "There are many precious truths contained in the word of God, but it is 'present truth' that the flock needs now." -- "Early Writings," pg. 63. (2TG. #30 p18)

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Mal. 3:8, 9 -- "Will a man rob God?  Yet ye have robbed Me.  But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee?  In tithes and offerings.  Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation."

.

“These verses do not blame the individual members of the church for robbing the Lord, but the whole denomination, the "whole nation." Moreover, you will note that the story of Malachi chapter three begins with chapter two.  There you will note that the Lord addresses the ministry, not the laity, saying, "...O ye priests, this commandment is for you." Mal. 2:1.

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Ques.

 

In what way can present truth ministers be guilty of robbing God?

 

Ans.

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“The plan of Christ forbids that any should enter the gospel ministry by salary, but rather by faith that his needs will be taken care of by those who open their doors to the Lord's laborers.  Therefore, as there are hardly any self-supporting workers in the field, it is evident that there are but few missionaries whom Christ recognizes as His.  Consequently, both those who hire gospel workers by stipulated salary, and the ones who accept such a position are violating the Master's command.

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"It is neither Biblical nor just that one labor earnestly to raise up a company of believers, and then have the conference reap the tithe of his labor to feed a hired minister who had no part in the effort instead of the one who has sacrificed and done the work.  Such an act might as well be called robbery. (1 SC #7 p1)

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Note: This reference is clearly identifying ministers who reap the tithes from another’s labor as thieves. (See also Ezek. 2-4, 7-10)

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Ques.

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Did not Bro Houteff revise this system of ministers receiving tithes from another’s labor in WR?

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“Now that the eleventh-hour call is sounding, the Lord is at the outset calling into His vineyard all ministerial and Bible-work candidates who are graduates or undergraduates of Seventh-day Colleges, and who are standing idle, waiting to be "hired."  In addition He is calling up for this glorious final service, all still able-bodied sustentation workers.  Will you not, Brethren, all of you, now respond to this last and most glorious call? You can start out for the vineyard immediately after successfully completing an intensive three-month seminar course of study on present Truth revelations which give power and force to the Third Angel's Message (Early Writings, p. 277), and which unveil the judgment of the living, the great and dreadful day of the Lord.

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“You will need no money for tuition  for room and board while taking this three-month course at the Davidic-Levitical Institute, Mt. Carmel Center, and upon the completion of your studies you will be given a permanent position with wages plus traveling expenses around the Seventh-day Adventist world first, then finally to every nation throughout the whole vineyard of the Lord.  This is the opportunity of a life to secure a place "in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand". (WR p51)

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Ans.

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The first point of observation is, the information mention in WR p51 was a special invitation directed to SDA graduates, under graduates and all still able-bodied sustentation workers within the SDA community.

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This program was implimented during the time of an all out effort to reclaim the church from the hands of the enemy. This was the period of the fishing and hunting campaign. See JL #s 4 and 9.

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Ques.

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Should all the tithes be handled by one agency or organization?

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Ans.

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"The lord has not specified channel through which means should pass."

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"Those who have had experience in the work of God should be encouraged to follow the guidance and counsel of the lord. Do not worry lest some means shall go direct to those who are trying to do missionary work in a quiet and effective way. All the means is not to be handled by one agency or organization....

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"The lord has made us individually his stewards. We each hold a solemn responsibility to invest our ourselves. God does not lay upon you the burden of asking the conference. or any counsel of men, whether you shall use your means as you see fit to advance the work of God."

 

Ellen white did not always return her tithes to the General Conference. In 1905, she wrote this letter to an Elder Watson.

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"I wish to say to you, be careful how you move. You are not moving wisley. The least you have to speak about the tithe that has been appropriated to the most needy and the most discouraged field, the more sensible you will be.

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"It has been presented to me for years that my tithe was to be appropriated by myself to aid the white and colored ministers who were neglected, and did not reccive sufficient to properly support their families.....

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"I myself appropriate my tithe to the most needy cases brought to my notice. I have been instructed to do this, and as the money is not withheld from the Lord's treasury, It is not matter that should be commented upon, for it will necessitate my making known these matters, which I do not desire to do, because it is not best.

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"Some cases have been kept before me for years, and I have supplied thier needs from the tithe, as God has instructed me to do, and if any person shall say to me, Sister White, will you appropriate my tithe where you know it is most needed? I shall say 'yes,' and  I will; and I have done so. I commend these sisters who have placed their tithe where it is most needed to help to do a work that is being left undone "....I send this letter to you so that you shall not make a mistake. Circumstances alter cases. I would not advise that any one make a practice of gathering up the tithe money. But for years there have now and then been persons who have lost confidence in the appropriation of the tithe who have placed the tithe in my hands and said if I did not take it they would themselves appropriate it to the family of the most needy minister they could find. I have taken the money, given them a receipt for it and told them how it was appropriated."

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(A LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE COLORADO CONFRENCE)

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Mountain View, California, January 22nd, 1905

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Unpublished Manuscript Testimonies, Spaulding & Magan Collection, 1915-1916, p215.

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The purpose of this presentation is the share what the Word has to say on the subject of tithing. It is for you to make your individual decision as to what you will do with your tithes, and where to send it.