SOLVING THE NIGERIAN QUESTION

Nigeria: God's Own Country

We have been introduced to the issue of problem solving right from our earliest days at elementary school. Mathematics is all about finding solution to a problem and even where there is a solution already, some esoteric professors demand you postulate a problem fitting with the solution on ground. School is so designed for men to find solutions to the myriads of problems mankind is likely to face. However, the beauty of modern times is that humanity, having come through centuries upon centuries of existence, have found answers to the most common problems that mankind is likely to face. Thus, rather than working from first principles, what most people do is to simply apply already made solutions to any problem that man is likely to face. The tragedy of the Nigerian story is that our problems seem to defy every known solution that man has conceived over time. This article attempts to provide a solution to the leading problem of the Nigerian nation.

The great but late Nigerian literary icon, Chinua Achebe, wrote in his book “The Problem with Nigeria”, published in 1981, that the leading problem in Nigeria is the leadership problem. How can Nigerians find solution to the perennial problem of bad leaders that we seems to be forever bugged down with? The answer is with the Nigerian people: Nigerians must take their destiny in their hands and see to it that this nation does not fail as we choose the leaders that will govern us in coming elections. Sometimes I feel that God is a Nigerian. And in all reality there is a sense in it that He is, because greater nations than us have faced lesser problems than we are facing and are history today. Even the worst atheist will agree that it could only have taken a divine hand to deliver this nation when Abacha held this country at the jugular in the mid-90’s. Then God saw us through the crisis that followed MKO Abiola’s death. Today this country has transitioned from civilian to civilian rule twice, a fit that seemed impossible some years before.  The military boys seem to have found their rightful place in the barracks and the idea of sacking democratically elected leaders is almost old fashioned. All of these can be attributed to the gracious hands of God and the dogged spirit of the Nigerian people that were committed to making the nation work.

Nigeria: Good People, Great Nation

In spite of these, the leadership problem remained unsolved. President Olusegun Obasanjo’s eight year tenure in government had its positive sides, but the negatives enveloped virtually all of the gains recorded under his administration. Some are of the view that no other president in Nigeria’s history had the kind of opportunities Obasanjo had to revamp this country: with the unprecedented earnings this nation garnered from the sales of crude oil, the enthusiasm the Nigerian people brought into the democratic experiment that had eluded us for years, and the unrivalled support we got from the international community that was shifting gaze to Africa following the 9/11 violence that had ruptured the relationship between the west and the middle east. But Obasanjo sacrificed all these opportunities because of sheer stubbornness, vindictiveness and pride. Nonetheless, this country survived Obasanjo and we were placed on the laps of a sick president. Following Umaru Musa Yar’Adua performance as Governor for eight years in Katsina State, one could say he would have done well as President but he was continually hampered by ill health and finally gave up the ghost on May 5^th2010. The efforts he made via the Amnesty Programme for militants in the Niger Delta remains a positive testimony in his memory and today the nation is enjoying some reprieve in the Niger Delta.

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan succeded Yar’Adua as president, riding on the waves of great public sympathy that followed his being sidelined by a cabal during Yar’Adua’s illness. His statement that he would “hit the ground running” in those early days of his administration portrayed him as a leader that will be different. However, after six months in office, it was obvious to the discerning that Jonathan was not going to be doing anything different from his predecessors. The challenge of leadership that this nation has been battling with since independence was not about to go away. Jonathan had the opportunity to make himself a statesman by simply completing the tenure of the late Yar’Adua, implement the electoral reform made by the Uwais Panel and then organize a free and fair election. Regardless of whoever won the 2011 elections, Jonathan would have gone down in the history of this nation as one of the greatest leaders we ever had, following in the likes of Muritala Mohammed and Abubarkar Abdulsalami if he had not contested the 2011 elections. Though one may not blame him too much in this regard, seeing that this nation has really never had a tradition of great leaders. Jonathan came into an office with very little leadership examples to imitate. So, it is obvious that if we do not have leaders that will solve our national problems, Nigerians had better take up the challenge of finding solutions to these problems themselves; for we do not have any other country that we can call our own.

Occupy Nigeria, January 2012 - A Successful Civil Disobedience

If there is a free and prosperous nation today, it is because the people of that nation decided to make it so. The question of revolution is no longer enviable these days as we behold the records of human causalities reeling out of Syria and the state of anarchy in Egypt. Nevertheless there are still lawful ways in which a people can find answers to the challenge of leadership in their country: Nigerians can ensure a change of government through a lawful and constitutional democratic process, especially now as we face the 2015 elections. To solve these perennial problems of leadership in Nigeria, we must refuse to be sold a lie. Every Nigerian old enough to vote must become knowledgeable of the political situation in the nation and begin to learn to read in between the lines. We must know every one of the politicians for who they are. We must take note of the performance of people in office now, who wish to run for a second term in office and use it to predict how they are likely to perform when they are voted in again. Nigerians must refuse to be sold the ethnic and religious lies: if we are not yet convinced by now that religion and ethnicity is not a proof that a person will perform well in office, we are likely to make the mistake again in 2015. We must take stock of the performance of political parties since the coming of this present democratic experiment in 1999 and use it as a yard stick for choosing our leaders in 2015. At the risk of sounding partisan, I think Nigerians must give new and emerging political parties the benefit of a doubt. Not simply because they are new but based on the precedence of the individuals in those parties. As a nation we cannot continue to do the same things and expect different results.

Corruption in Every Sphere of our National Life

The All Progressive Congress (APC) has the opportunity to win the hearts of Nigerians if she will take advantage of the in fighting going on in People’s Democratic Party (PDP) right now. They cannot allow flimsy matters of the choice of officers into their leadership to jettison the opportunity to wrest power from the PDP. I use this medium to lend a word of plea to General Mohammadu Buhari not to run for presidency in 2015. Not because he is not an able candidate for this office but simply because of his age. Buhari has attained a clout and age today that he should be seen more as a king-maker than a king. I look forward to Buhari backing a certain young and credible person, just like himself, in 2015, and he can be sure that such would have my vote. Also, I call Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to run for political office in 2015. Just like Buhari, he should be seen more in the background, backing young and credible men and women to political office in the coming political dispensation. These two leaders must sheath any personal ambition they may have and endeavor to agree on the choice of men to run for political office under the APC. If they do not do this, the APC will crash and Nigerians will be left at the mercy of the ignominious PDP.

Despite my positive word on APC, Nigerians must transcend even party bias to make a choice of who their leaders will be. We must remember that apart from the presidency, there are the sits of governors, local government chairs, counselors, senators, and house representatives. We must endeavor to know the candidates for these positions and choose right. Our destiny is in our hands: if Nigeria fails today, our children shall blame us in the future.

Q & A SESSION ON TITHING

In God or in Gold?

Q: Good day Deji Yesufu. Your article “I Cannot Afford to be a Christians” has generated some controversies. Can we say from that article that you are asking Christians to no longer give a tithe of their income to their local churches?

A: No.

Q: So what were you trying to say, in summary, from that article?

A: That article is simply an evangelistic message to non-Christians to reconsider the gospel of Jesus again. I was saying in that article that salvation is fully paid for by God for all men and to partake of it we are called to believe in Christ; Only. Now, as an addendum to the whole discourse, I brought in the issue of tithing; showing that tithing is one example, among others, in which modern organized churches have succeeded in discrediting this free salvation of Jesus; giving the impression that one is not a good Christian except the individual pays a tithe of his income. My grouse is with the word “pay”.

Q: So you are saying that Christians must not be asked to pay tithe, although they could give their tithe?

A: Exactly.

Q: Is there is difference between the word pay and give?

A: Plenty. The word pay denotes fulfilling an obligation; or meeting a prescribed requirement; or attaining the demands of a law. The word give denotes free will: a freedom to do as one purposes in one heart. The Old Testament clearly shows that the law required the children of Israel to pay tithe to the Levithical order (Numbers 18:21). The New Testament does not teach anywhere that Christians must pay tithes and offering. The scriptures show clearly that giving in the New Testament is simply free will and not obligatory or by necessity (1 Corinthians 9:7).

Q: How then did the concept of paying tithes and giving offering come into the church?

A: It came from a wrong interpretation and application of biblical truths. Most Christians today, following Paul’s revelation, accept that the laws of Moses has been abolished in the New Testament (Hebrew 7:12, 2 Corinthians 3:7, Galatians 3:24-27); they agree that Christians are not to pay tithes according to Moses’ injunction but they insist that we must follow the example of Abraham, who is the father of our faith, when he gave a tenth of the war spoils to Melchizedek. They say that Melchizedek is a type of Christ and for Abraham to give tithes to Melchizedek, Jesus is Melchizedek and we should give tithes to Christ through the church he has ordained on earth.

Q: But that makes perfect sense. So what do you have against Abraham’s tithing and the call for Christians to imitate him by tithing too?

A: Now let's understand the main issue at hand here. The wrong interpretation and application of biblical truth that I mentioned above is the fact that in regards to tithing, the church uses Abraham as an example on one hand but calls believers to tithe according to the law of Moses, on the other hand. When ministers ask people to tithe they use the Malachi 3:8-10 scripture to cajole people to pay their tithes or a curse will come on them, forgetting quickly that there would never had been a Malachi 3 if there had not been a Leviticus 27 and Numbers 18. I am saying in effect we cannot say we are not under Moses’ laws but resort to Moses laws to lay justification to a doctrine and practice in the church. If we must follow Abraham’s example, we must tithe as Abraham tithed; but if we must follow Moses’ law, we must obey the law to the letter and not just take one law out of the 613 laws God gave Israel through Moses, and leave the rest (Galatians 5:3; James 2:10) .

And in addition to this if we were to follow Abraham example by imitating everything he did: Christians will go to war; Christians will sleep with their house maids; Christians will circumcise their children on the eight day; Chrisitians will lie; etc. It is Abraham's faith in God that brought about his justification (Genesis 15:6) we are called to imitate and not every minute detail of his life (Galatians 3:6-9).

Q: But you still have not answered the question I asked: Why should Christian not tithe like their father in the faith, Abraham, did.

A: To understand Abraham’s tithing, we must resort to two scriptures: Genesis 14 and Hebrew 7. The first thing we see from that scripture is that Abram, not yet Abraham at that time, gave a tithe and not pay a tithe to Melchizedek. So if Christians must tithe following Abram’s example, it must be free will giving and not obligatory payment. Also, we see that Abram did not give this tithe to curry a blessing from Melchizedek, as we are made to believe when we are told to tithe so as to open the heavens over our finances, according to Malachi 3. Rather he gave a tithe after he had been blessed by Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). So his giving was a kind of thanksgiving offering or gratitude – the same way Christians can come forward to thank God for a deliverance, blessing or safety with an offering. Thus, rather than being an obligatory paying, we see this as an example of free will offering of thanksgiving. Abram, in this story, gave a tithe of war spoils. It is nowhere recorded that he gave a tithe of his possessions to Melchizedek; even though he made reference to his wealth in that passage of scriptures (v.22- 23). We see from this example that Abraham’s tithing was a once-for-all event; and not a weekly or monthly duty. Now, other translations of scripture, other than the KJV, translated the word “tithe” in v.20 as tenth. This they did not because the two words differ but to distinguish this particular tithe or tenth from the religious tithe or tenth that God will require of Israel to give to the Levites under Moses later (Leviticus 27, Number 18). Many bible scholars, including those who agree and disagree with tithing today, accept that what Abraham did was in keeping with the custom of that age: were Kings and Priests were given ten percent of spoils obtained from the war front. Abraham was simply following an established custom and thus the tithe he gave here cannot be seen as a religious tithe (like we would find under Moses) but a customary tithe. Christians do not go to war today; and even if they did and obtained war spoils, we see from Scriptures that God either regarded war spoils as an abomination (Joshua 6:17-18) or gave specific instructions in regards to how to use them (Joshua 6:19; Numbers 31:25-30). God has never demanded a tithe from war spoils.

Q: What about the reference in Hebrew 7:2, that showed us that Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek?

A: At this point I would refer to Matthew E. Nerramore online book on tithing http://tekoapublishing.com/books/tithing/index.html. Quoting from Chapter five, the author shows us the real gist of Abraham’s tithing as found in Hebrew 7 through this logical progression: When Abraham gave the tithe to Melchizedek, all of Abraham’s unborn descendants were symbolically in his loins; which means that the tribe of Levi and all the Old Covenants priests were in his loins; which means that all the old testament priests were there paying tithe to Melchizedek; which means that when Abraham received the blessing from Melchizedek, all the old covenant priests were also there receiving the blessing from Melchizedek; therefore, because the one who receives the tithe and gives the blessing is greater than the one who gives the tithes and receives the blessing. Melchizedek is greater than the old covenant priests. And because Melchizedek is proven to be greater than the old Covenant priests, that proves Jesus is also greater because he is a high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

So the subject of tithing was brought into this passage not for it to be an instruction for New Testament Christians to follow but to show the greatness of the priesthood of Christ – by comparing it to that of Melchizedek. Please note that Jesus is not a priest after the person of Melchizedek but after the order of Melchizedek. There is nothing in that scripture that shows that Jesus and Melchizedek are one and the same person. Also the Hebrew 7 scripture, like Nerramore had stated in his book, shows that the order of Melchizedek was a higher priestly order than that of the Levites. While the tithes the Levite’s collected was said to be after a carnal commandment, the priestly order  that Jesus represents is after an endless life (v.16). That carnal commandment is the one that demanded the tithes. Carnality here will depict a commandment that is ordinary and outdated; although carnality is seen as sin in 1 Corinthians 3:3 and as death in Romans 8:6. Everything in regards to that commandment is summarized in v.12: for the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law. The change in the laws shows that while Moses’ laws were obligatory, the laws that came in Christ are based on liberty: freedom to do as the Spirit leads us – the law of Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:2; James 2:8-12). And on a final note, still along these lines, when we realize that Jesus, like Hebrew 7:14 shows, descended from the tribe of Judah and we see that only those from Levi could collect a tithe, Jesus himself will be a law breaker if he'd collected a tithe during his earthly ministry. Now in His glorified form, Jesus’ Priesthood is after another order: that of Melchizedek, and there is no record in scripture that shows that that priesthood needs tithing to sustain it. Also, while Jesus is the High Priest, believers today, are priests in God’s kingdom (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6). There is nowhere in the whole of scriptures were priests paid tithes to anyone; so we are not obliged to tithe under this new covenant – which is a better covenant (Hebrew 7:22).

Q: Many of you, who use big grammar and theology to justify your not tithing, forget that there is such a thing as a principle behind tithing. And that it is this principle we see pre-law, during the law and after the law. What is your take on this?

A: Maybe we should start first by looking up a definition of the word “principle”. A simple Google search on this word gives:

Principle: Noun 1.      A fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. 2.      A rule or belief governing one's personal behavior.

Synonyms tenet - rule - basis - law So we can say a principle can be a rule, a belief, a tenet, a law, etc. If anyone calls tithing a principle, that person is telling us that tithing is a belief, a rule, a tenet, or a law. So, “principle” could be said to be a law or a tenet. Clearly, we see that tithing is givien to Israel as a law and thus the position we had taken in the beginning that tithing is taught today with the laws of Moses as its foundation is really not far from the truth. But I understand that some other times when the word “principle” is used, it is used in the same way that the law of sowing and reaping is seen as a spiritual principle (Galatians 6:6-7). Even in this context, we see that if God gave tithing as an ordinance to Israel under Moses, the principle that we see here is not necessary a principle of tithing for all of eternity but the heart of God that requires that those who minister spiritual things to people, should also be ministered to physically. The principle that is taught here is more of free will giving than tithing.

Q: So with all of these that have been said, what is the place of Malachi 3:8-10?

A: We had better quote Malachi 3:8-10 and put it in the proper context it is supposed to be:

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

A careful study of scriptures will show how God’s people, the nation of Israel, had almost always backslidden. Earlier in Malachi God had criticized their handling of offering, marriages, etc. Here we see him mention the tithes and offering as something Israel had fallen short of. Malachi 3 cannot be understood in isolation, unless we trace our steps back to its foundational scriptures in Leviticus 27 and Numbers 18, were the tithe is first mentioned under the law and were it is defined under the law, respectively.

Leviticus 27:

31 And if a man will at all redeem ought of his tithes, he shall add thereto the fifth part thereof.   32 And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.   33 He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither shall he change it:  and if he change it at all, then both it and the change thereof shall be holy;  it shall not be redeemed. 

Numbers 18:

20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them:  I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.   21 And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.   22 Neither must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin, and die.   23 But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity:  it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance.   24 But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit:  therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.   25 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26 Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, When ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up an heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. 

While this question and answer session is not meant to be a thorough academic study of tithing, we can glean something from the scriptures above:

•  Tithing is one of the ordinances God gave to Israel (Number 18:8).
•  Only levites and priest could have the tithes (Numbers 18:21).
•   The tithes could only be from the agricultural produces off the holy land God gave to Israel (Leviticus 27:32).
•  The levites gave a tenth of the tithes they collected to the priests (Leviticus 18:26).
•   Tithe was never money; rather we see in another place under Moses that if the place the tithe was to be taken was very far, the tithe could be converted to cash and then when the “offeree” arrived the temple, he would use that money to buy whatever he wanted and offered as his tithe (Deuteronomy 14:24-26).
•  There are records under Moses, were the tithes were eaten by the offeree himself before God: (Deuteronomy 14:23).

  

  Mother Theresa teaching us true Peity: Helping the Poor
  James 1:27

•  We see the tithes being given to Widows, Orphans, and the Poor (Deuteronomy 14:29).

•  The Levithes gave a tithe of the tithes they got from the nation of Israel to the priests (Numbers 18:26).
•  The First fruit is also distinct from the tithe. The law that teaches payment of tithes also taught that First fruits were to be paid to the priests(Numbers 18:13-17).
• The tithe was also seen to be given every three years and not weekly or monthly as we are taught to do today (Deuteronomy 14:28)

When the tithe is understood in its real context from its origin in the law, we can then understand Malachi 3 as God speaking to the nation of Israel under the law to bring the tithes and offering to the temple. There are three possibilities for why there was no food in the storehouse. It is either the people were no longer paying the tithes, or the Levites were not remitting the tithe of the tithes they collected to the priests, or the priests were simply not putting the tithes they collected in the storehouse. Whatever the case is, that scripture is an Old Testament injunction that has no bearing on the New Testament Church.

In the light of the New Testament, we know that God’s redeemed people in Jesus cannot be cursed because Jesus has become a curse for us: for it is written, cursed is anyone that hangs on a tree (Galatians 3:13). Also, our blessing is not what we pursue or seek, rather we are blessed because of our position in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3). So, Malachi is a scripture written to a Jewish audience, found in the Old Testament and has no bearing on born-again children of God today.

One can only plead with Christian ministers to stop this guilt imparting method of putting a curse on a redeemed people that God has not cursed because they do not tithe. The bible calls this "wounding (people's) conscience" and it is "sinning against Christ" when someone defiles another person's conscience that way (1 Corinthians 8:11-12). It is for freedom Christ has redeemed His people and not to bring them under bondage.

Q: If you say Malachi 3 does not apply to Christians today, what about Matthew 23:23? Is this not a scripture found in the New Testament?

A: We are required as Christians to rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). Jesus, in his earthly ministry, lived and operated under the law (Matthew 8:4; Matthew 23:1-3; Galatians 4:4). That is the context in which Matthew 23:23 must be seen. That scripture reads: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!   for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith:  these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone”. Like many other instances in the gospels, Jesus lived the law in order to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17), so that the righteous requirement of the law may be imputed on us who have come to trust in Him by faith (Romans 4:4-8; Romans 8:4).

Here, Jesus is berating the Pharisee and he was pointing them to weighty matters of the law: Judgment, Mercy and Faith. These three items are not necessarily enumerated in the laws of Moses but we see that they are the unwritten, however, important demands of the law. We could say they are the spirit of the law. Micah 6:8 says “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”. This is another example in which the spirit of the law is summarized: to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. And then we have in other instances Jesus himself summarizing the law as loving God and loving your neighbor, Matthew 22:36 “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?  37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.   38 This is the first and great commandment.   39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.   40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” Therefore we could conclude that God’s aim for giving the law was not to produce a people giving to legalistic observance of those laws but to learn the spirit behind the law and do it. It was the spirit behind the law Jesus called the weighty matters of the law. And understand that those things are not always written in black and white in the scriptures but they require sound bible teachers who would sift through scriptures and come forth with the weighty matters God wants us to do. We can conclude from Matthew 23:23 that while Justice, Mercy and Faith were weighty, the other things which he said should also be done, tithing, was not weighty. Also, we see that those things that were not weighty, like tithing, were actually the letters of the law, while the weighty matters were the deductions or spirit of the law. Jesus who operated under the law would not teach or encourage anyone to break the law: thus he said, those other (non weighty matter of the law) should not be left undone. However, by the time we come to the time of the Church, were the letter of the law has been abolished (Hebrew 7:12, 2 Corinthians 3:7, Galatians 3:24-27), leaving behind the spirit of the law, we see that Christians are not under any obligation to keep the letter of the law, including tithing. In the church, God fulfills the purpose of giving the law through a people who will adhere to the spirit of the law and not the letter. For the letter killeth but the spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Also, we see from Romans 14 that there are matters in Christendom that are essential and some are not. Paul in that passage of the scripture said in regards to ceremonial foods to be eaten under the law: “1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.   2 For one believeth that he may eat all things:  another, who is weak, eateth herbs.   3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;  and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth:  for God hath received him.   4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant?  to his own master he standeth or falleth.   Yea, he shall be holden up:  for God is able to make him stand.   5 One man esteemeth one day above another:  another esteemeth every day alike.   Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.   6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord;  and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it.   He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks;  and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.” We can conclude from this passage, following the logic of v. 6 that because tithing is not a weighty matter of the law: “He that titheth to the Lord he tithes; he that does not tithe, to the Lord he does not tithe!” As long as both of them derive the conviction for their practice from their understanding of scriptures. Those who will be at a loss here, however, are those who tithe following a legalistic prescription and those who choose not to tithe without a proper scriptural conviction.

Q: Many people have said that God led them to begin to tithe and as a result many of them have tremendous results to show for it. How do you respond to this?

A:The holy scriptures are our final authority and not experiences. Also, if all an individual hear from morning till night in his local church is “give your tithe… give your tithe…”, “If you do not tithe, things will be tight for you…”, “Pay your tithe so you will not be cursed...”, “Those who do not tithe are thieves and robbers…”, “Those who do not tithe will go to hell…”, that person will certainly wake up one day with a supposed impression from God to begin to tithe. It is called spirit. Paul spoke of another gospel, another spirit and another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4) in his days. Those men were known to take advantage of people financially in the name of preaching. The words they speak are beyond mere words; they carry spirits with them that can minister to people’s heart and I believe this is where people get their so called leading to tithe from. As for the experience of great wealth: it is two fold – those who tithe claim to experience a blessing; those who stopped tithing claim to experience a blessing too. Who is correct? Neither! It is God’s word that is correct! It is obeying the spirit of the word of God not the letter of it that is most important, regardless of the experiences we claim to have: good or bad. The just is called to live by faith. Take the example of our conversion. Becoming born-again is a blessing and the right thing to do, but all Christians have varying experiences following their conversion. Some enter a period of bliss and blessing; others experience persecution and even death. It is not the experience that should tell weather what we do is correct or not, it is the word of God.

The Christian's Constitution: The Bible

Q: So in order words, people are at liberty to do as they feel like. Is this not a prescription for anarchy?

A: Anywhere the spirit of God operates there is liberty. Anywhere another spirit operates there is bondage. However, despite this freedom to operate, there is also order, for the spirit of the prophet is subject to the prophet. Paul shows us in Galatians 5:1 that we should stand firm in the liberty that Jesus has purchased for us and not get entangled in a yoke of bondage – and this is with reference to bondage to the law. Nevertheless he continues in this same chapter saying “13 For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty;  only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.   14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this;  Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.   15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.   16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.” The liberty Christ has brought us into is to be used to serve people by walking in love. All of the laws of Moses, including tithing, was aimed at this one thing: to walk in love. What does love do? Love gives. This giving can come in any amount, including ten percent. But it is clear that the motive producing the action of giving is not one propelled by legalism, or a bid to curry God’s favor for blessings, but to serve God because we love Him, we love our neighbors and we want God’s kingdom to grow. This sort of giving is certainly free will giving and it is the giving that the New Testament advocates (2 Corinthians 9:7). That is the reason why despite the contention on circumcision, the eating of food sacrificed to idols and other items of the law debated in the New Testament, the matter of tithing was never debated. The reason is two fold: when a normal Jewish man heard of tithing, he saw it as ten percent of agricultural produce given to the Levites. Thus artisans, traders, professionals and other workers who earned wages were never known to have paid a tithe on their wages in scriptures. There is no single scripture both in the old or new were anyone tithed on the wages he collected as a result of service rendered. As what was to be tithed was never money. The other reason why tithes were never debated was simply that the tithes were not so much of an issue that we have succeeded to making it in our time. It was not important and every man had liberty to do whatever he felt was right about it.

Q: Can you please summarize your position so far in this interview?

A: In this interview I have not asked for people to tithe or not to tithe. All I have been trying to say is that tithing is a non essential practice in the church and those who teach that we must tithe are the ones who are making something essential that God in his word has not made so. Tithing has taken a place in gospel preaching in our churches today that is simply embarrassing. Truth be told: the plethora of Churches we find on Nigerian roads today is due to the money that is to be made from it. The tithe being the leading item. Also, there seem to be no end for financial demands on church people from church leaders. Ranging from money for church building, to money to celebrate anniversaries, to church development offerings, to prophets offering, to First fruits, and on and on. One wonders why despite all the tithes and offerings collected there seem to be no end for this financial demands. So much so that this practice has cast no small opprobrium on the body of Christ that non-Christian see ministry as “In the Name of God PLC”. Pastors and church leaders now occupy positions that the New Testament never envisioned and there is just so much confusion everywhere that what suffers most is the core message of the gospel: which is still that God loves the world and has sent his Son Jesus to redeem humanity by his blood. And whoever has faith in what Christ did on that cross shall be saved. The bible does not teach that the Pastor or Teacher is an office in the church in the manner that we have the office of the Levites in the Old Testament. Rather Ephesians 4: 8-11: shows us that God has given us Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers as ministry gifts and not priestly offices. In the New Testaments all of God’s redeemed saints occupy the office of priests (1 Peter 2:9, Revelation 1:6) and not just a privileged few, to whom we must then pay tithes to! The Reformers of the 16^th century understood this so well that they called it The Priesthood of all Believers.

Also, we see that in every dispensation God has always called a people to himself. In the Old Testament we see God calling Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Jeremiah, etc; and right into the New Testament, we see Jesus and His apostles, Paul and so on being called to ministry. All of these people came from various tribes of Israel. We even see Ruth called from the gentile nation of Moab. None of these individual ever had tithes paid to them. The tithes were strictly for the Levites and Priests. God is still calling men to ministry today but why these called individuals in our times now demand that tithes must be paid to them, beat my imagination. One thing is sure they do not find their example from the bible. Regardless of how we see it, Pastors are not Levites.

Q: Before we let you off the hook, at the beginning of this interview you said Christians are not to pay a tithe but could give a tithe. Do you give your tithe?

A: I do not pay a tithe, neither do I give a tithe. I say Christians can give their tithe because giving of a tithe or a tenth of one income is still very scriptural under the many scriptures that support giving in the New Testament (Luke 6:38, 1 Corinthians 9:14, 2 Corinthians 9:8). Also, many people have been raised in religious environment were paying a tenth of any money they have has become flesh of their flesh and bone of their bone. There is no need denying them the satisfaction they find in giving. The danger is that it can become a religious rote and this may be the reason many people are not being blessed by tithe paying.

And the church can make good use of these monies and so there is no need fighting against this. I, however, do not give a tithe of my income because the local church that I attend has not shown enough financial accountability to allow me support them with a tenth of my income. My study into the true nature of tithing actually stemmed from my questioning of the church not accounting for monies entrusted to it. The second reason why I no longer give a tithe is so that I may present a true gospel to the unbelieving. I cannot be telling an unbeliever to know Jesus, and that if he comes to the Lord, He will not collect a tenth of his salary; while I give this same Lord a tenth of mine. I will be hypocritical doing this.

Paul was sent with a gospel to the uncircumcised. For this reason, he himself no longer lived as a Jew (Galatians 2:14), except when it was needful for him to present the gospel to the Jews (1 Corinthians 9:20). And, lastly, I no longer give a tithe because I realize that the New Testament gives me the freedom to give or not to give.

Q: Thank you so much for availing us your time, Deji.

A: Thank you too. Before you go, I would wish to refer the readers who may want to learn more about tithing to the following websites, because my responses here are far less studios. Those who wish to do some academic study on the subject of tithing could refer to the website below:

1.     Gary Arnold’s: www.tithing101.com. This website is probably the best introduction to the whole subject of the place of tithing today.

2.     Matthew E. Nerramore’s: http://tekoapublishing.com/books/tithing/index.html#. Here we have an excellent expose on the dangers of tithing according to the law.

3.     Dr Rusell Kelly’s: www.tithing-russkelly.com. This is a PHD theses were the Author traces the history of tithing in churches. He offers a rebuttal to virtually every known book written in support of obligatory tithing.

4.     Mofesola Babalola’s: http://mb.mettalloids.com/tithe-and-you-the-book/. This book is written by a young Nigerian. It can be downloaded.

5.     Femi Aribisala's controversial but true article: Every Pastor that Collects Tithes is a Thief and a Robber: http://news.naij.com/33156.html

Q: We want to thank our readers for making time to read this article from this blog. We are certain that not all questions on tithing today have been answered in this Q and A session. Those of you who feel your questions were either not answered at all or not adequately answered could leave your questions as comment below and Deji Yesufu will endeavor to supply bible based answers to them. Thank you and God bless.

“I CANNOT AFFORD TO BE A CHRISTIAN”

Romans 8:32 - He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

2 Peter 1:2 - Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

Evangelism remains a cardinal aspect of the Christian’s way of life. The call on us to “go ye…” by Jesus Christ cannot be over-emphasized especially in times like this when it seems the world itself is reeling from the weight of the sins of men. There is no other time in the history of the world that men need to hear the message of the saving works of Jesus Christ than now. But it seems to me that the world is tired of the gospel. An average non-Christian has heard these words “give your life to Christ…” so many times that it is making little sense to them day by day and thus there is a need to trust God for more creative ways of passing across the message of the cross to a world desperately in need of hearing it. As we endeavor to do this as Christians, we must also update ourselves about certain realities in the world today and the need for us as Christians to up our game, quit religion and avail ourselves as vessels to God to be used as his mouth piece to witness Jesus to a world in dire need of the salvation message.

One reality that we Christian seem not to notice about the mindset of a non Christian is the fact that many of such people cannot afford to be Christians. I use the word “afford” to drive home the fact that the Christianity that many espouse today cost too much financially and people cannot just afford to pay for it; and the best way of doing this is just to keep away from the gospel entirely. There is a certain false teaching in the heart and life of the Christian church today that says that for one to be a good Christian such an individual must pay a tithe of his income to a Christian clergy or to the church he worships in. And for this reason, many hard working and sensible individuals who, at one time or the other had considered the Christian message have been put off and relapsed into a world of sin. There is no scripture in the whole of the bible that says for one to be a Christian or for one to be a good Christian or for one to get to heaven, such an individual must pay a tithe of his weekly or monthly income to a clergy or church. To claim such is to put a sword through the heart of the gospel Jesus called the church to propagate around the world. The eternal gospel that God called us to tell the world is that Jesus Christ died a painful death on a Roman Cross to purchase salvation for the world. In doing this, Jesus paid for all that needs to be paid for. Anyone that believes the gospel of Jesus is not required to pay anything more both to be a Christian or to remain a Christian. Man’s salvation is fully paid for by the atoning work of Jesus on the cross of Calvary. Salvation is God’s free gift to human beings and any man can partake of this salvation by only believing in Jesus as his Lord and Savior.

This sort of conditional and false gospel tried to creep into the body of Christ in the early days of the apostles too. Christianity having been borne from a Jewish tradition was in danger of being influenced by Judaism, when some individuals began to say people could not be saved except they were circumcised first (Acts 15:1). This heresy was quickly dispelled by the apostles of Jesus when they showed the implication of Jesus’s dying on our faith: “But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.” (Acts 15:11). The grace of God in the cross of Jesus is the fact that God gives salvation freely to men and no one needs to work to earn it, talk less of paying for it. Grace is a favour that is not merited neither can it be paid for. The doctrine that teaches that Christians must pay tithe to their local churches is a false doctrine that is the result of a wrong interpretation of the tithe God demanded from the Children of Israel in the Old Testament as a kind of taxation to support the religious and civil life of those people. The tithe of the Old Testament is ten percent of the agricultural produce from God’s holy land. A land that God gave to the children of Israel and He instituted the tithe from any produce off that Land to be a paid to a tribe, the levites, who had no inheritance on the land. This tithe was expected to paid once, following the harvest, and was to be given to the levithes, who in turn paid a tithe of what they received to the priests for their own upkeep. The tithe was never money, even though money existed in Old Testament times. That system of tithing is however, today, defunct and obsolete, because the church of Jesus Christ is not physical Israel and there are no levities to pay tithes to today.

Jesus has paid all that needs to be paid and God is not demanding anything from anyone save for simple faith in what Jesus has done on the cross for sinful humanity. What did Jesus do? God created a good world. A world devoid of sin, sickness, poverty and every sort of ill. He created man and put man in the world he created but man sinned and lost his relationship with God. In spite of this set back, God put in motion another plan to redeem man. When Jesus was to be born, the reason for his coming was stated: He was to come and save man from his sins (Matthew 1:21). Jesus did this by living a sinless life on earth by fulfilling the righteous requirements of the laws God had given Moses. In the laws of Moses, men could pay for their sins by killing a lamb. However, Jesus, who had lived the law perfectly, became a sinless lamb, whom God set forth as a propitiation for our sin. Like in the days of Moses, God put the sins of the whole world on Jesus and He died as the sacrificial Lamb of God for the sins of all men. Jesus paid for our sins by his death on a Roman Cross. This is what Jesus did.

But the story did not end there, Jesus would however, rise up from the dead after three days in the grave, having purchased eternal salvation for all who will believe in Him. This is the crux of the gospel message and this is what satan has been attacking from all times. When a man, having heard the gospel message, is convicted of his sins and repents before God, such a man is forgiven by God and is made a new creation in Christ. Such an individual is saved and has begun a glorious journey in God that started in grace and will most certainly end in grace. Such an individual need not pay a penny to be saved, to remain saved or to be saved into God’s glorious kingdom.

To conclude this essay, I wish to offer a proper and balanced perspective on the whole matter of money in the Christian church. While God does not demand we pay tithes or offering to be members of the Church His Son purchased with His blood, God demands our love. The truth is that a genuinely born-again individual will have God’s love shed abroad in his heart. He will see life from a new perspective: he would love God and he would love human beings. It is this love God has placed in the heart of such a converted fellow that leads him to give because love always gives. This giving is not by compulsion (2Corinthians 9:7) as is falsely depicted by the doctrine of tithing, but free will. What this free will giving shall be is not a matter for any church or pastor to determine for any of God’s saints: an individual may be so blessed by God that he determines in his heart to give 10% of his income to support the church were he is being discipled. That is just fine; but what he gives is not a tithe but a tenth of his income.

Despite the position I have taken in this essay I still encourage giving to the church because of the great need for the propagation of the gospel in these last days. There is the need for more money in mission works to parts of the world that have never heard the gospel message; there is the need to take care of the weak in the church: widows, orphans, the sick, homeless, jobless, etc. And there is the need to minister our physical blessings to our Pastors, as they minister spiritual things to us. All of these needs in church can be adequately taken care of by graceful, sacrificial, free willed offering; without the need to impose the false burden of tithe paying on the flock of God.

The message of this essay is that salvation is free: fully paid for by the death of Jesus on the cross. We cannot purchase salvation by good works, circumcision or by tithing. God is calling on every person who is not a Christian to re consider the gospel message, not in the light of the false one that the demands money from you but in the light of the true gospel that says God does not desire a penny from you; rather, God desires you. God has fully paid for your salvation in Christ Jesus and you need not pay anything to receive it or to keep it. Every human being created by God can afford to be a Christian because salvation in Jesus Christ is free!