I have been to the deceptive church and walked its halls before. I have sat in the pews of a deceptive church and witnessed first-hand manipulation from the pulpit. Churches that seek to glorify themselves over Jesus Christ are deceptive churches. These biblically illiterate country clubs’ fashion their messages in a way that pacifies the audience and creates a Gospel of conformity and comfort. These dens of thieves focus on their self-centered ambitions of the money-making machine that we call church. The words of scripture are for thee and not for me. Word manipulation is a tool used by those preying on vulnerable parishioners to guilt and extort money for their own personal gain.
Here is where the hammer hits the nail on the head. This is also where the manipulated and manipulators coalesce into one unified group of people chasing and worshiping half-truths of the Bible. Some of you reading this may be caught up in the manipulation and coercion and will be too blind to understand what I say. Others of you may agree with me and feel the same way. This isn’t my favorite topic to talk about, but it is relevant in most everyone’s life. The topic of the deceptive church and money are as old as the Bible for which we claim to follow. If you have ever been to a Christian church, I am sure that you have heard messages on tithing. It is a term found in the Bible, and it is commonly used to speak to church goers about how they are supposed to handle their finances.
The deceptive church uses word salads to get what they want.
When someone is trying to manipulate you, they have to cover their tracks. Enticing people through shiny objects, guilting their conscience and using tools to reinforce their message are all practices of a deceptive church. Before I dig too far into this, I want to show you a few verses about what the Bible says. It is important that we understand context when we apply Bible verses to our narrative. Conveniently some verses are ignored when trying to promote an agenda. For all transparency, let’s look at both sides of giving.
Leviticus 27:30 New American Standard Bible
30 ‘Now all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
Numbers 18:26 New American Standard Bible
26 “Moreover, you shall speak to the Levites and say to them, ‘When you take from the sons of Israel the tithe which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present an offering from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Deuteronomy 14:24 New American Standard Bible
24 But if the distance is so great for you that you are not able to bring the tithe, since the place where the Lord your God chooses to set His name is too far away from you when the Lord your God blesses you,
2 Chronicles 31:5 New American Standard Bible
5 As soon as the order spread, the sons of Israel abundantly provided the first fruits of grain, new wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field; and they brought in abundantly the tithe of everything.
Notice how these verses are found in the Old Testament. Specifically, the concept of tithing is referenced as a legal requirement of the Israelites to give 10% of their wealth to the temple. Much of the time this was done through commodities such as crops and livestock. So that the temple could financially sustain itself, tithing was required to be given by the Israelites. The act of tithing was similar to that of a tax, hence the reason it is referred to as a temple tax. Tithing was not an optional gift of free-will giving, it was a requirement. Requiring something makes the financial exchange a tax or a mandate, not a gift. Now let’s take a look at what the New Testament says about tithing and giving.
The deceptive church focuses on Old Testament law when it is convenient for them.
Rarely do I hear modern day churches reference Old Testament verses. Most churches only live for the New Testament. Except for one topic that I have noticed. This topic is frequently mentioned in churches and sermons are built around the concept of tithing. I have a huge problem with this manipulation. Let me explain why. First, if you look at the New Testament, Jesus came to fulfil the Old Testament law. Meaning that sacrifices to the temple were no longer necessary because Jesus is the temple. The son of God came to fulfil the law of the Old Testament that the Israelites lived under, so there was no need for the law to continue under its current form. One major part of Jesus coming to fulfil the Old Testament was the integration of free-will giving to replace the temple tax of tithing. Here are a few verses regarding the concept of generosity and free-will.
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 New American Standard Bible
Instructions and Greetings
16 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you are to do as well. 2 On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, so that no collections need to be made when I come. 3 When I arrive, whomever you approve, I will send them with letters to take your gift to Jerusalem; 4 and if it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.
Let’s take a look at the words “as he may prosper” in the passage above. When we have an abundance, we have more to give. When someone is financially burdened, there is less to give. Notice how the word tithe or 10% temple tax is non-existent in the New Testament. There is no such instruction in the New Testament to give a temple tax. Churches need to stop building their ministry off of a lie. If your church leadership is so ignorant as to not understand what a tithe is and what free-will giving is, can they be trusted with any other issue that they deliver to the congregation? If your church leadership understands what a tithe is, but decides to be a deceptive church and push a tithe instead of free-will giving can they be trusted?
James 1:5-8 New American Standard Bible
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
2 Corinthians 9:7 New American Standard Bible
7 Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Can we be a cheerful giver when being coerced by a deceptive church?
In all honesty and transparency, I have long since stopped donating to any church that preaches tithing over cheerful giving. I won’t do it. I won’t be guilted or coerced into giving money to leadership that I cannot trust to be good stewards of my financial gift. I whole heartedly believe in giving money to further God’s Kingdom and that looks different to everyone. There are countless ministries that you can donate to that help spread the Gospel. Your money does not have to be tied to a church that preaches tithing. Don’t feel guilted into giving to these organizations.
The cheerfulness is lost when something becomes a mandate or another bill. One of the worst demonstrations of giving is when the church tries to set up the congregation on re-occurring giving. This makes your gift a bill. It is an afterthought. It isn’t accountability and it isn’t something that requires the reflection of our heart. Sure, it is convenient to check off the donation box. It makes the church happy that you are signing up for your weekly temple tax. Does it bring you closer to God or does it just get the church off of your back? That is something that you have to figure out for yourself.
Another problem that I have with the tithe is the literature being peddled in the church by the debt free guy. Listen to his words carefully. As soon as the tithe button is pushed, your alarm should go off. Is this program scriptural based, or is it a manipulation tool used by the church to reinforce their tithe protocol? Some of the principals may be good in theory, but ask yourself why your church doesn’t follow the same principals with its finances? How many of you go to a church that is sitting in debt? I bet most of you are. How does a church preach debt-free and continue to amass debt? Why does a church continue to preach tithe even though they know that the concept is not valid today? The writing is on the wall. The tithe message is preached to make sure that the church receives guaranteed finances to support their debt and keep staff on payroll.
How much money is wasted in church servicing debt? Those who donate to these churches send a good portion of the money straight to the bank which lines their pockets with profit. Is it a good use of the finances that God has blessed you with to service debt? Could more people be reached for the kingdom if your finances were directly sent to the front lines of the ministry? I know how I feel about all of this. Do you feel good about how your finances are being used in the church? Or are you just a due’s paying member of the country club? I encourage you to put some thought into how you use your finances to enhance and promote the kingdom of God. God loves a cheerful giver.