The History and Use of the Tithe
Introduction
Before Sabbathkeeping Adventists had organized churches and conferences, and before we had chosen the name “Seventh-day Adventists,” the believers came to see the binding claims of the tithing system presented so clearly in the Scriptures. Under the general term “systematic benevolence” they adopted early in 1859 a tithe plan which was figured on the basis of property. It was estimated that one’s property should yield an income of ten percent a year—this was the increase. A tithe would be one tenth of this, or one percent a year of total property valuation. 3 HUT 26.1
As Testimony No. 5 came from the press in June 1859, it bore the assurance that “the plan of systematic benevolence is pleasing to God.” Ellen White told of how in vision she “was pointed back to the days of the apostles, and saw that God laid the plan by the descent of His Holy Spirit, and that by the gift of prophecy He counseled His people in regard to a system of benevolence. HUT 26.2
“All were to share in this work of imparting of their carnal things to those who ministered unto them in spiritual things.”—Testimonies for the Church 1:190. HUT 26.3
There was a good response to the plan. And for nearly twenty years there was little or no change in the plan of “systematic benevolence.” Then in 1878 workers and church members came to see that there was a defect in figuring the tithe on the basis of property holdings and that “by the Bible plan, one dollar of every ten earned is secured to the Lord’s cause,” and that to pay a proper tithe called for “a tithe of all our income.” (See Systematic Benevolence; or the Bible Plan of Supporting the Ministry. 1878.) HUT 26.4
From the inception of tithing among us, certain principles stood out in bold relief: HUT 26.5
1. The tithe is to be used for the support of the ministry. HUT 26.6
This thought is embodied in the initial Spirit of Prophecy statement just quoted above in the reference to “those who ministered” “in spiritual things.” It is a thread running through all the counsel touching on the tithe given over a period of fifty years, as in such typical statements: HUT 26.7
“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.”—Gospel Workers, 226.
“It [the tithe] is to be devoted solely to support the ministry of the gospel.”—Counsels on Stewardship, 81.
“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 9:250.
2. The tithe is to be brought into the “storehouse” and from there is to be dispersed. HUT 27.1
“It is part of the minister’s work to teach those who accept the truth through his efforts to bring the tithe to the storehouse as an acknowledgement of their dependence upon God.”—Gospel Workers, 370. HUT 27.2
“He [God] claims the tithe as His own, and it should ever be regarded as a sacred reserve, to be placed in His treasury and held sacred for His service as He has appointed.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:247, 248. HUT 27.3
3. Unlike his responsibility in the matter of freewill offerings, the tithepayer has no discretion as to the place where his tithe should be paid. HUT 27.4
“That portion that God has reserved for Himself is not to be diverted to any other purpose than that which He has specified. Let none feel at liberty to retain their tithe, to use according to their own judgment. They are not to use it for themselves in an emergency, nor to apply it as they see fit, even in what they may regard as the Lord’s work.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:247. HUT 27.5
“A very plain, definite message has been given to me for our people. I am bidden to tell them that they are making a mistake in applying the tithe to various objects which, though good in themselves, are not the object to which the Lord has said that the tithe should be applied. Those who make this use of the tithe are departing from the Lord’s arrangement. God will judge for these things.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:248. HUT 27.6
“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.’ HUT 27.7
“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.”—Testimonies for the Church 9:249. HUT 27.8
4. God has had one plan for all dispensations. HUT 27.9
“A tithe of all our increase is the Lord’s. He has reserved it to Himself to be employed for religious purposes. It is holy. Nothing less than this has He accepted in any dispensation. A neglect or postponement of this duty will provoke the divine displeasure. If all professed Christians would faithfully bring their tithes to God, His treasury would be full.”—The Review and Herald, May 16, 1882. HUT 27.10