Tithe Sermon pt. 12

G. To whom should the tithe be paid?

1. The tithe was brought to the central storehouses from where the Levites distributed to their various orders, and to the poor as prescribed.

2. Some say the local church is like the modern storehouse, and it should distribute to the ministries. The Old Testament storehouses would be more equivalent to denominational storehouses.

a. But the local church does have the primary responsibility for providing for the needs of the local saints.

b. R.C. Sproul - The lion's share of the tithe should go to the local church. A requirement of membership in a local church should be to support it with your tithe.

c. Other ministries doing God's work can also be legitmate recipients of the God's tithe.

1) Tithe recipients should themselves be tithers. Our elders have decided to use 10% of our church's tithe for missions.

2) Rushdooney Institute of Biblical Law: The tithe belongs to the Lord rather than just to His church, and it is legitmate to give it to other minstries especailly when the church or priesthood is apostate.

3) That is why religious orders arose in the middle ages to address education, health and welfare when existing orders failed to minister God's gifts properly.