本文发表在 rolia.net 枫下论坛很多人被十一奉献挡在了神的国的门外。关于十一奉献，其实世人有很多误解。这其中，教会有很大责任。我以前也曾经就此发表过一个帖子专门澄清这个问题。
这个星期天，我的牧师的讲道恰好是十一奉献。这个星期天是着重于以旧约为背景，下个星期还会新约为背景继续这个话题。我觉得很有必要与大家分享今天的领受，以下是我的牧师讲道的大致内容：
Malachi(玛拉基书) 在对十一奉献的讲述无疑是令人震惊的。我相信你们或多或多听到过这样的说法：“如果你想要神的祝福，那么你一定要做十一奉献。If you don't tithe you are under a curse. ”，类似的说法goes on and on.
当我们读Malachi（玛拉基书）时，我们也许会经意或不经意地发现以上说法是从源于此。这是一个危险的信号，对这个问题作讨论我们应该谨慎。对于我而言，以上的说法从属于pop-theology，一个时下流行但苍白无力的神学教义。如果你去教会的次数足够多的话，尤其是去一些Conservative Evangelical Churches，你一定不可避免地会遇到类似“Give or cursed”的讲道。
It seems strange to me that those who boast conservative views and their attention to scripture and context would take a doctrine and add so much fluff to it. 让我们回到圣经中有关十一奉献的章节，看看圣经是怎么说的吧：
Genesis 14:17-20
Genesis 28:20-22
Leviticus 27:30-34
Numbers 18:19-28
Deuteronomy 12:1,5-19
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Deuteronomy 26:12-13
1 Samuel 8:14-17
Amos 4:2-6
2 Chronicles 29:35, 31:1-12
Malachi 3:7-10
Nehemiah 10:37-38, 12:44, 13:5,12
Matthew 23:23
Luke 11:42
Luke 18:9-14
Hebrews 7:1-19
通过阅读以上圣经章节的时候，我希望你体会到十一奉献的含义。一般来说，the mosaic tithe was 10% of ANYTHING that was produced in the Israel that was related to the land. That includes, wheat, honey, wine, fruit, sheep, goats, figs, barley, oxen…etc. 为什么要十一奉献？因为在神的殿中工作的Levites（利未人）没有Land。于是也无法生产出生活所必须的食物。
如果你注意到的话，旧约里其实提到了三种十一奉献。The first 10% yearly goes to the Levites and they tithe 10% of that and give it to the descendants of Aaron. The descendants of Aaron worked primarily in the temple and there was much fewer of them than Levites. The second 10% was to be taken to Jerusalem for a National Feast and was to be shared with everyone. The third 10% was taken every 3 years and this tithe was given specifically to the poor. That made 23.333% of income going for prescribed tithes.
十一奉献是怎么分配的呢？如果你注意到的话，以上三种十一奉献都是用来被分享的。除了Feast Tithe，它们都是用来周济陌生人（异乡人），寡妇，孤儿，穷人和利未人的。请注意，穷人是十一奉献的得益者，他们不用进行十一奉献（因为他们没有能力）。也请注意，除了说明十一奉献指土地上生产出来的东西而言，圣经上没有说过十一奉献是金钱或时间等。The tithe was only required from land owners.
Now if you want to take this teaching and bring it into the New Testament you are going to have a hard time of it. Nowhere after the resurrection of Jesus is tithing ever mentioned. Not in the Bible, not by the early church Fathers, not even by seminary textbooks that pastors (supposedly) study in seminary.
The following Bible scholars do not teach tithing. F. F. Bruce, Lewis Sperry Chafer, James Darby, Alfred Edersheim, Walter Elwell, C. H. Lenski, John MacArthur, J. Vernon McGee, Bruce Metzger, Dwight L. Moody, Dwight Pentecost, Charles Ryrie, C. I. Scofield, Charles Swindoll, Merrill Unger, Spiros Zodhiates, There are some big names in the field of theology. But in addition,
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of the Bible [p207], Walter A. Elwell, ed., (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), s.v. "tithe." "Paul's vocabulary and teaching suggest that giving is voluntary and that there is not set percentage. Following the example of Christ who gave even his life (2 Cor. 8:9), we should cheerfully give as much as we have decided (2 Cor. 9:7) based on how much the Lord has prospered us (1 Cor. 16:2), knowing that we reap in proportion to what we sow (2 Cor. 9:6) and that we will ultimately give account for our deeds (Rom. 14:12).
Believer’s Bible Commentary, the editor William MacDonald. Malachi 3:8-10, The NT teaches believers to give systematically, liberally, cheerfully, and as the Lord has prospered them, that is, proportionately. But no mention is made of tithing…
Encyclopedia Americana [p6, 259]; “tithe” “It (tithing) was not practiced in the early Christian church but gradually became common (in the Roman Catholic church in western Europe) by the 6th Century. The Council of Tours in 567 and the 2nd Council of Macon in 585 advocated tithing. Made obligatory by civil law in the Carolingian empire in 765 and in England in the 10th Century… The Reformation did not abolish tithing and the practice was continued in the Roman Catholic church and in Protestant countries (until it was) gradually replaced by other forms of taxation. The Roman Catholic church still prescribes tithes in countries where they are sanctioned by law, and some Protestant bodies consider tithes obligatory.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica (s.v. “tithing”): The Christian Church depended at first on voluntary gifts from its members.
Luther. Martin (Sermon; August 27, 1525): “But the other commandments of Moses, which are not [implanted in all men] by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe…”
Unger’s Bible Dictionary [p12, 18, 119, 135, 144], Merrill Unger, Moody Press “Tithe”: “The tenth of all produce, flocks, and cattle was declared to be sacred to Jehovah by way, so to speak, of rent to Him who was, strictly speaking, the Owner of the land, and in return for the produce of the ground… Although the law did not specify the various fruits of the field and of the trees that were to be tithed, the Mishnah (Maaseroth 1.1) includes everything eatable, everything that was stored up or that grew out of the earth…” (italics mine). 12-11
Wesley, John, Explanatory Notes (s.v. “1 Cor 16:2) According to this lowest rule of Christian prudence, if a man when he has or gains one pound give a tenth to God, when he has or gains an hundred he will give the tenth of this also. And yet I show unto you a more excellent way. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Stint yourself to no proportion at all. But lend to God all you can. “On the Use of Money” from a sermon preached in 1744): Give all you can; or in other words, give all you have to God. Do not stint yourself, like a Jew rather than a Christian, to this or that proportion. Render unto God not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God’s (be it more or less) by employing all on yourself, your household, the household of faith and all mankind, in such a manner that you may give a good account of your stewardship when ye can be no longer stewards…
Justin Martyr [p252] (150 AD) “And the wealthy among us help the needy… When our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to this ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and they strangers sojourning among us” (First Apology, chap 67). Also compare Dialogue with Trypho, chapters 17, 19, 33, 112.
Irenaeus [p254] (150-200 AD). Did not teach tithing. Against Heresies, book 4, chap. 13, para. 3 and chap. 18.
Tertullian [p242] [Church Father] (150-220 AD), 304. Did not teaching tithing. (Marcion, book 4 chap. 27) (Marcion, book 5, chap. 9) [Apology xxxix “Every man brings some modest coin once a month or whenever he wishes, and only if he is willing and able; it is a freewill offering. You might call them the trust-funds of piety; they are spent… on the support and burial of the poor.” [The following more compete quote is not in the book.]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3 page 46, quotation of Apology, chapter 39. “The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor, not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying or selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made-up of purchase money, as of a religion that has its price. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; buy only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety’s deposit fund.’ For they are not taken thence and spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God’s church, they become the nurslings of their confession.”
（总结）在上面的例子里，我提到了三个信息：
1、 圣经里提到的十一奉献，完全是用于帮助利未人和穷人的。
2、 No mention of tithing exists in the teachings of the apostles or early church father. It does not show up until the 6th century, and does not become law in the RCC until the eight.
3、 A huge portion of modern theologians, including commentaries and seminary textbooks reject the tithe teaching as an Old Testament principle that was revamped in the New Testament.
下个星期我们会着重于新约的角度来说十一奉献。但就目前来说，任何强调十一奉献的说法都是来源于旧约的教导。在新约中，奉献是一种完全自愿的行为，而且奉献没有任何百分比的设定与此相联。有些人很贫穷，根本无法做十一奉献，在这种情况下，教会应该提供援助的手，如果有“十一奉献”的话，十一奉献应该流向这种人。这也是十一奉献原先设立的原则。
Seems funny, doesn’t it? The original intent of the tithe was to support Gods’ work and the poor by a donation from the rich. Yet most people who give in the church are poor, the rich rarely give, or rarely give much. As in Malachi’s time, so in ours, you cannot serve both God an money.
(To be continued.)
更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net
这个星期天，我的牧师的讲道恰好是十一奉献。这个星期天是着重于以旧约为背景，下个星期还会新约为背景继续这个话题。我觉得很有必要与大家分享今天的领受，以下是我的牧师讲道的大致内容：
Malachi(玛拉基书) 在对十一奉献的讲述无疑是令人震惊的。我相信你们或多或多听到过这样的说法：“如果你想要神的祝福，那么你一定要做十一奉献。If you don't tithe you are under a curse. ”，类似的说法goes on and on.
当我们读Malachi（玛拉基书）时，我们也许会经意或不经意地发现以上说法是从源于此。这是一个危险的信号，对这个问题作讨论我们应该谨慎。对于我而言，以上的说法从属于pop-theology，一个时下流行但苍白无力的神学教义。如果你去教会的次数足够多的话，尤其是去一些Conservative Evangelical Churches，你一定不可避免地会遇到类似“Give or cursed”的讲道。
It seems strange to me that those who boast conservative views and their attention to scripture and context would take a doctrine and add so much fluff to it. 让我们回到圣经中有关十一奉献的章节，看看圣经是怎么说的吧：
Genesis 14:17-20
Genesis 28:20-22
Leviticus 27:30-34
Numbers 18:19-28
Deuteronomy 12:1,5-19
Deuteronomy 14:22-29
Deuteronomy 26:12-13
1 Samuel 8:14-17
Amos 4:2-6
2 Chronicles 29:35, 31:1-12
Malachi 3:7-10
Nehemiah 10:37-38, 12:44, 13:5,12
Matthew 23:23
Luke 11:42
Luke 18:9-14
Hebrews 7:1-19
通过阅读以上圣经章节的时候，我希望你体会到十一奉献的含义。一般来说，the mosaic tithe was 10% of ANYTHING that was produced in the Israel that was related to the land. That includes, wheat, honey, wine, fruit, sheep, goats, figs, barley, oxen…etc. 为什么要十一奉献？因为在神的殿中工作的Levites（利未人）没有Land。于是也无法生产出生活所必须的食物。
如果你注意到的话，旧约里其实提到了三种十一奉献。The first 10% yearly goes to the Levites and they tithe 10% of that and give it to the descendants of Aaron. The descendants of Aaron worked primarily in the temple and there was much fewer of them than Levites. The second 10% was to be taken to Jerusalem for a National Feast and was to be shared with everyone. The third 10% was taken every 3 years and this tithe was given specifically to the poor. That made 23.333% of income going for prescribed tithes.
十一奉献是怎么分配的呢？如果你注意到的话，以上三种十一奉献都是用来被分享的。除了Feast Tithe，它们都是用来周济陌生人（异乡人），寡妇，孤儿，穷人和利未人的。请注意，穷人是十一奉献的得益者，他们不用进行十一奉献（因为他们没有能力）。也请注意，除了说明十一奉献指土地上生产出来的东西而言，圣经上没有说过十一奉献是金钱或时间等。The tithe was only required from land owners.
Now if you want to take this teaching and bring it into the New Testament you are going to have a hard time of it. Nowhere after the resurrection of Jesus is tithing ever mentioned. Not in the Bible, not by the early church Fathers, not even by seminary textbooks that pastors (supposedly) study in seminary.
The following Bible scholars do not teach tithing. F. F. Bruce, Lewis Sperry Chafer, James Darby, Alfred Edersheim, Walter Elwell, C. H. Lenski, John MacArthur, J. Vernon McGee, Bruce Metzger, Dwight L. Moody, Dwight Pentecost, Charles Ryrie, C. I. Scofield, Charles Swindoll, Merrill Unger, Spiros Zodhiates, There are some big names in the field of theology. But in addition,
Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of the Bible [p207], Walter A. Elwell, ed., (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996), s.v. "tithe." "Paul's vocabulary and teaching suggest that giving is voluntary and that there is not set percentage. Following the example of Christ who gave even his life (2 Cor. 8:9), we should cheerfully give as much as we have decided (2 Cor. 9:7) based on how much the Lord has prospered us (1 Cor. 16:2), knowing that we reap in proportion to what we sow (2 Cor. 9:6) and that we will ultimately give account for our deeds (Rom. 14:12).
Believer’s Bible Commentary, the editor William MacDonald. Malachi 3:8-10, The NT teaches believers to give systematically, liberally, cheerfully, and as the Lord has prospered them, that is, proportionately. But no mention is made of tithing…
Encyclopedia Americana [p6, 259]; “tithe” “It (tithing) was not practiced in the early Christian church but gradually became common (in the Roman Catholic church in western Europe) by the 6th Century. The Council of Tours in 567 and the 2nd Council of Macon in 585 advocated tithing. Made obligatory by civil law in the Carolingian empire in 765 and in England in the 10th Century… The Reformation did not abolish tithing and the practice was continued in the Roman Catholic church and in Protestant countries (until it was) gradually replaced by other forms of taxation. The Roman Catholic church still prescribes tithes in countries where they are sanctioned by law, and some Protestant bodies consider tithes obligatory.”
The Encyclopedia Britannica (s.v. “tithing”): The Christian Church depended at first on voluntary gifts from its members.
Luther. Martin (Sermon; August 27, 1525): “But the other commandments of Moses, which are not [implanted in all men] by nature, the Gentiles do not hold. Nor do these pertain to the Gentiles, such as the tithe…”
Unger’s Bible Dictionary [p12, 18, 119, 135, 144], Merrill Unger, Moody Press “Tithe”: “The tenth of all produce, flocks, and cattle was declared to be sacred to Jehovah by way, so to speak, of rent to Him who was, strictly speaking, the Owner of the land, and in return for the produce of the ground… Although the law did not specify the various fruits of the field and of the trees that were to be tithed, the Mishnah (Maaseroth 1.1) includes everything eatable, everything that was stored up or that grew out of the earth…” (italics mine). 12-11
Wesley, John, Explanatory Notes (s.v. “1 Cor 16:2) According to this lowest rule of Christian prudence, if a man when he has or gains one pound give a tenth to God, when he has or gains an hundred he will give the tenth of this also. And yet I show unto you a more excellent way. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Stint yourself to no proportion at all. But lend to God all you can. “On the Use of Money” from a sermon preached in 1744): Give all you can; or in other words, give all you have to God. Do not stint yourself, like a Jew rather than a Christian, to this or that proportion. Render unto God not a tenth, not a third, not half, but all that is God’s (be it more or less) by employing all on yourself, your household, the household of faith and all mankind, in such a manner that you may give a good account of your stewardship when ye can be no longer stewards…
Justin Martyr [p252] (150 AD) “And the wealthy among us help the needy… When our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgiving, according to this ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succors the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and they strangers sojourning among us” (First Apology, chap 67). Also compare Dialogue with Trypho, chapters 17, 19, 33, 112.
Irenaeus [p254] (150-200 AD). Did not teach tithing. Against Heresies, book 4, chap. 13, para. 3 and chap. 18.
Tertullian [p242] [Church Father] (150-220 AD), 304. Did not teaching tithing. (Marcion, book 4 chap. 27) (Marcion, book 5, chap. 9) [Apology xxxix “Every man brings some modest coin once a month or whenever he wishes, and only if he is willing and able; it is a freewill offering. You might call them the trust-funds of piety; they are spent… on the support and burial of the poor.” [The following more compete quote is not in the book.]
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 3 page 46, quotation of Apology, chapter 39. “The tried men of our elders preside over us, obtaining that honor, not by purchase, but by established character. There is no buying or selling of any sort in the things of God. Though we have our treasure-chest, it is not made-up of purchase money, as of a religion that has its price. On the monthly day, if he likes, each puts in a small donation; buy only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety’s deposit fund.’ For they are not taken thence and spent on feasts, and drinking-bouts, and eating-houses, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the wants of boys and girls destitute of means and parents, and of old persons confined now to the house; such, too, as have suffered shipwreck; and if there happen to be any in the mines, or banished to the islands, or shut up in the prisons, for nothing but their fidelity to the cause of God’s church, they become the nurslings of their confession.”
（总结）在上面的例子里，我提到了三个信息：
1、 圣经里提到的十一奉献，完全是用于帮助利未人和穷人的。
2、 No mention of tithing exists in the teachings of the apostles or early church father. It does not show up until the 6th century, and does not become law in the RCC until the eight.
3、 A huge portion of modern theologians, including commentaries and seminary textbooks reject the tithe teaching as an Old Testament principle that was revamped in the New Testament.
下个星期我们会着重于新约的角度来说十一奉献。但就目前来说，任何强调十一奉献的说法都是来源于旧约的教导。在新约中，奉献是一种完全自愿的行为，而且奉献没有任何百分比的设定与此相联。有些人很贫穷，根本无法做十一奉献，在这种情况下，教会应该提供援助的手，如果有“十一奉献”的话，十一奉献应该流向这种人。这也是十一奉献原先设立的原则。
Seems funny, doesn’t it? The original intent of the tithe was to support Gods’ work and the poor by a donation from the rich. Yet most people who give in the church are poor, the rich rarely give, or rarely give much. As in Malachi’s time, so in ours, you cannot serve both God an money.
(To be continued.)
更多精彩文章及讨论，请光临枫下论坛 rolia.net