Chapter 12—Our Work Needs Tenfold More

“Of all our income we should make the first appropriation to God. In the system of beneficence enjoined upon the Jews they were required either to bring to the Lord the first fruits of all His gifts, whether in the increase of their flocks or herds, or in the produce of their fields, orchards, or vineyards, or they were to redeem it by substituting an equivalent. How changed the order of things in our day! The Lord’s requirements and claims, if they receive any attention, are left till the last. Yet our work needs tenfold more means now than was needed by the Jews. The great commission given to the apostles was to go throughout the world and preach the gospel. This shows the extension of the work and the increased responsibility resting upon the followers of Christ in our day. If the law required tithes and offerings thousands of years ago, how much more essential are they now! If the rich and poor were to give a sum proportionate to their property in the Jewish economy, it is doubly essential now.HBTS 8.2

“The majority of professed Christians part with their means with great reluctance. Many of them do not give one-twentieth of their income to God, and many give far less than that; while there is a large class who rob God of the little tithe, and others who will give only the tithe. If all the tithes of our people flowed into the treasury of the Lord as they should, such blessings would be received that gifts and offerings for sacred purposes would be multiplied tenfold, and thus the channel between God and man would be kept open. The followers of Christ should not wait for thrilling missionary appeals to arouse them to action. If spiritually awake, they would hear in the income of every week, whether much or little, the voice of God and of conscience with authority demanding the tithes and offerings due the Lord.”—Testimonies for the Church 4:474.HBTS 9.1

By 1880 it was the general understanding that such as funds came from the tithe should be devoted exclusively, or nearly so, to the support of the gospel ministry. Note this from James White:HBTS 9.2

“The tithe is the Lord’s—since the fall of man it has been necessary that there should be men devoted wholly to the service of God. It appears that from the beginning the Lord taught His people to devote one-tenth to the support of His ministers.”—Review & Herald, January 15, 1880.

In 1880 some local churches must have been drawing upon tithe funds for church expenses. At least this is implied in an action taken on October 6 at the General Conference session:HBTS 9.3

“Resolved, that no church should devote any portion of the tithe to the erection or repairing of its church, without the free consent of the State Conference Committee.”—Review & Herald, October 14, 1880.

The church was feeling its way. While it had been the general understanding that tithe funds should be reserved for the gospel ministry, the demands of a growing work and increased resources at hand led to a more liberal stance and one which was defended by the president of the General Conference. George I. Butler wrote a pamphlet which carries no date but gives evidence of having been published in 1884:HBTS 9.4

“Previous to 1878 we tried to carry out a plan called Systematic Benevolence. Each person estimated the value of his property, ten percent of which was reckoned as its income, and one-tenth of this latter was the tithe he was to pay on his property. Personal weekly donations were given besides. This was, as its name implies, systematic benevolence; but it was far from being the same as a Bible tithe. The tithe is in no sense benevolence. It is not ours to give, but the Lord’s all the time.

“The matter of the tithe was brought before the General Conference in October, 1878, and a committee of five [three] appointed to prepare a work on this subject. Our people then generally accepted the tithing principle theoretically, and have practiced it to a certain extent ever since.”— The Tithing System, p. 69.

On pages 71 and 72 Elder Butler deals with the use of the tithe:HBTS 9.5

“Matters in the cause are assuming a new phase. New demands upon us in the line of laborers are coming in more and more, and certainly the time is reached when we ought to be honest with God and give Him His own.”

Then in pointing out that which makes this necessary, he makes this statement:HBTS 9.6

“Until within a few years past, the tithe has been used almost wholly for sustaining ministers of the gospel, those who preach from the stand. In some way it seemed to be universally understood that no others were entitled to any of the tithe. But more recently it has become customary to pay our Tract and Missionary State Secretaries from the tithe, and our auditing committees have settled with them the same as ministers. It has taken, in many cases, considerable argument to bring this about.

“With the last year or two another class has also been laboring in the cause, and the question has been raised, How shall these be paid? We refer to the colporteurs and missionary workers of different classes, laboring in field or in city missions. These have in many cases been paid from the tithe. But in several instances it has been a heavy strain upon the treasury, and in some cases the ministry have not had a reasonable support because of this. The question has come to the front in a manner so forcible that it must be met and settled.

“Many can labor as effectively in the missionary work as colporteurs and laborers as those who preach from the desk. Many, no doubt, will canvass, and pay their way by the profits on sales, but there are many others who cannot be supported in this way, whose labors are necessary to carry the truth. How shall these be sustained?

“After giving the matter much reflection we have settled the question in our own mind. We believe that tithing is designed of God for the support, as far as it will go, of all laborers who are called by the cause of God to give their time to this work. We know of no other special system for this purpose.”—G. I. Butler in An Examination of the Tithing System From a Bible Standpoint, pp. 71, 72.

Notice that church school teachers are not mentioned. We had no organized church school program at this time.HBTS 10.1

To what extent the opinions expressed by Elder Butler may have been incorporated into the policies of the church is a matter which could be investigated.HBTS 10.2

There was a discussion of the wider use of tithe at the General Conference Committee on October 13, 1896, at the Fall Session. We quote from the minutes:HBTS 10.3

“Elder Breed asked advice with reference to the counsel which should be given churches in regard to use of the tithe for church debts and expenses. It was shown that, while it was quite generally the custom of our churches to keep their tithe in the regular channel—the support of the ministry—yet in some instances, especially among two or three of the largest churches in the denomination, the usual practice in this respect was not being followed. The members of the committee expressed regret that such was the condition of things, and suggested that steps should be taken to remedy the evil as quickly as possible.”—General Conference Committee, October 13, 1896.

The record makes clear that in the mid-1890s, the Lord through His messenger gave specific directions calling for a strict policy relating to the use of the tithe. This came in a communication written from Cooranbong, New South Wales, on March 14, 1897. It was published by the General Conference in a 39-page tract, May 21, 1897:HBTS 10.4

“Letters have come to me from Oakland and Battle Creek, making inquiries as to the disposition made of the tithe. The writers supposed that they were authorized to use the tithe money in meeting the expenses of the church, as these expenses were quite heavy. From that which has been shown me, the tithe is not to be withdrawn from the treasury. Every penny of this money is the Lord’s own sacred treasure, to be appropriated for a special use.

“There was a time when there was very little missionary work done, and the tithe was accumulating. In some instances the tithe was used for similar purposes as is now proposed. When the Lord’s people felt aroused to do missionary work in home and foreign missions, and to send missionaries to all parts of the world, those handling sacred interests should have had clear, sanctified discernment to understand how the means should be appropriated. When they see ministers laboring without money to support them, and the treasury is empty, then that treasury is to be strictly guarded. Not one penny is to be removed from it. Ministers have just as much right to their wages as have the workers employed in the Review and Herald office, and the laborers in the Pacific Press Publishing House. A great robbery has been practiced in the meager wages paid to some of the workers. If they give their time and thought and labor to the service of the Master, they should have wages enough to supply their families with food and clothing.

“The light which the Lord has given me on this subject is that the means in the treasury for the support of the ministers in the different fields is not to be used for any other purpose. If an honest tithe were paid, and the money coming into the treasury were carefully guarded, the ministers would receive a just wage.... The minister who labors should be sustained. But notwithstanding this, those who are officiating in this work see that there is not money in the treasury to pay the minister. They are withdrawing the tithe for other expenses—to keep up the meetinghouse necessities or some charity. God is not glorified in any such work.... Gifts and offerings should be brought in by the people as they are privileged in having houses of worship.... Let house-to-house labor be done in setting before the families in Battle Creek and Oakland their duty in acting a part in meeting these expenses, which may be called common or secular, and let not the treasury be robbed.”—Special Testimonies, Series A 10:16-19.

While making clear that well established churches such as those in Oakland and Battle Creek should not use tithe funds for church expense, Ellen White did at the same time (1897) recognize that there were circumstances where tithe funds might be used for church buildings:HBTS 11.1

“There are exceptional cases, where poverty is so deep that in order to secure the humblest place of worship, it may be necessary to appropriate the tithes. But that place is not Battle Creek or Oakland. Let those who assemble to worship God consider the self-denial and self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Let those brethren who profess to be children of God study how they can deny themselves, how they can part with some of their idols, and carefully economize in every line. In each house there should be a box for the church fund, to be used for the needs of the church ....

“Let not those to whom are entrusted responsibilities, allow the treasury that God has appointed to sustain the ministers in the field, to be robbed to supply the expenses incurred in keeping in order and making comfortable the home of God. Thousands upon thousands of dollars have been taken from the tithes and used for these purposes. This is not as it should be. The gifts and offerings that have cost some self-denial are to be brought in. A separate fund for the purpose of defraying the expenses which every church member should share according to his ability should be instituted in every place where there is a church.”—Ms 24, 1897.

This message led to an exchange of correspondence. C. H. Jones of Oakland wrote immediately to Elder White that the Oakland church was not using tithe funds for church expense, and Mrs. White replied on May 27, 1897, writing at length in appreciation and again stressing the importance of reserving tithe funds for the specific purpose for which it is intended. In this she declared: “If there is a surplus of means in the treasury, there are many places where it may be used strictly in the appointed lines.”—Letter 81, 1897HBTS 12.1

The next year Ellen White restated the matter in a manner concerning which there can be no question:HBTS 12.2

“God’s ministers are His shepherds, appointed by Him to feed His flock. The tithe is His provision for their maintenance, and He designs that it shall be held sacred to this purpose.”—Ms 139, 1898

Again, six years later, she stressed this point:HBTS 12.3

“The tithe is to be used for one purpose—to sustain the ministers whom the Lord has appointed to do His work. It is to be used to support those who speak the words of life to the people, and carry the burden of the flock of God....

“The impression is becoming quite common that the sacred disposition of the tithe no longer exists. Many have lost their sense of the Lord’s requirements.”—Ms 82, 1904