Although the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Enoch Adeboye, recently told members of his congregation that non-payment of tithe would not shut the gates of heaven against them, the age-long controversy surrounding the vexatious Christian teaching on tithing is anything but far from being over.
When Adeboye made his position clear, which many say reflects his humility, he also made an earth-shattering apology to the members for “making a mistake” about tithing, teaching them that “it is possible to be right and wrong at the same time” about an issue.
Adeboye, who pointed out that it was wrong to limit his members to 10 percent, also averred that “following peace with all men” and “holiness,” were the requirements a Christian must meet to be able to “see” God.
“I apologise for saying that if you don’t pay tithe, you might not make it to heaven,” Adeboye said somberly, before pouring his heart out, “I’m sorry, that’s wrong, and it’s not in the Bible.”
The 82-year-old cleric then added, “What the Bible says is follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see God.”
In Christendom, the divisive, doctrinal debate on tithing, which is common among Christians who believe that failure to pay tithe will open the doors for the “devourer” to consume a man’s possession and those who believe tithing is an Old Testament practice in the Bible that is not applicable to believers of today who are not under the laws of Moses, still persists.
And Adeboye, before he held out the olive branch, once painted a gloomy picture of eternity that awaited members of his church if they shirked their responsibilities by not paying the divinely requisitioned tithe, a tenth of a person’s income or produce, given in support of the church.
Around 2018, Adeboye had, during a church convention, warned pastors who were treating issues relating to tithing, in their respective branches, with levity, that they were basically playing with fire and would book a one-way ticket to hell if they did not repent.
“I am going to give every one of you pastors an opportunity to repent tonight, and then to go back immediately after this convention and restitute your ways with your congregation.
“But I noticed that some non-Christians don’t pay tithe and yet they are doing well in their businesses and don’t even worry about the devourer. Thank God Adeboye said no one was going to hell over their failure to pay tithe. I have since known peace and do with my money as it pleases me”
“Make it clear to them that anyone who is not paying his tithe is not going to heaven, full stop,” he said.
At the time, in order to make the affected pastors and congregants to see the folly in their ways, Adeboye added, “Each time you fail to pay your tithe, you are telling God that that which belongs to you (God), I eat it with mine. And you bring a heavy curse on yourself.”
Expectedly, Adeboye’s message did not go unchallenged. He was openly criticised by a handful of notable Christian personalities who voiced their objections to what they said was a flawed teaching by the head of Africa’s biggest Pentecostal church.
Among those who chided Adeboye and the teachings on tithing, generally, was Sunday Adelaja. The 57-year-old founder and senior pastor of Kiev, Ukraine-based Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations, called Adeboye a “hypocrite” for his excessive emphasis on tithing.
Adelaja said Adeboye was serving “the god of mammon” and that he was using “fear” to manipulate his members into giving to him (Adeboye).
The pastor of Europe’s biggest church, which has temporarily shut its headquarters in war-torn Ukraine, also noted that tithes should be paid to the less privileged, the homeless and the needy in society.
Moreover, he said concerning Adeboye’s “no heaven without tithe” message, “This pastor is the leading pastor in my country. And every pastor in the country tends to repeat what he does.
“So, when I tell you that it is these churches that have destroyed Christianity in Nigeria, you think it is a lie.
“Because if anybody is telling you that anyone who is not paying his tithe will not go to heaven, that is like reducing and cancelling the finished work of the Lord on the cross.”
Later in 2020, a former radio host and social media personality, Ifedayo Olarinde, popularly known as Daddy Freeze, began to make waves of his own against tithing and its proponents.
Perhaps, because the CoronaVirus, or COVID-19, nationwide lockdown had not been lifted, many Nigerians who could no longer enjoy the privilege of being within four walls at churches, quickly lent an ear to Freeze, who had seemingly taken over the social media space.
To his credit, Freeze “opened” his online followers’ eyes to his argument that most teachings on tithing were fraught with errors, and he also explained to those members, whom he called Free the Sheeple Movement, that what is to be tithed was not money, but agricultural produce.
So far, the rebuttal of Old Testament tithing practices among Christians by Abel Damina, the Uyo, Akwa Ibom-based pastor of Power City International, has arguably had the most significant impact on the body of Christ.
According to Damina, the popular Malachi 3 verse 9 passage in the Bible, which supposedly spells out a curse against those who don’t pay tithe and, therefore, used by many pastors to coerce their members into paying tithe, is actually targeting pastors and not the people.
Damina says he is not against the payment of tithe but clarifies that the “legalism” behind tithing is what he is against. According to Damina, pastors who say that Christians will be cursed or go to hell if they fail to tithe, are wrong.
In addition, Damina, who has brought thousands to Christ with his oratory, insists that giving should not be under compulsion, but as Christians have proposed in their hearts.
A Nigerian Christian, Mmayen Akan, who spoke to The Point about the state of play with tithing in her Christian life said, “I used to be scared of not paying my tithes. I didn’t want to fall under God’s curse or allow the devourer, whatever that is, to destroy what I have.
“But I noticed that some non-Christians don’t pay tithe and yet they are doing well in their businesses and don’t even worry about the devourer. Thank God Adeboye said no one was going to hell over their failure to pay tithe. I have since known peace and do with my money as it pleases me.”
Another Nigerian, Nkechi Eze, says she will continue to pay tithe because the practice has been “working” for her.
Eze also said she doesn’t need anyone to tell her whether to pay tithe or not.
“I will continue to pay tithe until the day God calls me home. And I am not apologetic about it. I will continue to pay.
“Tithing has been working for me. When I was making little or no profit in my business, I began to pay tithe and it worked for me. My business has been growing since then.
“In fact, the way I see it now, nobody can persuade me not to pay tithe now. I don’t even need anyone to tell me whether to pay or not. I have made up my mind about it and there is no going back.”
A clergyman and public affairs analyst, Emeka Onwuachi, said, “Tithing is still a big deal in Nigeria and other countries elsewhere.
And many pastors will not let go of it. It is what they use to run their ministries.
“But I don’t make the tithe compulsory. I don’t tell members that they will be cursed if they don’t pay. A child of God cannot be cursed because Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.
“Believers can, however, learn that the payment of tithe even in the Old Testament teaches us Christians that we must not neglect the work of God. Ministries need money to run successfully and it is our duty as Christians to support the work of God.”
