Pastor Seyi Adeyemi, the Senior Pastor of The Worship Centre, has
reacted to the debate on whether pastors are entitled to collect tithes
from members.
The cleric said it was a must for people to pay tithe, even if their pastor embezzled it.
Speaking with Vanguard, the cleric said tithing had been in existence
since Abrahamic era and could not be stopped for any reason.
He said, “When you speak about the things of God, you need to speak
out of the knowledge which reveals the mind of God and not from
convenience or circumstance. A lot of the people who spoke against tithe
spoke because they don’t pay and they probably want to get people to
align with them.
“Second, they spoke because they felt that recession is biting so
hard and they felt that tithe was taking part of their income and,
therefore, affecting their ability to live which, in itself, is
ignorance. Third, because I know that whenever you see a campaign
against biblical principles and doctrines, the devil is behind it. The
scriptures that talk about tithe began as far back as Genesis where
Abraham paid tithe to Melchizedek. Then it moved on to Deuteronomy where
the people of Israel were required to make 10 per cent contribution to
the house of God in order to take care of the Levites.
“That is how the issue of tithe was established in the Jewish setting
and, of course, when it got to Malachi, which is the popular scripture,
Malachi 3:10, the Bible says ‘bring all tithes into the house that
there may be meat in my house’. That is the first part of that
scripture. Then it says ‘prove me now if I will not open the windows of
heaven and pour you out a blessing’. Now here’s the question, by
demanding tithe, does God really need our money? No. God requires man,
wherever there is a physical demand for anything in church, it is not
because God is in need, it is because God wants us to learn how to
honour Him with what He has given to us.
“People need to understand that the needs in the house of God will be
met whether or not people decide in their own wisdom or knowledge to
bring. So people need to come to the understanding that we are not doing
God a favor by obeying that scripture, we are doing ourselves a favor.
The argument that tithe was given as a commandment to Jews and that it
was supposed to be paid to the Levites, and we are not Jews and neither
are pastors Levites simply shows the ignorance of those who say so.
“The Bible makes it clear that everything that took place in the Old
Testament was an example for the future. It used physical things to give
analogy for the understanding of spiritual things that were going to
come. So when we talk about tithe, there is a need in the house of God
that transcends just meat and drink. The Church has a role to take care
of the brotherhood. The Church has a role to step in and try to bridge
the gap where government fails as far as people’s welfare is concerned.
The Church has a role to propagate the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
for God till the end of the earth. All these assignments require money
and that is what tithe is meant for.
“Do people arrogate tithe and offerings to themselves? Yes! But the
misuse of something does not nullify the authenticity of its command.
Every man, pastor will give an account of his stewardship to God. So if
somebody is not being faithful, it does not nullify the Commandment of
God. It simply means that you are being unfaithful to the commandment of
God. So, if somebody takes the tithe that belongs to the church and
uses it for his own personal need, that is unfaithfulness. I don’t
believe that the money that comes from tithe and offering is enough to
buy private jets. We need to talk about something else.”