It should be obvious to seekers of truth that one cannot stop at Rome when decrying Babylonian ways in today's church and world. Though the Reformation gave birth to a mammoth pull away from Rome, it is obvious that a unity with her was reclaimed through the years and is expressed in many ways through "Protestant" groups today.
I will touch on only a few of the similarities, and, as is my custom, encourage readers to continue the search on their own.
But like it or not, regardless of the name-tag we wear, we are subjected to the traditions of men, and need to keep returning to God's pattern.
Tithing. The tithing tradition is an excellent example of that of which I speak. Neither Jesus or the apostles gave a clear command to first century Christians, Jew or Gentile, about the ten percent payment exacted by God of Jews under the Old Covenant. Yet today, Christian leaders teach tithing to their people as though the New Testament abounded with this concept.
The argument goes something like this: Tithing was in effect long before the law of Moses (valid). Tithing is an "eternal" principle(possibly). So, we too must pay our tithes into the storehouse (using Malachi's terminology). Now, the storehouse is the local church to which you belong. (Sorry, no longer valid, totally indefensible by Scripture)
Monies thus collected then go to pay for an assorted variety of expenses, most of which have to do with local concerns of that fellowship, and most of those concerns center around the building in which the group meets. Justification for this is found in the great amount of material wealth spent on the temple etc.
Oh, we've drifted a long way from the path trod for us by the original church.
1) Cash collected in the early church was given to (a) the man of God who was unable to gain regular employment because of his itinerant ways (although Paul often refused it anyway!), (b) elders worthy of "double honor" because of their extra labors in the church, (c) the needy in their fellowship and other fellowships. The collections were given to apostles to carry to other places. Churches did not consider money their own, and individuals were taught to have this attitude also.
2) No mention of a percentage is given in the New Testament because people in love with Jesus give everything. The concept of tithing is an insult to one whose entire fortune has been given to God's use. The early Christians sold what they absolutely did not need, gave the entire proceeds to the church, and allowed the church to distribute to the needy.
No one was or should be forced into this way of life. Forced sharing is communism. But voluntary sharing, Christianity at its best, there was. And the storehouse? Simply the People of God, whatever their location, whenever a need existed. And the needs had nothing to do with those money draining edifices called "church buildings", since they were not introduced until the days of Constantine.
So why is tithing practically the universal way among us? Slowly the church drifted back to Judaism, encouraged later by a priesthood which also resembled the Jewish way. The first love left, and rules remained. What better rule, thought the church, than God's rule to His Old Covenant people? Oh, it's logical enough. But it is a tradition, nonetheless, with not one ounce of support by apostolic writings!
This is not, in any way, to condemn tithing or tither. Some need to grow enough to give even that much. My point is that Jesus wants it all from His true love slaves, and that, even though the tithe is of Jewish origin, its implementation by the church makes it a Babylonian device. Whenever ritual, rite, or habit, replace the moving of the Holy Ghost, there is religion.Whenever a man feels good because he performed a religious act "for God," he misses out on the greater "feeling" of the acts of grace that his God wishes to put in him. Whenever one ignores the New Testament picture of joyful giving and substitutes joyless paying, he has entered Babylonian ground, has become religious, and is in grave danger.
Advocates of the Old Testament based tithe totally reverse themselves when discussing the Jewish sabbath. Though the Sabbath predates even tithing, it is considered Mosaic and thus not to be observed. Others spiritualize the idea of sabbath by saying we have a "Christian sabbath" (interesting hybrid!), Sunday.
No one can deny it. We do have a day that looks like the sabbath, but is in fact the first day of the week. But, like church buildings, the allEUR'day rest on "Sun" day originated with Constantine, not Jesus. Constantine, Emperor of the Romans in the early fourth century, believed he had been chosen of God to fight the Christian's battles. He brought them out of their prisons, helped put them in church buildings, and, partly to help the slaves of the day, partly to honor the Sun God he worshipped, partly to help the church, he declared the day of the sun as a time of weekly rest.
Now, Scripture indicates that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. Further, it says that certain brothers met on the first day of the week. Then Paul directed one congregation during one crisis situation, to collect an offering on the first day of the week. But Scripture also mentions several 7th day meetings. Also, it declares that the Christians were meeting daily! But gradually the firstEUR'day tradition set in. With Constantine's push, it became not only the meeting day, with its scant Scriptural support, but the rest day, with NO Scriptural support. In later generations of the church it became such a holy day that severe punishments could be had for daring to work on that day. Those calling themselves Christians outdid their Jewish counterparts in the area of day honoring legalism.
As is true with the tithe, so with the sabbath. One who observes comfortably a particular day as holy, then despises all others who do not observe such a day, has religion but not God.One who "observes" Sun day, but lifts not a hand to heaven the rest of the week, is religious but lost.
Kingdom people, the true Body of the Lord Jesus Christ, have entered into a seven day a week Sabbath Rest with the Rest giver, Jesus. Not only so, they desire constant fellowship with God and His people, without which they feel slighted, hungry, cheated.
As I mentioned, the first Christians met daily, were added to daily. Away with the notion that "church" is a once or twice a week event. Away with the Pharisaical pride that boasts in a Sunday night service on the high HOLY day (Constantine's day of the Sun), but can't see its way clear to fellowship the rest of the week!
Yes,my Protestant friends and brothers, Babylon has moved into your midst, too. Any system which promotes partial giving of time or money as a religious habit is Babylonian in nature. Jesus' way is crucifixion. Total abandonment of self, property, and power. To settle for anything less is to be comfortably religious, but not to be gloriously saved.
