The Way of Jacob

Please note that it clearly states in Galatians 5:1-3 that Christ died in order to set us free and that if you chose to follow the Law for right living you are required to keep every part of the Law. We have already read many scriptures together that state we are not to let ourselves be bound by these regulations again. So the question remains: Are you part of the slave trade or are you one who will stand up for freedom? As I have been called by the Spirit to write this book, I know I risk ridicule and persecution from some, but it is for freedom and the cause of our Lord Jesus Christ that I stand and speak the message of Christ. It is for Christ and His name and reputation that I stand. As the passage in Galatians says, stand firm therefore and do not let yourself be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Now slavery is a very deceptive yoke. For a Christian slave owner in the early history of the United States, the thought process may have gone something like this: “I take very good care of my slaves. I provide shelter and clothing. I provide food to eat and wood to warm them in the cold. I protect them from others, and they are free to raise their families here on my property. I have boundaries set here that protect them and I give to them rules to live by. I discipline and punish them when they are disobedient because I love them. The boundaries I have set are there to help them, for if they obey them, they will have a good life that is beneficial for both of us. They are part of a good system that helps provide goods and services to the world. By their participation on my farm we are in fact ministering to many people. Besides that, my slaves would not know how to provide for themselves or how to act if I set them free, so they are better off here under my control. I am sure that their lives would be undisciplined and a struggle if I did not give them these good boundaries and guidelines. Therefore, I am actually acting for their good. I don’t see how you can claim I am mistreating them. I am helping them live a disciplined, productive, and fulfilled life.”

This same thought process is at the root of some of those who teach the tithe. They believe they are giving people a good guideline to follow. They believe that unless they teach them the discipline of the tithe, they will be totally out of control. They will revert to being lazy and will not be productive for God with their finances or their lives. They will not want to give anything to the work of God, and the gospel of Christ will be ignored. They think this discipline of carefully tracking and counting out a tithe of all income is a good discipline, that it teaches believers to be good stewards of what God has given, and leads people to be productive in life. They believe that if we teach freedom to believers and tell them they don’t have to tithe, the whole system will fall apart, and then what would we do? They feel the Church is providing ministry and services to the world through the collection of this tithe. If we fail to collect the tithe, many churches and many pastors would go without pay. No they say, the answer is obvious, the Cost of Freedom is just too high. We cannot afford to teach freedom in the area of finance. We are doing this for their good and the good of the Church. If they would only understand that we are trying to help them, if they only would surrender to this discipline then all would be fine.

What is wrong with this thought process? Well, the error is in the freedom. Even though life was good for some slaves, the problem is they were not free. Freedom is God’s value. In the beginning of creation, God created mankind with free will. Adam and Eve exercised their free will in the Garden of Eden and chose a pathway of disobedience. Mankind lost our freedom and we became slaves to sin when we chose to sin against God. God has redeemed us through the blood of Jesus Christ so that once again we can be free. Christ died to set us free so that we can live a life of freedom through Him. Freedom from the bondage of sin and also freedom from the demands of the Law of sin and death.

Again to quote Galatians 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”

I do not write this message on my own behalf. As an abolitionist, I write it in defense of the freedom that was purchased for us. The Cost of Freedom was too high! The Cost of Freedom was the blood of Christ! The Cost of Freedom was far too high to ignore it and to not live totally in the freedom that He purchased for us. Do you value the freedom that Christ has purchased for you? Do you value it enough to live in it? Or will you walk away from it and return to a life controlled by the Law of the tithe?

Looking at the issue from the perspective of a slave, we ask an opposing question. What would cause a slave who suddenly has been set free, decide to stay and work on the very farm where he has been enslaved? How does a believer in Jesus Christ who has been set free, justify his decision to allow himself to be enslaved all over again by the Law of the tithe? The thinking goes something like this.