We've all met the kind of person who "quotes" Scripture, adds their own spin on it, then when you rebuke them for it, they will claim "I only quoted Scripture" and attempt to claim you're only arguing with them because you feel convicted and you know what they're saying is true.
To give the example that inspired this particular article, tell me, exactly where does the Bible say that if you have extra cash, your car breaks down? According to this particular tithing advocate, Malachi 3:8-10. Let's read that passage:
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me!' But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the Lord of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it."
Does this speak about cars breaking down? Does this passage in any way talk about Christians being somehow required to give 10% of their income to a church? This person had far more to say than just this. They ranted on about how God would not have given us the Old Testament if none of it applied today (which is not something I have ever heard any Christian say), and that when s/he got saved, s/he found out that God would open the window of Heaven on his/her finances because s/he heard testimonies of poor people tithing and suddenly getting rich. Then s/he name dropped Psalm 34:8, calling it the "taste test", saying s/he is also highly favored by God.
Where is any of that in the Scriptures? Answer: Nowhere. Nothing about cars, nothing about God opening windows on finances, nothing about this particular person's testimony (for obvious reasons). Yet, when I rebuked them, showing what Scripture actually says, "I only repeated what the Bible says".
The irony here is that even the passage s/he referenced does not talk about tithing as many understand it today. Is tithing really giving 10% of our income? No, in Malachi 3, God actually says "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house...". This is because tithing never had anything to do with giving any amount of money to anyone. Rather, it is a contribution to God of the first fruits of grain, wine, oil, honey, and of all the produce of the field (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; 2 Chronicles 31:5), as both support to the Levites, and as an offering to the Lord. In other words, tithing had nothing to do with money, and has no direct modern application.
So are we required to tithe as Christians? Is there some kind of promise of reward to those who give 10% of their income to the church? Let's do what this person claimed s/he was doing: Just repeat what Scripture says. You tell me if tithing is a New Testament requirement with promise of great reward:
"If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ." - 1 Corinthians 9:11-12
"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem." - 1 Corinthians 16:1-3
"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work" - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Nevertheless you have done well that you shared in my distress." - Philippians 4:10-14
"Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." - 1 Timothy 6:17-19
Does any of this hint at a mandatory 10% of our finances? Does it not rather suggest that we should be wise with our wealth, giving cheerfully rather than under compulsion, as we purpose in our hearts, and according to our income? Especially with regard to Paul's words in Philippians, does it not suggest that, maybe, there might be times when even the most faithful servants of God will suffer abasement, hunger, need, and even, in his case, the chains of imprisonment, and the scourge of persecution? My brethren, Godliness is not a means of gain, and woe betide the fool who says otherwise (1 Timothy 6:5). What you give to the Lord is between you and the Lord, and He will reward you as He sees fit, in this life, and/or the next. It is your good works, not your bribery, that will earn you rewards in Heaven, not necessarily on Earth. If God wills, you will be rich in this life, but if He wills, He will also bring you down into the lowest depths of poverty, where He will personally empower you to be content. Tithing 10% in order to gain some kind of abundance in return is a gross abuse of Scripture. Tithing is nothing to do with money, the 10% figure is nowhere found in the New Testament (nor realistically in the Old, for there were multiple tithes amounting to about 23% in the Old Testament), and the New Testament does not promise any kind of Earthly reward for giving, only that whatever happens, God will ensure we have what is sufficient. Think I'm wrong? Well, "I only quoted Scripture".
Except, of course, I did not. In the end, having quoted Scripture, I proceeded to interpret it. In the same way, most people who "only" quote Scripture give their interpretation along with it. It could be on any issue, not just tithing. It could be an issue of liberty. It could be an issue of politics. It could be an issue of doctrine. It could be literally anything, they will never only quote Scripture, even if they say that's all they did.
In fact, when people actually do this, I find it's generally quite difficult to figure out what they actually believe. I have to switch from interpreting Scripture to interpreting the person who cited it to me. Are you agreeing with what I've said? Are you trying to tell me you disagree? I don't know, but when you quote Scripture to me, I'm going to interpret it the way I would if I came across it in my daily reading. I'm not going to read Malachi 3:8-10 as a threat that my car's going to break down if I'm carrying a little too much money. That's bonkers.
So what's the takeaway here? Simply that we must divide our word from God's. When you cite, then interpret Scripture, don't pretend you only cited it and ignore the fact that you also interpreted it, as if the person's response is a confession that they don't believe Scripture. It may even be that your interpretation is correct. Jesus did this frequently. Take, for example, Matthew 22:41-45: "While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.” He said to them, “How then does David in the Spirit call Him ‘Lord,’ saying: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool” ’? If David then calls Him ‘Lord,’ how is He his Son?”"
When Jesus interprets a Scripture for us, that is the definitive interpretation. Yet, He couldn't say "I only quoted Scripture", because He didn't. He asked two questions: Whose Son is the Christ, and how could David, in the Spirit, call Him "Lord"? Jesus quoted Scripture, Jesus interpreted Scripture, Jesus was right in His interpretation of Scripture. Even so, He never claimed to have only cited Scripture.
In the same way, neither should we. Whether correctly or incorrectly, when we bring Scripture into discussion, we interpret it, too. It is vital for us to divide our word from God's, even when they are aligned.