My hubby is in the process of writing another blog entry over at “The Christian Dollar” where he is now a regular contributor. (I’m very proud of him!!!) He’s writing an article on “Tithe, Give, Save, Live” at the moment, which is a phrase we hear our Pastor use on a regular basis from the pulpit… As I read through his draft of the article, we started to discuss tithing and how/why we are supposed to do it, and how could he fit all that info in his 800 word article. This inspired me to come up with a post here on our blog about tithing and what we as a couple, believe in regards to it.
We know that tithing was originally set up as a part of the Old Covenant, under Mosaic Law. The Israelite people were commanded by God to give a “tithe” (literally, a tenth) of all their income back to God. There were many laws and rules regarding every little detail of the tithe, and if that interests you a great amount, go and read through the books of the Law – Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. Have fun! ;)
However we are no longer under the Law……
Way before the Law was ever instituted though, if you look in Genesis 14, it talks about Abraham giving a tithe of his goods to Melchizedek, the priest of the Most High God, after receiving those material blessings from God and a spoken blessing from Melchizedek. Also, in Genesis 18, Jacob promises God that he would give Him a tenth of all that he has for the rest of his life, if God will indeed bless him as He had promised to. These tithes were before the law, and were not done out of compulsion or in response to a commandment, but out of thanksgiving for blessings received or promises of blessings to come. These men walked with God and their tithing was an act of love for their God. They realized that walking with God faithfully yielded blessings in their lives, and they were thankful and never forgot the source of those blessings. Tithing and thanksgiving to the Source of their blessings and provision went hand in hand. (Deuteronomy 8:18 “And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”)
I think that the example laid down by these men is a great foundation from which to look at tithing/giving in the New Covenant. Now, there is no specific “command” in the New Testament regarding tithing. Nowhere does it say, “Give God a tithe!” However, cheerfully giving financially and materially is mentioned throughout the New Testament. A good way to look at it would be to say that we as believers are “Blessed to be a Blessing”. We give to bless God and show thanksgiving to Him and also to be a blessing to those around us. We love God and we love others, and giving is just an expression of that.
We do give to our churches, both to provide income for our Pastors, which is biblical (see 1 Timothy 5:17-18, 1 Corinthians 9:14, and Galatians 6:6), and also to pay for the facilities that we use for church and various programs/outreaches we do. This is definitely the more practical side of giving. This is where most people will give their tithe - to their home church.
Beyond the tithe, we as believers are to give freely into other things as well. If we look in Acts at how the early church lived, we can see that they gave of their money and possessions freely to those believers who were in need. They took care of widows and orphans and made sure that none were in lack. They gave out of love, with a cheerful heart. I think 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 is another great example of how and why we give….
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 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. 9 As it is written:
“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
“He has dispersed abroad,
He has given to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”
10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness, 11 while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God. 12 For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God, 13 while, through the proof of this ministry, they glorify God for the obedience of your confession to the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal sharing with them and all men, 14 and by their prayer for you, who long for you because of the exceeding grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
God is the source of our money, plain and simple. He asks us to give out of a cheerful heart to every good work. And as we are faithful with what He has given us and we sow bountifully, He is faithful to increase us so that we can in turn bless more people. I believe this is the heart and soul of giving under the New Covenant. We are the hands and feet of Jesus… we are His body here on the earth. If He wants to bless someone, how does He do it? Sure, He can and does, give favor to His people in the form of job promotions, unexpected checks in the mail, etc. But more often than not, He uses His people. He asks us to give of our money, and our time and effort as well, to others around us. His love pours through us to those around us and as they are blessed by our obedience to God, we are blessed more, because He sees we are faithful with little, so He pours out even more.
So why do we as Christians give: Firstly, we give to God (through our tithes in church) as an act of Thanksgiving for we know that all good things come from Him and He is the source of our finances and possessions. He has given us such amazing gifts and wonderful provision, so we give back a portion as an act of love. (This money takes care of our Pastors and churches.) Secondly, we give to those around us in order to be the hands and feet of Jesus and meet their needs and show them love. We give finances to missionaries, to outreach groups, to the family whose car just broke down and they can’t afford to fix it… We give to bring a smile to someone’s face after a terrible day… We give just to allow someone else feel what it’s like to be blessed by God.
What about you? Does your family tithe or give on a regular basis? If so, why? If not, why? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
Since we are no longer under the law, why do Christians continue to use the term "tithing?" Giving a tenth of a persons income to the church has absolutely nothing to do with the Biblical tithes that God commanded, which NEVER came from anyone's income, nor was it ever money. The Biblical tithe always came from God's miraculous increase of food from crops and animals and never from man's income.
ReplyDeleteGiving a tenth of your income to the church is fine, but to call it tithing is misleading at the least.
When God gave the Israelites the promised land, he RESERVED, for Himself, a tenth of the crops and every tenth animal. They NEVER did belong to the Israelites. In other words, the tithe was from God's increase of FOOD, not from man's income. It was a way to distribute FOOD to the Levites and priests who did NOT inherit any land.
No one, not even the farmers, tithed on their income.
The farmers made their income by SELLING and/or barter-exchanging their crops and animals but did NOT tithe on that income.
Today, ALL born-again believers are priests. ALL of us are called to be deciples of the Lord. No one of us is higher than another. Our bodies are the Temple where the Spirit dwells. According to the scriptures, priests do not tithe.
The New Testament teaches generous, sacrificial giving, from the heart, according to our means. For some, $1 might be a sacrifice, while for others, even giving 50% of their income might not induce a sacrifice. In the Old Testament, ONLY the farmers tithed, and it was equal percentage (a tenth). The New Testament teaches the principle of equal sacrifice instead of equal percentage. Equal sacrifice is much harder to achieve, if not impossible, than giving ten percent.
We should call our giving what it is - giving, and not confuse our giving with the Biblical tithe. There is not even one example in the scriptures where anyone tithed from their income.
Considering that crops and animals were their source of income, it's the same thing. It would be hard for God to reserve His share of my crops and animals, as I don't have any. And none of my income belongs to me either; I give God what He reserved. Ten percent is the very least of what we should give anyway... it's tithes AND offerings.
ReplyDeleteYes, I can see the other side that we aren't called to tithe in the same way; I've heard it all and it makes some sense. I just don't buy into it. There's nothing in the NT that tells us to give a tenth-- but there's really nothing that says to disregard it, either. If I am wrong, I am open to correction.
I look forward to reading your article, JC! My first article on The Christian Dollar was on the very same subject, and I love hearing others' opinions and stories!
Crops and animals was not their source of income. They sold their crops and animals and received MONEY as evidenced throughout the Old Testament. Check out Deut. 14:22-27. The money was their income.
ReplyDeleteMoney was not allowed to pay the tithe yet money was required to pay the Temple Tax (tribute in the KJV). That also proves they had money.
The ONLY people in the Old Testament that were commanded to tithe were those who INHERITED THE PROMISED LAND WITH EVERYTHING ON IT. They got the land, house, animals, crops, etc. ALL FREE AND CLEAR. No mortgage payment or rent to pay. And THEY were commanded to tithe on the crops and animals and take it to the Levites who INHERITED the tithe INSTEAD OF the promised land with everything on it. No one else tithed. Wage earners did not tithe. Jesus did not tithe as a carpenter. Paul did not tithe as a tent maker. Peter did not tithe as a fisherman.
The Bible clearly shows that the tithe ENDED at the cross in the Book of Hebrews. The ONLY place in the Bible, after Calvary, that tithing appears is in Hebrews 7. In the first nine verses of Hebrews 7 the words tenth or tithes appears SEVEN TIMES.
Hebrews 7:5 (KJV) “And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:”
Verse 5 is the first occurrence of the words TITHES, COMMANDMENT and LAW.
Hebrews 7:12 (KJV) “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.”
Hebrews 7:18 (KJV) “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.”
The word COMMANDMENT in verse 18 must be referring to the word COMMANDMENT in verse 5 which is referring to the tithe.
Therefore, the COMMANDMENT to TITHE was disannulled.
There is no teaching of tithing in the scriptures after Calvary, neither commanded or voluntary.
Very good word, Brianna.
ReplyDeleteGary, you are getting far too picky about this. Yes, the legal requirement to tithe ended at Calvary, but, like everything else in the old Law, it was a picture of things to come. For instance, the requirement to keep the Sabbath provided a picture of the rest we enter into when Christ enters our lives. Christ fulfilled the Sabbath, ending the requirement to keep it, but we now walk in that spiritual rest that He provided. We've stopped striving and working to attain righteousness. We have it and we can take it easy now.
It's the same with tithing. Get past the vocabulary and focus on what we are doing. God insisted that the tithe be set aside from the first of the crop (or income -- I disagree with you on that point). Doing that became a habit with them, an expression of who they were both as individuals and as a nation. It was just the natural thing for them to set aside the tithe before processing the rest of the crop. That principle is still a part of our lives -- and even more real than it was to the pre-Christ Jews. Our tithing is just a natural outgrowth of our relationship to our Lord. Now, we give out of a recreated heart motivated by the Holy Spirit. We give freely instead of because our legal system requires it.
As to the 10% number -- it's just a good place to start and it provides us with a good framework for discipline in our giving. If someone is struggling to begin giving at all I often suggest 1%. 10% is a good number, though, because it's large enough for us to feel it -- for sacrifice to be a part of our giving -- and yet it won't bust our finances apart. God picked it pretty well.
Pastor John said, "God insisted that the tithe be set aside from the first of the crop..."
ReplyDeleteThe tithe was NEVER the first of anything It couldn't be. Read the scriptures.
Leviticus 27:30-33 - the tithe is a tenth of the crops (not the first tenth) and every tenth animal in herds and flocks (the LAST ONE out of every ten, not the first).
In Nehemiah 10:37 we learn that the firstfruits were taken to the temple for the priests, and the tithes were taken to the Levites who lived in the Levitical cities. Therefore, we see that firstfruits have nothing to do with the tithe.
In Deut. 14:23 we see that the firstlings were to be eaten at the festivals so they had to be removed before selecting the tithe of the animals.
And last, the tithe was NEVER on the gross of anything. It was always on an adjusted amount. IF you need scripture to show this, I will furnish it.
There is a trap that we Christians often fall into. We joyfully grab hold of the fact that Jesus fulfilled the Law and that we are now free of striving and striving to keep that law. Jesus became our righteousness and we no longer have to work for it anymore. Then we fall in love with the word of God and seek the truth the scriptures hold. Then, far too often, we get so involved in "rightly dividing the word of truth" that we fall right back into living by a legal code. We start "straining at gnats" instead of "walking in the spirit". So, having cast off the burdensome legal code of the Mosaic Law, we create a new code for ourselves that plunges right back into that same sort of bondage.
ReplyDeleteYou are technically correct, Gary, that the tithe didn't have to come from the first of the crop, but the principle that when increase happens (like when crops come in) we should think first about giving to God, is still accurate.
Search your heart, my friend, and learn once more to walk in grace.
You have strained out a few gnats, Gary, but I'm afraid you may have swallowed a camel. Remember that "the letter kills, but the spirit gives life." I urge you to learn the truth in those words.
Being Spirit led, I find myself giving much, much more than a mere tenth of my income. I am a firm believer in generous, SACRIFICIAL giving.
ReplyDeleteAlthough this blog was not the case, there are many teaching that those who don't give the full tenth to the church are robbing God; thus, I tend to stick with the letter of the law when teaching the subject of tithing. However, I also teach New Testament giving. I find no greater joy that giving to those in need.
While I have been very picky on this blog, I think we are basically on the same page.
I agree. I grow weary of hearing that kind of teaching from Christian pulpits. It places people under bondage and ministers guilt, not life. I don't think God was as concerned about the distribution of money (or goods) when He established the legal requirement to tithe for the ancient Israelis, as He was interested in shaping their souls. Jesus said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Mat 6:21) Like it or not our finances are extremely significant in our lives and if we don't keep them in proper perspective they will distort every part of our lives and especially our relationship with the Lord. Disciplined giving (with the right heart attitude) helps keep that part of our fallen nature under control.
ReplyDeleteThere is also this to consider: Through faith in Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross we gained the right to become children of God. That means that we not only have the right to participate in God's economy, but the responsibility to do so. The old Mosaic Law dictated every facet of the Israeli culture and economy. It gave us a fuzzy snapshot of what God's economy looked like. Now that we have Christ, have been freed from the requirements of the Law, and the Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh (at Pentecost), we can participate in the fullness of that economy. Giving first and giving sacrificially is an integral part of doing that. It is God's nature to give with abundance and we now can participate in that.