What does God's Word teach about tithing today?
What do organized churches teach about it?
How do these views compare and contrast
The tithe in the Older Testament was meant for taking care of civil taxes in a manner
One problem I have with the way many churches pressure their congregations to give is this:
1) Not under compulsion
II Corinthians 9:
How about THAT for a nice New Testament Commandment?
Another is this:
2) Take care of your own first.
1 Timothy 5:8
Will tithing to a religious institution excuse us in the sight of
This is a command. If it conflicts with the Law of Tithing,
3) Tithing as Old Testament Law
I don't know where you stand on Law and Grace. I happen to like them both
The New Testament is clear that a Day of the Sabbath Rest is still
4) Is tithing for the Rich or for the Poor?
Many churches like to quote from I Corinthians where Paul directed the Believers to
I Corinithians 16:1-4 says:
Notice in the context, this was not a gift for any pastors.
In fact the word tithe is barely mentioned in the Newer Testament.
Today's practice of evangelicals tithing is an interpretation at best.
In fact the tithe is only mentioned 5 times in the new testament and they all refer
Jesus never commanded the SHEEP to take care of the SHEPHERDS.
John 21:16 says:
Yet there are examples of this so we must not discount it entirely.
What about Mechizedek?
This is a contrived way to get around the question of following the other Laws
What if Abraham had once eaten cherry ice cream with Melchizedek?
Tithing on the Tithe.
Tithing as Legalism.
Similarly I have sat in charismatic churches on the same row with a wealthy business
Our household probably gives away over 10% of our income, but
I think less than
10% of it goes to local church organizations. Notice I said organizations.
The local church is actually you and me. It is not structures, organizational
charts nor meetings. It is God's people, first and foremost.
similar to the IRS today. If we only had to give 10% to the church authorities and
the government today just imagine how much would be leave left over to give
to the poor, to help neighbors in trouble or to take care of sick or elderly relatives.
I could almost imagine we could all afford medical care in this country without
the insurance companies grabbing their huge slice!
"Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly
or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. "
We have been in congregations where the leaders will literally present a 20 minute
sermon on giving before the offering is taken (notice they will say taken rather than given?)
They would do this EVERY week without fail. Others don't do it as frequently, but the "experts"
tell them that they will get more money if they teach (pressure) their people in
this manner before every collection is brought in. the main sermon would come later
and be much longer, around 45 minutes to an hour.
"If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his
immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
God if our own family is neglected? I think not.
then we will go with the grace of God and the wisdom from His Holy Spirit
to enable us to love our needy family members and neighbors first.
Your pastor does not need another new SUV or a free paid year of college
for his son.
when they are combined richly with truth and love!
The problem I have with today's forceful approach to getting sheep to
give up their fleece is this - WHY do we ignore the other 632 Laws of
the old testament which have never been rescinded any more than the
Law of Tithing was? Can't you see the obvious? Maybe it is sub-conscious
to most church leaders, but there is a reason why they push one law and
then ignore others. There is FAR more mention of many other Laws in the
Bible than there is about tithing. I won't even go into them here, but if
you have the time to study it you can easily see what I mean. The holidays
and feast days of Israel for example were NEVER done away with in the
Church Age. If you think they were, then will you please show me the passage
in your Bible? I am so glad that his grace is sufficient for me.
On the other hand, if tithes are so important, what happened to the SABBATH?
Balance is important. the Law was not nailed to the cross, SIN was.
remaining in effect for the people of God. Why is that almost
never mentioned?
bring an offering as they were able, in order to send a gift for the poor among the
Believers in Jerusalem (these would have mostly been Jewish people, by the way.)
Like it or not, that IS the context.
1 "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches
of Galatia, so do you also.
2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper,
so that no collections be made when I come.
3 When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your
gift to Jerusalem;
4 and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me."
While I do not wish to be legalistic about this, I would point out that
Paul and the other leaders of the early church, which is our model, did not
demand nor take a salary. They supported themselves. In Paul's case, he did
it through tent making and other trades.
Now to be fair, it was ASSUMED among Jewish people that they would pay
their tithes (the early church was composed of Jewish Believers
in Jesus who continued their Jewish life) much as it would be with
the IRS today. However, there are those who love to emphasize how much
the Bible talks about money. Yet they don't talk about how LITTLE is spoken
of tithing. In fact there is NOTHING in the new or old testament that says
that the tithe is to go to a local church.
The TITHE went to the central governing national authority, which in this
case was a religious one.
back to the old testament. You will find that most of those references are negative.
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
Some may argue that we should give tithes according to the Pre-Moses
history on Genesis where Father Abraham gave tithes to the priest Melchizedek.
First, I don't see where we are told to duplicate everything Abraham did
in regards to Melchizedek. Also, it does not say that Abraham gave a tenth to
Melchizedek every week or even every year.
in addition to the Law of Tithing.
Does that mean Christians must now eat a bowl full every week?
Another odd teaching I have encountered is where leaders tell one another that they
must tithe on the tithe. In other words, 10% of the offerings that come in from
congregants are to be tithed to some other ministry of their choosing.
I just don't see any basis for this. It probably helps perpetuate the denominational
structures, and that is likely the origin of this teaching.
I know some folks who believe in tithing SO much that they will give money that they do not even have!
In other words, a poor Christian family will have an income (NOT an increase!) of $2,000 in one month.
Rather then not feed their children, they spend every penny on their basic bills for tax. insurance, food,
clothing and shelter, and these basic needs total $1950.00 - then they see that they only have $50.00
left for the local church. Uh oh! GOT to tithe, so what do they do? Use their credit card to buy the food
to keep the children from going hungry, thereby borrowing $150.00 or so every single month until they
collapse economically. I have seen this happen in several cases with my own eyes and it is foolishness.
man who tithes regularly from his good income, and yet near him sits a widow
or a poor man in genuine need, and (unknowingly) instead of helping them he gives
to the fat organization.
Here is an interesting extract that I found on the web at the Crown Financial Ministries web site:
"Does all of our tithe have to go to our church?
God's Word tells us to bring our tithes into the storehouse (see Malachi 3:10). To bring our tithes into
the storehouse, it is necessary to determine exactly what the storehouse is. In biblical times, it was
a physical place where the Jews would deliver their offerings of grain or animals. The storehouse
had specific functions according to God's Word.
To feed the tribe of Levi (Numbers 18:24-26) and the priests of Aaron
(Numbers 18:28-29). The tribe of Levi and the priests would be the equivalent
of pastors and other church staff, evangelists, and missionaries today.
To feed the Hebrew widows and orphans living within a Hebrew city
(Deuteronomy 14:28-29). They would be the equivalent of the widows and orphans
being served in a local church.
To feed the Gentile poor living in a Hebrew city (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
Today's equivalent would be the unsaved people in the community surrounding a local church.
When we obey Him and pay our tithes to the church, God holds the leaders of
the church responsible for the distribution of the tithes
(see Nehemiah 12:44-45, 13:5, 13). It is the responsibility of the church to
meet the needs within the community.
Larry (Burkett) never counseled people to redirect their tithe away from their
church completely, but he did say that the church of today, as a whole, is not
carrying out all the responsibilities that God set forth for His storehouse.
That is not to say, however, that all churches are neglecting this work.
Since the tithe is recognition of our obedience and submission to God and is given
in thanksgiving for His faithfulness in providing, there should not be any legalism
as to how we direct the money He has entrusted to our care. If people feel the need,
and God's direction, to help other ministries outside their churches and they
have no other funds than the tithe, it would be hard to tell them they are
disobeying God's Word in that area.
The church is the beloved bride of Christ, but that designation is for the whole
brotherhood of believers, not the individual church down the road. When God speaks
of His church, it is the corporate body of Christ. When we give to the church,
it is to every part of the body, not just the denominational portions. We give
to the hands (which may be the churches) but we also give to the feet
(traveling evangelists, maybe) or the little finger (probably the widow who spends
the night in prayer for all of God's children but will not receive any
recognition until we all see her in Heaven).
We caution people against letting this become an area of contention between them
and their pastor, and we encourage them to seek direction for their giving from
the Lord. As He gives peace about where to direct His resources, one should act
in humility and meekness toward those who might disagree."