WHAT IS THE TITHE?
People often have questions surrounding the topic of giving, which is excellent! The gospel of Jesus touches every part of our lives which means that it invites us to ask questions surrounding our finances, as money plays such a big part of all modern societies.
As you read, we encourage you to click the links and read the Scriptures referenced.
A relationship with the living God, in the light of the Scriptures, will undoubtedly cause us to consider and reconsider how we are to use everything that God has given to us, including our time, our unique talents, and treasures. In this short articles we will ask:
Should I give to a local church?
Should I give if I’m in debt?
Should I give a regular “tithe” or just give ascends arise?
Should I give if I cannot give joyfully?
Like many modern day questions we have, we can find guidance in the Scriptures, even if that guidance is not as detailed or specific as we may like it to be. But don’t fret, similar to other topics, giving questions begin to find there answers when we ask them in light of the bigger biblical vision of generosity and in the Light of the Giver himself.
TITHING IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
The bible begins with the ultimate Gift, Creation, which is given by the ultimate Giver, the Creator God. This first gift was given, not out of necessity or begrudgingly but, out of LOVE. God’s desire was to share his goodness with other beings who could in turn reciprocate this joy of giving. Of course sin and separation created a disconnect in all human beings and so the recovering of the reciprocal relationship of giving and love has been God’s activity ever since.
By the fourteenth chapter of the first book of the Bible, Genesis, we are introduced to a unique concept called “tithing” (Genesis 14). The word “tithe” is derived from the Hebrew word “tenth” and as we will see, this donating of a “tenth” becomes the lasting tradition continued by the Hebrew patriarch Jacob (Gen. 28). Then God codifies this tradition in the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai to Moses, commanding every Israelite family to give a tenth of all that God has given them (Lev. 27:30-32; Num. 18:21-28; Deut. 12:5-19, 14:22-29, 26:1-19).
Why did God institute this command? In short, because one of the twelve tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi, had been assigned the responsibility leading God’s people in the worship of the one true God and to keep to teach them the law and keep them from idolatry. To accomplish this task it would require that unlike the eleven other tribes who were given a specific allotment of land, the Levites would be scattered amongst the other tribes in order to be near enough to them to perform their duties. Since they did not have land of their own to feed themselves and care for their families, the tithe provided the Levitical families with the necessary income, food, and housing they needed to live scattered in the land and focus on their priestly duties.
Tithing was so important to God that he attached a promise to it. Through the prophet Malachi (see ch.3) God calls his people to test him with the tithe saying: “Test me in this, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be enough room to store it!” However, alongside this promise of blessing to Israel, there is also a warning connected to the failure to practice the tithe, saying: “But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ [God says] ‘In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you.’”
And so it is with healthy reverence that we consider these big question of generosity to the mission of God in the world, for who wants to be seen as robbing God? But a fair question arises next: Does this old covenant legal requirement of tithing, given at Mt. Sinai, still press upon the New Covenant people of God — us who are under Christ and not under the Mosaic Law (see Galatians 3). Because Christ has fulfilled the Old Covenant and Mosaic Law (see Matthew 5:17-18, Romans 10) does this mean that the blessing and curses that Malachi spoke of are null and void? And does God still expect his followers to give? And to give 10%?
WHAT DOES THE NEW TESTAMENT SAY ABOUT TITHING?
Beyond a passing mention of “tithing” in one of Jesus’ parables (Luke 18:12) and a slightly confusing description of Abraham’s “tithe” gift to Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:3-10), tithing is only mentioned in two parallel passages of the gospels (Matt. 23:23; Luke 11:42). In fact, the New Testament never commands the tithe.
What are we to make of this virtual silence on the subject in the New Testament?
Well, as with all topics in the Old testament, we must consider them through an examination of Jesus Christ, always being careful not woodenly apply the prescriptions of the Old Covenant as if we’re not living under the New Covenant! The life, death, and resurrection of Christ fundamentally transformed how believers are to relate to the Old Testament commands and descriptions.
But how so? The key to understanding the Law is as such: Jesus clarified and intensified the law by exposing the motivations and intentions of our hearts. Let’s take a few OT commandments that don’t deal with money as examples. These are from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where he examined several parts of the OT law:
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment…”
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.”
Now, imagine Jesus saying, “You have heard it said, ‘give your tithe of 10%’ but I say to you…”
How do you think he would finish his sentence? Considering this question provides the spiritual depth we need to explain the radical, sacrificial generosity that we see throughout the New Testament (see Acts 2:44-45, 4:32-37) and still today in the hearts of God’s people globally.
IS THERE A GOSPEL-CENTERED WAY TO GIVE?
We begin with what the person of Jesus Christ proclaims: God sacrificially gives. No truth is more readily apparent in Scripture than God’s sacrificial generosity to humanity culminating in Jesus Christ. So it’s no surprise that in his second letter to the church in Corinth (see 2 Corinthians 8), the Apostle Paul ties a Christian understanding of wealth to Jesus himself, saying:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich,
yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
Paul doesn’t guilt the Corinthian church into giving, he doesn’t tell them how well of they have it compared to other people or that they owe him because he brought them the gospel. Instead he points them back to what happened with Jesus Christ: Our rich God became poor, so that we might experience rich life! When we lean into this gospel truth it empowers a less legalistic view of giving and gives birth to a healthy attitude toward our material possessions, growing us into humble people who express joyful generosity.
We could also say it like this: Understanding the eternal riches we have already received from God through Christ motivates us to invest our temporary and decaying earthly resources in his forever purposes and eternal heavenly kingdom.
For those who are being transformed into the image of Christ (see 2 Cor. 3:18), God doesn’t hope that we merely give out of duty, but rather he hopes for the selflessness and sacrificial Spirit of Christ living in us to overflow through our generosity of time, talents, and financial resources.
With this new heart which has been softened by God’s generosity, how should we conceive of our own giving plan?
NEW TESTAMENT GIVING PRINCIPLES
Give Thankfully // Grace is the basis for gratitude. As those who have received grace in all areas of life, we willfully and gratefully extend gifts to others. Why? Because we have come to see that even though our paycheck might come from a company, all our welfare comes from God! (James1:16-18)
Give Generously // In Paul’s greater giving argument of 2 Corinthians 8-9 he tells us the Macedonian Christians gave generously, “beyond their means.” This was clearly radical and significant giving, not just throwing some cash in the offering basket as it passed by.
Give Cheerfully // Gospel giving is cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) because it trusts that every deposit into the kingdom is an investment that earns eternal interest and compounding interest over eternity is obviously a great return!
Give Sacrificially // A heart freed by Jesus gives generously even when it “hurts” a bit. Recall Jesus’ assessment of the widow’s mite (Mark 12:41-44). Where we’re tempted to value a gift based on amount, God sees the sacrifice attached to each gift. Even a small amount can be an enormous gift in the kingdom!
Give Regularly // Though we can give as needs arise, the act of giving is often linked with prayer and fasting in the New Testament (Matt. 6:1-18), practices that ideally contain some element of discipline and regularity. We see this reiterated in 1 Corinthians 16:2 where Paul commends a disciplined and orderly form of giving in addition to whatever spontaneous gifts people might feel compelled to give.
Give Secretly // The flesh craves the praise of man, and thus we need to beware the tendency to give in an effort to purchase the acclaim, attention, and affections of others (Matt. 6:2-4). Christians give so that the kingdom of God increases and brings him glory, not to increase others’ opinions of us or seek our own glory.
TO WHOM SHOULD CHRISTIANS GIVE?
Now that we know why and how to give, the question then becomes, to whom do we give? We see that God called the early Church to give to:
One’s Local Church Family (1 Cor. 16:2)
The Global Church Family (2 Cor. 8-9)
One’s Biological Family (1 Timothy 5:8)
One’s Neighbors (Luke 10:25-37)
One’s Enemies (Rom. 12:20)
Though the hard and fast law of the tithe (as it is understood in its Old Testament context) is no longer absolutely mandatory for believers, we strongly contend that giving a consistent, significant, set percentage amount to your local church is the most spiritually healthy and helpful giving principle for God’s people today. God commands Christians to support those who labor for the sake of the kingdom especially in the teaching and preaching of the Word which uniquely happens in the context of the local church (1 Tim. 5:17-18; 1 Cor. 9:3-12).
In addition, by giving to the local church you are choosing to trust that the senior leaders of the local church have privileged insight as to the needs of both those within the church family and those outside the family in the larger community which the church must serve. We see the early church selling their possessions and laying the proceeds at the feet of the apostles (Acts 4:32-37), trusting them to discern how to best steward those financial gifts with the help of other leaders within the church, called deacons. In light of this biblical precedent, we contend that Christians today should continue to prioritize the local church in their giving.
HOW MUCH SHOULD CHRISTIANS GIVE?
As we grasp more and more God’s generosity through Jesus Christ, we discover giving goes much deeper than a responsibility, it becomes a serious opportunity. In view of this reality, we do not view 10% as the top end of what to give, but the floor. Disciples informed by the gospel continue to think through how they can give more and more throughout their lives.
What if I am unable to give 10% right now?
We find that an inability to give is usually indicative of a general lack of budgeting in one’s life. And so we first encourage people to pursue resources on how to budget on a month to month basis. Why? Because Jesus isn’t only concerned with how we spend 10% of our income, he has thoughts on how we spend all of it! Budgeting is a process where his followers invite him into the financial aspects of their lives which spill over everywhere.
That being said, there are seasons in our economic lives where giving becomes especially difficult where we have financial responsibilities to our families, friends, communities, and in some cases, creditors. Good planning is necessary to make it through these seasons with the hope of returning to God’s call of sacrificially giving to the local church.
We believe a good goal for everyone over time is to steadily increase one’s commitment up to and perhaps even above 10% as we respond faithfully to God’s grace in Jesus Christ by our faithfulness to his Word. This will include making significant kingdom investments with our time and talents as well which will yield eternal returns and model Christ’s generous love in a mind-boggling way to the “me”-centric society in which we live.
Thank you for reading and reflecting upon this important topic. The staff of Sideris Church is always open to discussing these matters in more detail, as we recognize the truth of Jesus words “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21) and we love helping one another center our hearts on Christ Jesus our Lord.