What Does the Bible Say About Tithing in the New Testament?

What does the bible say about tithing? Is tithing in the New Testament? Are Christians required to tithe? Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way, or watch the accompanying sermon for answers. https://youtu.be/PJpjMYDXmzM What does the bible say about tithing? Is tithing in the New Testament? Are Christians required to tithe? Read or listen to this chapter from Your Finances God’s Way for answers. Table of ContentsThe New Testament Doesn’t Command Giving a TitheTwo Categories of CommandsA Higher Standard for GivingNo Mention of Tithing in the New TestamentThe New Testament Expects Giving WillinglyWe Must Decide How Much to GiveGod Sees the “Heart Gift” Versus the “Hand Gift”Giving Willingly In the Old TestamentJacob Demonstrates Giving UnwillinglyAbraham Demonstrates Giving WillinglyThankfulness Produces Better Giving Than LawJesus Willingly Gave More Than a TitheSo Why Give Willingly?Footnotes Giving and the amount Christians should give are controversial topics. You've probably heard different opinions if you’ve been in the church for a long time. You may have your thoughts based on your experiences up to this point. May I ask you a couple of questions? First, have you been told that you should tithe?334 If so, take a moment to consider whether New Testament verses cause you to think this way. I believe it’s clear that Christians are commanded to give, but they’re not commanded to give a tithe, which brings me to my second question. Second, if you believe you must give a tithe, will you consider a different view if Scripture supports it? Having asked those questions, here’s a principle I’d like you to apply in your heart: God wants us to give out of thankfulness rather than out of obligation. Remember how much God has done for you so you’re moved to give out of a heart of worship rather than out of duty. Please don’t assume any of this is merely my opinion. I believe it is vital for us to be convinced by God’s Word alone, and understanding what Scripture teaches requires some technical information. Bear with me as we get this foundation in place! The New Testament Doesn’t Command Giving a Tithe Not long after becoming a Christian, I heard that I should tithe. My confidence in this claim waned as my familiarity with the New Testament grew because I couldn’t find any supporting verses. Giving a tithe is commanded under the Old Covenant, which is associated with the Mosaic law. But Christians today are under the New Covenant, which is associated with the law of Christ. Paul notes this distinction in the New Testament: To the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews. To those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those under the law; to those who are without the law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without the law (1 Corinthians 9:20-21). Paul said that to win Jews to Christ, he would put himself back “under the [Mosaic] law,” which means he hadn’t been adhering to the requirements of that law since coming to Christ. When he tried to win Gentiles (“those who are without [the Mosaic] law”), he ensured he wasn’t under the Mosaic law. However, to prevent readers from thinking he was without any law, he said he remained “under law toward Christ.” The point is that there’s a clear distinction between two different laws and how they relate to our giving: the Mosaic law, which is associated with the Old Covenant (which we are not part of ), and its mediator, Moses, commands giving a tithe the law of Christ, which is associated with the New Covenant (which we are part of ), and its mediator, Jesus, doesn’t command giving a tithe335 The tithe was God’s way of paying the priests who served God’s people throughout the Old Testament era through Jesus’s earthly life. After Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, He became our great high priest (Hebrews 4:14). This produced a change because “when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well” (Hebrews 7:12). Two Categories of Commands The Mosaic law was divided into two categories. First are the moral or commonsense commands, such as, “You shall not murder…commit adultery…steal…bear false witness.” These commands are based on God’s nature, which defines morality for us. Because God’s nature doesn’t change, morality doesn’t change, and because morality doesn’t change, the moral commands don’t change. Because the moral commands don’t change, they are brought forward from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant. They’re part of the law of Christ and are still binding for us today. The second category is the ceremonial commands, which are amoral (not moral or immoral). These commands are not common sense because we wouldn’t intuitively develop them. Think of the commands related to sacrifices and offerings, feasts and festivals, abstaining from certain foods (such as pork and rabbit), farming specific ways, and avoiding mixing certain fabrics. The command to give a tithe was also ceremonial, and thus it was not carried forward into the New Covenant and is not part of the law of Christ. One fact that might surprise many people is that God didn’t even command giving a tithe in the Mosaic law. He commanded giving multiple tithes: one for the Levites, one for the use of the temple and the feasts, and one for the poor of the land (Leviticus 27:30-32; Numbers 18:21-32; Deuteronomy 14:22, 28-29; 26:12). All these tithes pushed the total closer to 25 percent. If people want to put themselves “under the law,” as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:20, they should give closer to one-fourth of their earnings rather than one-tenth, for one-fourth is what the Old Testament Jews were commanded to give.336 Further complicating the situation for people who feel bound to give a tithe is that the Mosaic law commanded giving a tithe on grain, wine, oil, and animals. How would this apply today? The best we could do is give away one-tenth of our food, clothing, and possessions. Instead, God has a better (but more challenging) way for us to give today. A Higher Standard for Giving Like many people, when I began reading the Bible, I started “in the beginning” with Genesis, which I loved. Exodus was also enjoyable, but then I reached Leviticus. Maybe some new believers have liked reading the 613 commands in that book for the first time, but I admit that I didn’t. I moved to the New Testament and started reading through Matthew. I reached the Sermon on the Mount, and it changed my life. At that time, I didn’t know Jesus was contrasting the Mosaic law with the law of Christ, but I could tell He was raising the bar. Six times, He quoted the Mosaic law, “You have heard that it was said…,” followed by, “But I say to you…,” revealing the higher standard the law of Christ set regarding murder, adultery, divorce, swearing, revenge, and love (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 31-34, 38-39, 43-44).337 Because the law of Christ raised the bar in these areas, we can conclude that it also raised the bar for giving. As Christ’s followers, ten percent shouldn’t be seen as the end of Christian giving—it should be seen as the beginning! No Mention of Tithing in the New Testament The final reason we know we’re not commanded to give a tithe (or any percent, for that matter) is that it’s not commanded, or even recommended, in the New Testament. The word tithe appears only four times (Matthew 23:23; Luke 11:42; 18:12; Hebrews 7:5-9), and none of these passages are instructions for church-age Christians to give a tithe.338 The epistles are the instruction letters for New Covenant believers (those under the law of Christ), but there’s no mention of giving a tithe. Considering the extensive teaching on prayer, love, forgiveness, serving, and many other topics in the epistles, this silence is inconceivable if God expected us to give a tithe. The New Testament Expects Giving Willingly Why doesn’t God command us to give a certain percentage? He wants us to give willingly out of thankfulness rather than out of obligation to a command. Second Corinthians 8 and 9 provide the New Testament's richest, most detailed teaching on giving. Remember these chapters because we’ll repeatedly draw from them to understand Christian giving. Paul told the Corinthians, “See that you excel in everything [and that would include giving]. I say this not as a command ” (2 Corinthians 8:7-8). This is interesting! Paul was an apostle, which means he had the authority to command his readers to give. We know he wanted them to give because that was the point of this portion of his letter, but when it sounded like he was about to command them to give, he clarified that he was not doing that. Why? He wanted them to give willingly! In the next chapter, Paul said, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which you had previously promised, that it may be ready as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation…let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:5, 7). The Corinthian believers promised they would give, but they hadn’t yet because it’s much easier to talk about giving than actually give. Paul reminded them of their promise by sending Christians ahead to get the gift, but he still wanted it to be a willing gift and not done under obligation. He didn’t want to force the gift out of them. The words “grudging obligation” refer to the conditions when giving. We’re not supposed to give because of external pressure, such as the demands of others. When giving is done this way, it resembles taxation more than worship. Paul’s words are clear, which is why it’s disappointing when Christian leaders disobey them.