Apr 8, 2025 – On the practice of tithing, adapted from an article from Relearn, by by Dale Partridge

Over the years, I’ve heard these words spoken by many pastors at churches I have attended: “The Lord tells us to bring our tithes to the storehouse!” But what is a tithe? The dictionary defines the word as “a tenth part of something paid as a voluntary contribution for the support of a religious establishment.” But does this idea of giving 10% of your income to the church exist in the Bible? Do we ever see New Testament Christians tithing? The answer to both of these questions is: No.

So where do we get this concept of tithing, and why do so many pastors preach that Christians should tithe?  A little background. All the tribes were given land to inherit and could attain regular means of acquiring an income, except the Levite tribe. The Levites’ inheritance was God Himself; they were the ones chosen to oversee the worship of the entire nation of Israel. The Levites were responsible for the tabernacle, its implements, and overseeing the sacrifices and offerings of the people.

In Numbers 18:21 it says “Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.” In verse 24 it continues with, “For the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer up as a heave offering to the Lord, I have given to the Levites as an inheritance; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”

In other words, the tithes from the other eleven tribes (which were food and not money) were basically the nation of Israel’s taxation system. The Levites were the government servants, and the other eleven tribes were the public and, therefore paid for their service through a variety of national tithes.

It’s important to realize that

• Tithing, in the context of the Israel, was about food and never about money. There is not one passage of Scripture telling any Jew or Christian to give 10% of their money to a religious institution.
• Second, while tithing is biblical it is not Christian. This was strictly a practice for the nation of Israel under the Old Covenant which has been fulfilled by Jesus Christ in the New Covenant.
• Furthermore, we do not see any instruction or examples of Christians tithing in the New Testament. Like temples, sacrifices, dietary laws, and priests – tithing has been nailed to the cross and no longer has an active role under the New Covenant.

So if tithing isn’t Christian, what do the New Testament Scriptures instruct us to do in regards to giving? The short answer is: be generous. As it pertains to money, that could mean 2% of your income or 100% of your income. Many Christians assume that if they give 10% of their income (net, or gross?), that the remaining 90% is theirs to do with as they please. But that is NOT the New Covenant guideline. What Christians are called to do under the New Covenant is to:

• Actively seek out the poor (Matt 19:21)
• Seek out and help meet the needs of our brothers and sisters (1 John 3:17)
• To share with those in the church who have lack
• And to do it all with a cheerful heart (2 Cor 9:6-7)

This last passage is sometimes called the “Law of the Harvest”. In other words, we reap what we sow. If we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly. But if we are generous in our reaping, we will reap a bounty of blessings. But that does not mean we look at giving as an investment strategy. As you give, God will provide even more so that you may be even more generous to those in need.

Giving is the mark of a mature Christian,
while keeping is the mark of an immature Christian.

So how should Christians view giving? In consideration of New Testament guidelines, generosity falls into three categories:

One. Give to the Poor

There are many Scriptures that speak about God’s heart for the poor, so let’s first go back to God’s book of wisdom. Proverbs 19:17 states, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.” If this Scripture is true, which I believe it is, then any giving to the poor is merely a loan to God—and God never fails to make good on His promises.

In Luke 12:33-34, Jesus says, “Sell your possessions and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” New Testament guidance is all about a system of generosity that lead up to this incredible statement that our Lord makes in Luke 6:38 regarding giving:

“Give, and it will be given to you: good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom.
For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

So consider these questions:

• Do you seek out the poor? Do you make it a priority to give to those in need around the world?
• The Lord says what we do for the poor, we do for Him.
• Sponsor a child, support a Christian charity, give to the poor in your own city, after all, you are simply lending money to God.

Two. Give to the Needs of the Saints

Romans 12:10-13 says, “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” This is one among many passages that command Christians to meet the needs of the saints. This is also a principle clearly upheld throughout the New Testament by the overwhelming number of “one-another commands” given to the Church to carry out with our Christian brothers and sisters.

Sadly, most churches have not developed a culture that encourages closeness and connection required to hear about the needs of saints in the local congregation and facilitate an opportunity for those needs to be met. It is now common to have large congregations sitting in Sunday services, totally unaware of the needs of many saints attending the same services. When churches are small, close, and relationally connected, the needs of the local saints begin to surface. And when people become aware, these needs can be met.

This is not to say that international giving is wrong, but it should not replace the call to meet the needs of the local saints in your own life. The questions you might consider asking yourself are:

• “Am I meeting the needs of those around me?”
• Better yet, “Am I close enough with people at my church that they would express their needs to me?”

The two greatest commandments, according to Jesus, are to love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. Like Christ, we are called to meet people’s needs. Generosity is one of humanity’s greatest forms of love. To receive what you didn’t earn in some way is a reflection of the Gospel. It is another form of continuing the grace that the Lord has bestowed on each of us.

Three. Give to the Shepherds in Your Life

Many ministers have been forced to limit or end their spiritual labors (their study time, their private meetings, their discipleship meetings, their phone calls, their emails, and their answering of spiritual questions) solely because they were unable to sustain the time required. In other words, they needed to go somewhere else or do something else which provided an income for their families and naturally prohibited their ministries—even Paul had to make tents for a season.

In 1 Cor Paul continues on to defend a shepherd’s right to receive payment from those he ministers to. In verses 11-12 he says, “If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it a great thing if we reap your material things? If others are partakers of this right over you, are we not even more?”

How much would you pay for a doctor to heal an infection in your body? $125? Maybe more? Why do we hesitate to pay the pastor who heals the infections in your soul? Is the healing of your pornography addiction not more valuable than a throat infection? Is the saving of your marriage not more valuable than changing the oil in your car? Is having the wisdom and counsel on how to navigate big life decisions not more valuable than the man who installs your dishwasher?

All of these individuals exercise their right to collect money for the material solution they provide. Do shepherds not have the right to collect an income for the spiritual labor they provide? If you are sitting under the regular teaching of Christian doctrine, please determine a way to allow the plowman or woman to enjoy the fruits of their harvest. That may be gratitude, honor, and surely financial if possible.

What should be the Christian view of money?

The fact is, your money isn’t your money. It’s God’s money. You are simply a steward of that money. The question that you must answer is, can God trust me with His money?  The next question we must answer is, what should be the sum or size of our donation. It is not about the size, it is about the heart. The Lord can distinguish the difference between a stingy and a generous spirit.

Let’s look again at that key passage in 2 Corinthians.

2 Corinthians 9:6-8 “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.

We are not to give out of compulsion or out of a stingy spirit. God loves a cheerful giver. Paul then concludes with a promise that God has the ability to make all grace abound to you. That is, do not worry about supporting the financial need of God’s Kingdom—the King himself can assure your needs are always met.

In closing, it’s not about tithing, it’s about giving, and giving generously whenever possible.. 

Source:

Apr 8, 2025 – From Relearn, by by Dale Partridge https://relearn.org/why-tithing-is-biblical-but-its-not-christian/#:~:text=There%20is%20not%20one%20passage%20of%20Scripture,by%20Jesus%20Christ%20in%20the%20New%20Covenant