This issue can be a "sore point" with Christians and have caused considerable debate. To be obedient to God as we live free, it is essential that we fully understand our obligations in this area. I have shared an article below that clearly outlines the principle of tithing and its practice. I believe that "we can not out-give God," We should have that conversation with God concerning clarity on where to give and how much to give as we give cheerfully.
“The Truth About Tithing: Why Christians Should Not Tithe”
Originally posted on https://thinkingtheology.org/articles/the-truth-about-tithing-why-christians-should-not-tithe
The common view of giving in churches is that Christians should give a 10% tithe. This view is not the biblical teaching on giving for Christians under the new covenant. A better way to term Christian giving would be as a freewill offering. Many people have been locked into a legalistic tithing system where the amount they give is determined by the church. As we will see, God wants Christians to give freely, generously, and according to their means.
OLD TESTAMENT TITHING
The word ‘tithe’ literally means to give a tenth of something, either voluntarily or as a tax. The tithing prescriptions in the Mosaic law are sometimes used to teach that Christians should tithe. People also use the example of Abraham and Jacob to teach we have to give 10% of our income.
ABRAHAM AND JACOB
The instances where Abraham and Jacob gave 10% occur before the Mosaic law was given. People will argue this means Christians should follow their example because it happened outside of the law. Christians are not under the Mosaic law, so according to these people, the examples of Abraham and Jacob apply to us.
We find Abraham giving 10% to Melchizedek in Genesis 14:
After defeating several kings in a battle, Abraham (Abram at the time) was met by Melchizedek who blessed him. Abraham then gave Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils (Heb. 7:4). God did not command Abraham to give a tenth to Melchizedek. Abraham gave freely out of the spoils of war. This example of Abraham giving a tenth to Melchizedek is not prescriptive for Christians. We do not have to give 10% of our income based on this passage.
Jacob also gave 10% of what he received:
So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first. Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.” (GENESIS 28:18 – 22)
Again we see a voluntary giving of a tenth to God. The Lord did not command Jacob to give 10%. Jacob gave freely of what the Lord had given him. Both Abraham and Jacob were giving to worship and honour God for his provision and protection. They both gave freely without being directly commanded by God.
As both of these passages are narratives, we should not pull direct teaching from them without consulting the rest of Scripture. Abraham and Jacob are examples, not of a commanded tithe, but of freewill offerings to the Lord. The fact they both gave a tenth does not mean Christians must give a tenth.
THE MOSAIC LAW
Tithing was commanded of the Israelites by God. Many people think the Israelites gave a tenth, but in reality, they gave more. The actual amount the Israelites were required to give is about 23%! We don’t have time to go into all the related passages, but this article helps explain the actual amount the Israelites tithed.
So we can’t say that 10% is the biblical standard for giving because the Israelites gave more than this. And we must remember that Christians are not under the Mosaic law (although the moral law of God still applies to us), so we don’t have to follow any tithing requirements unless they are reiterated in the New Testament.
It is dangerous to teach that Christians must give a tenth because ‘that’s how the Israelites did it’. We can’t take certain laws from the Mosaic covenant and leave the rest behind. If someone wants to try and keep some of the laws of Moses, then they need to keep all of the laws (Gal. 3:10).
We should also note that freewill offerings were given by the Israelites. God had told Moses the Israelites should contribute to the construction of the tabernacle if their heart moved them (Ex. 25:1 – 9). It was a freewill offering of whatever amount they felt led to give:
All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the Lord had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the Lord. EXODUS 35:29
The Israelites brought a wide variety and amount of gifts to contribute to the construction of the tabernacle (Ex. 35:22 – 28). The ones who gave did so because their ‘heart stirred them’ and ‘their spirit moved them’ (Ex. 35:21). This shows us not everything the Israelites gave was a required tithe set by God. The argument that Christians should tithe a tenth because that was the Mosaic law’s prescription is unbiblical and should be rejected.
BRINGING THE TITHE INTO THE STOREHOUSE
Before we move onto the New Testament, we need to look at one last Old Testament passage:
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. MALACHI 3:8 – 10.
God is talking here to the Israelites, the ‘children of Jacob’ (Mal. 3:6 – 7). This passage shouldn’t be used to teach that Christians should tithe. It is true God blesses those who give generously (as we will see soon), but we shouldn’t try to apply this passage to Christians today. Context is vitally important when interpreting any biblical passage, and the context here is that God is speaking to Israel, not to new covenant Christians.
NEW TESTAMENT GIVING
Now we turn to the New Testament teaching about Christian giving. The first passage we will consider is in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians:
Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.— 1 CORINTHIANS 16:1 – 2.
Paul was collecting money from various churches to help provide for the Christians in Jerusalem who were facing famine (Acts 11:27 – 29; Rom. 15:25 – 26). In this passage, Paul gives two important principles for Christian giving. First, Christians are to give regularly. Paul instructed the Corinthians to ‘put something aside’ on ‘the first day of every week’. Christians shouldn’t give just when we feel generous, we should give regularly to God and the church.
Second, Christians should give according to their means. Paul told the Corinthians each one of them should give ‘as he may prosper’. This means giving out of what you have, not what you don’t have. It would be foolish for a Christian to take a loan to be able to give to the church. God doesn’t want Christian giving to turn into debt. Everyone should look at what they have, and give according to their means. The actual amount and percentage will differ between people as everyone has different financial situations.
We must remember though that our giving needs to be generous:
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.— 2 CORINTHIANS 8:1 – 5
The Macedonia churches not only gave ‘according to their means’ but also ‘beyond their means’. This doesn’t mean they gave out of what they didn’t have, but that they gave sacrificially. The Macedonians gave out of what they earned (even as they were in ‘extreme poverty’) but did so with a ‘wealth of generosity’. Christians need to be wise about giving according to their means, but we shouldn’t give a proportionally small and comfortable amount.
The city of Jerusalem
The actual amount Christians give differs between people, but in every case, it should be generous and sacrificial. God doesn’t want us to give a tidy little sum that is tiny compared to how much we save or spend. If we want to honour and worship God with our giving then we should give generously, even if that means we have less money to spend. Where our money goes shows where our hearts truly lie.
Paul also says the Macedonians gave ‘of their own accord’, and that they were begging to take part in the collection. Neither God nor Paul commanded the Macedonians to give a certain amount. The Macedonians gave freely and without obligation.
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.— 2 CORINTHIANS 9:6 – 8.
A Christian should never give an amount they have not decided on with God. We need to remember that God wants us to give cheerfully and generously, as we have decided in our hearts. Just as the hearts and spirits of the Israelites stirred them to give a freewill offering towards the tabernacle, so our giving should be a freewill offering to the Lord. A Christian should never let someone else tell them how much they should give, which is why compelling people to give 10% is unbiblical.
Giving sacrificially can be daunting at first as we consider whether we will have enough to live on. But Paul alleviates any fear by reminding us if we sow bountifully we will reap bountifully. And God will make ‘all grace abound’ to us so that we will have ‘all sufficiency in all things at all times’. We should take from this that God will provide for us, financially and spiritually. As we give generously and bountifully to the Lord, he will give generously back to us. We will never lack the material possessions and money we need, and God will grow us spiritually as well.
This generous blessing of God is not to make us rich but so we may ‘abound in every good work’. God gives to enable us to do good works and build his church. The financial and spiritual blessings we receive are not just for us, but for us to pass on to others. We can give of our finances to support others, and of our spiritual gifts to build the church.
Don’t let anyone lock you into a legalistic tithing system. Christians should not give 10% because their pastor said this is the required amount. If you want to give 10% to the Lord, that is great! But this giving needs to be free, generous, and according to your means. Decide between God and yourself how much you will give to your local church, other Christian organisations, and the people in your life. Giving to God becomes a joy when we do it free from compulsion or obligation. God wants us to give cheerfully and generously. Christian giving should be a freewill offering to the Lord that blesses ourselves and others.
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