Are Christians Commanded to Tithe?

Where your treasure is that’s where your heart will be also. -Jesus

There are often debates surrounding this question. Some say that tithing was only for Old Testament Israel. Some say that the mandate is still in effect for the New Testament Church.

So, which is it? Well, I’m not going to answer that question. You should prayerfully study the scriptures and be obedient to the Holy Spirit’s conviction.

But I am going to ask you, the reader, to reflect on a few questions.

1. What is the heart of the person asking this question? In Proverbs we read, “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit” (16:2 and 21:2). Are we asking to find a loophole to be disobedient? Perhaps they are asking because they don’t want to give 10%. But the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. So maybe we should ask not what we are commanded to do, but be joyful of what we get to do.

2. Isn’t everything you have God’s? He provides us our money, our food, our time, our talents, our gifts. Therefore, whatever we give back to God, He only allowed us to have in the first place. It’s not 10% of what we’ve earned, it’s 10% of what God made us stewards of. Everything was created by God, so everything that exists is His. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters,” Psalm 24:1-2. And Paul reminded Timothy that we brought nothing into this world and we can’t take anything out (1 Timothy 6:7).

3. What would give God more glory, more or less of your earnings? Whatever gives God the glory also blesses the believer. Wouldn’t God get more glory with more of your time and possessions? If the Christian isn’t mandated to give 10%, God would still bless those that gave more of what they have. Scripture tells us that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:6). David Guzik states, “A farmer sowing seed may feel he loses seed as it falls from his hand to the ground, and we may feel we are losing when we give. But just as the farmer gives the seed in anticipation of a future harvest, we should give with the same heart.” In the New Testament, Jesus said of the widow who gave only a couple coins into the temple treasury, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” This principle of giving is an echo of the widow in the Old Testament who gave her last bit of food to Elijah. Both widows gave all they had and were blessed as the result.

Are you willing to give 10% if God has commanded it? Are you willing to give it all to Him if He asks of it?

Like I stated, the purpose of this blog was not to be another arguing point for the tithing debate. But it’s purpose is for us to take a look at ourselves and our hearts behind our giving and not to be so black and white on the amount that we give. So, while I’ll leave the tithe debate up to others, I do believe these points I brought up are worth considering. All things considered, the Kingdom of God advances when the people of God give of their resources and time. What has God placed in your care that could be used? How are you making yourself available?

Further reading on giving: Deuteronomy 15:10-11, 16:17; 1 Kings 17:7-23, 1 Chronicles 29:6-17, Proverbs 3:9-10, 11:24-25, 21:26; Malachi 3:10, Luke 3:11, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, James 2:15-16

Derrick Stokes
Theologetics.org