The Truth About Tithing

If you go to church you may know what “passing the plate” means or maybe you’ve heard the word tithing used when it comes to giving money to your church. You may have been told that what you give is tied to the blessings you get. That is a lie.

You do not have to give money to know God, be a Christian, go to church or heaven, or be blessed. 

The confusion comes from mixing the instructions God gave to men over the course of time; what the Bible calls a dispensation. A period of time that God dispensed specific information for a specific purpose.

Early in my life as a Christian I was encouraged to do goofy things like randomly opening my bible, putting my finger down somewhere on the page and reading that exact verse to help me understand my life and how God wanted me to live. It’s ridiculous and superstitious. God says to study not poke your finger around in the bible.

All that to say, it matters what and where you read in the Bible. Not everything is to you, some things are just for you. Big difference.

Context is everything. You cannot just rip a verse from the word of God and put it on yourself or others. Tithing is an example of that very problem. 

Malachi 3:8-10 are frequently quoted verses when Pastors teach on giving money to the church.
8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

The problem with this passage is that it is not to Christians today. Notice a few things about this passage. If you are going to apply part of it you need to apply all of it.

Tithes is connected to Offerings. You can read though what is called the Old Testament and find that Noah, Moses, Aaron and the children of Israel all made various offerings to God. Burnt offerings and Peace Offerings made on an alter. If you are being taught to tithe you need to break out the alter and learn to offer sacrifices to God too. Do not spiritualize this. These Old Testament passages tell us offerings were a very real and regular part of an Israelites life. If they didn’t tithe and make offerings what would happen? Read on.

You would be cursed. Does that sound right? Does God curse us for not giving money to the church? Look around, people who don’t even believe in God are blessed, making money, starting families, they have successful businesses and live healthy lives and never consider giving God money. 

Romans 8:1 says There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. 

God is not cursing Christians today regardless of what you give or don’t give.

So if God isn’t talking to Christians in Malachi 3, who is he talking to? Read the next line, “even this whole nation.” God is talking to a nation, not an individual or a random group of people. He is talking to the nation Israel. Those verses on offerings and sacrifices make that completely clear. 

Tithes is plural. There was more than one tithe. The word tithe means 10% or one tenth. (Leviticus 27:32)  The nation Israel was not only to give of its money but also the seed of the land, and fruit of the tree, and the herd, corn, oil, wine. (Leviticus 27, Numbers 18:26)

You could study tithing for years and not learn everything about it, this is my no means an exhaustive understanding of God’s system of tithing with Israel, but the point is tithing was specifically given to Israel during Old Testament times - not to Christians today.

So if we aren’t suppose to tithe what are we suppose to do when it comes to supporting the church or local ministry?

Excellent question!

In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul tells the Corinthians 

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

Whatever you put your time, money and effort into is where you will reap the greatest return. That is a simple truth. But you can see that God’s word to Christians today is to purpose in your own heart what to give and then give cheerfully. You have God’s grace and that is sufficient, enough, to do good things. You don’t have to do good things, or give to get God’s grace. He already gave it to you. Your giving is in response to that gift.

You as a Christian are not required by God to give a certain amount of money in order to garner blessings. Israel was under the law and required to follow those laws in order to receive blessings or avoid curses. You are privileged, as a Christian, to get to share in God’s work, helping others while you are here on earth, but you are not obligated..

If you hear a pastor telling you tithing is part of a Christian’s life today, he is lying. Willfully or not, that is not true.