Christians are free from the burden of obeying the Law of Moses in its entirety. The life and death of Christ satisfied God’s requirements of the Law. Christ fully obeyed it by living a sinless life, bore the curse of it in his death and rose to life to proclaim justification for all who believe in the sufficiency of His sacrifice. Therefore Christians today do not observe the Sabbath and the other Holy Days, perform ritual animal sacrifices, follow the food restrictions, circumcision or any of the other 600+ commands of the Law of Moses – including tithing. These all ended when the Temple veil was torn as Christ was crucified. We are free! Free from the curse of sin and the burden of the law. Free to share God’s love using all of our resources by humbly demonstrating the Gospel in every aspect of our lives. We are free to believe and live as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. What a glorious truth!
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So why do so many churches teach and recommend the practice of tithing? Spreading the Gospel, making disciples, showing generosity and caring for those in need are ideal habits for Christians. Church members often times combine their resources and implement ministries that perform these acts in the name of Christ. This strategy requires money, administration and organizational hierarchies to accomplish their objectives. Most churches only recieve a small percentage of the earnings of their membership on average. Since the Bible speaks of tithing in various places, churches are tempted to recommend the practice. If they did actually receive 10% of the income of their membership, that would be a huge increase of revenue for their ministries and overhead.
The fact is that churches are wrong to recommend tithing based on the Biblical references to it. Christians know that 100% of what they have belongs to the Lord and we merely use what we need to meet our personal needs as we serve the Lord with our lives. We are stewards of God’s provisions in our care. While we work, eat, relax or engage in social activities and obligations, we should honor God with everything we do, every dollar we spend and every word we say.
The New Testament recommends things that are very different than the tithing practices of Israel. The tithing of the Old Testament was a required obligation to support the social, political and religious affairs of the Holy Nation of Israel. The New Testament sheds light on the idea of Christian Stewardship. We are instructed to give cheerfully, discreetly, systematically, sacrificially, and completely.
Giving Cheerfully
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written [in Psalm 112:9]:
‘They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.’
“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
2 Corinthians 9:6-11
Giving Discreetly
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.“
“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”
Matthew 6:1-4
Giving Systematically
“Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. “
1 Corinthians 16:1-2
Giving Sacrificially
“Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
“Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, ‘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.’”
Mark 12:41-44
“Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.”
Luke 12:33
“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
1 Timothy 6:17-19
Giving Completely
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
1 Timothy 6:6-8
“Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?'”
Matthew 16:24-26
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship…
“If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully…
“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Romans 12
Summary on Christian Stewardship
For Christians who are fully yielded to God’s will for our lives, the concept of tithing is not a match to our calling. For how can we pray that a missionary’s needs will be met when we have accumulated wealth that will meet those needs. How can we say we love and care for the poor when we have the resources available to feed, clothe and support them yet they remain in need. How can we manage our money in a way that honors the Lord? We must become faithful stewards and find a balance between prayerfully deciding what needs of our own should be met while generously giving away the rest with cheerful hearts. Our freedom to give extends beyond the local church to needy family, friends, strangers, ministries and more.
If a Christian feels led to give a 10% tithe to their local church with a good heart, the Lord will be pleased with that gift. If another Christian chooses to give less or more, percentage based or not, they are free to do so with the Lord’s blessing as well. “If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have (2 Corinthians 8:12). “
Whatever you decide, be sure your heart is in the right place and don’t let selfishness, fear or pride influence your decision. Give confidently and with love. Follow the New Testament’s instructions to give cheerfully, discreetly, systematically, sacrificially, and completely.
Additional Passages to Ponder
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Matthew 6:24
“In everything I [The Apostle Paul] did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
Acts 20:35
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said [in Deuteronomy 31:6] , ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'”
Hebrews 13:5
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Matthew 6:21
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
All Scripture quoted from:
New International Version (NIV)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
