What does God Say About Tithing?

Last week was time for another oil change; Jiffy Lube informed me I needed a new battery and

an air Filter. Since I have been preaching on God’s financial wisdom I have been in the saving

mode. So I figured I could easily install a car battery and an air filter in my truck. The battery

was slick as snot, fit right in there, hardest part was scraping off all the old corrosion. Now the

air filter became another story. The air filter is located in a hose off the carburetor, but the

hosehas no give. There is just no extra room, I get the filter out, I could not see how it was

put in. So I stuck the new filter in and was able to close the clamp assuming it since it fit it

was in right.

Then I became concerned when I could not get the truck to start. It would crank right up but

only run a second or two. So I called my old friend Vince, asked him if he could figure out

what I did to the truck. We first checked the fuses and then made sure I had not detached any

wire to the carburetor. Then he undid the air filter and discovered what I had done wrong,

I had put it in backward and had cut off all the air to the motor, so it would not run.

I have found in the area of finances when we put it in backward, we cut off all the air and our

relationship suffocates. Preaching on what the bible says about tithing is a tricky air filter. If we

apply it wrong we shut off air and become rigid. Also, if we ignore a dirty air filter, we get less

and less miles per gallon until things do not run right. So I think it is important we ask what the

bible says about tithing? Realize it is important to keep an open minds and open ears or the

air may shut off.

Some feel all the church asks about is money, they are right to be offended if that is true,

because that is a worldly attitude. Second, This preacher included, seldom talks about money,

because you don’t talk about money, religion and what? Numerous studies have put the

average Christians giving at about 2%, that should tell us something’s not running right.

I want you to keep you minds and open ears, so you get enough air. The point is not the

church needs your money. The point is not that you are commanded to give. The point is

not that God needs your money. The point is: For where your treasure is, there your

heart will be also.

Matthew 6:21 Over the years I have had many questions about tithing and giving,

I pray my angst will not drive you crazy. But my first question seems almost heretical. . .

1. Is Tithing Biblical?

Is Tithing Biblical? Tithing does appear in the Bible. So yes, tithing is biblical. But it is not

Christian. The tithe does appear and is practiced by the nation of Israel. The problem I

have is I ask too many questions. One question that has plagued me is; why is tithing not

mentioned in the New Testament?

The closest you come to is Matthew 23:23,24 which is an actual rebuke of the practice of

a legalistic tithe. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a

tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters

of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without

neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Notice to

Jesus justice, mercy and faithfulness are more important than tither. The truth is this verse

takes place while God’s people are still under the law, Jesus has not gone to the cross.

Christians are under a different covenant with God, called the New Testament. We must

remember with the death of Jesus, all ceremonial codes that belonged to the Jews were

nailed to the cross and buried to never rise again. This is what has bothered me and

where my questions come from; we never see Christians tithing in the New Testament,

Just as we don’t see them sacrificing goats and bulls to cover their sins.

This is tremendous freedom we have iin Christ; Old Testament legalistic practice has been

done away with, it no longer condemns us. But this scares me to death because it seems

Many in our day seem to be afflicted with that terrible disease known as Cirrhosis of the

Giver. This terrible malady renders the afflicted person’s hand incapable of moving from the

wallet to the offering plate. The only known cure is to remove the sufferer from the Lord’s

house, where the condition seems able to cure itself. This is seen in the fact that the

sufferer is more than willing and able to spend money at restaurants and in all sorts of

mindless trinkets. As I said earlier, the average giving for church attendees is about 2% .

I happen to think that percent is a reflection of how much we value God!

But Jesus in John 8:36 makes it clear: So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus came to put in a eternal promise that from now on man was to relate to God in a

relationship, not rules! But that is exactly the frightening part; as human beings without

rules we tend to be lazy and take advantage of others! So I believe guilt latent tithe become

the norm, because in the American Church we are very poor givers compared to the

blessings we have been given.

But time and time again in the New Testament it is made clear that Love not the law brings

God’s desired transformation.

In fact Paul makes clear in Galatians 5:3You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.

But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh[a]; rather, serve one another humbly in love.

Paul is telling us the freedom from rules, is not for selfish indulgence, but an opportunity to

serveone another in love.

As Christians it means we have a choice; we can continually operate in the law and

guilt people into giving. But Paul would tell us instead set people free by telling them, what

Jesus has done for them and others on the cross, and as peoples love for Jesus grow their

service to others will grow through their giving. I have decided as a leader by examining my

questions; I will present Old Testament tithes as a great example for us to follow from a

willing heart. I also am committed to the weightier matters of the law justice and mercy

fulfilled by Christ faithfulness on the Cross. We must motivate today to the giving to the

kingdom of God by lifting up what Jesus has done for us all. I am convinced our

Relationship to Christ and not the rules of old will motivate us to serve one another in

love by our generosity. I came to this conclusion by also asking. . .

2.What is the Tithe?

This is a very good question because I believe most Christians are clueless what the bible

says about tithing and giving. The word tithe simply means the tenth part or what we would

say is 10%.

Let’s begin in Leviticus 27: 30 Why do you not turn their. That is Leviticus 27:30 In this

chapter the Lord is commanding Israel to do certain things, he is conveying this to Moses

who goes on to teach this to Israel. Notices Verse 30 says: A tithe of everything from

the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is

holy to the Lord. So everything that was grown in Israel, the first 10% was given to

the Lord. But what was it used for?

Anyone? Let us turn to Numbers 18:21-24 where the Lord is telling what the offerings

are to be used for. Numbers 18:21 starts by saying: I give to the Levites all the tithes in

Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.

From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the

consequences of their sin and will die. 23 It is the Levites who are to do the work at the

tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it.

This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance

among the Israelites. 24 Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that

the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord. That is why I said concerning them:

‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”

So the crops of the land were tithed to support Israel’s National workers the Levites,

because they had not inheritance in Canaan. This maybe hard for you to add up but just put

10 down to add to later.

We will now turn to Deuteronomy 14:22; to study what is called the Festival tithe. The

passage is Deuteronomy 14:22 Part of the festival tithe was if you lived to far from the temple,

you could sale your goods and convert it to money to be put into a money box.

 Deuteronomy 14:22 says; Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each

year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and

flocks in the presence of the Lord your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for

his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place

is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lord your God and cannot carry your

tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away),

then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the

Lord your God will choose.

Use the silver to buy whatever you like: cattle, sheep, wine or other fermented drink, or

anything you wish. Then you and your household shall eat there in the presence of the

Lord your God and rejoice.

I want to point out that even in the Law God’s desire was a relationship that helped you

come into his presence so you could rejoice according to verse 26. Now for all the

mathematicians you still have the 10% in your head, now add this additional 10% and 10

plus 10 equals what? 20. Guess what we are not finished. Let’s skip down to verse verses

28 and 29 in Chapter 14: At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s

produce and store it in your towns, 29 so that the Levites (who have no allotment or

inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in

your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may

bless you in all the work of your hands.

Do you have a the 20% still in your head? Well according to this we have more

arithmetic to do-every three years Israel tithed an additional 10% to support the helpless!

So if we broke it down to one year over three it would be 3.3% each year, correct? So

the actual tithe Israel was to give the Lord was 23.3% annually.

Are you asking like me why? We are forgetting Israel was a Theocracy! A Theocracy is a

form of government in which official policy is governed by immediate divine guidance or

by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or is pursuant to the doctrine of a

particular religion or religious group.

Tithing was not only a religious practice it was Israel national tax policy. So if are going to

preach that we must tithe like they did in the Old Testament, we had better up the ante

and start asking for about 25% percent of everyone’s wealth.

This is always the danger of taking what God commanded in one covenant and trying

to make to work for God’s children living in another covenant! Just like an air filter put in

wrong, it cuts all the oxygen of God’s love off! This is not God’s design it is manmade

religion. First we do not live in a Theocracy, we live in a republic that demands it’s far share.

Second the laws tithe is not just 10% but closer to 25% We are not going to Canaan but to

heaven. Jesus came to establish a spiritual kingdom in the heart he rules in, not a physical

theocracy in the middle east! Lastly, it was an agrarian society and it was crops to be brought

in not dollar bills. I saw no one place a chicken in the offering. We do not have national

priesthood, although we do have preachers, teachers and missionaries to support. The tithe in

the law is an air filter installed the wrong direction cutting off the air of God’s love.

There is similarities between Israel’s tithing system and modern taxation methods in America.

The Jews supported their national workers the Levites thru the tither, just as government

workers are paid today. There was also national or religious events supported by the

tithe; the way national events or projects are supported today. Israel also had a national

welfare state even back then that helped the poor and destitute like widows, strangers

and aliens. If you think about it , most modern tax systems support the same things.

But those of us who love Jesus; do we want a tax on our love for him?

But this is not the only issue we should think about. Historically down thru the ages

as countries debt has increased, so has the rate of taxation. I would say Roger Miller

is about average U.S. tax payer: my income tax rate is about 15%, My social

security part is 7.5% and the Churches portion is 7.5%; so 7.5 plus 7.5 equals 15.

So 15 plus 15 equals what? 30% I want you to think about this for a second;

just income tax and Social security tax is one third of an American Workers pay.

At that rate I am certain we are not up for a 23% tithe to the church.

I want us to put on our thinking caps on for a second. Colorado’s state

income tax rate is 4.3 so we are not up to 35% tax rate. Studies estimate the

average American pays about 9% in sales tax so we are now up to 45% taxes.

Property tax about 2.5% okay 47.5. A half percent goes to pay for taxes for

gasoline and lastly all other taxes usually are hidden about 5%. So my calculations

are about 53%. http://www.nowandfutures.com/taxes.html estimates the average

American paid 54.5 in 2005 and 57.7%. We must wake up Taxes are not a political

issues for us they are a stewardship issue! Who would you rather spend your money

the local Church or Washington? Every dime the government gets, we have less

disposable income; less to be generous with! Right now we are 16 Trillion in Debt,

America has almost always had a national debt, but we have never been at the place

where the interest on our debt is the third highest expenditure in the federal budget.

So let me ask you based on where we are at; do you think our kids will pay more

or less tax than we do? Will they have more disposable income to give to causes

that honor God? A vote to reduce taxes and national debt; is a honor to God

and His kingdom. If you do not get it: I am telling you if you follow God

you should vote!

In 2011, about 49 percent of the population lived in a household where at least one member

received a direct benefit from the federal government. I know our money says we trust in

God; but the facts suggest we trust the government to care for us. The National Health care

initiative was a wake up call for me. If we trust in government to provide for our health care;

they not the individual will decide the ethics of our health care decisions. The Catholic

Church and other religious organizations find themselves being forced to provide

funding for abortions. Every entitlement we receive from God, the less trust we have

in God’s provision. Once again the nature of entitlements means as Christians we

must vote in a thoughtful way. Boy that sounds legalistic! But entitlements effect how

we walk with God, so we should vote. My mind came up with another question:

3. What Does the New Testament Say about Giving?

As a whole I think we as Christians have a poor attitude toward giving. Preachers are

afraid to preach about money and Parishioners think the offering makes pastors rich. It

reminds of the old joke. . . Two men have ended up marooned on an island in the South

Pacific. You can fill in the blanks as to how they got there.

So they are on the clichéic deserted island, one palm tree, nothing to see but the ocean. One

guy is in a complete panic, pacing back and forth, ranting about how they are going to die,

hungry and alone, that nobody will stumble on them until they are nothing but bones. The

other guy is sitting under the tree snoozing.

Finally the first man can't stand it anymore and he demands "What's wrong with you,

don't you understand the situation?"

To which the reply came "Sure I do, we are stranded on this island hundreds of miles

from anywhere"

"Well aren't you worried?"

"Nope" came the reply "I make $10,000.00 a week."

The first guy was at a complete loss, "What does that have to do with anything, you have

no access to the money and no place to spend it if you did."

To which the second guy replied "No you don't understand, I make $10,000.00 a week

and I tithe, my pastor will find me."

We must wake up-we do not give to pay the pastor, to keep the church building we

should give because we love Jesus and want to share him with others.

Planned ability

One of the clearest scriptures on New Testament giving is 1 Corinthians 16:1 Paul

is talking about an offering being given by the Macedonians to believers in Jerusalem.

Let’s look at this scripture: Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do

what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 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.

Notice in verse two the offering was totally an individual choice, Paul only asked that it would

be planned and in accordance to their wealth. Can I ask a question; if tithing was to be

carried over to New Testament practice would this not been the perfect place to

request it? What we need to underline though is giving was a weekly planned practice

based on one’s income.

To plan based on one’s income does that not seem to imply a percentage? That is why

I am going to contradict myself and say 10% is a good bull’s eye to aim for. 10% is

a percentage with  a little sacrifice we can all afford. Bob Russell in one of his greatest

stewardship sermons gave the illustration that if American Christians Tithed we could

end welfare and hunger as we know it. Bottom line, sacrificial giving in the church can

and will change a society! In our love for Jesus this is a good reason to be generous.

But what I will not do is to live under condemnation, guilt and self-flagellation; when I miss the

mark of 10%. Romans 8:1 says Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in

Christ Jesus. How many have gone into their accountants to pay their taxes and thought

they had tithed, finding they fell short? Did you go home beating yourself up, because

you fell short? Do you legalistically fear financial disaster would befall you at inability

to meet a percentage? I refuse to do that. As one who has been set free I will be

generous to a fault, but I will not let guilt motivate my giving. Love from now on will be

my motivation. I believe Jesus has given me much, so I believe I need to give much but

not out of obligation. So if you have missed this: listen I want you to give generously,

but with the motivation you love Jesus and others.

Sacrificial

Some may fear the biblical teaching on tithing, because if there is no percentage some

will give nothing.

That may be true; but if someone makes this response one is denying Jesus Lordship

in a very important area of their life. New Testament Christians example is the exact

opposite; freed from Old Testament Law they were generous beyond the word sacrificial.

The scary freedom we have in Jesus, simply commanded the New Testament believers to

give according to their ability. Christians in the early church gave to help starving Christians,

to support apostles in their work, enabling them to travel and plant churches. One of the

most winsome parts of the early church was how they sacrificed for the poor and needy.

For example philosopher Galen wrote. Behold how they love one another. They loved

and sacrificed for others so much they are the ones who invented orphanages and hospitals.

Best example of this is Acts 2:45 which states; They sold property and possessions to give to

anyone who had need. I think we can all agree signing away a house or property is sacrificial.

So I see the early churches example is that this new found freedom in Christ gave

motivation to sacrifice for other people’s needs! By the way most people do not carry

the deed to their house to the church. But I am certain the Trustees John, Thirston and

Robbie would be willing to wait for you to go home and get the deed to your property,

so you could sign it over! Acts 5 is very enlightening Ananias and Saphiras gave property

and laid it at the apostles feet. The problem was their motivation was to appear holier to

others than they were, not because they loved Jesus! Peter makes clear they were under

no obligation to give, but they were to be truthful. Since they lied to man and god about

the price of the property; they died on the spot. Seems to me this was a gift better not given!

It also tells me not only is New Testament giving sacrificial, it is to be a sacrifice for the

right reasons. And appearances are not one of the valid reasons for giving.

Joyful

New Testament giving is to be Joyful. If you remember this is an attitude that ties both

the law and grace together. Deuteronomy 14 they gave to support the Lord’s holy days;

but it closes by saying the purpose was so they could sit in the presence of the lord and

rejoice. Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:7 says 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.

How do we know as believers if our giving is honoring God; one sure sign is that we

will have joy in the gifts we give!

Over 10 years ago I met a young man through family friends; his name is Garret. I

had lost track of him over the years; when Ashley went to York college we were

reintroduced.

Part of the education at York was to have him take a couple of mission trips.

He sent me a letter asking for support for both trips. I sent a donation both times;

with a smile. Why? Because it gave me joyful satisfaction that on the mission field I

might be sharing with him the love of Jesus. It gave me delight that just maybe

someone he ministered to might come to Jesus!

I think that is why Paul writes in Acts 20:35: It is more blessed to give than receive.

Just think about how you felt at some time when you sacrificially gave a gift to someone

who did not expect it and the delight they showed when they saw your gift. You can’t

tell me you did not have joy in your heart.

That’s the picture of NT giving in Joy; we sacrificially give to see the delight on our

Fathers face.

Conclusion: In whom do we trust?

As we have learned, tithing is Biblical; it is not for Christians under the New Covenant.

Jesus did not teach it to His disciples. The first century Christians did not observe it,

in fact it was not practiced until the time of Constantine. Yet they gave so sacrificially

the gospel was carried to the known world and the Kingdom of God grew daily.

Truth be known most New Testament Christians probably gave more than 10%.

The found Joy in the fact that we are all priests now-free in Christ to be a part of God’s

family! The, Law, the priesthood, and tithe have been nailed to the cross! There is now

no temple, temple curtain or temple tax. There is not even a special priesthood that stands

between God and man.

You and I in Christ have been set free from the bondage of tithing and every

unbiblical practice. May you to be as generous as Jesus and as wise as Paul. May you

become like the Corinthians who gave freely out of a Joyful heart, without one shred of

guilt, obligation or manipulation to help those who were in need!

Bottom line our finances and giving are important because They reveal who we put our trust

in. So, Give today, but give freely, in a planned manner, sacrificially so you may experience

the joy of God’s love being shared.

If you have not given your life over to God’s love, would you come up front so I may share

God’s love with you!