Must We Tithe Today?

First, let us get an understanding of what tithing is and means. The word "tithe" means to give a tenth, and that tenth would be applied to one's material wealth. We read about tithing early in the Bible; where Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils he had taken in war to the priestly king, Melchizedek, (Genesis 14:20; Hebrews 7:4). In another instance, after seeing a vision of angels and receiving a blessing from God, Jacob promised that he would give back to God a tenth of all that the Lord would give to him (Genesis 28:22). In these examples we see that the givers were not prompted or commanded by God to do so, and we have no recorded command from God to tithe during this early period of history.

Later in history, tithing became part of the laws God gave to Israel. Moses wrote: "And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's. It is holy to the Lord....And concerning the tithe of the herd or the flock, of whatever passes under the rod, the tenth one shall be holy to the Lord." (Leviticus 27:30,32). Elsewhere in Scripture, (Numbers 18:21), we learn that this tithe was for the Levites. So, this tithing was used to service the priestly activities, housing, food, and basic needs; along with taking care of: the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow. Moses also instructed Israel on how and when to lay out the tithes for it to be gathered (Deuteronomy 14:22,23,27,28).

God made it very clear that it was a serious offense for Israel to neglect tithing. The prophet, Malachi expressed God's displeasure with Israel for not tithing when he said, "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the Lord of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3: 8-10).

Okay, so here is where we start looking at the requirements for the church of this present day. Understand that the law of Moses, the law that commanded Israel to tithe, was 1) given only to Israel (Leviticus 27:34), and 2) that Jesus "blotted out" the law of Moses which contained the commandment to tithe, "nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14). Today, God speaks not just to Israel, but to everyone through Christ and the New Testament (Hebrews 1:1,2; 2:2,3). Israel is no longer God's chosen people, but the church which is made up of Jews and Gentiles is God's chosen people (Ephesians 2:11-16). In the New Testament God has required neither those out of the church nor those in the church to tithe. There is no New Testament commandment requiring man to give a tenth to God, but here is a request that we do give to the church.

Although the New Testament does not teach us to "tithe", this does not mean that the Lord does not want us to give to Him today. The New Testament teaches that we should give out of our means, but it does not specify a certain percentage such as a tenth. In 1 Corinthians 16 Paul instructs the church in putting together a collection for the saints, which was used for churches that they might carry on the Lord's work of preaching the gospel and helping needy saints (in our present day, missions), and we find this in 2 Corinthians 11:8; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2. Here is what God wants us to do regarding giving: "On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside storing up as he may prosper that there be no collections when I come." (1 Corinthians 16:2), and "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7). Today, God requires that we give as we have prospered and out of love for Him and for His cause.

So, the answer to our question is: no, we do not tithe, but we give. There is no percentage applied to your giving, but all that is required is that it comes from the heart and it does not necessarily mean material things; it can be your time given to the service of the Lord and any other thing that benefits God's people. The story of "The Widow's Mites", which some will call "The Widows Two Pennies" in Mark 12:41-44 and that of the church's abundance in giving in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 should be all the example we need to give back to God some of what He has given to us.