Whenever a preacher or someone comes to the pulpit pounding on Malachi, Leviticus, first fruits, or storehouse tithing, it bothers me. They insist that believers are still held to the standard of tithing, and their sermons sound more like prosperity teaching. We still hear some preachers make a big issue of tithing, trying to tell the members to bring the first 10% of every paycheck to the church. Some further go into the detail and say we should tithe on our tax returns as well. There are many different claims regarding tithing. Some talk about “the holy tithe”, “God’s share”, “putting God first”, “not robbing God”, and so on. And every passage that they use in support of tithing is from the Old Covenant.

Those who tithe are often acting in obedience to what they believe God has commanded. However, it is when one teaches it as a doctrine that God will not bless those who fail to tithe which is the problem. Many people give because of fear, or in return for a favor from God. Does the Old Testament model of tithing still apply to Christians today? While the Bible commands Christians to be good stewards of their money for the sake of the kingdom of God, is tithing commanded for Christians?

Here are 07 Reasons why tithing is NOT God’s standard for Christians.

  1. Tithing was a part of the Law of Moses; believers are not under the law.
    The tithe was a tenth part of the Promised Land’s agricultural produce. In the days of Joshua, when the Israelites entered the Promised Land, that land was divided between the twelve tribes of Israel. The tribe of Levi was not given as much agricultural land as the other tribes. The Levites received only smaller lots around towns. To compensate for this, they were given a right to a part of the other tribes’ agricultural produce in the land of Israel. This had a connection with the tithe system. Leviticus 27:30-33 is the first passage where the bible contains the word “tithe” in the singular form. When the Israelites were in the wilderness, they did not tithe. It began after they entered the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 12). It is not clear what applied to those Israelites who settled east of the river Jordan, outside the actual Promised Land.
  2. Tithing was an involuntary tax to support Israel; believers were not a part of the theocratic nation.
    Israel was established to be a Theocracy (God as King). In the Old Testament, there was both required and voluntary giving. The tithe was required. It was commended for every Israelite to fund national worship and help the poor. In actuality, there was not just one tithe, but rather two or three ([1] Lev. 27:30-33, Num. 18:20-21; [2] Deut. 12:17-18; [3] Deut. 14:28-29), so that the total was not 10 percent, but more like 22 percent, or even more. (Ref. Charles Ryrie, Balancing the Christian Life [Moody Press], p. 86). Thus if we are required to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse today, we had better up the percentage from 10 to 22+ percent!
  3. The New Testament knows nothing of “Christian TITHING”, although much is said about giving.
    The New Testament nowhere commands, or even recommends, that Christians submit to a legalistic tithe system. This is not a gray area. There is no Scriptural proof that such law or custom as Christian tithing was taught or practiced in the Church by the early apostles. Gentile converts were never taught to tithe to anyone. Yet, what is one of the very first legislated duties taught to Gentile converts by the Church today? It is that they must tithe their annual salaries to the Church. Of the 613 laws contained in the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, why is it that aside from the Ten Commandments, “tithing” is virtually the only other law that the modern Church tries to retain?
  4. Tithing is not mentioned in any writings of the early church fathers.
    By itself, this is not decisive, but it lends weight to the biblical arguments. If the early church practiced tithing, then the concept should surface somewhere in the writings of the church fathers of the second and third centuries. But it does not, even though giving was an important part of early Christian worship (Ref. New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, G. F. Hawthorne, pp. 854-855).
  5. Tithing puts the wrong emphasis upon giving.
    Tithing emphasizes your obligation to God; New Testament giving, as we shall see, emphasizes your willing, loving response to God’s grace. Furthermore, tithing limits giving by making a person feel that he has paid his dues and thus nothing more is required, when, in fact, much more could be done. Tithing tends to put a person on a legal basis with God, rather than a love relationship. It’s the wrong emphasis.
  6. Tithing leads to a false concept of stewardship.
    It leads to the notion that 10 percent is God’s money and 90 percent is my money. In reality, 100 percent is God’s money, and He may want me to channel 90 percent into His work and live on 10 percent.
  7. Tithing is burdensome for some and too easy for others.
    If a man with a family of five makes $20,000 a year and tithes, he has $18,000 (apart from taxes) to support five people. If a childless couple makes $200,000 a year and tithes, they have $180,000 (apart from taxes) to support two people. That would be burdensome to the man with five mouths to feed, but ridiculously easy for the couple.

Tithing under the Mosaic Covenant

  1. MONEY was never a tithable commodity.
  2. There were only two kinds of professions required to tithe -Farmers and husbandmen (shepherds and cattle herders)
  3. It was farmers who were required to tithe, not consumers.
  4. Products from “trees” were to be tithed. This included the fruit, oils, etc.
  5. Craftsmen, tradesmen, and cobblers did not tithe.
  6. Wage workers (servants who worked in the fields) did not tithe.
  7. Potters or women who made garments did not tithe.
  8. Fishermen were not required to tithe fish.
  9. No tithes on stone, gravel, mining products.
  10. Carpenters did not tithe (Jesus did not tithe because he was a carpenter).
  11. Only Levite priests could collect tithes at the Temple, and there are neither Levite priests nor the Temple today.
  12. It was not the first tenth, it was the tenth tenth that belongs to the lord. So teachings about giving the first tenth is an un-biblical human-invented rule. If a herdsman had but nine cattle, he didn’t tithe his cattle at all!
  13. God did not even require the best of the cattle, just the tenth one to pass under the rod even if it was the smallest of them all. Remember, we are talking about tithing and not sacrificing (animals for sacrifice always had to be without blemish).
  14. Not only the Priests but also everyone was partakers of these tithes and offerings (Rejoicing and eating one’s tithe before the Lord) Deut. 12:6, 7, 11, 12, 17, 18
  15. The poor who had no harvest or flocks didn’t tithe. They were able to glean the corners of the field of those who were more prosperous.
  16. Abraham never tithed on his personal property or livestock. He gave tithe Only once to Melchizedek from his spoils of war (Hebrew 7:4).
  17. Jacob wouldn’t tithe until God blessed him first (Genesis 28:20-22). How did God acknowledge the tithe from Jacob? By partaking of a portion of himself and his family in communion and thanksgiving to God, and by sharing his fortune with those who were unfortunate, poor, and strangers – Deut. 12:5-7, Deut. 14:29

So, what’s the standard for Christian giving?

Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare that “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor.9:7). Why was not Paul inspired by the Holy Spirit to declare that, “God loves a cheerful tithe-payer?” In fact, why does not Paul mention the word tithe in any of His thirteen epistles -not once? Why does not Peter, James, John, or Jude mention tithing in any of their epistles?

The standard for today’s giving is found in 2 Corinthians 9:7, and it is the basis of what is commanded of a Christian disciple: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Here you have 03 commands for Christian giving:

  1. God commands generosity
  2. God commands cheerful generosity
  3. God commands generosity, the amount determined by the individual giver in His heart

What should be the motivation behind Christian giving? “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (2 Cor. 8:9). Our generosity is motivated by God’s radical generosity. Christ gave His life. So we too are motivated towards radical generosity.

  1. God didn’t send a fraction of grace and peace to earth from His house. He sent the FULL Christ as COMPLETE atonement for our sins.
  2. God didn’t send a percentage of Christ so that He would pay 90% of our debts and we would pay the rest.
  3. We are already bought and paid for in FULL by Christ Jesus.
  4. We are now to live on a standard far above what we ever knew before Christ called us to become new creatures in the spirit.

God is not after our wallets, he is after our hearts. If God truly has your heart, he has your wallet! “A faith that hasn’t reached your wallet probably hasn’t reached your heart” (Adrian Rogers). God delights in our giving with cheerfulness a carefree attitude of trust in Him and His provision. Generosity with our time, talents, and treasure are ways we can exercise our faith. Authentic generosity can always be traced back to our awareness of what He has done for us.