Must Christians Tithe?

Christians often react without thinking whenever someone questions the practice of tithing. It's assumed that the motivation to question it could only come from a desire to be stingy with money. But we read in Acts 17:11 that it's honorable to compare people's claims to scripture. Truth fears no examination, so there should be no objection to studying the matter. Scripture never states that a Christian who doesn't tithe isn't honoring God; in fact, nothing at all is said to Christians about tithing.

What is the tithe (10%)?

There were three tithes in the Old Testament that totaled 23⅓% annually, as seen in Num. 18:24 and Deut. 14:22-29:

1. the Levitical tithe for the priests who had no land
2. the Festival tithe for a great national party
3. the Poor tithe for supporting the needy

All tithes were of food (not cash), specifically the best food of Israel. More importantly, tithes were always on increase, meaning profit, which was from the yield of crops and herds. They were never on wages earned, which are debts owed to workers (Rom. 4:4).

Who was commanded to tithe?

The nation of Israel. Tithing was part of the 613 laws of Moses, which were a conditional, bilateral contract between God and Israel alone. Heb. 7:11-17, esp. v. 12, indicates that "with a change of priesthood comes a change of law". The Levitical priesthood was bound to the laws of Moses, but Jesus is the permanent high priest in the order of Melchizedek from the tribe of Judah. Since the priesthood has changed, then Christians cannot be obligated to obey any part of the laws of Moses. There is nothing in the NT to indicate that everything in the laws of Moses that wasn't expressly ended must continue by default to apply to the church, which was never a party to that covenant.

No one before Israel existed was commanded to tithe, and there's no indication that anyone practiced it habitually. But what about Gen. 14:17-20, Malachi 3:9-10, and Mat. 23:23? Abraham tithed once to a priest (Melchizedek), on the spoils of war, not as a regular habit or on everything he owned. Malachi presents a scathing denunciation by God against the people of Israel for breaking the terms of their covenant. And what "storehouse" did Abraham bring the tithe to, since there was no temple and no Levitical priesthood? In Mat. 23, Jesus was speaking to Jews under the laws of Moses. Context is everything.

There is simply no command given to the church for this, which is why any and all arguments for Christian tithing come from the Old Testament. Historically, tithing for Christians didn't begin until late in the 8th century. In Rom. 6:14, 1 Cor. 16:2,8, 2 Cor. 8:12-15, 2 Cor. 9:6-7, and Col. 3:17, we see that Christians are not under the law but under grace, the church is not the storehouse, the preachers are not the priests, we're already supporting the poor (at the very least by government taxes), and it's impossible to "give without compulsion" when we're being pressured to tithe on every little bit of cash we work for. Certainly we are to be generous and compassionate, but demanding 10% of a person's earned wages is unbiblical in either Testament.

What does the NT teach about giving?

In Rom. 6:14, 1 Cor. 16:2,8, 2 Cor. 8:12-15, 2 Cor. 9:6-7, and Col. 3:17, we see that Christians are not under the law but under grace, the church is not the storehouse, the preachers are not the priests, we’re already supporting the poor (at the very least by government taxes), and it’s impossible to give without compulsion when we’re being pressured to tithe on every little bit of cash we work for. Certainly we are to be generous and compassionate, but demanding 10% of a person's earned wages is unbiblical in either Testament.

The demand for a tithe is shown to be hardest on the poor. Would we expect a poor family to choose between “honoring God” and starving? If we grant an exception, then this isn't a law. Since poor Israelites received support from others' tithes, were they to tithe on what they received? Is this our compassionate God or a tax bureau?

Giving is not investing. Giving expects nothing back (Luke 6:34), but investing says "God will either give or withhold blessings depending on how much money I give to the church." Demanding that Christians invest is like demanding that every citizen must purchase health insurance. ;-)

What about testimonies? We've all heard testimonies from people who tithed and were blessed. But again, that's investing, because we're paying to get something in return. Do we really think God withholds blessings because we didn't fork over 10% of our gross pay? Giving must be free and voluntary, from the heart and not the calculator. The principle behind it all is in Col. 3:17: Whatever we do, it should be with pure motives, to honor God. And we dare not think that we can dishonor God in other areas of our lives as long as we tithe.

Now we need to clarify a passage that's frequently mistranslated: 1 Cor. 16:2. The Greek phrase there is not "the first day of every week" but "the First of Sabbaths" (see here). This referred to the first Sunday in the Feast of Weeks, as indicated in verse 8 when the last Sunday, Pentecost, is mentioned. It was a one-time collection for the people suffering famine in Jerusalem, not a regular skimming of everyone's salary or wages.

Conclusion

Christian giving is very simple: Love people, and your actions will follow. If you love people, you won't need anyone to tell you to help them in whatever way you can. But churches try to substitute guilt for the Holy Spirit, and the emphasis is always on money, without regard for whether it's income or increase. If someone gives many hours of their time, the churches ignore this and still demand cash. But if the people aren't giving generously and willingly, the sermon they need to hear is not Levitical law but how love must be put into action. Heavy-handed pressure shows distrust in the Holy Spirit.

We often say that our faith is not a religion but a relationship. Yet by our actions we say that it is indeed a religion. We ignore Gal. 4:10-11 and Col. 2:16-17 which specifically reject any sort of liturgical calendar or religious rites, we put up buildings with a "sanctuary" and altar (?!), and we usually require memberships for believers, who are already part of the Body of Christ by virtue of faith in the risen Jesus. The tune and the lyrics need to match.