"You Will Be Blessed Because You Tithe" - One of the 52 Lies Heard In Church Every Sunday

This is one of the chapters from my book, 52 Lies Heard in Church Every Sunday. I'm asked about this subject often so I decided to go ahead and post it here. (The book will be released by Harvest House Publishers in January, 2011)

Here’s a serious hot potato! There are few more guaranteed ways to get people upset than to talk about their money. Even questioning the validity of tithing can get you into trouble in a hurry. But you and I are interested in truth as it is taught in God’s Word, and we can’t be afraid to question anything people say or do. Because of the sensitivity and confusion about this issue, I’m going to take more space and time to answer it.

Tithing is taught in churches all over the world. It is almost taken for granted as truth, which is one of the reasons why people react so strongly when it is challenged. I’m sure most pastors teach it because they sincerely believe that’s what the Bible teaches. But I also think we’d be less than honest if we didn’t acknowledge that we Christian leaders have a vested interest in interpreting the Bible that way. Our need for money to support the work of ministry is a constant reality and can be a daily concern. Most of us went into the ministry to preach and teach God’s Word and to serve in the advancement of His kingdom. Raising funds is, for most of us, a necessary but distasteful duty we often think we have to perform. So anything that makes it easier to do can be really tempting. I read once that when a person’s income depends on him not seeing something, it will be very hard for him to see it.

I’m not saying anybody is being intellectually dishonest or has ulterior motives in what they teach. I’m just saying that we all look at the Bible through our own lenses, and there’s sometimes a reason why we tend to see Scripture in certain ways. Certainly when it comes to the matter of what’s called “storehouse tithing” — tithing to the local church — there’s reason to question our own motives and thinking to be sure that our viewpoint isn’t influenced by our circumstances.

Let’s make sure we know what the issue is. The word “tithe” means a tenth of something. Therefore it would be redundant to say, “I tithe ten percent.” The real issue is not whether people will benefit from giving a tenth of their income away in ministry, or if it is a meaningful practice for them. The question is whether or not we have to. The teaching I’m challenging is whether God commands believers to tithe. If He does, then those who don’t tithe are living in disobedience to God.

Where tithing is taught as a command, this is the passage almost always used in support:

Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test 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 a blessing until it overflows. Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,” says the LORD of hosts. “All the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says the LORD of hosts (Malachi 3:8-12).

The context is God rebuking the nation of Israel for her unfaithfulness to the Old Covenant. The Lord spoke this message through Malachi, one of the last Old Testament prophets, around 400 B.C.

Let’s take a moment to recall how Israel was to live. God separated one tribe, Levi, out of the nation to serve as priests and teachers of the people. From the Levites came the line of High Priests who descended from Aaron. They were responsible for the formal worship at the Tabernacle and Temple. Unlike the other tribes, all of whom received a portion of the land, the Levites were distributed in cities throughout the nation, and were forbidden to work as the others did, such as farming. How were the continuous worship system and Levites to be supported? It was through the tithes of the rest of the people.

That’s why the Law of Moses commands the Israelites to bring tithes of all their blessings to “the storehouse.” The storehouses were literally places to receive the people’s tithes of grain, fruit, wine, sheep, cattle, and so on, for distribution to the Levites and priests — to support the worship and sacrifices at the Sanctuary and for the support of the priests and Levitical families. It was a very practical system. But get this clearly: This was a feature of the Law of Moses, the Old Covenant. And notice, there was nothing voluntary about it. The tithe for Old Testament Israel was no more optional than what you or I must give to the Internal Revenue Service when we pay our taxes. The tithe from Israel was mandatory, not an option.

As we have seen so many times in this book, we do not live under the Law. We live in the age of the New Covenant, and the New Testament after the cross and resurrection is where we learn principles of living that apply directly to us.

I know somebody is going to say, “Now wait a minute, Steve! You’re saying tithing is Old Covenant, but they tithed even before the law was given.” Well, that’s true. Tithing was fairly common in the ancient world for the support of one’s religion and to recognize one’s sovereign. There is a well-known example of Abraham giving a tithe to the priest-king Melchizedek following his military victory in Genesis 14:17-20. This is how some teachers argue that, since this was before the Law of Moses, the principle continues after the Law of Moses.

But may I point out a few things? They also sacrificed animals before the Law was given. I don’t hear anybody at church on Sunday insisting that we ought to be sacrificing animals today. God gave Abraham the practice of circumcision centuries before the Law, but I don’t hear preachers demanding that today. Also before the Law were the practices of polygamy and Levirite marriage (where a surviving brother must marry his dead brother’s wife). So the fact that something was practiced before the Law means nothing in regard to whether the principle continues after the Law.

And one more thing: Did you know that according to the Bible, the tithe actually was not just ten percent? There were additional tithes throughout the year. So if you add up all the tithes that they gave, it amounted to around 22 percent! So, if they only gave ten percent, they were still robbing God, according to Malachi 3:10. Is there any verse in the Scripture that’s been used to beat people over the head more about money than that?

The idea that we will be blessed because we tithe, or punished if we don’t, is solidly an Old Covenant teaching. You will find nothing about tithing in the New Testament. Does that mean we are left without guidance for Christian giving? Far from it! The New Testament teachings on giving go far beyond tithing. Let me summarize them in the following points:

1. New Covenant giving is responsive. Just as the whole Christian life is motivated, we freely and gratefully give because we have first received from the Lord. “We love because He first loved us,” says 1 John 4:19. You could also say, “We give because He first gave to us.” Those whose hearts have been touched by the amazing grace of Jesus Christ find themselves stirred with the desire to give.

2. New Covenant giving is gracious. Unlike the law of tithing, which was mandatory and specific, Christian giving is voluntary and comes from the heart. It is absolutely not a command, which the Scriptures make clear. As Paul was urging the Corinthians to join him in giving to support the poor at Jerusalem, he writes:

Just as you abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all earnestness and in the love we inspired in you, see that you abound in this gracious work also. I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also (2 Corinthians 8:7-8).

Paul said that, when it came to this matter of giving, he had no “command.” The motivation for the Corinthians to give would be “the sincerity of [their] love.” He even called the act of giving a “gracious work.” It is a work of God’s grace operating in us that motivates us to give, not an external demand to tithe. He wrote, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

As you can see, this is totally different from the command to tithe, with curses or blessings tied to disobedience or obedience. And there is no specific amount Christians are told to give. Paul says, “as he has purposed in his heart.” It’s between you and God.

3. New Covenant giving is purposeful. That means it is thoughtful and intelligent, and is aimed at specific objectives, chiefly two: (1) To advance the cause of the gospel, through supporting people and ministries, and (2) To meet the needs of people, the poor, hungry and needy.

To the first point, Paul says, “The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him” (Galatians 6:6). To the second, Paul explains some of the positive results that happen when God’s people give generously:

For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, yearn for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you (2 Corinthians 9:12-14).

Genuine grace giving meets the need of people, motivates the receivers to honor God and give thanks, proves the reality of our faith, advances the work of the gospel, and builds unity and love in the body of Christ. What more reasons do we need? Well, if you need one more, the Lord Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The Old Testament tithe was a tax, not a gift. A lot of times today, people have that same legalistic attitude about giving. They think they have to give ten percent of their income. They believe that if you don’t tithe, your refrigerator will tear up, or your car is going to need repair, or your kids are going to need braces. You know the kind of thing. They’re really paying insurance more than anything when they give that way. I’ve said that sometimes the way people pay their tithes, you would think they’re being held hostage by God. They better pay up that ransom or God’s going to allow some bad thing to happen to them. What nonsense.

Others have said that the matter of tithing is a “revelation” that must come to you. If by that, it is meant that God’s Spirit will reveal that everybody needs to give ten percent, I strongly disagree. The Holy Spirit won’t reveal something that contradicts what the Bible teaches and the Scripture teaches grace giving, not tithing.

Are we blessed when we give? Yes, it is a blessing to give, if you are giving out of faith and love for the Lord, and from a desire to do good for others in Jesus’ name. But if you understand tithing to be a set amount you must give to be obedient to God, the answer is no. There is no blessing to be found in obeying a demand to give a tenth. The blessing comes from giving itself, just as Jesus said. The amount depends on what the Holy Spirit leads you to give. If you are giving in faith and love, you will be blessed for giving 5% or 8% or 15%. We give according to our ability. For some, 10% is currently impossible. Some may consider giving much more because of the abundance the Lord has granted them. “For if the readiness is present, it acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have,” is the way Paul described it in 2 Corinthians 8:12.

We live in a day of grace and we practice grace giving. Do I believe in giving? Yes. Do I believe that we are to be generous in what we give? Yes. I can’t imagine that grace will ever cause you to do less than legalism will. We live in a time of grace where we’re motivated to give because we love. We love the Lord Jesus Christ and we want to give. We want to give to the work of the kingdom. We give because we’ve received the love of the Father, we have the nature of Jesus Christ, and it is our nature to give. I can assure you that grace will cause us to be more generous and to be cheerful givers, as opposed to giving grudgingly from a heart that is locked into the Old Covenant teaching of tithing. We give because we love and because we want to, not because we have to.