Tithing: A Scriptural Analysis.
By Dada-Stephen

INTRODUCTION:
There has been a lot of controversies and confusion on the subject matter of tithing, who tithes should be paid to and whether it is important to tithe or not.
I am not attempting therefore to be correct or prove anyone right or wrong, rather I will attempt to bring together what the scriptures say about tithing and possibly share a bit of personal tithing experiences.
It is imperative and of great quintessence to note above all that tithing is only a CHRISTIAN concept which ought to be understood and discussed by Christians only since it doesn’t apply to people outside of the Christian faith. Since it’s a Christian concept and the bible is our standard of analysis and comprehension not philosophy, experience or human knowledge. As it is written in II Corinthians 2:14
“But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
The Bible gives us wisdom and wisdom is profitable to direct. We are made to understand in the book of Ecclesiastes 9:14 – 18 that
“Wisdom is better than strength, wisdom is better than weapons of war.”
What is Tithe/Tithing? :
Tithe is one tenth of produce, profit or earnings, dedicated to God monthly or annually through the Church of God. In the ancient times, tithe was paid as compulsory tax. Tithing is the act of paying tithe.
Who Was The First Man To Pay Tithe, To Whom Did He Pay It?
Genesis 14 : 18 – 20 indicates that Abraham was the first man to pay tithe. He paid it to Melchizedek who was a priest of the most high God and king of Salem. He was said to have paid a tithe of ALL he got as spoils of war. Hebrews 7:2 & 4 further corroborates that.
King Hezekiah also paid tithe in 2 Chronicles 31:11-12






Why Pay Tithe?
1. To Test God’s ability To Prosper You: Malachi 3:10 says “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.”
2. To Honour God: Paying tithe is a mark of honouring God as revealed in Proverbs 3:9 which says we should honour God with our substance.
3. That The Church Will Never Run Out Of Resources : “…., that there may be meat in mine house..” Mal 3:10
4. To Pay Wages, Salary or Allowances of Priests : Ideally, priests (pastors) are usually called to work on full time basis and our tithes are expected to be the sources of their remuneration. According to the old testament, The Tribe of Levi was the only tribe among the 12 tribes of Israel that God did not give any form of inheritance because he separated them for himself in order not to be distracted and so that they can serve him as priests. Pastors today are seen as Levites/Priests. They are not expected to be involved in anything else apart from mediating between divinity and man. However, they must never lack anything since they are the representatives of God on earth.
5. For Financial Insurance : And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts. Malachi 3:11
6. For Testimony Purpose: And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the LORD of hosts Mal 3:12
Where and To Whom Are We To Pay Our Tithes?
Nehemiah 10:37 made us understand that tithe has to be paid to the church. It was so specific that tithes must be paid to the house of God and to the priests.
Nehemiah 11:44 also reveals and clearly stated that Tithes, Offerings and First Fruits are strictly for priests. Although priests are also to pay their tithes out of the tithes paid to them into the church purse. Nehemiah 10:37-38
It is important to note that giving to widows and orphan is an act of charity that will be rewarded by God. However, giving to Pastors (especially in tithe) is spiritually and scripturally necessary for any Christian.
Leviticus 27:30 says all the tithes belongs to God ( who you cannot physically see, but have ordained and anointed people to act as is ambassadors on earth). Verse 31 even goes further to state that if you fail to pay your tithe when you ought to, you are to redeem it by paying an additional 5% (making it 15%).

What Does Jesus And The New Testament Say About Tithe And Offering?
Remember I said tithing used to be a law, Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. See what He said in Mathew 23:23:
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.”
In Matthew 22:21 Jesus said "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
This means that tithing was a Law recognized by Christ Jesus, he was however admonishing the people in mention to fulfil every bit of the law and not some parts.
Matthew 6:20-21 says:
But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
In Mark 12:41-44
"Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on."
Is Tithing Compulsory?
God gives us instructions and gives us the will power to choose whether we want to do it or not. He will give you advantages of following the instructions and possible disadvantages of choosing not to follow it. God never makes anything compulsory, so tithing is not compulsory. Remember that God cursed the land for the sake of Adam already, saying he shall labour hard to feed, Tithe is supposed to help us ameliorate that.

CONCLUSION:
There is no need to concern yourself so much about whether tithing is compulsory, necessary or whether some people deserve your tithe or not. Leave God to judge whoever does what’s not to be done with the tithe you pay (Mal. 3:9).
To me, tithing is described as this:
I am Dada Stephen and I operate 5 bank accounts for instance. I get a notification on every deposit into my account even though the monies were not given to me directly and I have a way of acknowledging anyone who deposits into any of my accounts because I have the records. Whatever the bank does with my money, whenever I need it, they will provide it. The bank will at the end of business year, give me a statement of account showing details of all transactions that happened in my account through their bank.
The Bank here represents church leadership, the depositors are you and I while the account holder is God.


Tithing is a prerequisite to prosperity and financial breakthrough of which I am a living testimony. In fact I stopped paying 10% since early 2015 and I have never regretted it for once.
You do not need a moral, philosophical or logical explanation to pay tithes, you only need a conviction in your spirit. Ask the Holy Spirit about his stand on tithing and operate based on your revelation through the word of God.
Tithe is an act of faith, no wonder the Father Abraham was the first person to pay tithe and the bible made us understand that he was a man of faith (which was accounted to him for righteousness) and without faith, it is impossible to please God. My Pastor usually says: “What you do not believe in cannot work for you”. If you do not believe in tithing, it might not work for you. (II Cor 9:6, Mathew 6:21)
May God give us deep understanding.
Dst.

next time u say "personal analysis" not scriptural analysis.
u said tithe is paid monthly or annually. where is dat in the scripture sir u equally said its compulsory tax, pls tribute is diif frm tithe sir.

my only question to u is that why is it that Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith did not practise it. likewise the apostles?? are u we suppose to do what Christ didn't do

u say tithe is prerequisite to financial breakthrough sir. Qatar is the richest country and they dont pay tithe. the likes of dangote, saraki, tinubu, Soyinka dont pay tithe. so hw come they are rich.

u also said we need holy spirit to explain it to us. are u saying the apostles lack holy spirit bcus they didn't do it.

most of the scriptures u quoted have no relationship with the concept of tithing.

if tithe is strictly for the pastors, pls explain this portion. sir
Deuteronomy 14:28-29 KJV
At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up within thy gates: [29] And the Levite, (because he hath no part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the Lord thy God may bless thee in all the work of thine hand which thou doest.

Deuteronomy 26:12 KJV
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

the fact here that u may not beliv is that tithe in the bible was not in monetary form and the purpose is for the levite to have food to eat since he didnt work and he did not have inheritance as well.
Numbers 18:24 KJV
But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering unto the Lord , I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.

Deuteronomy 26:12 KJV
When thou hast made an end of tithing all the tithes of thine increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and hast given it unto the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, that they may eat within thy gates, and be filled;

offering is diff from tithe. offering was mostly done in monetary form. Jesus personally supervised one widow in the temple. in the act of apostles, they giv offering to help the less privileged. some sold their property and brought the money.
tithe and offering are not dsame sir.

lonikit:
next time u
my only question to u is that why is it that Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith did not practise it.

Did the Bible say he didn’t ? Christ endorsed tithing .

Matthew 23:23
. . . You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

likewise the apostles??

1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.

are u we suppose to do what Christ didn't do

Christ didn’t condemn homosexuality
Christ didn’t condemn incest.

Does it mean they can be legalize now?

petra1:


Did the Bible say he didn’t ? Christ endorsed tithing .

Matthew 23:23
. . . You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.



1 Corinthians 9:13-14
Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar? Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.



Christ didn’t condemn homosexuality
Christ didn’t condemn incest.

Does it mean they can be legalize now?

1 cor. u quoted has no correlation with the concept. who was Jesus talking to in that place u quoted sir followers of Christ or the teachers of the law. are we stil practising Judaism or Christianity??

lonikit:
next time u say "personal analysis" not scriptural analysis.
u said tithe is paid monthly or annually. where is dat in the scripture sir u equally said its compulsory tax, pls tribute is diif frm tithe sir.

my only question to u is that why is it that Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith did not practise it. likewise the apostles?? are u we suppose to do what Christ didn't do

Deuteronomy 14:20-24 makes us understand the yearly part and as a matter of fact you can even pay your tithe before it's one year.
It is important to note that the major profession in the biblical times was agriculture, so people often wait till harvest.
Infact there's a part made a provision for tithing every 3 years in Deut 14:22-29

I said tithe used to be paid as tax in the Old Testament.
Numbers 18:21 says
“To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting, (ESV)

The entire book of Leviticus also clarifies that.

Hahahahahahah it's an unending argument

DadaStephen1:
Tithing: A Scriptural Analysis.
By Dada-Stephen

INTRODUCTION:
There has been a lot of controversies and confusion on the subject matter of tithing, who tithes should be paid to and whether it is important to tithe or not.
I am not attempting therefore to be correct or prove anyone right or wrong, rather I will attempt to bring together what the scriptures say about tithing and possibly share a bit of personal tithing experiences.

My attempt is to prove some of your statements wrong, of course by quoting the bible in the RIGHT context, to the glory of God our Father.

It is imperative and of great quintessence to note above all that tithing is only a CHRISTIAN concept which ought to be understood and discussed by Christians only since it doesn’t apply to people outside of the Christian faith.

This is where you started to get it wrong. Tithing is NEITHER a Christian principle NOR a Christian concept. It is a JEWISH principle whether Abrahamic or Levitical. So if we are to go by your argument, only the Jews should discuss tithes.

As it is written in II Corinthians 2:14
...Ecclesiastes 9:14 – 18

These two verses you quoted here are not within the context of this discussion. In 1Corinthians 2:1-15, Paul was talking about the importance of having the Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit), so as to understand God's secret wisdom (v7). He's saying that the rulers of that age - including the Pharisees and Saducees who understand tithing more than you do - did not have the wisdom we have through the Holy Spirit, for if they had, they would not have crucified our Lord Jesus (v8), but that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (v10). I would love to go further but let's stay on tithes please.

Ideally, priests (pastors) are usually called to work on full time basis and our tithes are expected to be the sources of their remuneration...Pastors today are seen as Levites/Priests.

Here we go again. For the umpteenth time, Pastors are not Levitical Priests but if you say they are just priests, you are right. But aren't we who are not pastors also priests? Peter says it in 1Peter 2:9. John also corroborates it in Revelations 1:6 & 5:10. So no Christian is left out of this heavenly calling by the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1)

They are not expected to be involved in anything else apart from mediating between divinity and man. However, they must never lack anything since they are the representatives of God on earth.

You are wrong again bro. Whyyy? The perfect rebuttal for this is in 2Thessalonians 3:6-15.
"For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies." Tell your Pastor to go and get a job so that he won't be a burden to you.

It was so specific that tithes must be paid to the house of God and to the priests.

Tithes was never money to be paid. Albeit there was money/currency (Numbers 3:47-50) during the time of Moses, God was specific about what tithe he wanted. "...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...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 NKJV

Remember I said tithing used to be a law, Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. See what He said in Mathew 23:23

First of all, Levitical tithing is a law, just like the Sabbath, Pentecost, Passover all all the other ordinances and customs in the Old Testament.
Now let us deal with the famous Matthew 23:23. Jesus could not stop the Israelites from giving tithes yet because, he had not died. His blood was needed to be offered once and for all so that, the law could be changed.
Let us read Luke 5:13‭-‬14 NKJV "Then He(Jesus) put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.” " This is Jesus recognizing and recommending a law of Moses in the book of Leviticus 13:1-3 & 14:2-32 to a man He just healed. Please tell me this is still relevant today. You guys never fail to amaze me with your cherry picking of the parts of the Bible that favour you.

God never makes anything compulsory, so tithing is not compulsory.

Quick question for you. Is a law binding or voluntary? You shall not kill. Does it mean you can either kill or not kill? Tithing is a commandment, it was a commandment in the law to give it, it wasn't freewill. But Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), so we now give the Christian way, which is as a man purposeth in his heart (2 Corinthians 9:7), not according to a formula, not to Pastors, but for the ministry and those who lack.

The rest of what you wrote is just a bunch of gobbledegook.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

connectikut89:

My attempt is to prove some of your statements wrong, of course by quoting the bible in the RIGHT context, to the glory of God our Father.


This is where you started to get it wrong. Tithing is NEITHER a Christian principle NOR a Christian concept. It is a JEWISH principle whether Abrahamic or Levitical. So if we are to go by your argument, only the Jews should discuss tithes.


These two verses you quoted here are not within the context of this discussion. In 1Corinthians 2:1-15, Paul was talking about the importance of having the Spirit of God (The Holy Spirit), so as to understand God's secret wisdom (v7). He's saying that the rulers of that age - including the Pharisees and Saducees who understand tithing more than you do - did not have the wisdom we have through the Holy Spirit, for if they had, they would not have crucified our Lord Jesus (v8), but that God has revealed it to us by his Spirit (v10). I would love to go further but let's stay on tithes please.


Here we go again. For the umpteenth time, Pastors are not Levitical Priests but if you say they are just priests, you are right. But aren't we who are not pastors also priests? Peter says it in 1Peter 2:9. John also corroborates it in Revelations 1:6 & 5:10. So no Christian is left out of this heavenly calling by the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 3:1)


You are wrong again bro. Whyyy? The perfect rebuttal for this is in 2Thessalonians 3:6-15.
"For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us. For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all, but are busybodies." Tell your Pastor to go and get a job so that he won't be a burden to you.


Tithes was never money to be paid. Albeit there was money/currency (Numbers 3:47-50) during the time of Moses, God was specific about what tithe he wanted. "...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...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 NKJV


First of all, Levitical tithing is a law, just like the Sabbath, Pentecost, Passover all all the other ordinances and customs in the Old Testament.
Now let us deal with the famous Matthew 23:23. Jesus could not stop the Israelites from giving tithes yet because, he had not died. His blood was needed to be offered once and for all so that, the law could be changed.
Let us read Luke 5:13‭-‬14 NKJV "Then He(Jesus) put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.” " This is Jesus recognizing and recommending a law of Moses in the book of Leviticus 13:1-3 & 14:2-32 to a man He just healed. Please tell me this is still relevant today. You guys never fail to amaze me with your cherry picking of the parts of the Bible that favour you.


Quick question for you. Is a law binding or voluntary? You shall not kill. Does it mean you can either kill or not kill? Tithing is a commandment, it was a commandment in the law to give it, it wasn't freewill. But Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), so we now give the Christian way, which is as a man purposeth in his heart (2 Corinthians 9:7), not according to a formula, not to Pastors, but for the ministry and those who lack.

The rest of what you wrote is just a bunch of gobbledegook.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

u nailed it sir.