The Bible teaches that God, who richly has supplied us with all good things, wants us “to be generous and ready to share” (1 Tim. 6:18). But what does generosity mean? Isn’t giving 10 percent of my income to the Lord’s work being generous? If not 10 percent, how much should I give?

Tithing is not the New Testament standard for giving.

Many churches promote a concept called “storehouse” tithing, based on Malachi 3:10, where God tells Israel to “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse.” They teach that the local church is the storehouse, the tithe belongs to God, and His blessing is conditioned upon faithfulness in tithing.

Before I critique this view, let me point out that there are some commendable points regarding tithing: (1) Those who tithe are often acting in obedience to what they believe God has commanded. (2) Tithing gets some to increase what they give. (3) Tithing helps consistency and discipline in giving. But consider these seven reasons why tithing is not God’s standard for Christians:

A. Tithing was a part of the law of Moses; believers are not under the law.

Romans, Galatians, and other New Testament passages make it clear that Christians are not under the law of Moses. That does not mean that we are lawless, because we are under the law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:20-21; James 1:25; 2:8, 12; Rom. 13:8-10). Those aspects of the Mosaic law that reflect the moral character of God are valid under the New Covenant and are repeated as commands in the New Testament. But the church is never commanded to tithe.

Those who argue for tithing point out that Abraham and Jacob both tithed prior to the Mosaic law (Gen. 14:20; 28:22). Thus tithing supersedes the law, they argue. If the New Testament gave no further guidelines, that might be a valid point. But it does, as I will show. But there are other practices, such as circumcision and sabbath-keeping which pre-date the Law and yet are not binding on us.

If you examine the references to Abraham’s and Jacob’s tithing, you will see that God did not command them to tithe and there is no indication that this was their regular practice. On one occasion after a victory in battle, Abraham tithed the spoils from that battle, but nothing is said regarding his other possessions or his regular income (Gen. 14:20). To follow Jacob’s example would be wrong, because he was making a conditional vow before God, promising that if God would keep him safe and provide for him, then he would give God a tenth (Gen. 28:20-22). That’s hardly a good example to follow in giving! Tithing was required under the Mosaic Law, but believers are not under the Law.

B. Tithing was an involuntary tax to support Israel; believers are not a part of the theocratic nation.

In the Old Testament, there was both required and voluntary giving. The tithe was required. It was commanded 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 (see 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!

C. Tithing is not mentioned in any instructions to the church, although much is said about giving.

Since the tithe played such an important part in the OT and in Judaism contemporary with early Christianity, it is surprising to discover that never once is tithing mentioned in any instructions given to the church. Jesus mentions scribes and Pharisees who tithe ..., but he never commanded his disciples to tithe. The writer to the Hebrews refers to Abraham paying tithes to Melchizedek and Levi paying his tithe to Melchizedek through Abraham ..., but he never taught his readers to follow their example. Paul writes about sharing material possessions to care for the needs of the poor ... and to sustain the Christian ministry .... He urges and commends generosity ... but never once does he demand, as a command from God, that any specific amount be given.

If tithing is to be practiced by the Christian church, it seems strange that Paul did not mention it when he wrote of giving, especially to the predominately Gentile churches which would not be familiar with the Old Testament.

D. 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.

E. 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 (so to speak) and thus nothing more is required, when, in fact, much more could be done. Tithing has a tendency to put a person on a legal basis with God, rather than a love relationship. It’s the wrong emphasis.

F. 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. Tithing can be a bad rut.

G. Tithing is burdensome for some and too easy for others.

If a man with a family of five makes N20,000 a year and tithes, he has N18,000 (apart from taxes) to support five people. If a childless couple makes N100,000 a year and tithes, they have N90,000 (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. Those on Nairaland who studied accounting and tax like me would understand where I am coming from.

We should not think, “How much do I have to give?” but rather, “How much can I give?” We should not wait for someone to pressure us with a need; we should look for needs that we can meet. I personally give out more than or close to 30% of my earnings a month to people who are in need just because I feel blessed but I never pay 10% to the church because the 10% is not the issue; it's a question of how much you can give. I think it's wrong to create a benchmark of 10% that makes it look like you have fulfilled your legal obligation to God and you expect God to do his own part.

Give according to the substance you have. Identify a church need and fill it up even if it costs 10% or more or less! That's the definition of TRUE tithing.

Modified Content: https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-4-why-you-should-not-tithe-selected-scriptures

NONSENSE! WHO IS THIS DEVIL'S AGENT TRYING TO STEAL THE TRUTH FROM THE HEART OF WEAK CHRISTIAN. MAY GOD DEAL WITH YOU.

saveall:
NONSENSE! WHO IS THIS DEVIL'S AGENT TRYING TO STEAL THE TRUTH FROM THE HEART OF WEAK CHRISTIAN. MAY GOD DEAL WITH YOU.

Seriously? Giving according to your abilities is "Stealing the Truth from weak Christians"? Oga, you seriously need to up your comprehension skills.

saveall:
NONSENSE! WHO IS THIS DEVIL'S AGENT TRYING TO STEAL THE TRUTH FROM THE HEART OF WEAK CHRISTIAN. MAY GOD DEAL WITH YOU.

You'll rather scream demented abuse instead of pointing out exactly what you believe is wrong with the post or you're the weak christian?

I SEE YOU HAVE FOLLOWERS ALREADY, HUMANS ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WHAT TO BELIEVE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY 7 BIBLICAL REASON BECAUSE THAT'S BLASPHEMY, JUST TELL US IT'S YOUR OWN POV.

BrosMayowa:


Seriously? Giving according to your abilities is "Stealing the Truth from weak Christians"? Oga, you seriously need to up your comprehension skills.

PEOPLE LIKE YOU TAKE EVERY THING IN LIFE AS AN INSULT OR ABUSE, PLEASE CHECK THE MEANING OF WEAK AGAIN. IN THIS CONTEXT WEAK CHRISTIAN ARE THOSE THAT ARE NOT GROUNDED IN THE WORD OF GOD, THEY ARE EASILY DECEIVED BY PEOPLE LIKE THIS SATANIC OP.
DON'T GET ME WRONG, GIVING OFFERING BASED ON WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD IS FINE, TITHES IS NOT GIVING ALL YOUR MONEY BUT 10% OF YOUR EARNINGS. STOP MIXING THINGS UP OFFERING AND TITHES ARE WELL EXPLAINED IN THE BIBLE. DON'T BE CONFUSED.

seemples:


You'll rather scream demented abuse instead of pointing out exactly what you believe is wrong with the post or you're the weak christian?