Robbing God? Should Christian’s Tithe?
Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
-Malachi 3:8-10, ESV
In the last post, I discussed how the American Church has lost a proper fear of God and has therefore dishonored God in many of the same ways the Jews did in Malachi’s day. Many American churches are overly casual in their approach to worship, have a low view of Scripture, disregard holiness, cheapen marriage through easy divorce, and neglect the final judgment. But a lack of fear of God also manifests as robbing God by withholding tithes and offerings. This brings up an important question: is tithing still required for Christians as part of the moral law, or was it done away with by Christ as part of the ceremonial law? To answer this, we need to look at the concepts of tithing and firstfruits in the Old Testament as well as how they relate to giving in the New Testament.
What is Tithing?
First, we must define what we mean by tithing. A tithe is literally a tenth, so to tithe is to give a tenth. It was first seen when Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20). Later, Jacob promised to give God a tenth of his possessions (Genesis 28:22). Therefore, the concept of tithing predates the Law. In the Law, God codified it by commanding that a tenth of all produce and clean animals belonged to God (Leviticus 27:30-32, Deuteronomy 14:22-23). God designated it for the priests and Levites as wages for their service of the perpetual worship, intercession, and teaching of the Law on behalf of the people (Numbers 18:21-24, Deuteronomy 18:3-5) and for the upkeep of the Tabernacle and later the Temple. But as with all of the Law, the Israelites often failed to tithe, especially when times were tough. Regardless, when the tithe was neglected, the Temple fell into disrepair and the Levites were forced to abandon their sacred duties in order to work to take care of their families (e.g. Nehemiah 13:10-12), which was detrimental to the spiritual health of the entire nation. Therefore, the tithe was extremely important.
The Concept of Firstfruits
We have established that as mandated by the Law and by previous precedent, the Israelites were to give a tenth of their possessions to God, but which tenth were they to give? For this, we need to understand the concept of firstfruits. The very first of the produce of the land (Exodus 23:19, 34:26, Deuteronomy 26:2) and the firstborn of the livestock (Exodus 13:12, 34:19, Leviticus 27:26, Deuteronomy 15:19) were to be given to God. Like the tithe, this concept predates the Law. Abel’s love for God and trust in Him led him to offer the first and best of his flock (Genesis 4:4), while Cain’s lack of love for God and trust in Him led him to only offer his leftover produce (Genesis 4:3). In other words, a true expression of love for God and trust in Him is when God’s portion comes off the top first (Deuteronomy 26:12-13). I have previously touched on the concept of firstfruits by viewing Jericho as a type of firstfruits of the Promised Land, so when we like Achan keep what God has designated for Himself, we too rob God. All that we have comes from God, so as I stated recently, we must hold all that we have with an open hand. This includes generously giving back to God what He so generously gives to us. As I observed in another post, we can be truly content in whatever we have by understanding that everything is a gift of God that we don’t deserve and that God will provide for all of our needs. Since He gives us everything, it is only natural that what we give back to Him should be our first and best.
Failure to Tithe Firstftuits is Robbing God
When we combine the concepts of tithe and firstfruits in the Old Testament, we find that even before the Law people were to give their first and best tenth to God, which He designated as the wages owed to those who served Him full time as well as for the upkeep of the facilities needed for worship. Therefore, when the Israelites failed to tithe from their firstfruits they were actually robbing God by keeping for themselves what God had designated as belonging to others.[1] This is explicitly shown in Malachi 3, where a lack of fear of God caused the Jews of Malachi’s day to neglect the tithe. When the exiles had initially returned to Jerusalem, they rebuilt the Temple with royal support (see Ezra). However, once the Temple was complete, they no longer had that support, so they had to maintain it and pay the priests and Levites on their own. Undoubtedly because times were tough, they were perpetually failing to tithe as commanded. When combined with the offering of lame and blind animals in Malachi 1, it is clear that the people were both not giving the full tenth and giving leftovers not firstfruits. Therefore, God calls them cheats (Malachi 1:14) who are cursed because they are robbing God by failing to bring their tithes (Malachi 3:8-9). Everything belongs to God anyway, and He gives it to whoever He wills. Once He has given it to someone, it belongs to them and not to the original owner. Therefore, the tithes of Israel rightfully belonged to the priests and Levites and not to the people. The issue is not that the people were refusing to donate but that they were not paying wages rightfully owed. Therefore, a proper understanding of the tithe from the Old Testament is as an obligation and not as a gift. The tithe is separate from the freewill offering that is over and above the tithe. The latter is given not out of obligation but out of gratitude from the abundance God provided. I will cover this type of giving next time.
Tithing in the New Testament
Since the Old Testament provides the context into which the New Testament came, this separation between the concept of tithe and freewill offering continues into the New Testament. When Jesus pronounced woe on the religious leaders for tithing from their spices (Matthew 23:23-24, Luke 11:42), He doesn’t say that they shouldn’t have done this but that they shouldn’t have focused on it. He likens their actions to straining out a gnat (the smallest unclean animal) but swallowing a camel (the largest unclean animal). Both were unclean and should have been avoided, but by focusing on the smaller they had neglected the larger. Therefore, Jesus is not undoing the tithe here. When asked about paying taxes to Caesar, Jesus said to give to Caesar what belonged to him and to God what belonged to Him (Matthew 22:16-22, Mark 12:13-17). Since everything belongs to God, Jesus is saying that everyone is owed what God has designated for them, including the government (Romans 13:1-7). Therefore, Jesus does not abolish the tithe here either. However, clearly there was a change afoot, as Jesus paid the Temple Tax not out of obligation but to not cause offense (Matthew 17:24-27). When Jesus sends out the Twelve, He tells them that they are not to bring any money but rely on the generosity of others, as those were the wages they deserved for their work of proclaiming the Gospel (Matthew 10:10, Luke 10:7). Similarly, Jesus was supported during His ministry by the regular contributions of some of the women who had benefitted from His ministry (Luke 8:1-3). Therefore, Jesus does not abolish the concept of the tithe but changed the recipients. With the replacement of Israel with the Church, the elders replace the priests and Levites while the local church replaces the Temple as the rightful recipients of the tithe. This is corroborated by Paul:
Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.”
-1 Timothy 5:17-18, ESV
In a previous post, I discussed how Scripture commands us to honor our pastors by praying for them, encouraging them, not entertaining baseless accusations against them, extend grace to them, and caring well for their families. But the term for “honor” here not only denotes esteem but also worth, so we must honor our pastors by adequately paying them. Paul first cites the command to allow oxen to eat the fruit of their labor (Deuteronomy 25:4). Coming in between laws on beatings and levirate marriage, this command is part of the civil law which we will soon see comes from the underlying moral law of adequately and promptly paying workers (see below). He then cites the latter directly, which comes in the context of day laborers who relied on getting paid immediately, so to withhold immediate payment of those wages was oppression and robbery (Leviticus 19:13). We know this is part of the moral law since “I am the LORD is repeated throughout the section, which includes “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18b). This means that from context we can determine that the primary way we must honor our elders is by adequately paying them for their work. Paul expounds on this when the Corinthians challenged his authority:
Do we not have the right to eat and drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk? Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not certainly speak for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
-1 Corinthians 9:4-14, ESV
Here, Paul forcefully states that as an apostle and preacher of the Gospel, he has a right to get his pay from the preaching of the Gospel rather than from normal work (verse 6) just as soldiers, vinedressers, and herdsmen all deserve their wages (verse 7). He likens his work preaching the Gospel to the temple service supported by the tithe (verse 13), stating that those who preach the Gospel should be likewise paid by the people they preach to (verse 14). He was laboring to enrich them spiritually, so he deserved to be adequately paid by them (verse 11). He is clear that he had that right but refrained from using it for the good of the church (verse 12). Paul was a church planter and therefore knew that such a requirement would be overly burdensome on the churches he was planting. But it is clear from this passage that this was the exception not the norm. Peter and the other apostles got their pay from the local church, which was expected just as the tithe was expected to go to the priests and Levites (verses 3-6). Therefore, there is no grounds for abolishing the tithe based on these passages.
The New Testament Reason to Tithe
The New Testament does not merely refrain from abolishing the tithe, but it also gives new motivation for Christians to provide adequate financial support to their pastors and churches.
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
-Galatians 6:6-9, ESV
Here, Paul tells the Galatians like the Corinthians and Ephesians (through Timothy) that those who are taught the Word (i.e. all Christians) should provide not only adequate but abundant financial support for their pastors (verse 6). The reason Paul gives is that people reap what they sow (verse 7). In other words, by financially supporting our pastors so that they can be devoted to the work of ministry, we are actually contributing to our own spiritual benefit. Whereas investing in earthly things will produce diminishing returns due to futility and decay (verse 8, cf. Matthew 6:19), investing in the Kingdom (the work of the Spirit) gives sure and eternal returns (verse 8, cf. Matthew 6:20). In other words, the tithing is an investment for our own benefit, both in this life and the next (1 Timothy 4:8). Therefore, we should view the tithe as an investment in what is eternal.
Take Giving Seriously
In light of all this and following the theme of Malachi, we must take giving to the local church seriously. While there is no explicit command in the New Testament directing the tithe, the lack of a clear abolishment of it and the continuity of language between the Old and New Testament regarding it suggest that tithing to the local church is still expected. Ten percent is not explicitly commanded in the New Testament, so it can be argued that a strict tithe is not required, which has led to debate on the subject throughout the history of the church.[2] However, ten percent remains a good general rule and starting point. What is clear is that Christians are expected to financially contributed to the local church. Out of love for Christ we should desire to give to the local church as we are able above and beyond the tithe. In my very first post, I observed how a Christlike love for the Church will lead us to be present, committed, and submissive to the local church. But since Christlike love includes nurturing and cherishing the Bride, we do not love the local church if we are not financially supporting the local church.
And that financial support should be adequate so that our pastors are not struggling to make ends meet. Too many pastors are on such tight budgets that it distracts them from ministry because too many church members are robbing God by not giving enough to adequately pay their pastors. In most cases, if people were tithing it would only take around 15 households to adequately support a full-time pastor and his family, so if our churches have a higher ratio of households to pastors than that but our pastors still struggle, we need to ask if we are adequately supporting them or if we are withholding what God says we owe them and are therefore oppressing them. If we live comfortably while our pastors struggle, we are committing the same sin as the Jews in Malachi’s day and deserve the same condemnation (James 5:1-5).
We must also acknowledge that advancing the Kingdom takes money because the world requires money. Visions of planting churches, bringing on additional pastors, sending out missionaries, meeting needs in the community, and expanding facilities are all limited by available funds. Therefore, when we do not adequately contribute to the church, the advance of the Kingdom slows or stalls. We must seek to advance the Kingdom first and God’s provision will follow (Matthew 6:33). When we fail to give God our best because “times are tough”, we forget that perhaps times are tough because we aren’t giving God our best (Haggai 1:4-11). If we are serious about seeing the Kingdom of God expand, we need to literally put our money where our mouth is. This works itself out practically in several ways.
Tithe Off the Top: The principle of firstfruits should lead us to give our first and best to the local church. This means that our tithe should be off of our gross rather than net income. And while it will likely not be our highest expense, it should be the top line item on our budgets.
Prioritize the Local Church: Since the local church takes the place of the Temple as the place where tithes are owed, we need to prioritize giving to the local church over all other giving. Therefore, we should consider tithing as non-discretionary but all other giving as discretionary. If cuts need to be made, they should not be made to the tithe but to other charitable giving. I’ll talk more about other charitable giving in the next post.
Balance Giving with Other Responsibilities: While Scripture commands us to give generously to the local church, it also commands us to care for our families financially (1 Timothy 5:8). This means that there needs to be a balance between giving and other responsibilities. Therefore, if 10% is not achievable while still caring for the family, saints should give as they are able. Life is expensive, especially where I live, so it is quite possible that a true tithe would be overly burdensome in certain cases. For anyone in that situation, a true tithe should be a goal to steadily work towards.
Give Regularly and Sacrificially: Whatever we give needs to be regular (meaning weekly or monthly we should be contributing as we can to the local church) and sacrificial (meaning we should prioritize the Kingdom of God such that our giving will likely prevent us from buying all that we want).
Control Your Money: All of this means that we need to have tight control over where our money goes. Scripture is clear that we cannot serve both God and money (Matthew 6:24, Luke 16:13), so we must make our money serve us as we serve God. This means actively managing our money, which is best accomplished with a thorough budget. This will allow us to identify opportunities to be ever more generous toward the church.
Isn’t This the Prosperity Gospel?
Since I am saying that we need to prioritize giving to the local church and supporting our pastors, alarm bells may be going off for some, growing louder with the mention of God’s promise of blessing being connected to our generosity to the local church. That is a valid concern, since this is beginning to sound like the wicked, satanic heresy of the prosperity gospel. This is such an ever-present danger to the American Church that out of fear of getting even close to it, good pastors often avoid the topic of giving altogether. Prosperity gospel preachers such as Joel Osteen, Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, and Joyce Meyer grossly distort Scripture to extract every penny from itching-eared listeners by telling them to “plant their seed” with the promise of health and wealth, all while they use that money to fund their private jets and lavish lifestyles. Like the false prophets of old, they exploit people with false words and therefore bring God’s judgment upon themselves (2 Peter 2:1-3). But this is the opposite of what I am saying. These false teachers espouse “godliness” as a means of material gain (1 Timothy 6:5 cf. Acts 8:20). Instead, I am relying on the clear teachings of Scripture to exhort people to adequately support churches and pastors, not enable extravagant lifestyles. This giving needs to come from a place of contentment in what God has given us and an understanding that everything we have belongs to Him anyway, which is the antithesis of what these “name it and claim it” false teachers espouse. Finally, unlike these false teachers who place themselves above Scripture, I exhort everyone to be like Bereans and diligently search the Scriptures to confirm what I am saying. Therefore, this is the opposite of the prosperity gospel and only sounds similar because of how heresy twists the Scriptures.
In conclusion, while there is room for debate, I see no biblical grounds to say that the tithe has been abolished by Christ. Instead, God has now called Christians to give as the are able to their local churches just as the Israelites were called to tithe to the priests and Levites. After all that God has given us—especially Jesus Christ—giving Him back ten percent of what He has given us is the least we can do. God advances His Kingdom most often through normal means involving normal finances, so out of love for Christ we should give regularly and generously first to the local church. I’ll discuss giving beyond the local church next time. Let’s be diligent to invest our money in the Kingdom of God, which is the only sure investment:
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
-Matthew 6:19-21, ESV
NOTES
[1] John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion: Translated from the First French Edition of 1541 by Robert White, Edinburgh, UK: Banner of Truth Trust: 2014: 154-156.
[2] David A. Croteau, A Biblical and Theological Analysis of Tithing: Toward a Theology of Giving in the New Covenant Era, Doctoral Dissertation, Wake Forest, NC: Southern Baptist Theological Seminary: December 2005 (link)
