You’ve Never Tithed in Church (And Neither Have I)
Sit in on the average evangelical church service and you’re likely to sing a number of songs, perhaps observe a few baptisms, and undoubtedly listen to a message of some sort. But in addition to those elements, the typical service will devote a portion of the time to collecting money from those in attendance. Ushers pass the plates and provide an opportunity for saints to contribute. Usually giving around 10% of each paycheck, the average believer participates in what is commonly called a “tithes and offerings” segment of the church service, under the assumption that he is, in fact, tithing. But is this true? Since the word “tithe” just means “tenth,” it’s a generic biblical term that accurately describes Christian giving—or is it?
It was the late, great, expositor S. Lewis Johnson who said, “What about the tithe? What does the Bible have to say about the tithe? Have you ever studied it out for yourself? Don't run and ask your pastor; study it for yourself. What does it say? You might be shocked. You might be shocked.”[1]
Whether it’s your local pastor who casually mentions tithing, the televangelist huckster who demands a tithe from his viewers, or someone in between, wouldn’t you like to know if what they’re saying is true? After all, most people never give it a second thought. And of those who do give it a second thought, many defend the concept of Christian “tithing” out of sheer tradition—it’s just what they’ve always called it, and they don’t plan on changing any time soon.
Well, as S. Lewis Johnson suggested: you might be shocked if you dig into Scripture. Truth be told, if you’re a New Covenant believer, your regular 10% contribution to your local church is not a biblical tithe, nor is 10% the biblical standard of giving. What’s more, no matter how much someone might try to nuance it, the reality is that you’ve never actually tithed in church (and neither have I). Let’s see why.
The Frequency
Those who insist that the concept of tithing applies to Christians often begin their argument by looking in the book of Genesis, describing a period of time prior to Mosaic Law, as validation that tithing is not something only for the nation of Israel, but for us as today. They reason that if tithing occurred before the Law of Moses, it must be a universal principle that applies after the Law of Moses as well. Thus, they would say that whether you are an Old Covenant saint or a New Covenant Christian, tithing applies to both. But a look at Genesis actually reveals the first reason why Christian giving is not tithing. The first reason that your regular giving to your local church is not a tithe is based on frequency.
When we look at the first instance of the Hebrew word ma’aser (“tithe”) in the book of Genesis, we find it with regards to Abraham:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said, ‘Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth; and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’ He gave him a tenth of all. (Genesis 14:18-20)
In this passage, we see that Abraham was victorious in battle and, having conquered a number of kings in the area, received quite a bit of spoil from the battle. While returning home, the priest-king Melchizedek met him and blessed the one true God who gave him the victory. In response, Abram gave him “a tenth of all.” What’s important to note in this account is that it was a one-time act of giving according to a very spontaneous encounter with this largely unknown man Melchizedek. In fact, Melchizedek’s existence is so shrouded in mystery, that he serves as a type of Christ as our High Priest by being “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Heb 7:3). Far from being a regular recipient of funds from Abraham, Melchizedek’s involvement in Abraham’s life ends as quickly as it begins. And so it is that Abram did not provide a daily, monthly, or yearly contribution of 10% to this man, nor is there any other mention of Abraham—in his 160-year life—doing this ever again in Scripture![2] The idea that 10% of an annual income given by Christians somehow constitutes a tithe will find no support from the account of Abraham and Melchizedek.
Moving on in Genesis, we find another account regarding the tithe, this time involving Abraham’s grandson, Jacob. In Genesis 28, Jacob received his famous dream of the ladder spanning from heaven to earth as follows:
He had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Genesis 28:12)
God went on to graciously reiterate the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant (land, seed, and blessing) to Jacob, and even guaranteed that He would be with Jacob to protect him. When Jacob awoke from this profound revelation, He praised God, named the place “Bethel,” and vowed that if God would provide material goods for him, he would return a tenth of all of it back to God (cf. Gen. 28:22). To those looking to justify Christian tithing, this passage would appear to be a proof-texting jackpot. After all, for Jacob to give a tenth of “all” he had would seem to be a great equivalent for Christians today to “tithe” on their lifelong income.
But using the account this way suffers from the same problem as the use of Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedek: it was a one-time occurrence. To be fair, in Jacob’s situation the giving wasn’t necessarily a one-time occurrence, but the catalyst most certainly was: Jacob intended to give a tenth because he received a divine dream at a critical juncture in God’s redemptive plan for the world. That dream has never, and will never, occur again. Thus, the lifetime “tenth” vowed by Jacob was the product of a one-time supernatural experience. No Christian today has had such an experience, and thus has no basis, according this passage, to suggest the notion of tithing as related to our finances today.
The Amount
Those still in search of a proof-text to apply tithing to Christians today might be tempted to look next at the tithe under Mosaic Law. This, after all, was a regular amount collected from the average Israelite, so perhaps this could justify calling 10% of your annual salary a tithe, right? Wrong. In fact, a closer look at the pertinent passages reveals that 10% of your income (whether gross or net) falls woefully short of that which was called for in Mosaic Law.
Three passages in the Torah describe the kind of tithing required by Mosaic Law: Leviticus 27:30, Deuteronomy 12:10-11, and Deuteronomy 14:28.
The first tithe (ma’aser rishon), also known as the Levites’ tithe, is found in Leviticus 27:30, along with Numbers 18:21, which says,
Thus all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord.
To the sons of Levi, behold, I have given all the tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service which they perform, the service of the tent of meeting.
Every year, a tenth of each Israelite’s harvest was to be given to support the Lord, which meant given to support the priests and Levites who ministered on His behalf. John MacArthur describes it as follows:
“This tithe was given to the tribe of priests to support them. Because their religious responsibilities were a full-time ministry, they didn’t have the opportunity to earn their own living. They were, in a sense, the government of their land. Israel wasn’t a democracy, but a theocracy. Who was the ruler of Israel? God. Who were His vice-regents? The priests. So when you come right down to it, the Levites’ tithe paid the salaries of those who ran the country.”[3]
The second tithe (ma’aser sheni), also known as the festival tithe, is found in Deuteronomy 12:10-11, along with Deuteronomy 12:17-18, which says,
When you cross the Jordan and live in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies around you so that you live in security, then it shall come about that the place in which the Lord your God will choose for His name to dwell, there you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice votive offerings which you will vow to the Lord.
You are not allowed to eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or new wine or oil, or the firstborn of your herd or flock, or any of your votive offerings which you vow, or your freewil offerings, or the contribution of your hand. But you shall eat them before the Lord your God in the place which the Lord your God will choose, you and your son and daughter, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God in all your undertakings.
Every year, another tenth—in addition to the first—was to be given to support the annual festivals at the temple (cf. Deut. 14:22-27). John MacArthur describes this one as follows:
“This is another tithe, another 10 percent. This 10 percent was to be taken to Jerusalem and was to be eaten by family, friends, servants, and the priests in the sanctuary. This tithe would simulate devotion to the Lord and promote unity in the family. It was kind of like national potluck. It made everybody share. This tithe, called the festival tithe, perpetuated the religious and social life of the nation. So the Levites’ tithe supported the government people. This one helped the religious, social, and cultural community by increasing love for God and by teaching individuals to share with others. It taught community and social involvement.”[4]
The third tithe (ma’aser ani), also known as the poor tithe, is found in Deuteronomy 14:28-29, which says,
At the end of every third year you shall bring out all the tithe of your produce in that year, and shall deposit it in your town. The Levite, because he has no portion or inheritance among you, and the alien, the orphan and the widow who are in your town, shall come and eat and be satisfied, in order that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.
Every third year, yet another tenth—in addition to the first and second—was to be given to support the poor among the nation. John MacArthur describes this final tithe as follows:
“This was a welfare program for the poor, the widows, the people who didn’t have anything to eat.”[5]
Thus, when you add up 10% of one’s income annually, plus another 10% of one’s income annually, plus another 10% of one’s income every three years, this averages out to a yearly 23.3% of one’s income. Those who defend tithing by saying, “Well, 10% is a good, biblical starting point for Christians,” are about 13.3 percentage points shy of the actual amount. Of course, I doubt that many who preach tithing actually understand the threefold system under Mosaic Law, so it’s no surprise that they aren’t telling congregants to give 23.3% of their paychecks (and imagine the uproar if they did!). Truth be told, giving 10% of your income each year is not the numerical standard for Christian giving; the fact that the word tithe means “tenth” doesn’t correspond to the actual amount required under Mosaic Law.
And the fact that 23.3% was required brings us to the next reason Christian giving is not tithing: the motivation.
The Motivation
What is often overlooked by those who teach tithing based on Mosaic Law is that it was just that: law. When Moses issued the aforementioned threefold tithing system, it was not a “suggested offering.” It was not a “good faith donation.” It was not an “opt-in form,” in which each Israelite could unilaterally decide whether or not to participate. Moses made it clear, using the words “you shall” over and over again, that it was required. Thus, the motivation for the tithe was duty to the law as a tax. In fact, if Israelites actually wanted to give above and beyond that, they were more than welcome to provide “freewill offerings,” which were non-compulsory donations to the temple (cf. Lev. 23:38). But the tithe was an obligation. As Alistair Begg notes,
“There was a tithe for the Levites, which is the government. There was a tithe for the national feast, which was the community. And there was a tithe for helping the poor, which was welfare. And when you put it all together it amounts to some twenty-three percent of the people’s income. Israel was a theocracy. In other words, their government was ruled by God. And in order for the structure of the nature to function, they needed these taxes. And these tithes were the taxes so that the nation might function effectively. They were not freewill offerings. They were demanded, they were required, they were necessary, there was a date when they were due.”[6]
This stands in stark contrast to that which the New Testament says about Christian giving: “Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7).
Sadly, some so-called pastors do try to enforce so-called “tithing” upon their people. Perhaps one of the most horrific and shameful practices related to Christian giving is the use of a “non-tithers board,” in which a publicly displayed bulletin board is labeled with the names of church members who have failed to “tithe” to their church. Rather than abiding by Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 9:7, these hucksters apparently have no qualms about using shame as a fundraising tool.
Yet, while many pastors would never abuse people in that way, they are more than willing to abuse Malachi 3:8, which says, “Would anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings.” Whether it’s to expand the day-to-day operations of the church, or to kick off a building fundraising program, Malachi 3:8 is the go-to verse of those looking to step up the church’s giving. Of course, church leaders who use this passage to manipulate churchmen into giving fail to understand the vital distinction that tithing, as required under Mosaic Law, meant that an Israelite who withheld tithes was actually failing to give what was owed. That’s why God spoke of being “robbed.” The modern-day equivalent to Malachi’s words, therefore, would not be of a Christian who contributes less than an arbitrary standard set by his local church, but instead would be of a man who commits tax evasion and sidesteps what is owed to his civil government.
Sometimes I wonder if poor Malachi is aware of just how badly his words are constantly mishandled.
Alistair Begg explains when it’s appropriate to require a tithe:
“You say, 'Well what about tithing?' What about tithing? 'Well don't you believe in tithing?' Yeah, I believe in tithing when you’re supposed to tithe, and I don’t believe in tithing when you're not supposed to tithe. ‘So when are you supposed to tithe?’ In the Old Testament, under the Mosaic Law.”[7]
And the fact that tithing is associated with the priesthood of the Mosaic Covenant, not the gathering of saints under the New Covenant, brings up the final—and perhaps most significant—reason why you’ve never actually tithed in church: its nature.
The Nature
A comprehensive look at tithing in Scripture reveals that it’s always associated with a sacrificial or priestly system of some sort. Whether it’s the first book of the Old Testament, Genesis, in which gifts were given to Melchizedek by Abraham, or the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, in which a stern warning was given about bringing offerings into God’s house, Scripture indicates that the practice itself was always associated with a sacrificial, religious function. On into the New Testament, beginning with books like Matthew, in which Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their self-righteous legalism (cf. Matt. 23:23), or the book of Hebrews, in which the Levitical priests are compared to the priest Melchizedek (cf. Heb. 7:4-10), all of these mention the tithe in connection with a priestly function.
Theologically speaking, this is to say that tithes are sacerdotal in nature.
In the nation of Israel, tithes were brought to priests, managed by priests, used to support priests, and distributed by priests. In the New Covenant church, however, believers do not provide money to maintain this type of sacrificial system mediated by priests. It’s true that Scripture speaks of believers today as part of a “royal priesthood” (1 Pet. 2:9), but that’s in the sense that we have direct access to God, through Christ, to offer our “spiritual” sacrifices (cf. 1 Pet. 2:5, Rom. 12:1). We’re not providing upkeep of a temple or the furnishings needed to offer physical sacrifices. (In fact, anyone who’d insist on tithing on the basis that we are part of a “spiritual priesthood” ought to be more than happy to only receive “spiritual tithes!”). Unlike other religions, Christianity has no mediatorial priesthood, and thus no “tithe” required to support such a priesthood. The nineteenth-century, Presbyterian professor Thomas Peck identified this as well:
“What has been said concerning the tendencies of the tithe method is fully confirmed by history. The passages from the fathers which have been quoted by the brethren on the other side, those of them which clearly teach the divine obligation of the tithe upon Christians, belong to a period in which the ministry was considered a priesthood. If they prove anything, therefore, they prove too much for Presbyterians. Search and see if there has ever been a church which enforced the tithe which did not hold sacerdotal views of the ministry, or was not in unscriptural alliance with the civil power. The tithe has not kept good company in Christendom.”[8]
In fact, because tithing is a generic term associated with any kind of sacerdotalism, it wasn’t even an ancient practice unique to the Israelites. From a historical standpoint, other nations would also offer tithes as they worshiped their false gods. For, example, pagan priests in the neo-Babylonian religion of Marduk worship would collect tithes from landowners within the vicinity of their temple, as one historian notes:
“Many temples owned large and self-contained agricultural estates with fields, orchards, and animal herds. A substantial part of their wealth derived from ‘tithes’ paid by all who owned land or another source of income and lived nearby the temple estates. While the figure was not always exactly 10 percent, all people, including the king, had to give a share of the profits they made on fields, orchards, herds, and so on to the temple. These were paid in kind or in silver, and were collected by special officials.”[9]
You can rest assured that the money you give in church is of a qualitatively different nature and purpose than that of either the Israelites in worship of the one true God, or pagans in worship of someone else. For that reason, the question is not whether you should or should not tithe in church—the reality is that you can’t. It’s impossible. Your New Testament local church service is not a ritualistic ceremony replete with shrines, altars, and propitiatory sacrifices, in support of which you offer tithes—and if it is, it’s not a New Testament local church service.
How Then Should We Give?
So if tithing is not a part of the Christian life, how then should we give?
When it come to the frequency of giving, Paul said to the Corinthian church, “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, so that no collections need to be made when I come.” (1 Cor. 16:2). In accordance with their material blessings, they were to save up money weekly so that when Paul arrived, the gift would be ready to support other churches. The principle behind this teaches us to provide money on an ongoing basis, in accordance with our own income (“as he may prosper”), so that our local church is ready at any given moment to provide for ministry needs. Our giving should be intentional, not haphazard. One-time special gifts or donations are certainly blessings, but giving in a systematic way allows a local church to identify, budget, and plan for further ministry, knowing that it has the ongoing financial support of the church body.
When it comes to the amount of giving, Paul again taught the Corinthians, “Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart” (2 Cor. 9:7a). The amount you give to your church should not be decided by your pastor’s heart, nor your friend’s heart, nor the heart of a financial guru on the radio or television; it should be decided in your own heart. Don’t even let anyone suggest that 10% is a good “starting point” for your giving: for some people, 10% is far more than they can manage, and for others, it’s far less. In reality, the standard for New Covenant giving is not 10%, 23.3%, or any other fixed amount. The standard is your individual decision, in proportion to the needs of your fellow saints (cf. 1 John 3:17), your own financial abilities (cf. 2 Cor. 8:3), and the circumstances of your home life (cf. 1 Tim. 5:8-16). It’s between you (along with your spouse, if married) and God. Simply strive to be as much of a financial blessing to others as you are able.
When it comes to the motivation for giving, Paul taught that Christians should give “not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7b). It should be a joy, not a burden, for us to give. And it should be done for the Lord, not the praise of others. When Paul spoke of giving in the book of Romans, he taught them to give with “liberality,” using the Greek word haplotés, which literally means “not folded,” as in a piece of cloth that is not overly complex nor contains unnecessary overlap (cf. Rom. 12:8). Metaphorically, the word is used to speak of the virtue of being single-minded, with no ulterior motives.[10] Therefore, giving should never be under the threat of shame or manipulation, nor should it ever be for advancing one’s own social standing or prestige. Similarly, “pledge cards,” “sowing seed money,” and other such fundraising gimmicks find no justification in Scripture. Rather, Christians are to let their “Yes” be “Yes” (Matt. 5:37), giving to the people of God, by the Spirit of God, for the glory of God—just like the Son of God. As S. Lewis Johnson noted, “The New Testament teaches grace-giving, that is, giving prompted not by the impulse of the moment, nor by the pressure applied by others, but ‘in view of God’s mercy’ (cf. Rom. 12:1), or the ‘joy’ of salvation (cf. 2 Cor. 8:2). All the modern ‘methods’ of inducing giving, such as ‘matching gifts,’ ‘pledge systems,’ and ‘faith-promise systems’ fall short of the New Testament principles.”[11] Pastor Mike Abendroth offers important counsel to those burdened by compulsory giving: “I’m telling you, if you’ve got a pastor who forces the tithe, I think you need to nicely, and gently, and submissively go to your pastor. But I’d leave a church if he was saying the tithe is forced on you. This is not true. This is a Mosaic Law that we are no longer under.”[12]
Finally, when it comes to the nature of giving, Scripture indicates that giving is to support the local church with funds needed for pastors (cf. 1 Tim. 5:17-18), ministries (1 Cor. 16:3), and the needy among them (cf. Acts 4:34, 1 Tim. 5:5-9)—not any kind of priestly system. Since our great High Priest offered Himself once and for all on the cross, there are no repeated sacrifices needed at our gatherings. The purpose of our gatherings is to proclaim Christ’s sacrifice, not perform another. The local church is not a sacerdotal institution, thus your money is not needed for the purpose of maintaining temples and shrines. As a side note, the sad reality is that many local churches may not have shrines, per se, but they do have their own religious monuments. We live in a day and age in which the megachurch mentality has so distorted the priorities of many local churches that finances often end up being mishandled for material things of little eternal value. It’s no surprise then, that when a local church finds itself in enormous debt for outlandish construction projects, it would invoke “tithing” (or other compulsory systems) upon its members to compensate. That said, a biblical local church is an entirely different entity than priestly religious systems in the world, and thus the nature of our giving is entirely different as well.
Of course, if you’ve been misled about tithing by church leaders, there’s no shame in coming to understand the truth now. The real shame is for those who should know better and yet continue to perpetuate it. Again, Pastor Mike Abendroth explains, as follows:
“You might have ignorantly thought, ‘I’m trying to tithe and I’m trying to do the right thing.’ And certainly God blesses you for that. But I’m especially after pastors today who use this bludgeon called the ‘tithe’ to extract money out of people. Don’t do that. That’s shameful. That’s what cults do. And I’m sure there are probably people who are fine pastors in every other way, but they do that. Matter of fact, in the bulletin, look at your bulletin this Sunday when you get it from church, and see if it says ‘tithes and offerings.’ If they do, I think your pastor either put a typo in there, doesn’t really care what the bulletin says, or is uneducated. Tithes and offerings? We don’t give our tithes and offerings as a New Testament church person. We give our offerings. That’s what we give.”[13]
So, should you tithe in church? Well, that’s the wrong question, because it’s not possible even if you thought you should. Instead, I encourage you to provide your local church with the funds needed to support the pastors, the ministries, and the needy among you, on a regular basis, according to an amount you’ve cheerfully decided in your heart. And as you do, may God bless your giving.
References:
[1] http://sljinstitute.net/featured/isaiah-the-book-of-woes-ii-formalism-faithlessness-and-the-holy-one-of-israel
[2] John MacArthur, Giving God's Way (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1978), 56.
[3] Ibid., 61-62.
[4] Ibid., 63.
[5] Ibid., 63.
[6] http://tflmedia.s3.amazonaws.com/free_downloads/1802-givingamatteroftheheart.mp3
[7] Ibid.
[8] http://www.newhopefairfax.org/files/Peck%20on%20Tithe.pdf
[9] Marc Van De Mieroop, A History of the Ancient Near East ca. 3000-323 BC, 2nd. ed. (Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2007), 282.
[10] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Romans 9-16 (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1994), 175.
[11] S. Lewis Johnson, Discovering Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014), 260.
[12] https://nocompromiseradio.com/episodes/2016/07/29/is-the-tithe-a-nt-command
[13] Ibid.