The Truth About Tithing
I was thinking last week as we took the offering, that we had this all planned wrong. We should have had the offering right after the message! What do you think? No, not a good idea.
Like I said last week, in some ways I’m hesitant to even preach on this subject lest some of you think I’ve got some ulterior motive to get you to give to the church or something. But that is not the case. Money IS something we need to talk about, though. Christ talked about it a lot, as I mentioned last week. It’s important for us to get God’s perspective on money and giving.
We probably handle money more than any other thing. Of course, some with they could handle more of it! :) But, think about it...
Whether it’s paying bills, writing checks, swiping your credit card, going to the bank, going to the store, taking your purse or wallet out, feeling the change in your pocket, surfing the internet and buying stuff on eBay, etc. How we handle money is an important area of life and the Bible has a lot to say about it.
Like other things in life, money is a monitor (a barometer) on our spiritual lives. How we handle our marriage, our children, our work, our relationships with others, prayer, Bible study, are all barometers of our spiritual lives. Money is no different.
We have to begin to think of money as a stewardship. Let me try to illustrate it this way... Let’s suppose that your boss gives you $100 to buy something for him. He tells you that will have to give account for how you spent this $100. So he gives you the $100.
So, in this illustration, who owns the $100? Whose money is it?
Your boss’s!
Now, let me ask you this: the money that’s in your wallet or purse, the money that’s in your bank account, whose money is it? God’s!
If you would have to give an account to your boss who gave you $100, how much more will we have to give an account to God for how we spend HIS money?
That leads to today’s subject...
How are we to give money that God has entrusted to us? What is the solution? What is God’s plan for giving? Does He give us any help in His Word? What does the Bible teach about giving? What, exactly is the biblical pattern for giving?
This might surprise you, but the conclusion I’ve come up with after a study of God’s Word is this:
(1) Pay your taxes
(2) Give God whatever you want
Now many people, good people, people I respect, come along and they say that the solution to everything is to just accept the biblical pattern, which is 10%. They teach that the biblical standard of giving is the tithe or 10%. And they justify the 10% by saying if the law required 10% certainly grace would require at least 10%. I appreciate their sincerity in saying this, but I’ve got some problems with it. One problem I have with it is that the tithe is never mentioned in the New Testament in reference to the churches giving. Never. Not once. In all the passages where the church gives, there is no mention at all any place of tithing.
You know what’s wrong with the 10%?
1) It’s giving for the wrong reason. It’s giving to fulfill an obligation rather than a response to a loving, willing heart.
2) It hinders what you could do by making you think you’re done. Giving is never to be by coercion. Giving is never to be by compulsion. And giving isn’t any slick gimmick. It’s offensive to God.
God’s pattern for giving is not tithing in the New Testament. It isn’t even tithing in the Old Testament. It never has been tithing, and I’ll try to explain why I can say that as a result of our study this morning.
Now, since we are focusing our subject on tithing, and since tithing is never mentioned in the New Testament following the time of Christ, we are going to look at the history of giving by dividing it into two major historical sections:
1. Giving Before Moses (Law)
2. Giving From Moses to Jesus
1. GIVING BEFORE MOSES (the Law)
The people who teach that we should tithe, teach on this basis: Since the tithe was before Moses, since Abraham tithed and Jacob tithed before the Mosaic Law, it is therefore to be after the law. It is a universal principal, therefore, since the tithe was first and came before the law. Follow the logic there? Makes sense, right? The problem with that is if you’re going to accept anything before the law as norm for after the law, the Sabbath was also before the law, right? So we’ve got to quit meeting on Sundays.
Secondly, since the sacrificial system began in the Garden of Eden, we’re going to have to go back to killing animals sacrificially. And I’m not real sure that’s the idea. So if we’re going to say that whatever is before is after the law, we run into an awful lot of problems.
Now, giving before Moses falls into two categories:
A. Freewill Giving
B. Required Giving
Now let’s look at the book of Genesis, and let’s find out from the very start about first of all, freewill giving. We’re going to see some interesting things.
First of all, let’s look at the tithe as it appears in Genesis...
Some teach that because it appears in Genesis it becomes the standard from the start. They say that God’s universal plan is to tithe.
1. Tithe: What does it mean? “a tenth”
It’s not a religious word, it’s a math word. It has only to do with a percentage, it means a tenth or 10%.
2. Tithe: Is it commanded? (in Genesis) “No!”
As you look at tithing in Genesis, you will find that there is no statement from God regarding tithing here. No one told Abraham to give a tenth. No one told Jacob to give a tenth, certainly not God.
Now let me show you what I mean. Look with me at Genesis 4, for example. If we look at Genesis 4:3-4 we’re going to see the first offering given to God. It was from Cain and Abel.
And the interesting thing about this is that it was a voluntary offering. It was freewill giving. Genesis 4:3-4 “In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. But Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering”
Notice that there is no command that they were to do this. God did not tell them specifically to do this, at least it’s not recorded in Scripture. It was then voluntary, right?
Now later on you have in Genesis 8 we come to Noah.
The flood subsides, Chapter 8 and Noah immediately goes out to make a sacrifice, an offering to God.
Let’s read about it in Genesis 8:15-20
“Then God said to Noah, "Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives. Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you--the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground--so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it." So Noah came out, together with his sons and his wife and his sons’ wives. All the animals and all the creatures that move along the ground and all the birds--everything that moves on the earth--came out of the ark, one kind after another. Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.”
Notice this offering to God is completely voluntary.
There is no command from God. There is no stipulated amount. There is no percentage given. Noah did this on his own. It was spontaneous.
Let’s look next at Abraham in Genesis 12.
In response to the wonderful call of God, Abraham does something. What does he do? Look at Genesis 12:7 “The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.”
Notice, again, that there is no command. There is no stipulation. There is no requirement. Abraham gives freely in response to the wonderful promise of God.
He does it again in Genesis 13:18...
“So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.”
It’s a volunteer thing. It’s not in response to God’s command. Was the tithe commanded in Genesis? No!
Well, how was it to be used then?
3. Tithe: How was it used? (in Genesis)
(a) Abraham
In Genesis 14:20 we find the first mention of the tithe.
You know, of course, the story of Abraham, Abram at this time.
He’d just returned from fighting of these kings, on his way back, he runs into the king of Salem, this man named Melchizedek who was not only a king, but according to the book of Hebrews was also a priest. So when Abram sees this man who represents God, he wants to express thanks to God for the victory.
So what does he do?
Look at Genesis 14:20...
“And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.”
Now, does it say God told him to do this? No! Abraham wasn’t commanded to give this tithe. He gave it on his own. And he only gave a tenth of what he took from this battle, not of all that he owned. At no time in scripture is it ever recorded before or after this incident that he ever gave a tenth. And he lived 160 years. This is the only time that he ever gave a tenth that we know of in recorded Scripture.
Now that shows us something, I believe. Abraham gave this tenth once, as far as we know, and it was a tenth of what he took from the battle. It wasn’t a tenth of his income and it wasn’t an annual tenth, either. It was simply that he chose to do once in recorded Scripture. He gave not because it was required, but he gave freely, of his own will.
As we move on to Genesis 28, we’ll find another use of the word “tithe” and it has to do with Jacob...
(b) Jacob
Let’s look at Genesis 28:20-22
“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s house, then the LORD will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.’”
What’s Jacob doing here? Well, in typical Jacob style, he’s saying, “God, if you will do this, I will, you know, bow down to you.”
That’s really bad. How sad! How shallow can you get?
He was trying to buy off God! “All right, God, if you’ll give me safe journey and bread and clothes then I will let you be my God.” Oh, that’s real nice of you Jacob! “In fact, God, I’m just going to build you a nice pillar right here and I’ll just give you a tenth of everything I have.”
When you get to the place where you’re buying off God, you’re at a low place spiritually, right?
Notice there is no command that he give a tenth. Jacob gave it completely arbitrarily, completely voluntarily. There was no obligation for him to tithe at all here. Notice that all the way from Cain and Abel through this gift of Jacob, in all cases, they were voluntary gifts.
All right, now let me take you a step further... What about required giving?
B. Required Giving
Remember, we’re still talking about before the law was given here. What about that?
Let’s look at Genesis 41: 34...
“Let Pharaoh appoint commissioners over the land to take a fifth of the harvest of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.”
God’s plan to get ready for the famine that was to come in Egypt was that the people would be taxed. At what rate? What’s a fifth? 20%, right? And this was introduced by God. It was an introduction of taxation in the economy of Egypt.
This was God’s plan as it was expressed through Joseph. It was a plan of taxation.
Let’s look at a 2nd instance of required giving in Genesis 47:24...
“But when the crop comes in, give a fifth of it to Pharaoh. The other four-fifths you may keep as seed for the fields and as food for yourselves and your households and your children.”
Required giving in Genesis was 20%. It was instituted in Egypt and was to fund the national government. It was taxation.
Freewill giving, on the other hand, was to be directed to the Lord personally and was given with a response of love and sacrifice. From the time of creation to the time of the giving of the law, that’s what you find in terms of giving.
Now, let’s look next at the time from the giving of the law (Moses) to Jesus...
2. GIVING FROM MOSES (the Law) TO JESUS
What do we find here? During this time, the tithe becomes a very familiar term and those who teach tithing as God’s universal principal lean heavily on this period to make their case.
A. Required Giving
This is very, very interesting. Now, generally I suspect most of us have been taught that tithing was giving a tenth and this is what Israel gave, right?
Let me show you something... Turn to Leviticus 27:30-33 “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the LORD; it is holy to the LORD. If a man redeems any of his tithe, he must add a fifth of the value to it. The entire tithe of the herd and flock--every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod--will be holy to the LORD. He must not pick out the good from the bad or make any substitution. If he does make a substitution, both the animal and its substitute become holy and cannot be redeemed.’”
This was a tithe to the Lord, or the Levites tithe. How do we know that? Numbers 18:21, 24 tells us that the tithe was collected to be given to the Levites. Numbers 18:21 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting...and verse 24 ...Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning them: ’They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”
Who were the Levites? They were the priests.
The taxation of all the rest of the tribes went to supply the needs of the Levites. So this is the Levites tithe. It’s the Lord’s, to be given to and for the Levites. It is not a freewill offering to God. It is His already! That’s why it says in Malachi 3:8 that the people in Malachi’s day were robbing God by not giving to Him their tithes and offerings.
So 10% was given to the tribe of the Levites to support them, because you see they were the priests and they didn’t earn a living other than carrying on priestly functions. “Aha! See? There it is! 10%! That’s what was required giving!”
Well, not exactly. Let me take you to something else. Go to Deuteronomy 12:6-7.
“...there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you.”
Here we find there a second tithe – the Festival Tithe.
Another 10%! This 10% was to be eaten. It was eaten by the family, the friends, the servants, and the priests in the sanctuary. Why? The idea was to encourage devotion to the Lord. It also was to promote unity in the family and the servants.
It was kind of like national potluck! Sounds good, right? It made everybody share.
Let me give you a 3rd tithe. This is the Poor Tithe.
We find it in Deuteronomy 14:28-29
“At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
This was like the welfare program. This was the tithe for those who didn’t have much to eat, for the poor. This was welfare.
So, how much is our tithe up to now? You’ve got 10%, then another 10%, and then another 3 1/3%, right? We’re up to 23 1/3% now.
So you can see what the purpose of the tithe was.
It was to fund the government. It was to supply for the national feasts, to help fund the welfare program. All three of those are taxation, not freewill giving to God. Tithing was always taxation.
Tithing was used to fund the programs of the nation of Israel.
But, we’re not even done yet. I’ve given you other passages of Scripture there that refer to other forms of tithing and taxation that was required of the Jews to exist in the theocracy of Israel.
10% is a long way from what it cost them to exist!
They were easily well over 25% of their income given to the funding of that government and to the caring of the lands. This was required giving.
In addition to required giving, there is freewill giving. What about freewill giving?
B. Freewill Giving
Freewill giving includes first fruit giving and freewill offerings. The emphasis here is not on the quantity or the percentage, but it’s on the attitude of the giver and the quality of his gift.
In Numbers 18:12, it says this, “I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest.”
This is a freewill offering of first fruits that belonged to God and was given to the priests and Levites. It was done voluntarily.
Proverbs 3:9-10 is another great passage on giving:
“Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Boy that’s a great principal and promise, huh?
Firstfruits giving is giving the best of whatever you have. Giving to the Lord has always been a matter of freely giving Him the best! Freewill offering is not spending all your money on yourself first and then let whatever trickles down be given to God. That is not firstfruits giving. God’s desire is that we give to him the cream of the crop, the very best, right off the top. Not what’s left over!
There’s another passage in Proverbs that talks about this: Proverbs 11:24-25 “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
Isn’t that great? I love that!
Now, I want you to see an important principle of giving that comes from the book of Exodus. Let’s turn to Exodus 25... In Exodus 25:1 we read these words:
Exodus 25:1 The LORD said to Moses, "Tell the Israelites to bring me an offering...”
STOP RIGHT THERE! Now here’s God’s chance. God, all you got to say is I demand a tenth and that seals it, right? The tenth becomes universal law because you said. Watch what he says in verse 2...
You are to receive the offering for me from each man whose heart prompts him to give.
Notice this offering is to be done willing. It’s not a tithe. It’s not a requirement. It’s to be done willingly, however each person is prompted.
Well, what’s going to happen with this offering? If that’s the case, it’ll be pretty slim, you think? Take a look at Exodus 35.
It takes that long to collect the offering. Imagine being an usher in those days, huh?
Look at Exodus 35:4-5...
“Moses said to the whole Israelite community, ‘This is what the LORD has commanded: From what you have, take an offering for the LORD.” How much? “Everyone who is willing is to bring to the LORD an offering of gold, silver and bronze...”
Just bring it. No percentage. No tithe. Just willingly give. And notice that gifts were more than just gold, silver, bronze, etc. Gifts also included their time, their labor, their talents, etc.
Giving has always been more than just money!
Giving is a matter of giving your whole self!
“Well, that’s dangerous,” some would say. “That’ll never work. The people will never respond, then.” Oh, yeah?
Look at verse 21... “...and everyone who was willing and whose heart moved him came and brought an offering to the LORD for the work on the Tent of Meeting, for all its service, and for the sacred garments.”
Oh, they came alright! And they gave! How much did they give?
Take a look at Exodus 36:5-7 to find out...
Exodus 36:5-7 “...and [the craftsmen] said to Moses, "The people are bringing more than enough for doing the work the LORD commanded to be done." Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: ‘No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.’ And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work.”
Isn’t that great? Moses told them to stop giving because they were giving too much! Imagine a church that told its people to stop giving? Don’t give anymore, we have enough! Imagine!
When people believe in the ministry and when they believe what you’re doing exalts God, they will give too much!
We won’t turn to it, but another passage that gives a clear teaching of God’s plan for giving comes from Deuteronomy 16:17
“Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.”
Giving is to be done freely, as God has blessed you.
Now you see what I’m saying required giving was always taxation. Freewill giving was always whatever came out of the willing heart.
We don’t have time to turn there, but 1 Chronicles 29:9 and 16 give us another example of this. This was in reference to the building of the temple.
Let me read the verses for us...
1 Chronicles 29:9 “The people rejoiced at the willing response of their leaders, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD. David the king also rejoiced greatly.” 1 Chronicles 29:16 (David’s prayer) “O LORD our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”
See there it is. There’s the same principal.
What about Christ and the tithe? What did He have to say about it? The only mention Christ makes us when He is proclaiming a bunch of woes on the Pharisees and teachers of the Law recorded in Matthew 23:23 and Luke 11:42. He condemns them for being so preoccupied with tithing and legalistic giving that they have forgotten the more important things of love, mercy, and justice.
In conclusion, what have we learned?
1) Pay your taxes (required giving)
2) Give God whatever you want (freewill giving)
What’s the truth about tithing? It’s this: Tithing was taxation for the theocracy.
We don’t live a theocracy, but government is still ordained of God. So we pay our taxes.
But tithing is not giving. It never was intended to be giving. Please don’t get stuck on the tenth!
Don’t limit yourself to legalistic giving!
Be free in the spirit of God to give super abundantly!
In closing listen to these words from 2 Corinthians 9:6 “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
