10% Tithe

We had a long lecture on tithing in church – a presermon pretty much, and it made me sad because the Holy Spirit does such a better job of convicting people than other people do. Even people who have been personally convicted to do something different. So yeah, it turned into a big lecture and we were all sitting captive to a long, tithy rant.
BUT having stumbled across a passage where Jacob vows to give God a tenth of everything God gives him (there are some conditions he makes too), I got intrigued about where this 10% figure comes from and how important it is for me as a Christian today to worry about all the math. I have also heard/read from different sources that tithing is no longer required, has been misinterpreted and abused by modern church leaders to take peoples’ money, is paramount to the pre-reformation sale of indulgences etc.

It is true that tithing does not appear in the New Testament, although there are references to offerings that congregations make to other congregations or people in need. From the passages in the OT, it seems clear that tithing is a cultural indicator of submission to lordship. Quick summary:

  • Jacob vows to give the LORD a tenth of what he owns if he watches over him, provides for him, and brings him safely back to his father’s land (Genesis 28:20-22)

This is the passage that I came across that got me intrigued about what tithing really means

  • In Leviticus 27:30-33 there are instructions to give a tenth of produce and animals to God
  • Genesis 14:18-20 says Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything (people and goods)
  • In 1 Samuel 8:15, 17, Samuel warns the people that if they want a king like the other nations, he will take a tenth of their produce and flocks

So it seems to me that this whole 10% tithe thing comes from God’s requirement of his people to show that he is their ruler. The anti-tithing articles that I’ve read have argued along the lines that Jesus has fully redeemed us, so we don’t need to “buy” our salvation by tithing any more. That argument misses the point; tithing was never about buying salvation or paying God off to get blessings. Tithing is a sign of obedience.

It is true that in the New Testament, tithing (per se) is not addressed. Unfortunately for those who want off the hook from giving money, time, and stuff to churches, charities, and people who need it, the New Testament model is for believers to have “everything in common“. So technically, although we do not HAVE to give 10%, our submission to Jesus above all else means we’ve agreed that God is allowed to ask us for anything.
Even everything.