What Does the New Testament Say About Tithing? We’ve established that the Old Testament had a lot of tithing and offering rules, but what does the New Testament say about tithing? After Jesus saved humanity from eternal death, He introduced a new perspective on tithing and offerings (John 3:16). Jesus endorses tithing – but expects His followers to exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees whom He encouraged to continue tithing (Matthew 23:23). Here are the key ideas of the principle of giving: 1. God owns everything, and His people are “money managers.” God continues to give everything they need, including money (1 Corinthians 10:26). In turn, they are to manage the money so His blessings and generosity are not wasted. Moreover, gaining money is only possible through Him, so Christians may show their gratitude by returning a portion to Him. 2. Giving to God is the best antidote for materialism. Money can’t buy happiness. Instead, happiness is gained by who a person has (God) rather than by what the person has gained (things). “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth… But to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” (1 Timothy 6:17) 3. Christians are to give to the church in proportion to God’s provision. Instead of asking, “How much is required?”, Christians are to ask, “How much can I give?” Tithing in the Old Testament established rules for proportionate giving. Today, anybody dedicated to Christ should be able to offer an appropriate portion of their wealth voluntarily to support the ongoing operations of their church. Is Tithing 10%? A tithe is a tenth, but it doesn’t have any intrinsic spiritual value. The tenth of the spoils Abraham gave could be interpreted as "top of the heap." It was the first and best Abraham had and he decided to give it. Paul makes it clear that generosity should be cheerful and voluntary (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). We should not allow the Old Covenant law of tithing to become a stumbling block to embracing the New Covenant's behavior of generosity. Some people may start at 1% and work their way from there. The point is breaking the curse of "love of money" through rearranging our priorities on building the Kingdom of God. When Did Tithing Start in the Church? Tithing started even before the Law was given to Moses, mostly as a voluntary return for how God helped His people overcome major challenges. We can see this in these two verses: Genesis 14:20: Abram “gave [God] a tenth of everything” to show his gratitude for defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings that allied with him. Genesis 28:18-22: Jacob promised God that, “of all that You give me, I will give You a tenth” in response to God’s blessing that the Covenant promises given to Abraham will now flow through him. When Did Tithing Become Money? In a way, tithing has always been about money. In Biblical times, the Israelites were asked to tithe their crops and livestock because they didn’t have the paper bills and checks of today. They were largely using a barter system, which means produce, flocks, and herds were their money. As the world was slowly introduced to the forms of money we now know, the tithing system also adjusted accordingly. In this way, the Old Testament requirement for giving 10% of crops and livestock is equivalent to 10% of income in today’s economy. Is Tithing Biblical? There are different opinions on this question. Some Christians believe that we are still held to the standard of tithing 10%; others believe that we are released from this law, but that we are still called to radical generosity. Regardless, Christians still believe that everything they have comes from God, so it’s only natural that they “tithe” a portion of their earnings in thanksgiving to the God they serve. Ultimately, the 10% tithe is only the beginning of what generosity could look like for the Church. With love, Your sister Azrael Divine