What the Bible Says About
Tithing
and Christian Giving
Peter Ditzel
At a time when giving is reaching all-time lows in the church, ignorance about what is real Christian giving is reaching all-time highs. Surely, this is no coincidence. Not only does this article expose the misinformation we are fed in this area that can actually warp our thinking, but it sheds light on the true, biblical teaching about giving. I sincerely hope that all readers will give prayerful consideration to all this article has to say.
Has anyone ever told you to
tithe by giving one-tenth of your income to the church? Or perhaps
someone has told you to give to a particular ministry so that God will
prosper you. Maybe you were even made to feel that you needed to make up
for your sins by giving.
But have you ever stopped to wonder which, if any, of these approaches
to giving is the right one for Christians? In this article, we will
examine each of these ways of looking at giving to determine whether it
is biblical. We will also see whether there is another approach to
giving—one that is less popularly
promoted. Because it is so commonly taught, we will devote the first
section of this article to tithing.
The Tithe
If you tithe, or have been
told that you should tithe, you are in the company of many other
Christians. Tithing is a common practice in the church, and it is a
doctrine that is frequently taught from the pulpit, sometimes quite
vigorously. There are even entire websites devoted to the practice of
tithing. Usually what is meant in Christian churches by tithing is the
paying (or, as some say, giving) of one-tenth of one's income to the
church. Some say that the tithe should be one-tenth of one's gross
income (before any deductions, including taxes), and others say we
should tithe on our net income. By net, what is usually meant in this
case is after taxes are taken out. Some few might teach that we should
tithe on only that money that is left after we have paid our bills. We
will not get into these differences of opinion over how to tithe, but
will limit ourselves to determining whether the Bible says that
Christians are to tithe. Some of this may sound a little dry, but I hope
you will continue reading because it will serve as a background to the
eye-opening material later in this article.
The fact that tithing is found in the Bible is undeniable. Tithing is
frequently mentioned in the Bible. The word is found as early as the
time of Abraham, as mentioned in Genesis. Before examining its
occurrence in Abraham's life, however, we will first look at the law of
tithing as God gave it to the Israelites under Moses.
The Law of the Tithe
Leviticus 27:30-34:
"And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of
the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's: it is holy unto the Lord. And if a
man will at all redeem aught of his tithes, he shall add thereto the
fifth part thereof. And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the
flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy
unto the Lord. He shall not search whether it be good or bad, neither
shall he change it: and if he change it at all, then both it and the
change thereof shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed. These are the
commandments, which the Lord commanded Moses for the children of Israel
in mount Sinai."
Numbers 18:21-24: "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi
all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they
serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation. Neither
must the children of Israel henceforth come nigh the tabernacle of the
congregation, lest they bear sin, and die. But the Levites shall do the
service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their
iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations,
that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance. But the
tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as an heave offering
unto the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have
said unto them, Among the children of Israel they shall have no
inheritance."
A law for the Jews: Notice certain facts that we learn from these
Scriptures. As stated in the verse that immediately follows the tithe
instruction in Leviticus 27, "These are the commandments, which the Lord
commanded Moses for the children of Israel in mount Sinai" (Leviticus
27:34). God gave this law of the tithe through Moses to the Israelites
(the Jews) at Sinai. Nothing here says anything about God commanding
anyone other than the Israelites to tithe.
The tithe given to the Levites: The passage quoted above from
Numbers 18 tells us who received the tithe. The tribe of Levi, the
Levites, among whom were the priests and those who cared for the
tabernacle (and, later, the temple in Jerusalem), were to receive the
tithe (but see also below). As God explains, of all the tribes of
Israel, the tribe of Levi was to have no inheritance of land when the
Israelites entered the promised land. Instead, they were to be sustained
by the other tribes giving them the tithe. This is confirmed in Hebrews
7:5: "And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the
office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the
people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they
come out of the loins of Abraham."
For an agricultural society: These passages tell us something
else that is important. In Leviticus 27, the tithe is called "the tithe
of the land," "the seed of the land," "the fruit of the tree," and "the
tithe of the herd, or of the flock." The Israelites' society was
agrarian. Most people were involved in farming (raising crops and
livestock), and the economy centered on this. The tithing laws God gave
were tailored to such an agrarian economy. The Israelites were to tithe
their increase (Deuteronomy 14:22, 28; 26:12; 2 Chronicles 31:5).
Increase to a farmer in ancient times was an easily figured, tangible
thing. When a farmer planted grain, his increase was his harvest minus
the seed he had planted to create that harvest. In the case of
livestock, the increase was the calves or kids born that year. But when
someone works for an employer for 40 hours a week and gets a paycheck,
the question must be asked, What is the increase? Many people, after
taxes, commuting expenses, housing, food, clothing, and other expenses,
have little (and sometimes nothing) they could call an increase. That is
why there is such a controversy among tithing churches about what the
tithe should be figured on. The problem arises because the tithing law
was not meant for any other society but ancient Israel.
Confusion when taken out of historical context: Still more
confusion arises when, despite the Scriptures quoted above about the
Levites receiving the tithe, other Scriptures can be found that say that
the poor are to share the tithe (Deuteronomy 14:28-29) and even the
tithers themselves are to eat the tithe: "Thou shalt truly tithe all the
increase of thy seed, that the field bringeth forth year by year. And
thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall
choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and
of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that
thou mayest learn to fear the Lord thy God always" (Deuteronomy
14:22-26). A number of theories have arisen to explain this. The most
common ones say that there were at least two, and perhaps even three,
tithes. One tithe is an annual one-tenth tax that went to support the
Levites. Another tithe was an annual tithe of the increase that all of
the Israelites ate during the annual feast days (especially the Feast of
Tabernacles). Another tithe was only every three years when the tithe of
the increase was given to the Levites, strangers, orphans, and widows.
What, then, should all of this mean to Christians? Are they to observe
three tithes? And to whom are they to give these tithes? Let's look at
some of the ways people today try to apply the Old Testament tithing
laws.
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