For those who attend the church I pastor, my view on giving is… “You Don’t Have To Tithe.”
That doesn’t mean you don’t have to… or shouldn’t give. No, far from it. Please keep reading.
Consider what Jesus taught. In The Gospel of Luke, Jesus affirmed several things about financial giving. I’ve come to the conclusion that if we understand giving the way Jesus taught, these passages will revolutionize our giving. Consider…
In Luke 11:42-44 Jesus affirms the practice of tithing. The tithe is giving 10% of our gross income to God (Malachi 3:8-10).
In Luke 18:18-30 Jesus tells the Rich Young Ruler to sell everything he owned… give it to the poor… then follow him.
In Luke 19:1-10 Jesus affirms Zacchaeus when he gave 1/2 of everything he owned to the poor and then promised to give back four times what he took from anyone he had defrauded.
In Luke 21:1-4 Jesus affirmed a poor widow who gave all she had, two copper coins, saying that everyone else gave out of their abundance (What they had left over) while she gave out of her poverty (All she had).
If you’re a careful reader you’ll ask… “Which is it? What should I give? 10% of my income? Sell everything I own and give it to the poor? Give 1/2 my possessions? Or just give all I have no matter what my condition is?” My answer is… YES! The point is not about the amount that is given, it’s what motivates the person to give… the condition of their heart. It is about giving whatever God leads you to give! Keep reading…
Consider what Paul taught. Paul explained the principals Jesus laid out in Luke.
In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul points out that the Macedonians gave in spite of the their extreme hardship and deep poverty. They did this because of their joy over being saved. They were able to give because they gave themselves first to the Lord then they gave according to God’s will.
Then in 2 Corinthians 9:6-12, 15 Paul points out that our blessings and provisions from God are the result of our generosity… or lack of it. Not only that, he also writes that “God loves a cheerful giver.” If/when a person gives because they feel guilty or forced to give… God Himself isn’t pleased. The awesome context for all this is that when Christians give… generously… God then supplies all their need in over abundance with the base being that our giving springs from and is motivated by God’s precious gift.
APPLICATION:
The baseline for Christian giving is the tithe… 10%.
Under grace Christian giving begins at 10% and goes up from there.
Christians who are captured by the love and joy of salvation give generously.
Christians who give under Grace have their needs supplied by God’s awesome power.
The Christian’s ability to give is it’s self a gift from God.
Christians who give generously are happy and joyful people!
Because of all the Scriptures (I hope you read the links), I’ve come to the conclusion that to tell those who attend church where I pastor that they must tithe is to hinder them in their giving AND God’s blessing them.
Because I want those I serve to be blessed, I encourage them to go beyond the tithe… as God leads… according to His will… not under compulsion… but joyfully and cheerfully in response to the love God has shown them.
“No man can serve two masters. He will either love the one and hate the other. No man can serve God and money.”
There is no support that the baseline of giving is 10% for the Church. You cannot find this foundation of tithing in scripture. All the Israelites did not even tithe. Only the farmers tithed. I know that making everyone give 10% of their income sounds great and all because it gives consistency and makes sure that needs have money coming in to be provided for. But if God wanted us to be guided by a bunch of rules that didn’t allow freewill giving, then he wouldn’t have given us the Holy Spirit. Why would there be a need for a Spiritual counselor in charge of controlling His people if God written out certain steps for us to do in order to do what’s best? His Spirit is our connection with our relationship with Him. We are part of the family, so we do not need to be taxed as strangers.
Matthew 17, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take customs or taxes, from their sons or from strangers?” Peter said to Him, “From strangers.” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.
-jared b
Jared,
You challenged that there is no baseline of giving 10% in the church. I would suggest that the words of Jesus in the New Testament would suffice for what kind of practice He expects. That this would be the support you seek…
The following is found in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE OTHERS (Tithing)…”
Yes… the Tithe IS expected by Jesus. As people who are under grace and have been forgiven much, Christians should give far beyond just tithing.
Blessings,
Ron
God chose the poor of the world for His kingdom. N. T. KJV We live under the Grace of Jesus Christ age, not the old testament church age. N. T. KJV God told His children in the O.T. to honor and obey Him by 10% tithes for His creation. O.T. KJV In the KJV N.T. the only scripture for giving to God is 2-Cor. 9:6-7. ” …Let each one give purposed from his heart…”Money is the root of all evil. N.T. KJV Giving $$$ as a freewill offering for each one of us is the way giving back to God. Poor people cannot give OR only a few dollars whereas richer people can give more.
COMMANDING tithes is NOT biblical for the Jesus Christ age. God own’s everything and gives us stewardship over it. 99% of all preachers are overpaid and taking in more than 10% and ask tithes according to the old testament, and use it to extort money from non-givers and more money from the rich givers.
God gives ALL needs when you believe in Him, pray to Him and have faith in Him. God will accept any amount of money small or large, He knows your heart when you give out of love for Him and is NOT commanded in the New Testament.
If the churches need alot of money, and spend money they do not have, then they are WORLDLY and anyone should leave!
Terry,
Thank you for your comment. As for “the only scripture for giving to God,” I think you’ve overlooked Matthew 23:23-24 where Jesus Himself affirmed the tithe to the Pharisees… and thus a starting place for all believers in their giving. As for “poor people” and their inability to give… if I’m not mistaken Jesus used a poor widow as the example of how to give in Matthew 12:41-44 when she gave but to small copper coins… which was all she had. So I disagree that a person’s financial condition prevents them from being able to give. It is not the amount but the sacrifice Jesus looks at.
“99% of all preachers are overpaid?” Wow… that’s interesting. How did you come to that conclusion? Preachers “Extort money from non givers?” Seems a little harsh a comment to me. But I do agree with you that “He knows (our) heart when we give.”
I guess I wonder what facilitated the emotion that is behind what you wrote in your comment. My prayer is that you will walk with God and live Romans 14:5 in relation to giving.
Blessings