- 10% was not the minimum amount for Israel. They gave less than 10% at times. (Hebrews 7:4; Numbers 31:28-30)
- The New Testament does not command, address, or mention tithing to the Gentiles who are unfamiliar with Jewish practices.
- Jesus’ own ministry operated from freewill offerings. He also commanded the disciples to receive freely. (Luke 8:1-3, Matthew 10:8-10)
- The children of God under his family are not taxed. They are free to give (Matthew 17:25; Galatians 4:5)
- Tithing was not a requirement prior to the Mosaic law considering Jacob freely offered God 10%. (Genesis 28:20)
- None of the Israelites tithed while outside of the promised land. (Deuteronomy 12:5)
- Abraham’s tithe was under the Old Covenant, which was established before Moses and was also fulfilled (Genesis 3; Hebrews 8:13)
- Giving would be the only spiritual gift with a minimum requirement and not led by the Spirit.
- There are no commands to modify tithing with how we practice it today, so people have to make up correlations to get it to fit into the church.
- Israelites who did not grow food or raise animals did not tithe. (Leviticus 27:30)
- Giving is not by compulsion. (2 Corinthians 9:6-9)
- The Levitical priests were required to serve 25 years, and just like tithing, the New Testament doesn’t recall this requirement either
- Unless giving 10% is the spiritual nature of God’s holiness, then it falls under the same classification of other interim tokens in the Old Covenant that Christ fulfilled
Articles About Tithing & Giving
We believe that tithing is not commanded for the New Testament church, so on this site, you will find many articles thoroughly discussing this point of view. Even though we take this viewpoint, our philosophy is to encourage Christians to give generously through Spirit-led giving. We do not condone excuses to give minimally or to be stingy with what God has given us. He has given us each a unique stewardship path. We must teach ourselves to walk in his will and obey the Holy Spirit when we are asked to give. Giving is not a passive form of worship, so it will take some effort to grow into a proper type of giver.
Top Ignorant Statements About Tithing
This list of ignorant statements about tithing are listed here because they are the cream of the crop when it comes to oblivious arguments. Every time i hear these statements i either roll my eyes to the back of my brain or i shake my head in disbelief about how shallow their brain must be. I know my mood seems uncaring and sarcastic, well, that’s probably because it is. Sorry, it’s been a rough couple weeks. So, onward we go into the barren, thoughtless, and ignorant statements about tithing.
- You don’t pray about tithing, you do it
Who can recall the countless times I’ve come across this statement. This argument pretty much stems from the mentality, “God said it, and that settles it”. I could understand if we skipped the whole prayer thing if we were talking about murder, adultery, or stealing; but curiosity should arise when we realize that God is present, but I don’t need to pray because all I need to know is in this little black book. After all, it says “Holy” on the front, so it must answer all my questions. Who needs a God that is able to communicate? There are many other religions out there that pray to idols who can’t speak to them. For some reason, I don’t think God is made of wood or stone. - Tithing acknowledges that God owns it All
STOP! Think about that: Does giving 10% mean you are giving 100%? Notice how they always say that tithing “acknowledges”. They know it doesn’t bring fulfillment, or completion to stewardship. It’s because they know if we aren’t committed 100% to God, then 10% means nothing. It is very possible that many people have tithed without acknowledging that the other 90% belongs to Him as well. We’re in a bit of a quandary here. Is it tithing that acknowledges God owns it all, or it is a circumcised and sacrificial heart that acknowledges God owns it all. Which is it? - Freewill givers do not give as much as tithers
I am sure that is probably true, but the truth is not based on success or results. Let’s take Islam for example. Right now, it is the fastest growing religion in the world, so does that make Islam right and Christianity wrong? I’m even sure many more Muslims are ready to die for their faith than Christians are. (shout out to Achmed the dead terrorist!)One of the reasons tithers follow through with their commitment to giving more is because they place themselves under a storm cloud that will strike them with a curse if they disobey. Even though God directly says, “you are no longer under a curse”, tithers still think that God didn’t mean he removed the curse about tithing also. - All scripture is profitable
If I could define ignorance in one of these arguments listed here, well this is it. This is one of those responses i get when people think I’m just trying to throw out the whole Bible whenever i say that the tithe is no longer valid. Forget the fact that they don’t believe in the Sabbath on Saturday, animal sacrifices, or even clean meats for the same reasons i don’t believe in tithing. This is how it usually goes: I basically tell them that the tithe is no longer commanded, and they basically say, “How dare you throw out God’s Word”. Then comes either one of the two statements: ‘all scripture is profitable’ or ‘i did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. Why should I even bother asking them why they don’t fulfill the sabbath?. . . sigh. . . - God never Changes
This kind of goes along with #4 . . . as in why should I even bother asking them why God changed the sabbath, or the priesthood, or the temple. Debating with people over these tithing arguments is like arguing over an algebra equation with a 5-year-old when they don’t even understand multiplication. If tithers just stop and think about what they are saying, then they would soon realize that if God never changes in the way that they are implying, then we would still stone our children. This is what I mean when I said ‘thoughtless’ at the beginning of the blog. These tithing arguments are just that – thoughtless. - Where does the Bible say to stop tithing?
It doesn’t say, “stop tithing”. I believe there are over 600 some-odd old testament laws that we do not practice anymore. I would imagine if God took the time to rewrite a verse in the new testament commanding us to stop each law in the Old Testament, then our bible would be a few hundred pages longer. We are born again, adopted in God’s family, indwelled with God’s Spirit, and given a new covenant. On top of all this, the earthly priesthood was eliminated, the temple destroyed, and Judaism is not my religion, nor am i an Israelite; and yet, we find it hard to believe that tithing could have been replaced by Spirit-led giving. After all the changes, i think we need to find where the Bible says to continue tithing. Don’t you? - Tithing is the starting point
This philosophy is not even in the bible. First of all, first fruit offerings were given prior to the tithe, so tithes were not even given first. Second, tithes were only given from food and animals, and were not given from occupational income. So, there was no starting point for blacksmiths, lawyers, doctors, or carpenters.Here’s a little saying, that i’ve thought of all by myself (as you can see I’m boasting)
Where should our giving begin?
Where should our giving end?
WHICH ONE SHOULD WE TEACH? - Would you like God’s net or gross blessing?
No, this is not necessarily an argument used to defend tithing, but more or less used to persuade those who are tithing, to tithe more. First, this argument exposes the root of why tithing has such a hold on many lives. It is the promise of blessing and the fear of the curse. Who cares about gross or net blessing from God, you should want to do what’s right. Right is either right, and wrong is wrong. There is no gross right or net wrong. The problem is that those, who are concerned if they should tithe on the gross, ask others who couldn’t give you a biblical answer. So the best thing to do is conjure up a catchphrase that seems to have wisdom embedded in it. - How Much do you give?
Ah yes, this question is their famous “gotcha” argument. They know that biblical reasoning will not win their argument so they resort to personal attacks because your character is all they have left to attack. I have to admit, this is a tricky one to respond to. First, they have no business investigating what you give. Second, if you happen to give less than a tithe of your income, they let you know, your works do not shine as bright as theirs. Last of all, if you do give above 10%, they will convince you that tithing is the minimum and your conscience knows it. This question is in the ignorant list because either they want to corner you; no, not on biblical truth, but on your performance; and also it is ignorant because anyone should know better than to determine scriptural truth based on the performance of mankind. - We can’t rely on people to be Spirit-led
This is an ignorant statement that tithers unfortunately believe, and yet ironically in the same sentence, they believe the book of Acts is historically accurate. I don’t know, maybe they do believe the book of Acts was a fairy tale. What they are saying is that ‘i don’t trust that people can be Spirit led, but of course, the Christians in the book of Acts are the exception‘.With their ignorant statements, they don’t even realize that they deny the power that God has on his children. They deny the blood of Christ, and they deny that any Christian can be sacrificial and liberal with their giving while being filled and led by the Spirit of God. What a shame, and what ignorance. - How will the church stay open if we don’t tithe
There are thousands of non-profit organizations that keep their doors open all year without demanding, or imposing a tithe of their freewill donors. What makes us think that an operation that is commissioned and overseen by God’s almighty hand would fare less than any of these non-profit organizations? Are you kidding me? is your faith that little? It might just be that you have seen your astronomical church budget, and it is in the millions! Yeah, you’re right, if there’s anything that God could struggle with is to continue paying for your worthless, under-performing, humanistic kingdom that does very little in out-reach but a lot of in-reach. In that case, you are right, we probably would see some church doors close. That’s the price you pay when God is in charge of financing his kingdom.
Now i’m looking for your input. But please, if you have anything to say, ignorance is not welcome.
Should We Debate Tithing?
This question can be reworded to ask if it is important to debate any doctrine. Many people steer away from any debate, and I’m trying to find out if it is healthy to have this position in one’s life. The reason why I brought up this topic is that I recently confronted someone about a specific teaching he had about the tithing issue. Not to be arrogant, but my accusation torched his teaching. Basically, he responded by saying, “I’d rather watch paint dry than ever debate anything”.
I guess this kind of bothers me that I just nailed that guy, and he won’t even concede just a little. I don’t know if I took it personally, or am just angered at his ignorance. One of my biggest flaws is that I have no patience for people, so being upset is not the right response on my end; but I still want to hear opinions about what others feel about debating. You are probably thinking in your head that I’m a little late on this question considering I’ve been debating tithing on this blog for three-and-a-half years. Well, maybe I’ve been doing it wrong. Maybe I need another approach? I’m gonna throw out some verses in the bible that talk about debating(NKJV). I highlighted a few keywords in each verse. I want to hear what your comments are about this.
2 Corinthians 12:20
For I fear lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I wish, and that I shall be found by you such as you do not wish; lest there be contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, backbitings, whisperings, conceits, tumults;
Romans 1:29
being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers,
1 Peter 3:15-16
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
Acts 17:16,17
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there.
1 Timothy 6:3-5
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself.
Acts 15:7
Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: “Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe.
2 Timothy 2:14-17
Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord not to strive about words to no profit, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer.
2 Timothy 2:23-26
But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.
Proverbs 25:9
Debate your case with your neighbor, And do not disclose the secret to another;
What say ye? Is there a Godly approach to debating?
Tithing Questions are Frustrating
My website receives thousands of visitors every month, so naturally, I get emails from people who have been struggling with giving and need a question answered. If the typical question was about seeking the basic facts, I wouldn’t be as frustrated in responding as I typically am. But the typical question usually has to do with a quandary that makes an individual choose between tithing and debt, or tithing and paying bills, or tithing and giving to other ministries.
The Tithing Dilemma
I would say that many of these people know already what they should do, but their conscience has been deceived about tithing for so long that their guilt becomes a stumbling block for doing the obvious thing. On one end, they have tithing. On the other, there’s common sense, which wants to avoid debt, pay bills, or provide for one’s family. On some occasions, a desire to give to other ministries outside of their church contradicts the teaching that a tithe must go to your local church.
So I asked myself the question, why do so many people not know what they should do? I don’t know if this is the answer but I believe the main reason why I receive these questions is that their giving abilities have been trained on tithing, but not Spirit-led giving. Being guided by the spontaneous characteristics of Spirit-led giving is foreign to most, or at the least bit, still in its immature stage. Giving 10% of your gross income seems cut and dry, but when a unique circumstance comes up, tithers freeze and do not know what they should do. Questions, such as, “should I tithe on their retirement money”, or “can I give to a charity”, are just a few questions that many ask. The thought of hearing and listening to a personal God about spontaneous instructions on their giving is foreign to them, because they’ve been spoon-fed about what they should do with their money for so long. Tithing has turned many believers into a tamed lion that forgot about their natural instincts.
Spiritual Instincts
Tithing has made us into baby Christians, which is antithetical to the philosophy that it trains us into mature Christians. Children, who are initially trained through Spirit led in their giving, don’t freeze up with difficult questions. Those who are led by tithing, are examples of wild animals caged up and tamed and have developed no survivable instincts outside of their little cage. Tithing believers have lost their natural, Spirit-led instincts. They are being tamed by a giving instructor that dictates their move, and it satisfies them because of the security and consistency it brings in their life. Assuming, with tithing, there seems to be no doubt or questions about what you are doing until a bizarre situation comes up.
Unfortunately, many believe that tithing is commanded for the New Testament Church. New Testament children are born again to be free, and not caged up like a circus lion. The Spirit of God is meant to be our guide – not tithing. Our spiritual instincts naturally guide us when we are in the wild because we are naturally free and wild creatures. God didn’t give us spiritual instincts so that the tithing tamer could control us. Break free from your bondage. Get out into the wild, and let the Spirit be your guide.
We have created a huge dilemma. We want to build Christians who eventually will be free to be Spirit led with offerings above the tithe, and yet our training is performed in a cage? How does all this make sense? Why do we train our children how to tithe when their destination is to give with Spirit-led offerings?
Basic Training
Training is a crucial experience in a believers life. For so long, we’ve been brainwashed into thinking that tithing is the “training wheels” or the “baby steps” in regards to stewardship and giving. But when we are thrown out into the wild, which requires us to be at the peak of our instincts, we don’t know how to feed ourselves and survive on our instincts. We have not been trained to be Spirit-led, we’ve been trained by tithing.
Most of us, when we figure out offerings above the tithe, we automatically begin calculating, and it sounds something like this, “1 or 2 % sounds like a pretty reasonable offering to give”. So, is Spirit-led offerings much like throwing darts? Is this is what tithing exercises helped us figure out?
For so long we’ve been told to tithe, and it’s been fairly simple to figure out what to do with it. Once we get our paycheck, just cut out 10% for God. As far as the offering is concerned, I would dare say that most add 1% or 2% and place our gift in the same offering plate every week. Some of us might go out on a limb and actually take the liberty to checkmark the offering envelopes to designate if our offering should go towards the mission, building, or benevolence fund. If checking a box would be the biggest spiritually financial decision we would have to make, then we have seriously failed in our training.
Many of us have heard the pun that our wallet is usually the last thing to get saved or be baptized. Well, i agree in a different way. Most Christians recognize our new birth in Spirit-led living, but when it comes to giving, we are still attracted to the old life under the law. For some reason we are attracted to the way, Abraham, Jacob, & Israel gave. On top of that, the old covenant curses and blessings on the tithing law attract our attention even more. We have been baptized out of this system into a new system. It’s time to start living and giving like it.
It first begins with training ourselves to be Spirit-led. To clarify, being Spirit-led is not about neglecting the Word of God, nor is it following your emotional whim. Most people are afraid that their emotions will get in the way, and that’s why they calculate their giving every week. Not to say that creating goals, or a set amount for our giving is bad, but unless the Holy Spirit is really setting a consistent standard for you, then that’s not Spirit-led giving.
Definition of Spirit-led Giving
Figuring out Spirit-led giving is much like deciding where you should live, where your children should attend school, who to marry, what job should you take . . . etc. Are there direct commands in the bible that tell you where to live, or attend school? Well, yes, but no. I’m sure you can find commands intended for Israel to live in a certain place, or who to marry, but how are these commands practical to us today? If I were to disregard these old testament commands intended for Israel and make my marriage a Spirit-led decision, most would agree with why I am free to do this. Yes, we know about these Old Testament commands, and we know there’s nothing wrong with living our life by some of them. The problem is when we’ve incorporated these laws into New Covenant dogma, and discourage all other viewpoints.
Why?
Once again, why are tithing questions frustrating? I think it’s the realization that we shouldn’t be struggling with these questions anymore. I guess the next frustrating thing is that tithing is enforced by those who say it’s supposed train you make the right decisions, but all it’s done is create us not know how to make any Spirit-led decisions.
Although i am tired of baby Christian questions, I will still answer them. So, keep em’ coming.
Except for Spirit Led Giving
Except
We ask the Spirit of God to . . .
guide our hearts
bring utterance
heal the sick
save the souls
train us
help us with decisions
open doors
rise up leaders
build the Church
We ask the Spirit of God about the impossible, except tell us how much to give.
The Spirit of God is in control of the gifts of. . .
teaching
prophecy
healing
wisdom
administration
leadership
faith
except giving, that’s controlled by tithing.
We ask the Spirit of God to rise up Godly . . .
missionaries
pastors
evangelists
teachers
leaders
politicians
parents
children
We ask the Spirit of God to rise up everyone, except givers, because every one’s suppose to tithe anyways.
We ask the Spirit of God . . .
where we should go
what we should do
when is the right time
how we should do it
why we need to
who it’s gonna be
except how much, because we already know the answer to that
We ask the Spirit of God about
anything
everything
everybody
everywhere
except when it comes to the all power dollar, our answers are found through tithing.
We inquire the Holy Spirit about every area of our life, except when it comes to money, we leave it up to tithing. We are encouraged to seek God’s counsel, to pray, to wait for answers, and to listen to that still small voice. But when it comes to our giving, it is baffling how the counsel is unneeded, prayer can be ignored, and the still small voice can be silenced. When tithing is the answer, there is no need to hear, no need to pray, and no need to seek counsel about our giving. Sure, other areas of our life still need prayer, answers, and counsel. With tithing, there is nothing to counsel about, and nothing to ask about.
As a Church, we wish to pursue the Spirit led movement pictured in the book of Acts, except when it comes to our pocketbooks, we don’t have the faith to rely on the actions of Spirit led giving and receiving.
Tithing is A Catch 22
Under a tithing system, a false teacher’s financial security is not dependent upon freewill givers guided by spiritual discernment. For this fact alone, tithing in the Spirit-led Church incubates heretical teaching.
The law has no authority to command support for a ministry that the law did not commission. If the Spirit is calling a ministry, then let the Holy Spirit validate His work by also calling others to give. Otherwise, you will get those who say they are led by the Spirit, but truly are misled, and yet still feel the need to obligate others into supporting him.
So now we have the problem that a man claims the Spirit is calling his fellowship in one direction, and then on the other hand God’s people are obligated to pay for a humanistic decision. It’s a catch-22. You disagree with a pastor and yet, you are obligated to fund his operation. What do you do? On top of that, throw in the often misinterpreted phrase, “touch not God’s anointed”, and there you have it, no accountability, no questioning, lots of money, and all-consuming power all rested at the fingertips of one man with a vision(whatever that may be).
So what’s going to stop this train wreck? We know one thing for sure, lack of money isn’t stopping it as long as God’s people know they are obligated to tithe.