Francis Chan is a pastor of Cornerstone Community Church who does not believe in tithing and gives 90% of his income away, and in 2008 it was reported that his church gave 55% of its income to charitable causes.
Does Francis Chan Believe in Tithing?
No. Francis Chan does not believe tithing is required. Here is his quote below
Francis Chan on tithing: “I don’t believe you are required to give a certain amount of your income. From my study of scripture, as I look through this, when I look at the New Testament; I don’t believe that we’re required to give this ten percent.“
Here is the whole audio of Francis Chan on tithing.
I’ve begun to see Tithing in a new light. I agree that it is no longer a “requirement”, however, it is a law as in the law of gravity; sowing and reaping. Plus, it is true and undefiled religion which pleases the Lord to feed the hungry, visit widows, care for orphans, etc..
The “reaping” part is a staple of the prosperity cult.
Jesus tithed. Why would I not want to? Jesus stood and watched people give and He saw them bring in Tithes, offerings and alms and He saw who gave what. So if you know He made you like Him then you would obey all of His commanded in both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Tithing, offerings, alms giving and paying vows are all things Jesus did… I want to do the same and not stretch Paul’s letter to the Corinthians into something he did not say or intend to misconstrued as I believe this exhortation does. If I don’t tithe I am robbing God of the opportunity to bless me and I want the windows of heaven to pour out more blessings than I can contain… and it’s not about money… it’s about Him!
buford that is very wise thank you the holy spirit has given you great insight thank you so much
Jesus died to free us from the old law and start the new covenant. That started after his death and resurrection. The new convent is not about not tithing. It’s not about a tenth. We are to give ourselves our services and what we can to help those in need. May that be financially, or material things, food, clothing, shelter etc. To give and give generously would require more than just a tenth of money. It’s not about not tithing it’s about setting a law aside that has already been paid for with His death and giving more like our lives in His service. There’s no stretch to Paul’s letter the giving actually becomes not a requirement but a privilege that the more you give the more yourself the more our Father will be pleased and bless us.
Christians get myopic on this topic. Tithing was exclusively an Old Testament practice. The church started in Acts Chapter 1. No where in the book of Acts does it ever show Christians tithing. In addition, Paul wrote most of the epistles and Paul never once mentions tithing. Peter never mentions tithing in his letters nor does John or Jude. Revelation never mentions tithing. The only rule of thumb that Paul ever gave was to be generous and willing to share and even in that instance he was not necessarily talking about money.
I still have to believe the New Testament! Hebrews 7 is quite clear that Jesus is receiving the Tithe in Heaven… and that is not from anyone else other than Christians. Here men who die receive tithes, but there He that ever liveth receives the tithe…
Sorry I can’t find anywhere that Jesus did away with the Tithe… All we see here is He is still receiving the Tithe!
What type of giving is Paul talking about when he says God loves a cheerful giver?
What all does that word “giving” encompass? Could it be it includes the tithe, alms, offerings and paying of vows? I believe it does.
What say you???
1. The high priest in Israel only received 1% of the tithe.
2. Priests also received animal sacrifices. Should we continue?
3. Hebrews 7 subject was about the change from the law, not the continuation of it.
4. The Holy Spirit is responsible to guide how we serve and how we give.
5. The idea of mechanically calculating out 10% of our gross income does not resemble the Spirit of worship characterized in the NT church.
6. Jesus is still the first fruit but no one is requiring you to sacrifice your first paycheck of the year.
7. Jesus is still the lamb of God but no one is killing any sheep.
8. Jesus asked us only to perform one sacrament in honor of his death.
9. Only the farmers and herdsmen gave a tithe. This means all other occupations did not give a tithe to the priests at all.
… just to name a few
All the excuses listed are reasons to NOT give. Straining at gnats and swallowing camels. The challenge is to get to the point in our lives as did R.G. Letourneau.
That way one could care less about a measly 10%.
http://www.centerforfaithandwork.com/article/why-rg-letourneau-gave-90-percent
Evoking the names of Rick Warren, Rockefeller, Letourneau and J.C. Penny as examples of generous people does not make your previous statements truth. Are you truly freeing a slave if you improve his life by 90% without breaking his chains?
I can’t free anyone. That is the individuals decision and the work of the Holy Spirit.
I agree we should never be forced to do anything for God that we don’t want to do. That makes the Christian life miserable. That said, giving is extremely important to the function of a church. Not to the “Church”, but to a local church who has to light it, warm it, or cool it, keep it clean etc. If I go to a church and I give all of my resources to places other than the church I attend, or worse, if I keep all my resources for myself, can I expect that church to continue to provide those services that drew me there?
The church in the new testament was not a building with lights and AC. The church Biblically is the family of Christians. No where in the Bible was tithing enjoined upon Christians. There are only occasional mentions of giving generously to help other Christians. The apostle Paul did not receive a salary.
I totally agree. So in your view, the house church model should be adopted. The larger churches that require resources in order to operate should wither on the vine. The church was also persecuted in the New Testament, causing some churches to meet in secret. I follow the tithing not required dogma, but we have these things called church buildings, not sure if you attend one, that need funds to operate.
The early church built no buildings. By early I mean all the churches we read about. Ephesus, Collossae, Thessalonica, etc. Not a single church building is mentioned in the N.T.. House churches should be where the rubber meets the road. Paul did not take a salary, he supported himself. Jesus did not take a salary. This whole mess of modern church buildings tends to lead people away from Christianity and into religion. Is a building a sin? Not necessarily. Is it consistent with the example of the early? No.
Got you. So Francis Chan’s church that gives over 50% of the millions it receives to fund large scale missionary projects is just practicing “religion.”? Hmm, whose being myopic now?
Bryan,. I am afraid you missed my point. My standard is what the early Christian church did, not what modern churches do. Sarcasm does not make your point.
You missed my point. My standard is not Francis Chan. My standard is the Bible.
Buford, Do you believe Jesus in heaven is receiving a literal tithe? Who is handing him the actual cash? Where does he store it? Plus Hebrews 7 says Melchizedek received the tithe on earth but it doesn’t say that Jesus in heaven receives a tithe. God in heaven doesn’t need our cash he needs our heart.
Your question cannot be serious! What does verse 8 say? Have you never heard of a metaphor? Get serious.
Buford,
Hebrews 7:12 clearly says that “For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law”. The old principle of the law was giving 1/10th. The new principle under grace is giving my whole heart, life, and being to Jesus. 1/10th no longer cuts it. I give him my all and nothing less. What replaced 10% is a fully committed heart. I then give as I am prospered not in a slavish way where I simply write a check for 10%
The tithe was initiated before the Law.
Most folk think God is talking about money and that people are robbing Him of money.
The real thing that non-tithers are doing is robbing God of the opportunity to bless them… it is not about money, or crops, or animals or stuff… it’s about blessings and not giving Him just 10% but recognizing all I have is His.
A cheerful giver is one who says, “I’m going to give God 10% of my gross income (just in case the tithe is still in effect); I’m going to give X% more as an offering (just in case the 30/60/100 fold return is for real); I’m going to give alms (just in case it is true that God give me back what I gave so I can give it again); I’m going to make and pay my vows (just in case He still honors the paying of vows) and that way, He knows and I know I’m a cheerful giver.
Buford,
You assume that God can’t bless us unless we tithe. That somehow God’s hands are tied and he can’t bless us because there is a law of blessing that we aren’t obeying. This is legalism where I do works and wait for blessing. This is a false assumption. We are blessed because of the price Jesus paid, not because we buy blessings with tithing. Throw money in the plate and watch heaven open. This is the philosophy of Catholicism called “buying indulgences”.
Look again, nowhere in any of Paul’s writings does Paul ever speak once of tithing. I believe that Paul understood giving very clearly and he never enjoined tithing on Christians. No where in John’s or Peter’s writing do we see any mention of tithing. I believe what Paul said is best… “Be generous and willing to share”.
Buford,
One more thought. I give generously but I don’t tithe and yet God has blessed my family abundantly. We have a wonderful church, great close Christian friends, great success over the years in helping others to know Christ, wonderful children, and a great career. I am deeply grateful for all the blessings that God has generously bestowed on us even though we don’t give an Old Testament 10% “tithe”.
I like the post regarding tithing. What have you studied regarding where to give, if you don’t have a church home (tithes)? Thank you, and God bless!
For His service,
Mike
-Galatians 2:20-
Have you moved to a new area?
If it were me I would visit churches and tithe weekly to each church I visited.
For me, it is the same example of going out to eat. Pay where you eat.
The Holy Spirit will lead you as you inquire of Him.
Michael,. Are you asking Francis, Buford, or me?
Buford, So you subscribe to “pay where you eat”? Thus we should pay cash for being blessed by a church service. You are simply prescribing hard core legalism AKA pay God to receive blessings. I prefer living under grace rather than the law.
Why don’t you fight the good fight of faith and not the brethren?
Dear Buford, Fighting against your rule-based version of Christianity IS fighting the good fight. Legalism is the enemy of the faith.
Attacking the brethren is not fighting the good fight of faith. We have a widow in our congregation and if the believers had not been tithing, giving offerings, giving to the poor and paying vows we could not be helping her in a time of great financial need for this saint. For me to not teach the full counsel (Full Gospel) would be to rob the giver of the opportunity to go to scripture and prove for and to themselves the truths in scripture. Truth be known… there is only one truth the believer NEEDS in his/her life and that is they must be born again. Not a mental “sozo” but a spiritual “sozo.” All the rest of the scripture is how to live successfully here in this life. None of the rest will get you eternal life. Satan’s job as the accuser of the brethren is to cause dissension and division. Our discussion is on that course. My take on this subject is that it is of no consequence to my salvation and therefore I am not interested in any further blathering. May the Father-God continue blessing you as He does not want any of His children in strife.
Buford,. I haven’t attacked you, I challenged your legalism. Tithing was not designed to help old ladies. Generous members do that all around the world all the time. No scripture says tithing is to help the poor. Tithing was a contribution given to the Jewish priests in the OT. The truth wasn’t cash.
You’ve missed the point. I don’t feel attacked. “There may be meat in my house” can easily be construed as to take care of the widow’s needs. She needs food, lodging, and bills paid. What pocket it come from is not legalism, it is Love in action.
There are so many scriptures that over the last nearly 2,000 years has caused division in the Body of Christ and have made the Church look bad in the eyes of the unbelievers, the carnally minded believer and even the spirit-filled believer that give Satan a foothold that makes Christians look like they are always in “family squabbles.” Denominations have sprung from picking up one or two “true” doctrines and condemning other local, or national Bodies of Believers and rejecting another group because they don’t see the Bible the same way.
Satan and his imps have been laughing the whole time as they deceive so many.
As a Full Gospel believer it has been unbelievable to have so many denominations come against the Word of God in so many trite ways… none of which will cause a born-again believer to lose their salvation. Just because we teach the Word uncompromised some call it legalism to allow believers to hear from God for themselves… God didn’t set Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Teachers and Prophets to dictate… He set them to assist believers to understand Romans 12:1-2. To honor Him in this life; spirit, soul and body and to change the way they think by accessing the mind of Christ, given to them at the new birth. To keep the Christian walk a K.I.S.S. walk on this earth. (K.I.S.S. = Keep It Spiritually Simple.)
It is not difficult to walk the walk of faith. It is easy to pray without ceasing. It is easy to build up your most holy faith praying in the spirit. It is easy to say “I am righteous” when I know the scriptures because I know God knows my every thought. It is easy to speak what God says about me because I know that is what He wants. It is easy to see when the Kingdom of Darkness wants to take me on a detour because I know God will turn everything the enemy means for evil into good.
The Christian walk is not difficult… even to those who are being persecuted by other religions… being murdered… leaving behind spouses and children. I never hear of them arguing over something as trivial as a tithe… they are committed to one thing… the Name of Jesus and Him crucified. I can only believe my faith is as strong as theirs if and when my physical life is threatened as are they.
Your view on tithing and my view on tithing is insignificant when viewed by the family whose father has just been beheaded for his faith… I can only hope I should be so strong as they and Stephen.
I would guess you and I agree on more than we disagree on. I teach the men in our fellowship that we must agree that if we disagree we do not become disagreeable.
One man came for about a year and his comment when he came was, “As soon as you teach one thing I disagree with, I’m out of here.” I should have told him to leave right then because it was only a matter of time until he had a disagreement that turned into an argument and then causing dissension that I had to ask him to be reconciled. He chose to gossip and try to convince others of me preaching blasphemy. He is a flat earther, a no punishment for sins and several other false doctrines person. He chose to no be restored and went his own way. There are no other English speaking churches in our area so now he is completely out of fellowship. Deliverance is out of the question… he doesn’t believe a Christian can be influence by the Kingdom of Darkness. If not why are so many so-called Christians still cursing, still cheating on taxes, still calling sin not sin. My prayer is he will fall back on the scriptures and trust the Holy Spirit to convict him and to come back into fellowship.
Buford,. I am not like the man waiting for one wrong comment or teaching. I believe we are under the dispensation of grace. With grace is freedom. Laws, such as the OT command to tithe crops, have been replaced with grace and love. Someone who understands grace is far more generous than a legalistic tither who imports laws from the old dispensation to support the church and pastor. Hey, I love you but i am concerned about cherry picking OT verses to insure pastors have salaries. If giving to support a widow is a need, real Christians step up and don’t need a mandated tithe to do so.
II Corinthians 9:7
Interesting. I have pastored since 1981 and have never had a salary. I have always been a bi-vocational minister and have worked at a profession and pastored at the same time. All of the tithes, offerings, alms and vows have always been used to minister to the Body of Christ,locally and internationally. I agree with you that a Pastor, an Apostle, a Teacher, an Evangelist or a Prophet should be self supporting and use the tithe, the offering, alms and the vow for their Biblical intent. K.I.S.S.
The Holy Spirit has always directed me to use 2nd Corinthians 9:7… the cheerful or “hilarous” giver for any type of giving you choose to believe in. 1st Corinthians 9:6-11 has been what my fellow ministers usually come back at me with… but the Holy Spirit has convinced me to pay my own way by the fruit of my own labor.
I now have three retirement incomes and still don’t need to take any thing from the local church. Some of my elders over the years have thought we should receive some sort of stipend, but the Lord hasn’t lead us in that direction. The fellowship has paid for some seminar and convention fees but never any personal payment. So I agree with you… a minister of the gospel shouldn’t have to rely on income from a church to live. I have pastored in Texas, Georgia, Missouri and now in Ecuador… and the Lord has continually met all our needs and a lot of our wants.
Will I change what I teach on giving? Only by direction of the Holy Spirit. And what He has had me teach for nearly 40 years has benefited hundreds of fellow believers and I’ve watched them prosper. I’ve seen blessings poured out on them. Seen designated offerings reduce hospital bills and other expenses by 30, 60 and 100 fold (not %). Seen money given back that was given to the poor so the person can give again. Seen vows paid that had God supernaturally operate on the givers behalf… so will I change? Not until the principles stop working. Is it legalistic? You may judge it to be so. I call it operating in faith and the hundreds of congregants over the years have never complained. As a matter of fact, the testimonies of the tithers far out weigh the testimonies of the folk who don’t tithe but use God’s designated funds to buy cars, boats, airplanes, bigger houses, golf memberships, boy toys, children’s toys ad nauseam… My experience is that non-tithers are selfish and seldom give more than 5% of their income. When you ask to help on a project and suggest a vow, many never give or complete their vow. Stop teaching the tithe and all it’s benefits… NO! The Lord has poured out too many blessings to not teach believers to not rob God of being able to bless you.
So I choose to disagree with you and Chan on the tithe… and not break fellowship over being accused of being legalistic.
I believe in the legal side of the crucifixion as well as the vital side of the crucifixion and therefore I believe in the legal side of tithing and the vital side of tithing.
Buford, We both have studied this for many years and come to different conclusions. You must follow what you believe from scriptures and so must I. We can agree to disagree.
If you love me you obey my commands
God commanded offering sacrifices by killing animals…are you advocating that? Obviously most of the O.T. commands we’re replaced with new commands. “Go and make disciples” etc…
No where in scriptures after the church started are Christians commanded to tithe.
To address the comments about the tithe being established before the law. Tithes existed before Abraham. Heathen tribes sometimes paid tithes to their temple gods. Abraham was not commanded to pay tithes anywhere. He merely decided to do that to honor Melchizedek. And that tithe was of the spoils of war, not his entire wealth. Nor does it state anywhere that he tithed again. Jut trying to address the pre-law argument for tithing. I’ve grown weary of others pastors/teachers doing patchwork quilts of scripture to make doctrine. Scripture should be studied in context. Be well and blessed.
John, Thank you and I agree. Nowhere after the church was launched is there a single scripture enjoining Christians to tithe. Instead the scripture says to give as you are prospered. Loving, grateful Christians always give. Discipleship is a heart thing, not a law thing.