Five Reasons to Consider Tithing

Yesterday Phil preached on reasons we give our finances to the church. To put it as snappy as Sam Houston did: "When I got baptized, my wallet got baptized, too."

One of the sections of the sermon gave a rationale for why Christians should (at least) tithe. To tithe means to give to your church a tenth of your (gross) income. For some of us, that seems like an enormous amount, but to others, it serves only as a starting point.

If this is a new conviction for you, think of the following list as "five reasons to consider tithing":

1. Tithing occurred before the law of Moses: When Abraham gave money to the mysterious priest Melchizedek it says that "he gave him a tenth of all" (Gen. 14:20). A tithe is a tenth, of course. Because of this, it would be wrong to say that tithing is only a part of life under the Mosaic covenant.
2. Jesus assumed and affirmed the tithe: When he spoke the seven "woes" upon the Pharisees (Matt. 23), he said, "you tithe mint and mill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others" (v. 23). In other words, he was not telling them to stop tithing and start giving "justice and mercy" to people. He was telling them to keep tithing but to add to it "justice and mercy."
3. The New Testament often uses the economy of the tabernacle/temple to teach about life in the church: Paul asks a rhetorical question to the Corinthians that illustrates this: "Do you not know that those who perform sacred services eat the food of the temple, and those who attend regularly to the altar have their share from the altar? So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel" (1 Cor. 9:13-14). A central part of providing for the OT priests was the various tithes given to the temple. An extension into the New Testament is to say that God will also provide for pastors and other full-time workers through the giving of tithes and offerings.
4. The New Testament speaks of proportional giving: "On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper" (1 Cor. 16:2). We don't give equally, but as we "may prosper." The tithe is a way that this happens. My tithe will be different than your tithe because my income is different than yours. Yet, when each of us tithes, we are giving as we "may prosper."
5. The New Testament creates the expectation of giving more, not less that the Old Testament: We see this in many places, but one of these is 2 Corinthians 8:2-4 where Paul speaks of the Macedonians' generosity: "In a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints."

Tithing is a complex and personal issue. But I hope these five reasons give you something to consider and pray about as you discern God's will for your giving.

Daniel