My Personal Bible Study

"Do I tithe? This is a question I shall tackle to answer based upon what I learned from the Scriptures.

One of the topics a pastor addresses at the pulpit with his congregation is tithing and offering. It is such a sensitive subject to talk about that pastors are prone to skip it in their sermons nowadays. Members cringe, frown, and sulk when their purses are the topic of contention. A lot of times, members stop attending Sunday worship services as the subject offends them.

So, let me look into this subject matter and elaborate on it as best I could from the Old Testament viewpoint up to our present-day practices as churchgoers and believers and members of the Body of Christ.

The first mention of tithes and offerings is found in the following passages:
Leviticus 27:30-34 where it says, “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 ought 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 passes 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 changes it at all, then both it and the change 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.”

Num 18:21, 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.

Num 18:26, Thus speak unto the Levites, and say unto them, when ye take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then ye shall offer up a heave offering of it for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.

Deuteronomy 12:17, Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand.

Nehemiah 10:37, And that we should bring the first fruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

Malachi 3:8-10 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed then? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and our you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

Interestingly enough, there is no mention of tithing in the New Testament. Why is that? So, let me dig farther to find out. These are the passages I found that addresses giving.

Matt 6:4, That thine alms may be secret: and thy father which sees in secret himself shall reward thee openly.

Matt 10:42, And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.

2Cor 8:7-24, Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich. And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be easier, and ye be burdened: But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

2Cor 9:7, Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

Phil 4:15, Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, and odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

From the above passages I culled from the Old Testament as well as the New Testament, it appears that the giving of tithes and offerings was a commandment Moses gave to the Israelites to provide for the Levites, who were responsible for their spiritual needs. The Levites were not afforded any portion of the land they occupied as their special assignment was to take care of the tabernacle of the congregation, the altar to worship God. To provide for their daily needs, the people were ordered to give a portion of their harvest and whatever production they were engaged in.

It stands to reason that neither the Twelve Disciples nor Apostle Paul made a big issue about it in their dealings with the Christians in their time except to encourage them to give heartily, cheerfully and willingly.

I would like to conclude that the ordinance regarding tithes and offerings were embodied in the Jewish commandments solely for them to observe, follow and obey. It is understandable for Christians today to follow the example that was spelled out by Moses for the Israelites. But there was no compelling ordinance boxing in Christians to follow in to-to.

The way I see it, as Christians, our marching order today is in what Apostle Paul admonished Corinthian believers to do in 2Corinthians 9:7 and let me quote it once more for emphasis: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

Based on the above, my answer to the question: Do you tithe? is No. I do not tithe. I give what I can heartily, willingly and happily give.