This article is part of a larger series on giving. We are starting by examining what the bible teaches about tithing – which is by far the most popular form of giving taught in the church today. Then we will look at voluntary, sacrificial giving and ultimately determine what God’s will truly is for His people.
Recently, we looked at the question, “What does the Old Testament teach about tithing?”. What we learned is that the various tithes that were commanded in the Old Testament (OT), actually served as taxes on the people to fund the government (ruled directly by God) and national activities of Israel. It is important for you to read that article in order to get a clearer picture of what we discuss today.
After reading what the OT really teaches about tithing, the obvious question that would come next is…
What does the New Testament teach about tithing?
To answer this question, let’s first look at Tithing in the Gospels:
In Matthew 23:23 we find these words, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, 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.”
Here we see Jesus condemning the actions of the Pharisees (the largest group of religious leaders in Israel). They focused so hard on keeping the external points of the law, while neglecting “justice and mercy and faithfulness”! So here Jesus isn’t condemning tithing, in fact, he actually commends the fact that the Pharisees were diligent in paying their taxes (“these are things you should have done”)!
In another passage Jesus tells the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Luke 18:9-14 reads:
And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner! I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.
In verse 12 we see that the Pharisee displays a self-righteous attitude by bragging about his works. He fasts twice a week and pays his taxes, and so he felt that he was now acceptable to God. Jesus gives no commentary on the fact that this man tithed, because the focus of this parable was something much deeper than taxes. He was showing us the type of humble, spiritually bankrupt (realizing that we have nothing within ourselves that is good, and nothing with which to please God and meet His standards) attitude that it takes to justified in the sight of God.
So, the only two instances of tithing mentioned in the Gospels were both part of Jesus’ teaching about (or directly condemning) the self-righteous, hypocritical attitudes of the Pharisees. Neither included a command to Christians to tithe as a part of our giving to the church or to God.
Next, let’s see if the rest of the New Testament discusses tithing:
In Hebrews 7:4-9 we find the following:
Now observe how great this man was to whom Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth of the choicest spoils. And those indeed of the sons of Levi who receive the priest’s office have commandment in the Law to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brethren, although these are descended from Abraham. But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on. And, so to speak, through Abraham even Levi, who received tithes, paid tithes, for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Here we see nothing more than a reference to the historical account of Genesis 14:18-20, where Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils of war to Melchizedek. We will talk more about this historical account in greater detail in one of the next few articles in this series (as well as Jacob’s vow). For the purpose of this discussion, it is enough to point out that this passage gives no instruction with regards to giving.
***So, what we find in the New Testament is that the tithe was still in effect and was still a tax to support the nation of Israel. There are no commands in the NT with regard to paying tithes. We also discovered that Christians are never once commanded to pay tithes specifically; but we are commanded, however, to pay taxes to the ruling government.***
We will discuss the Christian’s obligation to pay taxes in our next article.
Ultimately, if we desire to be faithful to God in our giving we need to understand what He really commands from us. Over the next few days we will look at these topics in more detail:
- Should Christians be Required to Pay Taxes to an Ungodly Government?
- What about the instances of tithing that pre-date the Law of Moses?
- A closer look at the situation in Malachi’s day!
- What does the bible teach about voluntary, heartfelt giving?
Hopefully, at the end of this series we will all have a better understanding on what the bible really teaches about giving for all Christians.
Do you have any questions on tithing, taxes or giving that you would like to be addressed in this series? Do you have any questions on anything in this article? Feel free to leave a comment below.