“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of Heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.'” Malachi 3:10
When I was a young Christian, I believed that after the death and resurrection of Christ, that the Old Testament law of “ten percent” no longer applied.
Everything is God’s.
We are to use all that we have, to glorify God, by being better stewards of what He has blessed us with.
I even believed that you didn’t have to send your tithe to the church you are a member of.
As a young minister, a group of church members met with our pastor about the financial struggles of the church. The appearance of the church makes people believe that it is doing fantastic but it is just an illusion. Not intentionally but still an illusion.
Someone brought up the point that the church we attend is our home. Just like we take care of the bills and expenses of our personal home, we also need to support our church home. Ministers need to be more proactive about informing the church body what tithe is, what it is for, and how to do as God commands. People are confused, as I once was, and need guidance. Some even misinterpret an offering for a tithe.
Interestingly, we expect people to follow the “Ten Commandments” which were written in the Old Testament but not follow the tithe teaching.
Read for understanding and then follow it, not what seems right to the world.
Why do we support all kinds of charities, chalking it up to supporting God’s Kingdom? “Bring the whole tithe to the storehouse” means the place you are being spiritually fed. Anything above and beyond can be given to charities (those in need) but it is an offering, above what is required of us.
If we love the Lord, why not show it because tithing is a form of worshiping Him. He doesn’t tell us to give what we can but to take from the top of all we receive and then live off the rest. We are still to be stewards of the other 90% by making wise, God sought out decisions.
Once I heard of a man who did the opposite. He lived off the ten and gave the 90 to God. Can you imagine worshiping like that?
In the past, I would automatically have $38 a month taken out of my bank account every month for Compassion International. It is a Christian organization that helped support poor families, in poor countries. That was ten percent of my monthly earnings from my part-time job.
Any extra money I received from additional resources would still be accounted for. I would take 10% of it and just drop it into the offering plate at church. About a month ago, God laid it on my heart to change my way of thinking. The storehouse I am fed at will receive my tithe instead of just extra money.
I nearly didn’t stay for the meeting the pastor had with the group of church members but I had a pull on my heart that said I was meant to be there. After hearing what our pastor had to say about the church finances, I knew that I was following what was commanded of me. Thank you God for giving me the additional confirmation. Sometimes, I can be a little dense and need a slap in the face, with reality.
I know this is an extremely touchy subject for most people. Let’s face it, money in general is a touchy subject but mix that in with Biblical principles and wow! This is why a lot of churches do not go into detail about the difference between tithing and offering, according to the Bible.
On Sunday the 3rd of this month, my Lead Pastor did! It was an amazing sermon, that needed to be taught from the pulpit. Feel free to check it out Here.
2 comments
eliteinchrist
Actually, one big problem we face in today’s church is tradition. Tradition makes God’s word of no effect.
Your original premise on the tithe was accurate; the command to tithe was part of the Old Testament and not a New Testament command. However, rather unfortunately much of today’s church love to revive aspects of the law when it suits them.
The mindset that the church you attend is the storehouse being referred to in the book of Malachi and thus one’s tithe has to be paid there is very, very unscriptural. And the tithes collected in the Old Testament benefitted everyone in ancient Israel including the giver.
Without properly examining every instance of tithing in scripture, one’s conclusion is bound to be faulty and very unscriptural. For starters the bible never calls the tithe 10% but the tenth part of agricultural produce and livestock. And this simply means that the Old Testament tithe was determined by grouping agricultural produce into 10 equal parts and the tenth part separated as the tithe. For animals every tenth animal was separated as the tithe. If one did not have up to 10 animals one could not tithe.
And this was not because money was not available; on the contrary, money was available. As you could buy back your tithe by paying its value plus 20%. This will make no sense if you can tithe money. One could also convert one’s tithes into money if the place for the tithing banquet was too far and spend every single cent on anything one liked.
The Old Testament tithes were never used for temple maintenance instead it was used to feed the Levites, strangers, orphans, widows and it was used to fund the national feasts. Everyone in ancient Israel benefitted from it, including the giver.
Lastly, tithing and giving are not the same thing. the Old Testament tithe was the system of taxation for ancient Israel and this is akin to the taxes we pay to our respective government. When it comes to giving, God does not stipulate the New Testament church give a 10% minimum. Instead are encouraged to give anything we can afford.
God bless.
Mary Malin
Hi Sara,
I agree with what you have said here; which was pretty much what Jerome had to say on the subject. I have tithed for many years. I give 10% of my gross income and then whatever I feel I can spare above that goes to Destiny’s building fund, missions, a child in Uganda and numerous charities and sometimes I go above the 10%when I know the church is really struggling. I feel that this is something the Lord set up so the church would always have funds to do His work. Thanks for all your interesting posts!!
Be Blessed,
Mary