Tithing: Should we tithe today?
Many religious groups tell their members to “tithe” (give 10% of their
income), but tithing was part of the Old Testament law that was given to
the Hebrew nation (Deut. 14:22-29).
The Old Testament law contained various rules about giving,
keeping the Sabbath day, animal sacrifices, special priests, etc., and
this law was in force for about 1,500 years.
After Jesus came into the world He said His death would bring
about a new covenant (Lk. 22:20) and this happened.
Jesus took away the entire Old Testament system by dying on the
cross (Rom. 10:4 and compare Heb. 8:5-13).
If people try to bind any part of the Old Testament law on
people, and telling people to “tithe” is one example of this, the Bible
says people are “fallen from grace” and are “severed from Christ” (Gal.
5:4, ASV).
Instead
of tithing, members of the New Testament church make a personal decision
on how much to give. In
fact, the church that belongs to Christ is governed by two basic rules
when it comes to giving:
(1) Give “cheerfully” and (2) give as we have been “prospered” (1 Cor.
16:2; 2 Cor. 9:7). Since
the New Testament says give as we
have been prospered, telling people to “tithe”
(give 10%) is wrong. Such a
teaching is a “different gospel” (Gal. 1:6-9).
This error is so serious that Paul said those who try to bind
some part of the Old Testament law on people are like a woman who is
married to two men at the same time (Rom. 7:1-4).
Jesus
“nailed the old law to the cross” (Col. 2:14) and the removal of the Old
Testament law includes the elimination of the Ten Commandments.
Things like murder, theft and adultery are still wrong (Rom.
13:9), but these acts are wrong because they are forbidden by the New
Testament. People can
“learn” from the Old Testament (Rom. 15:4), but the New Testament is the
law all are under now.