Christians are taught that we are not under the law but under grace. Tithing was one of the Old Covenant’s many laws that were to be followed by believers then.
The Bible is prominent that we are under the New Covenant, which means we are not under the Law of Tithing or Harvest, which is to give the tenth of agricultural harvest or produce.
It is apparent in the New Testament passages that it is not an obligation but a responsibility of every Christian to help if the capacity to give is available. Obligations to help are part of our Christian living. As Jesus said, it is better to give than to receive.
Helping comes in many ways and is not only about money.
“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” —Winston S. Churchill. “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” —Maya Angelou.
Giving generously without compulsion makes us feel better and thrilled. We feel so much better about ourselves when we give to the needy. Generosity comes from a loving heart, and it is natural for humans to know who they are; why are they here with better lives than others who are seeking assistance to live and understand the purpose of their lives?
We are more confident that our faith made us that way. It is better to extend to help the needy than to be the needy asking for help. We should be mindful that there are less fortunate that need our care and be thankful to God that we are given the capability to help.
When circumstances happen, and we are asked, which do we prefer?
To give our tithes to the church where we enjoy the Word and the fellowship with other Christians or do we prefer to pass directly to our relatives that are in need (relatives, household, and neighbors can be translated as the needy)?
And, of course, when asked about the spiritual matter, we should respond to the point according to what the Bible says.
It is not about feelings; it is about stewardship and how we manage our spiritual calling. As it is written, “Share your food with the hungry and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help” Isaiah 58:7 (NLT).
It is clear from the Scripture that we have to take care of our relatives, who also mean our flesh and blood, which is also a Christian obligation. Help them if you can afford it! Unfortunately, many institutional churches do not preach this to “help first the relatives in need” before the church.
It is expected that they preach tithes or giving to the church as an obligation and does not teach the members to take good care of their relatives in need. Instead, the Bible provides verses that will encourage us and might give us freedom from the doctrine of compulsive type of giving than authentic giving.
Just imagine the chain reaction it will bring, that those relatives we rendered help become better, then they will help others, and it will go on and on.
As the Bible says, when we pour blessings, time will come until there is no more need.”
There will never be new if there is no old. The unknown makes some references to the old. If we look deeper at our New Testament, the characters are all born under the law. The same thing happened when Jesus came to the world run by a woman (physical) and was born under the law (spiritual) likewise. Paul, who wrote more than half of the New Testament (if it includes the book of Hebrew to be his work), was a learned person who knew the Old Testament very well. There are more or less than 300 Scriptures from the Old Testament that the writers of the New Testament referenced in their work. They change the words, twist a little, and add a little and end up with the same meaning, but it looks like it is their original work. That is not how it is intended; they referenced the Old Testament to confirm things that happened and are coming.
The desire to prosper is no exception, either the rich who want to have more or the poor who want a better life. However, the poor are more susceptible to lies and deceptions and can easily give up even their soul to make a change in their lives. This is because they have nothing to lose and nothing to give, unlike the rich, who can even buy the leaders through their tithes.
The commitments of the less fortunate are still needed, and we hope to save their souls and not only for headcounts; they are vulnerable to being snatched to live in darkness. But, unfortunately, some rich people give more than the teachings of tithes with the belief that the more they give, the more they will receive, or maybe because of fear that if they are not obedient to the doctrine of tithes, they may lose their wealth.
How can tithes be a blessing if there is fear involved? How can it be a blessing if you know your money is being spent on the personal gain? How can it be a blessing when you want to look big shot? How can it be a blessing when you want to impress someone or a group?
Blessings come even without the tithes; it is how our hearts and souls dictate us to do a righteous act and focus solely on Him and submit humbly and follow the path to final sanctification.
Who among us understands the doctrine of tithes? Why are tithes more used in preaching than giving or offering? What is the purpose of providing tithes?
If there are fears of not giving tithes, should we also fear that giving tithes to the wrong person or group will hurt the giver? Especially when the receiving end is already rich. As the book of Proverbs states, “giving to the rich will result in poverty.” It is more a sacred act to help our needy relatives than ignore it because, in the end, we are worse than the unbelievers. This being said is very clear that disobedience to this Word might affect our salvation.
It’s not about the tithe that will cause or affect our salvation, but our generosity to help that count.
There is no way that our tithes are our ticket to heaven. We cannot bribe the gatekeepers. They will not be gatekeepers if they are corrupt. Money becomes a master of its own and is a divider of faith.
Tithing is not recognized as good work when the givers know it is not being used for its purpose, which is supposed to be helping the poor. When we give tithes and expect a godly result, without a doubt, the results will be met here on earth.
When we try to make our salvation and fail, there will be a redirection to make it right.
Eternal joy is not for sale but through hard work to earn it.
It is not because some are rich and can give more than the required tithes will be saved; it doesn’t work that way! We all have to work for our salvation, and giving tithes is not one of them, but generous giving does.
Money cannot buy everything, but it can buy you a Pastor with nothing to do with your salvation. It’s true that any congregation needs believers’ support but not to the extent that the money for our food will be taken away from our mouths to feed their lifestyle.
Let your fear be fear and fear itself. Nothing is going to happen if you will not give. It is only a matter of adjusting our thoughts to overcome fear. Remember, if Pastors are more prosperous than we are, they should be helping, which is the primary purpose of giving tithes. Then if the needs arise, the ministry should be there and be able to help.
If the ministry cannot help the needy, what good would it be to entrust them to our tithes? When we can directly give it to someone who needs more help, we must do it ourselves. God sees our hearts, not how much we offer. Another school of thought is to remember that we are the steward of God and His masterpiece. We are responsible for the mishandling of our stewardship.
The seniors living from the government’s check must be spared from these fearful teachings of tithes which are not consistent if based in the Bible. The Bible is teaching tithes for nothing. Abraham and Jacob gave tithes with the condition.
If the conditions have been met, then we are vowed to give.
Malachi is not teaching anyone to give for personal use, but the harvest to be stored in the storehouse. Remember he mentioned “try me,” meaning you provide and make requests.
If the request is not fulfilled, we already know who the speaker is next time.
The Law of Tithes was once enforced by Ecclesiastical Law and Secular Law many centuries ago, but due to resistance by the farmers, it was abolished years later; that was before and is an error that we follow now.
We must never compromise the Word of God by misinterpretation, commonly called our understanding.
It is often used to scare people that if we do not give, we rob God; what it means is that if we do not share some of our blessings, we deny what belongs to the poor.
If God gives us more than enough, we should use that gift of help. God protects the poor, and Jesus confirmed His love for the poor.
Most churchgoers still think that what they give to their local church are tithes when it is an offering. However, some Christians have in mind while going home after the Sunday service that they fulfill what their Pastors told them.
To give more to Jesus, hoping that the tithes they give will return a hundred folds. Many have a burden in their hearts because they cannot afford tithes. These are the people that should be taken care of by the ministry.
Sometimes we don’t see what is within our backyard when our eyes are focused miles away. When you give tithes or donations of any kind and claim it as your tax expense, can you still call it tithes or just one of those expenses? You give, and you take it back! That is how it looks.
Tithing was commanded to the Israelites to give 10% of their harvest and brought to their storehouse or, as we call it now, warehouse. They stored this for their future consumption or when famine strikes. This is the Law of Harvest, and if we analyze and compute this thoroughly, it is more, including the interest for late givers and borrowers.
It will sum up to 23%. If we follow the rules of tithing, this is how the rules on collections must be: 23 % giving, and if missed, there is a penalty. If a member needs to borrow from the tithes, there will be interest. Check your Bible. It is there, but it might already be omitted if you have the new version.
If tithes are an obligation to some and not to all Christian denominations, this leaves a space where we can squeeze in some questions or have second thoughts that might as well look for another church where our giving will be gratefully accepted.
Is tithing a part of salvation? If tithing is an obligation, isn’t it violating our free will to give?
Since the purpose of tithes is to save the collections for future use, emergency use, calamities, some unexpected needs, and helping the poor, we should have access to how much the collection has been saved after the fixed expenses. That is how the organization should be transparent to its members. But, like this pandemic, some members need help.
Did the leaders ask the members if they needed anything? If they need prayer, the response most likely will be quick. However, many out-place with their job need more than prayer. Will they be quick to respond?
There are a few denominations that keep track of your income and ask you why you missed giving the exact tithes. Tithes do not measure our faith but our good works.
Some leaders push the members by implying fear of stealing money from God. Giving what belongs to God, they say, is, of course, providing bad feelings. No one wants to steal money from God.
Our God is rich and does not want our money. He knows our hearts as well as our pocket. Witnessing the lifestyle of the Pastor and their relatives will give us a feeling and suspicion of who is stealing money.
In one incident, a running president of the United States of America got exposed for not giving tithes to his congregation. That denomination he belongs to kept track of what he owed on tithes which amounted to more than $2 million. He paid the tithes but still lost the election.
What does it tell you? He was not forgiven, or it doesn’t matter if he paid the tithes he owed.
When we give tithes or any amount coming from our hearts that make us happy, we do not have to wait for the reward, for we receive it as soon as we feel happiness.
Giving will not give us a pass to the gate of heaven but brings happiness to all parts of our body at that moment.
Happiness is the reward, and anybody can testify that giving and feeling joy is the reward of giving itself. So therefore, the more we give, the more we are happier because we are called to use our gift of help, and every time we use our gifts is added to our lists of accomplishments in this journey.
God will replace whatever we give.
I will bless those who bless you; that is a promise from our Father in heaven.
Link for Scriptures regarding Tithes: Old Testament New Testament