Yes, tithing is still something that Christians should do today.
What follows is a short response to a few common objections that I have heard from people. I will attempt to give some scriptural references to clarify and respond to those ideas that reject tithing for Christians today. Following the objections, I will seek to answer some common questions people have about tithing.
Objection #1: The "tithe" is part of the Old Testament Law and the New Testament does away with the Law.
Response: Certainly the tithe, which means 10%, is part of the Law. Leviticus 27:30:34 includes the tithe as part of the law. However, the tithe also predates the Law given to Moses in the Old Testament. The first tithe is actually found in Genesis 14:19-20 and shares Abraham tithing to the King-Priest Melchizedek. Jacob offers a tithe in Genesis 28:20-22 that also predates the law. The tithe is an issue for God's people before the Law, under the Law, and after Jesus is a fulfilment of the Old Covenant. God's people tithe as an act of worship from the heart.
Objection #2: Jesus never supported the concept of tithing in the New Testament.
Response: Not true. Some will take the passage from Matthrew 23 in which Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees as an affront to the idea of tithing. Lets look at the verse in question. Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." Jesus' point is that they have tithed, but neglected the "weightiers matters of the law: justice, and mercy and faithfulness." His rebuke is not that they tithed, but that they tithed and thought that it absolved them from things like faithfulness in other areas. Then he closes out his rebuke saying: "These you ought to have done [tithing], without neglecting the others [justice, mercy, & faithfulness]." From Jesus' words, it wasn't either/or it was both/and.
Objection #3: The New Testament says that everything belongs to God so we should give everything not just 10%.
Response: There's no doubt that everything we have is a gift from God. Even those who may claim that they pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps must acknowledge that God gave them the strength, intelligence, and talent to earn what they have. We are really not owners, but stewards of all that we "possess." Tithing, which literally means 10%, is simply an ongoing way to acknowledge God's blessings upon us. We also recognize that God has made clear through the Bible that refusing to tithe from our income/increase is really to steal from God (Malachi 3:8-12).
And now some of the questions:
Question #1: Should I tithe on the gross or net income?
Response: There are a few nuances to this question that are important. First it is important to note that the tithe is based off of income. Gifts from others, presents at Christmas or birthdays, and other such gifts do not need to be tithed on. (Though there are some people who feel led by the Lord to tithe on gifts. This is a matter of individual conviction and liberty.)
The other difficult thing is that some people receive income weekly in the form of a pay check. Those pay checks have various local and federal taxes already taken out. Tithe is based on an individual's total income and not income minus taxes. It is important in that case to tithe on money already removed from the paycheck.
Some people have a bit more calculations to do to determine their actual income. Farmers, small business owners, independent contractors, artists, and some other kind of occupations have to figure out the cost of "doing business." For example, a farmer who sells their cattle does not count the full price of the cow as income since they had to feed, care for, and spend a certain amount of money to raise the cow. The income that they make from the sale of the cow needs to account for the initial investment.
The larger point is that some of the issues of gross vs net income are questions of the conscious and the Holy Spirit will give discernment to those who are earnestly seeking to give with a cheerful heart to the Lord.
Question #2: What if I cannot afford to tithe?
Response: You cannot afford not to tithe. If you are in debt, do not get out of debt by robbing God. Cut back in your expenses in the areas of entertainment, eating at restaurants, traveling, new furniture or clothes, etc. Tithe should always be the first expenditure, not the left overs from a busy financial month.
Question #3: Am I required to tithe even if I am not a member of the church?
Response: Yes. Your membership is irrelevant to your obedience to the Lord on the matter of tithing.
Question #4: What if I don't like how the church is spending money?
Response: Tithing is not about determining the ways the money is spent, but trusting and worshiping the Lord through your income/finances. There are systems and polity in place in each local congregation to determine how each dollar is used for ministry. It is important for churches to be transparent about how money is spent and to be good stewards of that money, but it is inappropriate to use the Lord's tithe as a means of controlling the local church budget. If you have concerns about the budget, you need to talk to the pastor, finance committee, or leadership of the local church. If your concerns are of a moral nature (illegal activity, theft, etc), then you have a responsibility to report to local church leadership (then denominational leadership) and, if not taken seriously, find another church.
Question #5: Can I give my tithe to other organizations (non profits) that are doing good work? If I am helping out my neighbor or a friend does that count as tithe?
Response: No. Those are offerings that every believer should be doing in addition to their tithing. Offerings that are directed to specific ministries are not the same as tithe. Tithe is always to the local church body that you are ministering through. Helping a family member, friend, or neighbor with finances is something that is done in addition to tithing, not in place of tithing.
There may be other questions or comments you have. Please comment with those below and, as time permits, I'll edit this article to include those questions you might have and a response to them. I'll close with the the statement on "Storehouse Tithing" from the Manual of the Church of the Nazarene in paragraph 32.1.
"Storehouse tithing is a scriptural and practical performance of faithfully and regularly placing the tithe into that church to which the member belongs. Therefore, the financing of the church shall be based on the plan of storehouse tithing, and the local Church of the Nazarene shall be regarded by all of its people as the storehouse. All who are a part of the Church of the Nazarene are urged to contribute faithfully one-tenth of all their increase as a minimum financial obligation to the Lord and freewill offerings in addition as God has prospered them for the support of the whole church, local, district, educational, and general. The tithe, provided to the local Church of the Nazarene, shall be considered a priority over all other giving opportunities which God may lay upon the hearts of His faithful stewards, in support of the whole church."
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I believe in tithing.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that as your income increases, the less percentage of your income you have to live on.
I am in a 35% Fed bracket.
15% State bracket.
10% Tithe.
20% towards retirement.
Not including sales taxes, property taxes, and other MUST pays, I live on >20% of my earnings.
I say all of this because I did not appreciate the difficulties tied to trying to live above the bottom tax brackets. In many ways I live on less take home than I did when I made less.
So those who say tithe on the gross, vs tithe on the increase, must not live on 20% of their earnings.
For those who own a small business, the squeeze is worse. I remember being berated because I did not tithe on gross revenues of my business. I couldn’t because my margins were less than 10%! So I tithed on my take home, or increase.
Your math is off. Being in the 35% tax bracket doesn't take 35% of your earnings, since we have a progressive tax system. With the standard deduction at $13,000, everyone pays $0 tax on the first $13,000 of income. Then 10% on the next ~$10,000, then 12% on the next $30,000, etc. Being in the 35% bracket makes that your "marginal" tax rate. Your "effective" tax rate (total taxes/total income) is probably much closer to 15%, if not less.
DeleteNot to mention that the highest-taxed state income rate is in California, which maxes out 12.3%, but is similarly progressive. And based on your federal bracket of 35% you'd be in the 9-11% range in CA.
Overall, Fed and State you might be just above 20%. Not small, but not 50% as you imply.
I actually agree with you, and I personally tithe post-tax. Just want to keep you honest. And FWIW, the poster has some incredibly flawed logic. At least, some of the things mentioned (tithing outside the church, post-tax, etc) are opinion and have no Biblical ground.
I think this is an important issue and really appreciate your insights and use of Scripture. I agree with most of your views, but not your view that we are required to give all tithe to our local church. Do you have any scriptural foundation for this other than Malachi chapter 3?
ReplyDeleteI think it's important to differentiate between tithe and offerings. Tithe is the "first fruits" 10% of our income that should go to the local congregation where we are members/attend regularly. Offerings are not limited to the local church as they are above the first 10% of income and are given, with joy, as we are led by the Holy Spirit.
DeleteAlso, the tithe has always been given exclusively to the local church/temple from the time of the Old Testament through the New Testament and even throughout church history.
Part of the issue, that I didn't deal with in the article, is that tithe is not something you give with a purpose to control how it is spent. Offerings can be directed to specific ministries or purpose in the local church, but tithe is for the local body to discern and budget as they are led by the Holy Spirit.
There is"giving" instructions in the New Testament. First Corinthians 16:1, and second Corinthians 9:7. "Each person should do as he has decided in his heart - not out of regret or out of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver."
ReplyDelete