Acts 4:34-35There were no needy persons among them. For
from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them,
brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles'
feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
No one disputes the fact that a 10% tithe was the
standard of the Old Testament. The question is whether it is
still the standard for us today. If 10% is the standard
still, the church is doing a lousy job with it. The average
giving of church members amounts to less than 2.5% of a
person’s income.
Before we consider whether this is still an expectation
today, consider the practical applications. What would the
church be capable of doing if it had four times as much
money? How much more could be invested into missions,
helping the poor, and reaching out to the community?
The argument against continued tithing is that Jesus
never repeated the commandment. It is an argument from
silence. Beyond the argument from silence however, we know
that Jesus constantly went against the Pharisees and their
adherence to the letter of the law rather than the spirit of
the law.
The spirit of tithing is an acknowledgement that God is
the provider of all we have. The idea of sacrifice goes all
the way back to Genesis with Cain and Abel. Abel brought the
best of his livestock as a sacrifice while the Bible records
that Cain just brought some. The same attitude can be found
in God’s requirement of the offering of the first fruits of
the Israelite’s harvests. God should get our best, not what
is leftover.
If we legalistically adhere to a 10% tithe, it can become
a burden because it is done out of requirement, not out of a
love for God. Nor is it out of recognition that God is the
provider of all we have. Those who adhere to a 10% tithe out
of guilt or a sense of duty are missing the point. Obedience
to the letter of the law is overshadowed because they miss
the spirit of the law.
This still doesn’t fully answer the question of whether a
10% tithe is for today. There is no definitive word saying
that the 10% tithe was expected of the church as it was of
the Israelites. But there is also no definitive word saying
that it wasn’t. The early church was made up of Jews who
became Christians and it is likely that they continued the
practice.
This is a case where adherence to the letter of the law
is not as important as the spirit of it. The passage above
from Acts shows that people were giving sacrificially
whenever there was a need. They were giving above and beyond
10%. That is truly the standard of the New Testament. If the
argument is made that the Old Testament standard no longer
applies, then one must take a look at the New Testament
standard where people gave even more than 10% but didn’t
adhere to a required number.
God’s promise of blessing from Malachi still applies to
the church today. Take it and try it.
Malachi 3:10
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.”
