Gospel Truth Project

Introduction

This topic was requested from one of our listeners and friends of the podcast. Tithing has been used to fund big churches to become bigger, tele-evangelist to get jets, and massive Texas ministers to own mansions on mansions on mansions. How did this happen? Does God want certain people to be rich and others not? Do we have to give money to these leaders who claim “to be from God” and then use the money for their own selfish greed? I use to scream out to God, “why? Why do these men/women who claim to be in your name, take advantage? why are the special? Am i not special or worth the treasures they have?”

Over the years I’ve grown to look at God in a better light. That light is He is the Father, I am the adopted son who will serve Him to glorify His name in everything I do. Tithing was always something I personally struggled with. All I was taught by my church leaders was tithing is money, every check, every dime, every penny, give 10% to the church or the church will die. This was an intense message for a young Christiaan who used the church to build a community of people who also sought God and helped me learn. So, today we are going in depth about what is tithing in the bible; how does the idea of tithing apply to the modern day Christian; and what can I do to give back to God.

Origin of Tithing

So, where does the word tithe come from? The original Hebrew word is Ma`aser which means tenth. In old English, this was translated to tēotha (noun) or tēothian (verb) which later was shortened to tithe. The hebrew word was first used in Leviticus 27:30 which says, “Now all the tithe of the land, of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S; it is holy to the LORD.” The surrounding verses to this verse are crucial to see context and to understand what this means. Verse 31-34 of this chapter says, “If a man wishes to redeem some of his tithe, he shall add a fifth to it. And every tithe of herds and flocks, every tenth animal of all that pass under the herdsman’s staff, shall be holy to the Lord. One shall not differentiate between good or bad, neither shall he make a substitute for it; and if he does substitute for it, then both it and the substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.” These are the commandments that the Lord commanded Moses for the people of Israel on Mount Sinai.” In context we can see God commanding and saying to give a tenth of everything to Him. Is this saying money or that its required to give to the church? No.

What is Tithing

Lets continue into some of the other verses that discuss tithing and giving to God in the same sense. Mark 12:41-44 is a very common scripture about tithing and giving to God. Starting in Verse 41-44 it says, “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

The point of this story is that the widow willingly gives God all she has, trusting that He will take care of her, as opposed to the rich who contemplate how much they can give without being inconvenienced. Inevitably, however, discussions will arise about the theological and practical implications of giving to God.

Does she have to give all she had? Of course not. When Ananias and Sapphira donate money they earn from selling land, God does not strike them down because they withhold some of the proceeds but because they lie about it (Acts 5:1–11). Their intention was personal pride, not support for God.

When Jesus tells the rich young ruler that to gain eternal life he has to sell all his possessions and give to the poor, Jesus doesn’t mean that the rich can’t be saved. Jesus can tell by the man’s assertion that he obeys the Ten Commandments relating to people that he has a hard time honoring God above his chosen idol (money). Jesus’ stipulation is about idolatry, not forced poverty (Mark 10:17–22).

Jesus’ closest friends outside His twelve disciples are Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. At least once, if not twice, in the course of a week Mary anoints Jesus with three hundred-denarii-worth of perfume (John 12:1–8; Mark 14:3–9). When the disciples challenge her, Jesus tells them that her offering is far more important than the Twelve’s finances.

In the church age, there is no standard for how much we should give or what percentage of our wealth we should donate. Like Zacchaeus, we should give as much as we feel God is leading us (Luke 19:1–10) and we should give joyfully (2 Corinthians 9:7). Most importantly, we should recognize that we are giving to God. If we give so that others can see us and praise our generosity, our desires are for worldly status and not devotion to God (Matthew 6:1–4).

Lets talk about this more in depth, 2 Corinthians 9:7 puts it well by saying, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” First, God calls on every believer to decide in his or her heart and mind how much to give. They should then to follow through on that conviction. That number could be a set amount in a specific instance. It might be a percentage of one’s income on a regular basis. It should never be more than one has, Paul wrote in the previous chapter (2 Corinthians 8:12). It should be in proportion to what has been received. The important point is that it is an individual choice based on conscience and a person’s own relationship with God.

Why is this so important? It matters to God that Christian giving always be voluntary. It is not a tax or an obligation. A gift of money or anything else is only called a gift when the giver is not obligated to hand it over. The second truth about giving in this verse is this: God loves cheerful givers. The opportunity to give to meet the needs of others should delight God’s children. When it does, He is delighted in them. We can see that giving is very important in the Christian walk, not as a requirement but by humility and understanding that others are Gods children too and they may be hurting or struggling too.

Leaders

I’ll bring up Acts 20:35 which says, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Paul first came to Ephesus on his way home from his second missionary journey and spoke in the synagogue for only one Sabbath (Acts 18:19–21). After he left, Apollos learned about Jesus and spoke of Him some before moving on to Corinth (Acts 18:24–28). Later, Paul came to Ephesus again and spent three months in the synagogue, explaining how Jesus of Nazareth brought the kingdom of God. Some of his audience couldn’t accept his words, so he moved to a local hall (Acts 19:8–10). In all, Paul spent three years in Ephesus, establishing and building the church (Acts 20:31).

Now on his way back to Jerusalem, Paul meets with the elders of the church. He reminds them of his service and warns them about coming false teachers. He also tells them he is going to be imprisoned and they will not see him again. Now, he gives them final instructions as he commissions them to faithfully lead their church (Acts 20:17–34).

Paul’s hard work showed in two ways. First, for two years, he reasoned daily about how Jesus is the Messiah who fulfills the Old Testament prophecies and brings reconciliation with God (Acts 19:9–10). Second, he worked when he wasn’t teaching (Acts 20:34). He didn’t want the new believers to be distracted from learning about Christ, so he didn’t rely on them for his physical needs or the needs of his team: Timothy and Erastus (Acts 19:22). As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he would rather live in the freedom of the gospel (the freedom to not demand what he is owed) than inhibit the spread of the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:12, 18).

These instructions are for the elders of the church; they are not for the members and attendees. In 1 Corinthians 9:8–12, Paul tells us if a leader feeds us spiritually, we should feed him physically. In 1 Timothy 5:17, he says elders who preach (teaching pastors) should receive “double honor” (meaning), more income. Pastors should not let their need for support get in the way of teaching God’s Word, but church members should not pay so little their pastor cannot teach.

This quote isn’t found in the Gospels. Jesus did say, “…give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). That doesn’t mean Jesus didn’t say this; Jesus said many things the Gospels didn’t record (John 20:30–31), and Paul may have heard it from one of the apostles. Both the apostle John and Jesus’ half-brother James share a similar sentiment in their letters (1 John 3:17–18; James 2:14–17).

Leaders of the church need to distinguish Church from God. the church is not God NOR is it the only way to connect with God. Leaders of the church need to stand up and make sure that they teach the word and trust in God to grow the church as He sees fit. Have donation boxes and envelopes, BUT we need to get away from the corrupt teaching of this “church membership” ideology of you go to our church and lets guilt trip you until you give us your money. Here at GTP (gospel truth project) we mention we have stuff for sale and accept donations, thats it, we do not guilt trip or push people to tithe to us. We are not God direct. We trust God will bring the money to support what we are doing when He sees fit. I’ll say Mathew 23:23 which reads, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”

After calling them hypocrites once again (Matthew 23:13, 15), Jesus describes what may be the heart of the Pharisees’ problem when it comes to their practice of Judaism. Over time, Jewish leaders developed a system of intricate details meant to “protect” people from accidentally breaking one of God’s commandments. Men like scribes and Pharisees pour intense energy into obeying the smallest details of these traditional, manmade rules. At the same time, they are missing the point of the actual God-given laws which inspired their traditions. They are blind to the heart of God for His people.

The Israelites were commanded to tithe (give ten percent of) certain specific crops. This included oil, grain, and wine (Deuteronomy 14:22–29). Leviticus 27:30–32 goes a bit further, specifying seed of the land, fruit from trees, and animals from the herds. The Pharisees had chosen to apply this requirement to even the tiniest of the garden plants, including mint, dill, and cumin. Jesus does not condemn their choice. In fact, He says that aspect of their obedience is legitimate. At the same time, it is an example of the exacting lengths the Pharisees went to (and imposed on the people) to try to be legalistically perfect.

In focusing on these details, the Pharisees became insensitive to the greater point of those laws. Obedience was important, of course, but just as important is to know the purpose the regulations given by God. Only by knowing the purpose can a person rightly judge (John 7:24) how to apply those laws. The Lord intended for His people to live in justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Without those end goals, all the rules became mere religious exercise instead of a way to accomplish the will of God for His people.

Modern Day Tithing

So then, what does tithing look like and what can we do? I feel like I gave some great context to verses talking about what tithing is and what is being asked of us. Matthew 6:1-4 says this, “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” This context goes on to verse 6. This section contains Jesus’ warning that there is no righteousness is doing the right thing for the wrong reason. This flows from His teaching in chapter 5, which focused on the idea that thoughts and attitudes are as much part of righteousness as are behaviors. Those who do good things, motivated only by the approval of other people, will not be rewarded by God. Hypocrites arrange for everyone to notice their charity, as well as their prayers, because they’re mostly concerned with worldly approval. True worshippers give quietly and pray alone behind closed doors; God the Father knows, and He rewards them.

This is important, people sadly try to disguise these works as testimonies to look righteous. This is not what we are called to do. As I wrap up this topic, I want to leave off with this verse. Luke 6:38 which says, “Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure–pressed down, shaken together, and running over–will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Jesus continues to explain how His followers should treat their enemies. This choice must be influenced by understanding the Christian’s status as children of God the Father. They should let go of the instinct to judge other people’s actions and declare them guilty. They should release enmity in their hearts and forgive others (Luke 6:37). They should love their enemies, bless them, and pray for them (Luke 6:27–28).

The motif of giving can apply to two distinct aspects. A natural result of persecution is often poverty and hunger. Our enemies, who hate us because we follow Jesus, may sue us and take our belongings (Matthew 5:40). Jesus says to give anyway, and don’t expect anything back. God will satisfy us and give us His kingdom as our birthright (Luke 6:20–21, 29–30). So, even if persecution leads to physical loss, we are free to share what we have with our enemies.

Giving can also apply to spiritual matters. Jesus exhorts us to replace judgment and condemnation with charity, choosing to forgive, instead (Luke 6:37). We should be especially quick to give these spiritual blessings considering what God has given us (Ephesians 4:32).

When we do so, we emulate our Father (Luke 6:35) and secure His blessings. The image is that of a container being filled, then tapped and shaken so the contents settle, with even more poured on top so the excess spills over into the folds of a person’s robe. Jesus even promises that if we must walk away from homes and family for His sake, He will give us a new family (Luke 18:28–30; Mark 3:33–35). Ultimately, God promises us more than we could ask or imagine in eternity (1 Corinthians 2:9). This often works itself out in practical ways: those who are kind and generous often find others are more sensitive to their needs.

Conclusion

In conclusion to all of this, tithing is more than just 10% of a paycheck given to the church. We give generously because we want to. I see someone suffering and I want to help them, show them the love I experience from the Father and hope they can experience it too. We tend to only think of our own self, our own problems, our own wants, our own desires. Are you not dead to the flesh? Are you not born again? Your life is NOT more important than the next. You as a follower of Christ have a place to show the love a God JOYFULLY and give to those in need, give back the things you have to God. I sacrifice my time, effort, money, wants, desires, and all this to glorify the Father and I will gladly give it all to Him who I OWE my life.

Religion is not the answer, Christ is the answer. He gave us instructions and guidance on all these things we deal with on a daily. Tithing is important but not as an action but as a desire to give back to God in a way that glorifies him. With that, I end this post and thank God I have the freedom to discuss His word and His glory. Please always do your research, don’t fall prey to the wolves who claim to know more. The bible is beautiful, perfect, and whole. Peace be with you.