What is the truth about tithing in the New Testament?

Answer 1

Tithing - giving a tenth of your income to the priests - was a law instituted in the early Jewish religion and can be found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus. Tithing involved goods rather than money, and the tithe that was given away was then distributed to the poor and needy by the priest. Tithing was taken very seriously, and, in a nation that had no welfare state as such, was the only way to guarantee that the poor were fed. There were even laws that stated that a narrow strip of land around the edges of fields should not be harvested, but left for the poor to help themselves. Slaves were to return to their homes as free men and women every seventh year, and land returned to their original owbers every seventh year - known as 'jubilee'. Therefore, whilst many of the ancient Jewish laws seem strange to us today, their welfare system was very advanced.

This system of tithing continued into the New Testament and into the early Christian Church as their money or goods given to the church leaders would be spent on the poor and needy, and, afer all, the earliest Christians of the New testament were almost all originally Jews and were well used to the tithing system. Tithing was still a common occurrence in the UK even up to recent times, and some villages still boast their local 'tithe barn' - most of which are now preserved buildings, where local produce - given as tithes - were stored and shared among the poor.

Nowadays, in the West, tithing is a little superfluous as we have good welfare state systems, and part of the taxes we pay go towards helping the poor in the same ways as tithes did many years ago. So if you do not give a full tithe this does not make you any less of a 'Christian' as you are giving to the poor anyway through taxation.

However, there are still many churches who see their mission in giving a tithe over and above what is required by tax law. In a previous church I attended in the UK, the church itself gave a tithe of all its income (most of the rest of which was used to pay clergy, heat, light, maintenance, mission, worship expenses and so on), this tithe being split between three local charities and two overseas charities working in Africa, each having 2% of the church's income making 10% - a tithe - in all. Another church I attended a few years ago in Florida expected its members to tithe - the money going to help the homeless in the nearest city - help which the normal taxes they all paid just didn't provide for.

Therefore, you do not need to tithe in this modern age, but most Christians feel that they should follow Christ's example and respond to God's grace by helping others. Christ said 'love one another, just as I have loved you" - and sometimes this might actually mean dipping sacrificially into one's own pocket.

AnswerNowhere in the New Testaments says that you must tithe. Tithing is only mentioned in the Old Testaments, for the Jewish people and must be given only to the Levites Priests ( Numbers 18:24-28, Nehemiah 10:37-38), and there are no more Levite Priest today. According to the Old Testament, money is never a titheable (sp?) commodity. Only the product of the land are tithable (Deut. 12:6-7, II Chronicles 31:5, 6, 12,). Product of the sea is not mentioned. It is also mentioned in the OT that only the tenth that "passes under the rod" are offered as tithe. If you have only 9 cows, then you don't have to tithe. If you have a thousand cows, then only the tenth cow (1 of 1000) that passes under the rod is offered as tithe, not 10% or 100 cows (Leviticus 27:30-33). the Jewish are only obligated to tithe on the "increase of thy seed" and not of decrease (Deut. 14:22-29,).

As mentioned in the first answer above, tithing is only mentioned in the Old Testaments. More on OT tithing;

1. Genesis. 14:20. Abraham did not offer tithes from his own property, but on the spoils of the war. There is nowhere in The Bible that Abraham contributed in a regular basis out of his own property.

2. Gen. 28:20-22, '''Jacob will only give ten percent of what God will give him (conditional tithing).'''

Tithing in the New Testament was never obligated. Paul never taught the Gentiles to tithe, but he did teach them to give freely from what they had, not from what they didn't have:"I want to suggest that you finish what you started to do a year ago, for you were not only the first to propose this idea, but the first to begin doing something about it. Having started the ball rolling so enthusiastically, you should carry this project through to completion just as gladly, GIVING WHATEVER YOU CAN OUT OF WHATEVER YOU HAVE. Let your enthusiastic idea at the start be equaled by your realistic action now. If you are really EAGER TO GIVE, then it isn't important HOW MUCH YOU HAVE TO GIVE. God wants you to give WHAT YOU HAVE, NOT WHAT YOU HAVEN'T" (II Cor. 8:10-12, The Living Bible).

Answer 2

It is a spirtual tithe...Ergo one should tithe in teaching what one has learned from the spirit. Teach what you have learned. Spread the gospel. This does not mean we should not support the churches as they also have bills to pay and needy to reach.

Answer 3

Tithing is a practice that originated in the Old Testament, where people were required to give one-tenth of their income or produce to support the Levites and priests. In the New Testament, there is no explicit command to tithe, but Jesus and the apostles emphasized the importance of generosity, sacrificial giving, and supporting the work of the church and those in need. The principle of giving cheerfully, generously, and according to one's ability is more emphasized than a specific percentage.