Why Should I Tithe The Purpose Behind The Ten Percent
Why do I have to tithe is a question many Christian ask themselves. After working to provide for your family, pay for school, or gain a little independence it can be very difficult to give away the money you worked so hard to earn, especially when living on a tight budget. But the Bible gives clear direction on how we should spend our earnings, even going further by providing incentive to do so. If you can understand tithing in the way that God intended then that giving wont be such a hardship.
In Malachi 3:10, God commanded His people to, Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
A tithe is a tenth, meaning that God has commanded us to give a tenth of our earnings that there may be food in my house. For the modern day church that food can take on many different forms. Your tithe could go towards starting a new project, or providing new resources for Childrens Ministry, or it could simply be the means to pay the electricity bill. There are many facets to a church, all of which need funding to work properly, and tithing is the way that God has provided the means for His church to function. When we give our tithe to the church we are honoring the Lord by obeying His command and allowing His ordained plan to continue.
Tithing Verses In The New Testament
There are plenty of verses about tithing in the Old Testament and a lot fewer in the New Testament. So it is true that tithing isnt talked about nearly as much in the New Testament as the Old Testament.
Personally, I dont believe that in any way nullifies the value of it as a practice.
Under the New Covenant, our salvation is not based upon our obedience to the 10 Commandments, but does that mean that we shouldnt still follow them? Are they suddenly of no value? I think the same can be said of tithing.
While you can debate all day long about whether or not it is a command for New Testament believers, I dont see any reason why it would not still provide a blessing just like it did in the Old Covenant.
How To Go Way Beyond Tithing With Your Giving
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Itll help you earn more, save more, and have more fun giving than you dreamed possible.
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Are Christians Required To Tithe
The short answer is no, Christians arent required to tithe. The Law of Moses mandated the tithe to support the Levites in their priestly service and those in need among the foreigners, orphans and widows . Since Christs sacrifice of himself removed the need for a Levitical priesthood, the principal purpose for the Old Testament tithe is gone. But the New Testament says quite a lot about giving.
Believers are to give in the following manner:
Should I Tithe 10% Off Of My Tax Return Money
If you get an income tax refund, remember thats money youve already tithed on during the yearalthough, youre definitely welcome to devote some or all of it back to the Lord as even more thanks for His blessings! But since tax refunds are just interest-free loans to the government, your goal should be to avoid them by claiming the right number of exemptions and not overpaying throughout the year.
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Tithes And Offerings: Your Questions Answered
10 Min Read | May 26, 2022
Churchgoers throughout history have been talking about tithing since, well, forever. And whether or not you grew up in the church, youve probably at least heard about it. But what does tithing actually mean?
If youve been wondering what a tithe is, how much you should be tithing, and whether you should even be tithing if youre in debt, youre not the only one.
So, lets start with the basics.
Our Attitude In Giving Is Important To God
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Is The Tithe For The New Testament Believers
- Cortni Marrazzo
A few weeks ago I wrote an article called “Why it’s Important to Keep Tithing in Tough Economic Times” and, quite frankly, I was surprised by the many follow up comments from Christians who don’t believe that tithing is for today. Many expressed the belief that tithing was only done in the Old Testament and thus it shouldn’t be a part of a believer’s life. Their comments made me wonder: Whether tithing is restricted to the Old Testament or not, is the practice of tithing such a bad thing for today’s believer? Let’s dive in and look at what the Bible has to say about tithing and more importantly, our heart.
If I Dont Go To Church Should I Still Donate 10% Of My Income
If were getting technical, giving 10% of your income to anything other than the local church isnt really a titheits just a nice gift. But thats never a bad thing! Even if youre not a part of a local church, there are plenty of ministries and organizations that are doing great work and could benefit from your gifts.
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Hebrew Definition Of A Tithe
The word tithe is used as a verb and a noun in the Bible. As a noun, the Hebrew word for tithe is maaser. It also means a tenth or a tenth part. The verb form of the tithe in Hebrew is asar. It means to give tithes or to give a tenth. The Bible refers to the tithe 32 times in the King James Version of the Bible.
Over 100+ Scriptures About Tithing In The Bible Giving And Generosity
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Where is tithing in the bible, you ask?
Regardless of what youâre looking for, here are over 100 passages on giving.
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Does All Of My Tithe Have To Go To The Church
If I were to get to summarize it in a nutshell, I would say please do whatever you can to be a part of a church where you would be comfortable giving 100% of your offering to that church. I want to start with that, but let me unpack that. I think the word tithe is not so helpful in discussing Christian giving anymore. If we go and look at what happened under the Old Covenant in the Old Testament, a godly Hebrew man would’ve given anywhere from 30% to 35% of his income to the support of the temple, the support of the poor, the support of the priests. I mean, it was a pretty hefty tax, if you will, to be part of the Kingdom of God under the Old Testament.
Well, when you get to the New Testament, the command to tithe is not there. What it’s been replaced by is what I would call grace-giving, which is exactly what Paul says in Second Corinthians eight. He refers to giving as an act of grace. You go to Second Corinthians nine and he talks about cheerful giving. And there are so many other places in the gospels. I think Luke 12, where you get this idea that because God has given us so much, we should be willing to give everything over to others.
So I guess I’m not directly answering the question. We give out of grace because we love the Lord. We give to a church that is doing the work of the Lord. And above and beyond that, we are absolutely free to give to other good, solid ministries.
What Does Paul Say About Tithing
Romans 16:17-18:17 And now I make one more appeal, my dear brothers and sisters. Watch out for people who cause divisions and upset peoples faith by teaching things contrary to what you have been taught. Stay away from them. 18 Such people are not serving Christ our Lord they are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words they .
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Billy Graham On Tithing
It comes as no surprise to me that Billy Graham has a succinct, yet powerful quote about tithing in his life that I believe to be 100% true as well:
We have found in our own homethat Gods blessing upon the nine-tenths, when we tithe, helps it to go farther than ten-tenths without His blessing. Rev. Billy Graham
Lesson : Why You Should Not Tithe
It would be political suicide to give that speech, said an aide to his boss. Hes right, Senator, chimed in another aide. Its just one clear-cut statement after another .
Its probably suicidal for a pastor to preach on why you should not tithe! Its risky at best, because some may hear the part about not tithing and block out the rest of the message! I would guess that if everyone who came regularly to this church gave ten percent to the church, our income would probably triple, at least! So why am I not preaching instead on why you should tithe?
The answer is that tithing is not the New Testament standard for giving. Perhaps more than any other factor, giving reflects the condition of our hearts: Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also . You can fake some things, but you cant fake giving your money! You may get mad at me, but Im going to give it to you straight: If you give ten percent or less of your income to the Lords work, in most cases it reflects a lukewarm heart toward God. I used to give ten percent and thought I was doing fine. Then I made the mistake of preaching on giving! I discovered that Gods Word teaches that …
We should not tithe because God wants us to give generously, and tithing is the bare minimum.
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Before The Mosaic Law
The first person recorded as offering a tithe was Abram . Abrams tithe appears to have been a one-time gift to the king-priest of Salem. There is no evidence in the Bible account that Abraham or his children tithed again.
The second person mentioned in the Bible as offering a tithe was Abrahams grandson Jacob. He promised that if God would bless him, he would give to God a tenth of everything he received. According to some Bible scholars, Jacob likely paid this tithe in the form of animal sacrifices. While Jacob bound himself by this vow, he did not impose such a tithe on his family.
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I Can Tithe According To What My Heart Desires
You can give according to what is in your heart. Your tithe will be accepted and it will come back to you in many ways. Your giving will be accepted by Heaven, and your blessings from God will return to you. The more you give, the more He can bless you so that you may continue to give. When there are no limits to our giving, God is able to return His blessings without limitation.
God loves a cheerful giver! When we choose to give because we want to and not because we have to, our hearts are filled with joy and happiness when we know that our gift has been received by Him and has helped someone else along the way. As God opens up more doors for us through His blessings, He is able to bless others through us in a way that helps us all grow closer together as one of his children.
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Is Paying Tithing A Commandment
Tithing is a commandment accepted by various churches in the Latter Day Saint movement. In practicing tithing, adherents make willing tithe donations, usually ten percent of their income, to their church. For many of these churches, the law of tithing replaced or supplemented the law of consecration.
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Can You Be Blessed Without Tithing
The short answer is yes.
Just do a quick search for the word blessed over at Blue Letter Bible and see for yourself all the opportunities we have to be blessed by God.
But, just like any other opportunity that we have to be blessed, tithing is no different.
It is just a promise that we have available to us in Malachi 3:10 that God will bless those who tithe.
The bottom line is that there is undoubtedly a blessing that comes to givers.
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 to you.
Luke 6:38
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What Does The Scriptures Say About Tithes Or Tithing
What the Old Testament says
In simple terms, tithes means a tenth or 10 percent. Tithing was designed specifically to meet the needs of the religious, economic, and political system of ancient Israel. Each of the twelve tribes of Israel, except the tribe of Levi, initially received an allotment of land in the promised land of Canaan. The Levites were full-time assistants to Israels priests and were supported by a tithe offering from other eleven tribes. All families of those eleven tribes were expected to give a tenth of all produce, cattle, and flocks to the Levites. In turn, the Levites were expected to give a tenth of that to support the priests in their duties . The Scriptures tell us that tithes were used to meet the needs of foreigners, orphans, and widows . Also, all Israelites were invited to be generous to those in need .
What the New Testament says
More on what the Scriptures say about tithes
Need A Tithing Calculator
God in his infinite wisdom made the math so simple that we dont really need a calculator to calculate our tithe amount.
My wife says I am good at math, so this is pretty simple to me, but I can sympathize with those who HATE math as much as she does.
Your own tithing calculator right there in your brain!
To calculate the tithe amount, all you need to do is just move the decimal place 1 to the left.
For example: if you earned $1,234.56 you would just move that decimal one place over, and you would get a tithing amount of $123.45.
See how simple that is? Im sure, even the worst among us at math can do that right?
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The First Mention Of Tithing In The Bible
If you are wondering where this idea of tithing came from, this is our first example of it:
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, and he blessed Abram, saying, Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand. Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
Genesis 14:18-20 NIV
Tithing Isnt What Makes You Righteous
Jesus also told the following parable to illustrate that tithing in itself does not make a person more righteous than anyone else.
To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: God, I thank you that I am not like other peoplerobbers, evildoers, adulterersor even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.
But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. Luke 18:914
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