One church member asked me to give my thoughts on "New Testament tithing and offering."
A tithe means a tenth of something or, in our modern English, ten percent. The idea of giving a tithe or ten percent of what you earn or gain was part of a package of laws and statutes which was called the Law of Moses given at Mt. Sinai to the Old Testament Israelites (Deut. 14:22 ).
Before the Law of Moses was given, the giving of tithes or the giving of offerings were already practiced by people such as Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:2-5 ), Abraham (Genesis 14:20 ) and Jacob (Genesis 28:22 ). It was usually an act of voluntary giving of one's resources to give thanks, honor and respect to God. It was their way of giving worship to the Lord. Before the giving of the Law of Moses which commanded them to tithe, they just did it and gave freely, from the heart, of what they had. It showed before God the worshiper's heart whether good or bad like in the case of Cain.
Many years later when the Law of Moses was given to the Israelites and enforced, tithing became a law for the OT Israelites to obey and diligently follow. When the old covenant (the package of laws called the Law of Moses) became obsolete, it included the tithing law among others, that was abolished (Heb. 8:13 ).
But please take note, that the act of giving voluntarily from the very beginning was never abolished. The tithing law did not abolish the principle of giving. It was always there. This is the New Testament teaching. If one were to check the whole Bible -- from the Old Testament to the New Testament -- what God is teaching is the voluntary act of giving, from the heart. It's not about how much -- percentages. The New Testament teaching emphasizes giving from the heart -- a cheerful giver -- not merely the compliance-mode of giving ten percent (2 Cor. 9:7 ).
Nowadays, some don't know the literal meaning of the word "tithe" and church folks use it loosely to mean "giving an offering." They don't really mean literally, ten percent. I have no problem with that.
We give not because we are forced to do so because of a law or for fear that we will not be blessed financially (a selfish and wrong motive for giving), but rather, we give from the heart because we love God. We want to honor him and worship him through our tithes and offerings. This is God's teaching on the "New Testament tithing and offering." Not really, this has always been God's teaching all along -- before, during and after the Law of Moses -- since Creation up to now.
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