The subject of tithe in the New Testament is one of great concern among many people and I would like to address it from the perspective of the scriptures.

A lot of Christians are living in fear, that if they fail to tithe they will fall under a curse, or become disqualified from being sons of God. On the other hand you have preachers who are so anti-tithe that they say paying a tithe is a sin, and that everyone who pays tithe is under the curse of the law.

How exactly should we approach  tithe under The New COVENANT.

Some people have formed a transactional relationship with God, where they say, “I pay my tithes, so why am I not getting married?” They feel God owes them certain things because they have paid their tithes.

Then we have the other side. They don’t believe in tithes and they also don’t give anything to the church of God. They go to church, sit on chairs that need to be maintained, where electricity and water bills need to be paid, where toilets need to be cleaned, where the pastors need to travel and take care of their families and these people will go and expect to have all the benefits of the church without contributing anything.

We have people who say, they are not giving because they are waiting to be led to give. They don’t help the poor, they don’t help the church. Some say, ‘I don’t give because I have nothing to give.’

Some people feel like the church owes them, like pastors owe them. They can call the minister of the gospel to their house because someone is sick, and don’t consider that he needs fuel, and also needs to eat.

We will look at what the scriptures say about all this.

There are three major examples of tithe in the bible:

1. Abraham’s tithe
2. Jacob’s tithe
3. Moses’ tithe
   We shall look at these three separately and see what applies to us as belivers in the New Testament.

Moses’ tithe

In Leviticus 27 the bible gives us a law of tithe. Under this Law, a tenth of all that a person has, belonged to God. In Numbers 18, God instructs that the children of Levi would have no inheritance in Canaan and as a result, they would collect and eat the tithe on his behalf.

They were not allowed to own any property in Canaan. You did not choose to be a Levite, you were born one.

In Deuteronomy 14, the Israelites were taught how the tithe was to be spent. They were to tithe yearly. For 2 years, they would take their tithes to the temple, when you arrived at the temple, you would throw a big party with your family and the poor and the Levites together, and you would eat and enjoy. The rest you would leave at the temple.

Every third year, the tithes were supposed to remain in your villages. You would gather the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the Levites in your villages and you would eat and enjoy and feast on your tithes with them.

Alright. So what this means is that, if someone really wants to follow the law exactly today, then they should ask the church members to bring their tithe to a certain place, host a party, and invite the poor of the neighborhood, the pastors and everyone willing and eat the tithe money with them, and then leave the rest at the church.

Deuteronomy 14:22-23, 27-29 (NET)
22 You must be certain to tithe all the produce of your seed that comes from the field year after year. 23 In the presence of the Lord your God you must eat from the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the place he chooses to locate his name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always.

27 As for the Levites in your villages, you must not ignore them, for they have no allotment or inheritance along with you. 28 At the end of every three years you must bring all the tithe of your produce, in that very year, and you must store it up in your villages.

29 Then the Levites (because they have no allotment or inheritance with you), the resident foreigners, the orphans, and the widows of your villages may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work you do.

In Malachi Chapter 3, the priests who were in charge of the temple were no longer bringing the tithes and offerings to be used in the temple, so God tells them that they were robbing him.

Malachi 2:1-2 (NET)
1 “Now, you priests, this commandment is for you.
2 If you do not listen and take seriously the need to honor my name,” says the Lord who rules over all, “I will send judgment on you and turn your blessings into curses – indeed, I have already done so because you are not taking it to heart.

Malachi 3:10 (NET)
“Bring the entire tithe into the storehouse so that there may be food in my temple. Test me in this matter,” says the Lord who rules over all, “to see if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until there is no room for it all.

That is the law of tithe as given in the old covenant.

Redeemed from The Curse of the Law

The Law of Moses came with a curse, such that if you did not follow it, you would be cursed.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28 (NET)
26 Take note – I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing if you take to heart the commandments of the Lord your God that I am giving you today,

28 and the curse if you pay no attention to his commandments and turn from the way I am setting before you today to pursue other gods you have not known.

So under the covenant of Moses, those who failed to honor the Law of tithe, would fall under a curse. However, when Jesus Christ died, the curse was removed.

Galatians 3:13-14 (NET)
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us (because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”)

14 in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we could receive the promise of the Spirit by faith.

What Paul is saying is that, because the curse of the law was removed, the blessing of Abraham comes onto gentiles, not because they are following the works of the law, but simply because they have believed in Christ. If you believe in Jesus Christ, that he died for you on the cross, the blessing of Abraham is on you. There’s nothing more you can do to add to it. Simply believing is enough to receive Abraham’s blessing.

So you don’t need to follow the law of tithe in order to receive the blessing of Abraham and if you fail to pay the tithe, God will not curse you. However, you can place yourself under a curse. Paul warns Christians who are seeking to be declared righteous before God, by following the law that they are placing themselves under a curse. Because God does not declare anyone to be righteous by the fact that they are following the law.

Galatians 3:9-11 (NET)
9 So then those who believe are blessed along with Abraham the believer. 10 For all who rely on doing the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not keep on doing everything written in the book of the law.” 11 Now it is clear no one is justified before God by the law, because the righteous one will live by faith.

What Paul is saying here is that, once you take one thing from the law of Moses, you are now bound to do everything that is in the law. And if you fail to continue doing every last thing in the law, you put yourself under the curse. So as a result, its best not to go into the law at all. In Christ we have redemption from the law.

Does Christ Accept Tithe?

The short answer is, Yes, Christ will accept your tithes if you give them to him. And indeed, if done in faith and joy, as with all forms of giving, you will receive a reward from him. But if done for the wrong reason, or purely as a part of the Levitical law, your tithe will mean nothing. Let me explain.

We have seen tithe as it operated under the law. And we have seen that scripture tells us that we are no longer under the law but under grace. As a result there are some Christians who believe that tithing is a now a sin, or that if a person pays a tithe, they are placing themselves under a curse.

Whilst there is no commandment for Christians to pay tithes, and no curse against them if they don’t, the book of Hebrews tells us that the Priesthood of Christ accepts tithes. The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus Christ has been made a priest after the order of Melchizedek. The order of Melchizedek is an eternal priesthood which is greater than that of Levi. The changing of the priesthood from Levi to Melchizedek also cause God to change the law.

Hebrews 7:17-19 (NKJV)
17 For He testifies:“You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

However, though the law changed, the Priesthood of Melchizedek does receive and accept tithe, albeit in a different way to the way Levi received them.

Hebrews 7:5-10 (NKJV)
5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

So we see that even Levi himself paid tithes to the priesthood of Christ, who lives forever. So Yes, Christ will accept tithes from a person who gives it with the right revelation and faith, just as he accepted Abraham’s tithe.

But those who want to tithe to Christ, must only do so according to the principles of giving that we shall share later in this teaching.

Did Jesus command Tithe?

Jesus never commanded his followers to pay tithe. If anything he expressed that the sons of God have no obligation to pay tribute to their Father. There is a single scripture where Jesus is judging the Pharisees, at the end of his ministry, and shows that the Pharisees had focussed too much on tithe which was a lesser matter of the law, and left the weightier matters of the Law which were faith, judgment and mercy.

Matthew 23:23 (ESV)
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

In this Chapter Jesus releases eight judgments on the pharisees, for how they had mishandled the law of Moses entrusted to them. Take note that Jesus does not say, ‘These you out to do”, but he speaks in past tense, “these you ought to have done.” The pharisees should have paid tithe, and put as much attention on the more important issues of the law. This is not a commandment to the church, but a review of how the pharisees had handled the law given to them.

Tithe is a type of tribute/ tax, and when Jesus was in private with Simon Peter he taught him that the sons of God are exmpted frm paying tax or tribute to their father.

Matthew 17:25-26 (ESV)
25 And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax? From their sons or from others?” 26 And when he said, “From others,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are free.

Abraham’s Tithe

Before the Law came, we have two examples of people paying tithe. That is Abraham and Jacob, from these two we can learn a few lessons.

The kings of Sodom and Gomorrah were defeated in battle, and their wealth was taken away by their enemies. Abraham’s relative, Lot, was taken as one of the captives. So Abraham went and fought against the enemy and defeated them. He recovered all the wealth of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, including his relative, Lot.

On his way back, he met Melchizedek who was the Priest of God and King of Salem, now Jerusalem. Melchizedek then pronounced a great blessing to Abraham.

Genesis 14:18-20 (ESV)
18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

After receiving this blessing, Abraham then took a tenth of the wealth of Sodom and Gomorrah which was in his possession and gave it to Melchizedek. Abraham then returned the other 90% to the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah.

So in essence, through Abraham’s action, the Kings of Sodom and Gomorrah paid a tithe of their wealth to Melchizedek.

Genesis 14:20-23 (ESV)
And Abram gave him a tenth of everything. 21 And the king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the persons, but take the goods for yourself.” 22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have lifted my hand to the LORD, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I would not take a thread or a sandal strap or anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich.’

The word tithe simply means tenth. It was customary that people would give a tithe of their possession to their king as a show of loyalty, honor, submission and respect. We see this clearly in the book of Samuel, when Israel rejects God as their King and asks to have a human king. God then tells Israel that if they want a human King, then they would have to give him also, a tithe of their possessions.

1 Samuel 8:11-17 (NIV)
11 He said, “This is what the king who will reign over you will claim as his rights: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots.  

15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants.  17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.

The Hebrew word translated as TENTH in this passage, is exactly the same word translated as tithe in the rest of the Hebrew bible.

So even kings, would also pay tithe tribute to greater kings as a sign of loyalty, submission and honor.

Why A Tenth?

A tenth was very popular and common because it was easy for the largely uneducated populations of the time to calculate. A man has ten fingers and ten toes. Easy to distinguish one out of ten fingers.

Lessons from Abraham

1. Abraham tithed as a principle and not as a law. There was no commandment that he should tithe, but he gave a tenth to Melchizedek because of the revelation he had of who Melchizedek was.Even where there is no law commanding people to tithe, a person can choose to pay a tithe as a principle, based on their revelation of who Christ is, to them.
2. While the bible tells us that there are blessings associated with all forms of giving, that includes tithes and offerings, it is worth noting that Abraham did not give a tithe to Melchizedek in order to draw blessings from God. It wasn’t a transactional relationship.
   God blessed Abraham because of his faith, and Melchizedek blessed Abraham by revelation. However, Abraham paid his tithe as a response to the blessing that he had already received. So while it is true that God blesses those who give, we as Christians must be mainly motivated to give to the kingdom, because of the revelation of the blessing that Christ has already given us.

Jacob’s Tithe

I don’t have a record of Jacob paying any tithe, but we do see that Jacob, who would later be called Israel bound himself under an oath. He made an oath to God, that if God took care of him, he would give back to him a tenth of everything he had.

Genesis 28:20-22 (NIV)
20 Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear 21 so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the LORD will be my God 22 and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth. ”

As I said before, we don’t have a record of Jacob fulfilling this vow to God. But what we do see, is that God comes to his Children, and commands them to give him a tenth of all. It is highly probable that, God enforced the law of tithe upon the children of Israel, because of this very vow that their Father had made.

Even now, if you make a vow to give something to God, God will hold you accountable to it. Jesus discouraged people from making such vows. If you want something from God, just ask for it. By making a vow, you put yourself under bondage, and you attract judgment if you break your vow.

Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 (NIV)
4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to fulfill it. He has no pleasure in fools; fulfill your vow. 5 It is better not to make a vow than to make one and not fulfill it.

Matthew 5:33-34 (ESV)
33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn.’ 34 But I say to you, Do not take an oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God,

In the new testament we see Ananias and Saphirra receiving a judgment of death from God, for making a vow to give, and then lying about it.

Acts 5:1-4 (NIV)
1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.

3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”

The Dangers of Tithing Vows

In the bible we have a man of God who went to war, and made a vow that if he wins, the first thing he would see when he gets home, is what he would sacrifice to God. When he returned home, the first thing that came, was his only child. And because of his vow, which he was now bound to, he had to offer her up.

Judges 11:30-31 (NKJV)
30 And Jephthah made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver the people of Ammon into my hands, 31 then it will be that whatever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the people of Ammon, shall surely be the LORD’s, and I will offer it up as a burnt offering.”

Judges 11:34-35 (NKJV)
34 When Jephthah came to his house at Mizpah, there was his daughter, coming out to meet him with timbrels and dancing; and she was his only child. Besides her he had neither son nor daughter. 35 And it came to pass, when he saw her, that he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low! You are among those who trouble me! For I have given my word to the LORD, and I cannot go back on it.”

God takes vows very seriously, and that is why Jesus tells us not to make such vows. If you want something just ask in Jesus name. Don’t start making promises to God because you have no power to keep them, and when you break them, you attract judgment for yourself.

Christian ministries have made tithing vows. If a Man or Woman of God, places his followers under a vow to pay tithes of all, just Jacobs did, they are now bound by their own vow. And if they fail to pay their tithe, the judgment of God will indeed come upon them. Their vow and agreement becomes bound on earth and in heaven.

Matthew 18:18-19 (ESV)
8 Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19 Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

By their own words they will be judged.

Matthew 12:37 (ESV)
37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

So, as a ministry, if you stand before God with your leader and vow that you will give a tenth of all that you earn, when he blesses you, when you become victorious in battle, you become bound on earth and in heaven according to your vow, and according to your agreement of faith.

In such a case, when one of the members, who has agreed to this covenant, breaks the covenant by not paying their tithe, the very things they agreed would happen to him for failure to pay, will happen to that person. According to their faith and according to their agreement, it will be done to them.

If they had agreed, that if you don’t pay your tithe, your business will fall, surely that person’s business will fall when they cheat on their tithe. If that person goes to God and says, why is my business falling apart. God will reply, “Because you cheated on your tithe.” However, the only reason he is facing this judgment is because of his own vow which he agreed to. Hence Jesus discourages making such vows. And as ministers of the gospel, we must be careful not to place the children of God into a yoke of bondage. We have great authority in the New Testament, but if used ignorantly, we can shoot ourselves in the foot.

The Apostle Paul gives us a set of principles for giving in the New Testament, which achieves all that tithe was meant to achieve, and yet giving freedom to the children of God.

Tithe was meant:

a) To show loyalty and honor to God.
b) To make sure that the house of God has resources to care for the priests and their families and cover running expenses
c) To make sure God’s house has enough resources to help the believers in need.

The apostle Paul does not speak of Tithe, but he speaks of giving, and the principles he gives us, achieve the three things above, without binding people under judgment.

Principles of Giving

1 Corinthians 16:2 (NET)
On the first day of the week, each of you should set aside some income and save it to the extent that God has blessed you, so that a collection will not have to be made when I come.

From this scripture we learn a few principles.

1. Give consistently

Paul was asking the church to set aside money on the first day of every week. This is because that’s when they would meet. It teaches us to be consistent in our giving to the church.

2. Give as God Prospers you

Scripture is saying, give to the extend that God has blessed you. Which means you are not giving to try and earn the blessing of God, you are giving because you are recognizing that God has blessed you.

There is no percentage given here, but even in the New Testament, you are expected to give to the house of God according to the extend that God has blessed you. Give more when God has blessed you more.

In this case, a person who decides to give a tenth of their salary does well. As long as they know that they are not doing it because of the law of tithe, but simply because it helps them to be consistent and to give as God prospers.

However they should know that when they fail to pay that ten percent, God does not curse them. They also know that they are not giving to try and earn God’s love, or favor. They are giving because they know they are loved and blessed.

3. Everyone has something to give

Everyone in the New Testament is blessed, and therefore everyone has something to give.

2 Corinthians 9:7-8 (NET)
7 Each one of you should give just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you so that because you have enough of everything in every way at all times, you will overflow in every good work.

4. Give out of Love

Don’t give because you feel forced to give. Such a gift is an insult to God. Even if you give everything you have and don’t do it out of love, to God it counts as nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 (WEB)
If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

 2 Corinthians 9:10-14 (NET)
10 Now God who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your supply of seed and will cause the harvest of your righteousness to grow. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you may be generous on every occasion, which is producing through us thanksgiving to God,

12 because the service of this ministry is not only providing for the needs of the saints but is also overflowing with many thanks to God. 13 Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone.

14 And in their prayers on your behalf they long for you because of the extraordinary grace God has shown to you.

5. God will restore what you give

The scripture is reassuring those who give that God will not leave them in lack. When God sees that you are a generous giver, he gives you more so that you can continue to give more. When you give, people will give thanks and all those prayers will benefit you in an abundance of blessings.

6. Take care of those who feed you with spiritual things

Romans 15:27 (NET)
For they were pleased to do this, and indeed they are indebted to the Jerusalem saints. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are obligated also to minister to them in material things.

1 Corinthians 9:7-11 (NET)
7 Who ever serves in the army at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Who tends a flock and does not consume its milk? 8 Am I saying these things only on the basis of common sense, or does the law not say this as well?

9 For it is written in the law of Moses, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” God is not concerned here about oxen, is he? 10 Or is he not surely speaking for our benefit? It was written for us, because the one plowing and threshing ought to work in hope of enjoying the harvest. 11 If we sowed spiritual blessings among you, is it too much to reap material things from you?

……….

People in ministry should not have to serve at their own expense. We should take care of their expenses. If they have ministered to you spiritual things, they have a right to receive material things from you. However, you also are not supposed to give them under compulsion or by force. You are to give only as much as you are happy to give.

Why The New Testament Does Not Command Tithe

As you read through the New Testament, you find that Christ and the Apostles do not command the church to pay tithe. We see that people can give their belongings out of principle, and when given in faith and Joy, Christ will receive it.

But it’s not commanded. Why?

Its because for a believer who has understood the New Covenant, giving a tenth becomes meaningless. In the New Covenant, Jesus is not asking for a 10th of what you have, he is asking for 100% of yourself. 100% of you. This was Jesus requirement for discipleship.

Luke 18:22 (NIV)
22 When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

Jesus could have said, sell your possessions and bring 10% to me. But he says give 100% of your possessions to the poor, then give 100% of yourself to me.

Mark 8:34 (ESV)
34 And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

So, asking a person who has surrendered 100% of themselves to Christ, to give 10% is meaningless. You don’t have to. If you get believers to the stage where they give 100% of themselves to Christ, there will be no need to ask them to give 10% to the church. An example is the first church. People had given themselves 100% to Christ, and so had no problems surrendering everything and anything to progress the kingdom of God.

Acts 2:44-45 (NKJV)
44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need.

Acts 4:34 (NKJV)
34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold,

So, 10% is not relevant to such believers as of the early church who have given 100% of themselves.

In conclusion

Those who believe in Christ have the blessing of Abraham. They are justified by faith in Jesus. We are not bound by the law of tithe. However, we are under the law of love. We must give consistently as a testimony that God has blessed us. We must take care of the house of God and of his ministers. We must not be made to give by force or compulsion. Those who choose to give a tenth of their salary, should do it out of love and not out of compulsion or condemnation. When we are generous, God enlarges our capacity so that we can be more generous. We also receive so much more blessings as a result of thanks givings received before God.