The Truth About Tithing
Most of us were taught that a Christian owes God ten percent of his income, but few of us were ever shown where the New Testament says so. It doesn’t.
This three-part series puts the familiar proof texts back in their own settings, such as Abraham and Melchizedek or Malachi’s “Will a man rob God?”, and lets Scripture answer three plain questions: why we give, what and how much we give, and to whom we give.
The answer will cost you more than ten percent. God has never been after a percentage. He’s after a willing heart, “for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:7), and a willing heart doesn’t stop at 10%. Read the parts in order, because each one builds on the one before it.
God tells us to give, but why? Starting from 1 Timothy 6 and the rich young ruler, this part looks at what giving does for the person in need. It also looks at what it does for the giver, by turning his eyes toward the age to come.
The Law spelled out tithes, offerings and sacrifices in great detail. This part walks through that system and weighs the case for a required tenth from Abraham and Malachi. Then it shows what God was after all along.
This part follows who received the gifts: widows and orphans, Melchizedek and the Levites, Paul and the early church. Then it asks where our own giving should go today.