Tithes and Gifts?

Over the last several years I have been asked repeatedly about the issue of tithing and whether we are still obligated under the new dispensation of the New Testament to tithe at all considering that neither Jesus, or His disciples ever instructed anyone to tithe in the entire New Testament. In order to answer this question, we need to look back at the Old Testament and it’s teachings in order to understand why God instituted the practice of tithing to start with, then move on to the New Testament and look what God expects of us today.

The old Hebrew word that was translated into the English word tithe is “mah-as-ayr”, literally meaning a tenth, or a tenth part. The word is first used in Leviticus 27:30, and it was instituted as a way to support the work of God being done by the Levites serving as priests who were not supposed to be involved in any worldly pursuit of riches but were supposed to devote their lives to God service entirely. The Levites were also expected to tithe of the tithe that they received by giving a tenth to Aaron the high priest. (Numbers 18:26-28) So even the Levites had to pay tithe on the tithe they received as their income. All this was to ensure that God’s work could be done without restraint.

However, the first mention of a tenth is much earlier in Genesis 28 when Jacob built an alter and pledged to give God a tenth of all that God gave him. So the practice of giving a tenth to God actually started very early on.

So as we can see from these few verses, and there are many more, that it was God's intention to support His work on this Earth by having people give a tenth toward His church and it's activities. But He did not stop there, and in some cases He required that people give over and above towards supporting His servants, as in the case of the widow of Zarephath (1Kings 17) when the prophet Elijah asked her to supply food for him. She literally had to give all that she had to the man of God even though she knew she would have none left for herself. Of course God did not let her down and miraculously supplied all her needs!

God also instructed in the Old Testament to give to the needy. See: Proverbs 3:28, Deuteronomy 15:7-8, Proverbs 3:27 etc. He also promises blessings for giving: Proverbs 11:24, Proverbs 13:7, Isaiah 58:10-11

So now lets look at the New Testament and whether we are still required to tithe today. I have to of course agree with the critics of modern day tithing and say that Tithing is not a New Testament teaching as such, simply because it is not taught as a requirement in the New Testament. However, Jesus and His disciples taught that now we should give 100% to Him and His work! When He was approached by the rich young man in Matthew 19:16 who asked what he needed to do to be perfect Jesus answered and said: “If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.” He not only required that the young man give all his possessions, but he required that he give even his life to Him.

In the case of the widow from Luke 21:2 who cast a mere two mites, a very small amount of money, into the treasury of the temple He noted that she had in fact given all that she had! How great her blessing must have been! So even if you don't have much, God will bless you if you will give to Him.

The Apostle Paul wrote to a group of believers whom he had personally ministered to, "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it too much if we shall reap your material things? (1Corinthians 9:11) Some may be shocked that Paul had the audacity to even ask that the people he was ministering to should support him, but he was merely instructing them in how to do the right thing by God's work, and making sure that they understood that “they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1Corinthians 9:14) Romans 10:15 also says: “And how shall they preach, except they be sent?”, and in order for God's people to be sent they must be enabled by the giving of others so that they can indeed go. Sometimes your giving may be financial, but sometimes in may be material goods.

This is how God intends for His servants, those who have given up everything they have to "go into all the World and preach the Gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15) to receive their material support. And to those who have received God's Word from such spiritual workers, just like the Widow of Zarephath received the Word of the Lord from Elijah, if they will give what they can to help God's messengers, the Lord Himself will give to them, and will even "pour out such a blessing upon them that there will not be room enough to hold it!" (Malachi 3:10)

What many people don't seem to understand is that the Lord's finances work the opposite way of the World's. Most Worldly people think, "Well, when I've got my millions, when I'm rich, then maybe I'll start giving to others and helping the poor and helping support the Lord's Work!" But the Lord says, "Start giving what you've got now, and then I'll pay you back and give you more!" God's way to plenty is to give it away! His Word says, "He that withholds unfairly shall come to poverty, but he that gives freely shall gain even more!" (Proverbs 11:24)

I urge you now to rethink your stance on giving and tithing to God's work, do not consider your tithe, or tenth, as being a ceiling that you stop giving at but as the floor, the minimum that you start giving from.

I will finish now with the story of William Colgate, the man who started the Colgate company we all know so well:

Many years ago a lad of sixteen was obliged to leave home because his father was too poor to support him longer. So he trudged away with all his worldly possessions in a bundle dangling from his hand, resolving, as he journeyed, to set up in business as a soap maker in New York.
When the country boy arrived in the big city, he found it hard to get work. Remembering the last words of his mother and also the godly advice given him by the captain of a canal boat, the youth dedicated his life to God, determining to return to his Maker an honest tithe of every dollar he earned.
So, when his first dollar came in, the young man sacredly dedicated ten cents of it to the Lord. This he continued to do. And the dollars rolled in! Soon this manufacturer became partner in a soap business; and when his partner died a few years later, he became sole owner of the concern.
The prosperous businessman now instructed his bookkeeper to open an account with the Lord and to credit to it one tenth of all his income.
The business grew miraculously. The honest proprietor now dedicated two tenths of his earnings; and then three tenths, four tenths; and finally, five tenths. It seemed as if his sales increased in exact proportion to his generosity, so that soon his make of soap became a household word throughout the world.
The late William Colgate was this man whom God so signally prospered in return for his faithfulness to his Maker. While this story is not written with the object of advertising Colgate products, it is related because it illustrates so well the blessings that accompany the faithful payment of an honest tithe.
By Ashley G. Emmer, Signs of the Times, August 2, 1938.