Is Tithing Required of Christians? || Deuteronomy 14:22-29

Text: Deuteronomy 14:22-29

We resume our study of Deuteronomy with tithing. This brings up the question of the relationship between the New Covenant and the Old Covenant. Most teaching on tithing is incorrect because it either comes from a place of legalism (earning God’s favor through works) or from a place of licentiousness (no command is binding on the Christian.) Is tithing required of Christians?

Jesus taught that the entirety of God’s Law was to be taught and obeyed by His followers. However, He made a distinction that it was to be obeyed in its fulfilled form. He got on to the Pharisees for how meticulous they were with their tithing, but the issue was their hearts not tithing. He affirmed that we should tithe, but that our tithing was to come from a motivation of justice and the love of God. Jesus taught that the entirety of the Law, including tithing, was to be viewed through the lens of loving God and loving neighbor.

The practice of bringing offerings to God dates back to immediately after the Garden of Eden. The first mention of tithing is Abraham giving Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils from his defeat of the five kings in Genesis 14. The author of Hebrews uses this example of tithing to show that there was a greater priesthood, tithing, etc. then what was given in the Law. Paul points out in Galatians 3 that there are eternal principles that the Law does not create or annul. Generously giving to God the first portion of what He has given us is an eternal principle predating Sinai.

In Scripture, tithing has four main meanings:

–        Faith that God will provide what is needed

–        Gratitude for what God has given

–        The priority God has in our lives

–        Tangible care for others

 

Deuteronomy lays out that tithing was commanded to sustain the worship of God and provide for vulnerable populations:

–        Levites

–        Sojourners

–        Orphans

–        Widows

In the New Testament we find exactly what we would expect to find in looking at the teachings of Jesus and the Old Testament Law. The early church set aside a portion far exceeding a tenth to sustain the worship of God and care for pastors, sojourners, widows, and orphans. They did not do this to earn God’s favor. They did this because they loved God and loved their neighbors.

 

–        Do you love God and others?

–        Are you setting aside a portion of what God has given you for the Kingdom?

–        What type of society would we live in if we gave like Acts 2, 4, and 6?