Christians are free from the burden of the Mosaic Law in its entirety because Christ fulfilled it perfectly and bore its curse for us, rising to declare justification for all who trust His finished work (Romans 8:3–4; Galatians 3:10–14). The veil tore when He died, signaling the end of temple sacrifices and the system that sustained them (Matthew 27:51; Hebrews 10:19–22). That freedom means we do not keep the Sabbath as Israel did, observe ritual holy days, maintain ceremonial food laws, or return to the shadows that pointed to Christ (Colossians 2:16–17). Included in that complex is Israel’s tithe. We are not under it; we are under grace, called to steward everything we are and have for the glory of God (Romans 6:14; 1 Corinthians 10:31).
So why do many churches still speak of tithing? The aims are often noble: advancing the gospel, making disciples, supporting mercy ministries, and maintaining practical structures that help the body function (Philippians 1:5; Titus 3:14). Yet good aims do not justify using Old Covenant categories as if they still governed the Church. The New Testament gives a richer, freer, and more searching vision of generosity. Instead of a flat percentage mandated for a holy nation’s civil-religious life, believers are taught to give cheerfully, discreetly, systematically, sacrificially, and comprehensively, because in Christ God has first given Himself to us (2 Corinthians 9:6–8; Matthew 6:1–4; 1 Corinthians 16:1–2; Mark 12:41–44; Romans 12:1–2).
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Historical and Cultural Background
Tithing in ancient Israel was not a single ten percent “church budget” line. Multiple tithes were intertwined with Israel’s national life, land inheritance, and Levitical system. A tenth of produce and herd belonged to the LORD and supported the Levites, who had no land allotment (Leviticus 27:30–34; Numbers 18:21–24). Additional festival tithes were eaten by worshipers in the LORD’s presence, and a triennial tithe provided for Levites, foreigners, orphans, and widows within the towns (Deuteronomy 14:22–29; 26:12–13). The system presupposed a temple, priesthood, and theocratic structures rooted in the promised land. When the prophets called for “storehouse” obedience, they addressed covenant Israel under the Law, summoning them to covenant faithfulness within that concrete economy (Malachi 3:8–10; Nehemiah 10:37–39).
This background matters because the Church is not a nation with a sacred geography or a Levitical caste. The Church is Christ’s body drawn from every nation, indwelt by the Spirit, and gathered to Jesus rather than to a central sanctuary (John 4:21–24; Ephesians 2:19–22). In dispensational terms — timeline-based reading of Scripture — God’s purposes unfold across distinct economies, and the Mosaic administration with its earthly priesthood and sacrificial system has given way to the new covenant ministry of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:6–11; Hebrews 8:6–13). To import Israel’s tithing statutes into the Church is to conflate Israel and the Church and to blur progressive revelation. The Law was a tutor pointing to Christ; once He came, we are no longer under the tutor (Galatians 3:24–25).
Even references to tithing outside the Law do not establish a Christian rule. Abraham gave a tenth of spoils to Melchizedek in a unique, unrepeatable victory context, not as a standing worship tax (Genesis 14:18–20). Hebrews mentions that event to magnify Christ’s priesthood, not to prescribe a percentage for Christians (Hebrews 7:1–10). Jesus acknowledged tithing among Pharisees because they were still under the Law during His earthly ministry, but He rebuked them for neglecting justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matthew 23:23). The cross had not yet inaugurated the new covenant in His blood; afterward the apostles never command the Church to tithe (Luke 22:20; Acts 2:42–47).
Biblical Narrative
The New Testament reframes giving as grace-motivated partnership in the gospel. Believers give because God first gave His Son, and He continues to supply every need so that we can abound in every good work (John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 9:8). Paul’s counsel to Corinth is paradigmatic: generosity is sowing that God multiplies; each decides in the heart; compulsion is out of place because God loves cheerful giving (2 Corinthians 9:6–7). The result is not merely financial provision, but an increase in righteousness and thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:10–11).
Jesus’ teaching presses the secret nature of righteousness. We are warned not to perform acts of mercy for applause, but to give so quietly that even our “left hand” is unaware — the heart posture of worship before the Father who sees in secret (Matthew 6:1–4). That quiet posture stands alongside a purposeful rhythm: Paul instructs believers to set aside as prospered “on the first day of every week” so that relief for the saints would be ready, weaving generosity into the ordinary pattern of Lord’s Day life (1 Corinthians 16:1–2).
The narrative also includes costly love. The widow who gave two small coins is commended because she gave “all she had to live on.” Measured by heaven’s scale, sacrificial love outweighs impressive sums detached from self-giving trust (Mark 12:41–44). Jesus tells disciples to hold possessions lightly and treasure heaven, not hoards, because the Father’s kingdom is secure (Luke 12:32–34). The early Church lived this out by meeting needs among themselves, ordinary believers becoming channels of God’s provision (Acts 2:44–45; Acts 4:34–35). The through-line is unmistakable: grace received births grace given.
Theological Significance
At the heart of Christian stewardship is lordship and liberty. Christ’s lordship claims the whole person — bodies presented as living sacrifices, minds renewed, love unhypocritical, and gifts exercised for the common good (Romans 12:1–8). Liberty means we are not under the Law’s ceremonial civil structures, so we cannot be under its tithing regime; still, love fulfills the moral heart of the Law by eager, Spirit-led obedience (Romans 8:2–4; Galatians 5:13–14). Percentage talk is displaced by proportion talk: “in keeping with your income,” which flexes with providence and conscience (1 Corinthians 16:2). The widow and the rich alike are invited into a freedom that seeks “how much love can we show?” rather than “how much must we pay?”
A dispensational reading guards the Israel/Church distinction without diminishing Scripture’s unity. The tithe belonged to Israel’s theocracy; Christian giving belongs to the Church’s pilgrim mission. The Church is not a nation that taxes its citizens; it is a people who voluntarily bear one another’s burdens in the Spirit’s power (Galatians 6:2). When churches bind consciences to a mandatory ten percent by appealing to Israel’s statutes, they risk confusing covenants and relocating hope from grace to law. The New Testament instead lifts our eyes to a Father who “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment,” then commands the wealthy to be “rich in good deeds” and “generous and willing to share,” laying up a true foundation for the coming age (1 Timothy 6:17–19).
Because the gospel forms a new kind of people, the ethics of giving are inseparable from the ethics of contentment. We brought nothing in and can take nothing out; having food and clothing, we cultivate contentment and resist the snares of craving (1 Timothy 6:6–10). Jesus locates the battle in the heart: we cannot serve God and money, and our treasure always points to our heart’s true home (Matthew 6:21, 24). Thus, Christian generosity is not a finance plan; it is discipleship under a generous King who meets every need “according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Spiritual Lessons and Application
First, generosity begins with worship. God is the giver of seed and bread, of increase and harvest. When we give, we are not funding God’s work as if He were needy; we are responding to grace with trust that He will supply, multiply, and make us abound in every good work (2 Corinthians 9:10–11). Prayerful planning honors that grace. Setting aside a proportion weekly trains the heart to see income as provision to be stewarded, not merely consumed (1 Corinthians 16:2).
Second, generosity is hidden and hopeful. Jesus calls us away from the theater of public righteousness and into the quiet joy of the Father’s reward (Matthew 6:1–4). The hidden life is not less active; it is more free. It frees us to give to the poor without calculating optics, to support missionaries without needing credit, to care for family members and local needs without viewing those acts as somehow “less spiritual” than institutional gifts (James 1:27; Proverbs 19:17). The promise attached is profound: where the world fears lack, the disciple learns that open hands are met by open heavens (Luke 12:33–34; Acts 20:35).
Third, generosity is sacrificial and comprehensive. Some can give large sums without cost; others give small sums with real loss. Kingdom math weighs the heart. The widow’s two coins echo through the ages because they were “all she had to live on,” not because they balanced a ledger (Mark 12:41–44). Christian stewardship extends beyond money to time, gifts, table, and home, because our whole selves belong to Christ (Romans 12:1–2). When the Spirit prompts unusual generosity — selling possessions to meet a need, funding a work that will never be seen, underwriting care for the weak — Jesus assures us that treasure in heaven is secure (Luke 12:33; Matthew 16:24–26).
Finally, generosity is free. If you decide to give ten percent to your local church with a willing heart, that gift is pleasing to God. If conscience and circumstances lead you to give less or more, in different patterns across church, family, strangers, and ministries, that too can be faithful, provided it springs from cheerful trust and a desire to love (2 Corinthians 8:12; 2 Corinthians 9:7). Freedom requires wisdom: we pray, seek counsel, consider budgets, and remember contentment. But freedom is real. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law to make us sons who cry “Abba, Father,” not slaves who calculate minimum dues (Galatians 3:13; Galatians 4:4–7).
Conclusion
“Tithing” as a Christian mandate is a deceptive misnomer because it borrows a covenantal tool from Israel’s national life and applies it to a Spirit-indwelt, transnational Church. The better name is stewardship under grace. God has lavished mercy on us in Christ, and His grace trains us to say no to greed and yes to generous love (Titus 2:11–14). In a world anxious about tomorrow, disciples find the Father faithful. We choose hiddenness over hype, proportion over pressure, sacrifice over show, and comprehensive self-giving over narrow percentages (Matthew 6:3–4; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Mark 12:43–44; Romans 12:1). And as we sow generously, we discover the harvest God delights to grow: thanksgiving to His name, needs supplied, saints strengthened, and hearts set on the life that is truly life (2 Corinthians 9:6, 10–11; 1 Timothy 6:18–19).
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:7–8)
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