Victoria Free Presbyterian Church

The New Testament gives no fixed rule for financial giving. The Scripture does not lay on the New Testament Church a moral responsibility to give a tenth of all income. It would be easy if there were a command in writing stating “thou shalt give a tenth of all income to the Lord.” But since such a charge is absent from the New Testament we have taken the time to examine the entire Scriptures for the mind of God on how and how much we ought to give. In the absence of a definite command for financial giving outside the Mosaic economy, there are basic principles in the Scriptures that we can keep in mind as guides and encouragements to successful and joyful giving.

The Tithe is not exclusively for the Mosaic Economy

Many will exclude the tithe from their worship because it is claimed to be part of the Mosaic economy which is no longer in vogue. Tithing however is not confined to national Israel in the Bible. The first mention of tithing in the Bible carries us back to Abraham in Genesis 14 and the last mention of tithing in the Bible refers also to this incident. On the strength of this it is wrong therefore to exclude tithing from the new Testament Church.

The Bible ties these two ends together and in so doing gives significance tithing (see Hebrews 7:1-6). Abraham, (the father of the faithful; the Church) gives tithes of all the spoil to Melchizedek who is presented as a type of Christ. To put it another way; the church of the Old Testament, represented in Abraham give tithes to Christ of whom Melchizedek was a type. This is clearly set before us in Hebrews 7:1-6. Notice also, as John Owen points out, the emphasis of Hebrews 7:6 is not on the one giving the tithes or the tithes themselves but on the one receiving them as his due.

The tithe as a mere percentage is not to be coldly adhered to as a fixed rule. It has however implications for the New Testament Church. The writer to the Hebrews, tying it as he does back to Melchizedek, gives it significance to modern readers. We may consider it as more of a guideline of giving, a baseline, or a divinely suggested starting point to wean us off the world and to deliver us from greed and covetousness.

The New Testament principle of giving far exceeds the tithe

For those who point to the “age of grace” as an excuse for not tithing or giving to the Lord I have some bad news; grace demands much more of us than the law demanded of Israel! The Spirit of the New Testament shows that no fixed percentage is necessary because the demands of grace far exceed the previous ten percent.

Luke 12:48 states “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” As love is stronger than law, the New Testament Christian has a greater incentive to give than his counterpart in the Old Testament. The Christian does not give now because he must but because he wants to.

The Value of our giving is not determined by its amount but by its cost.

The widow who give her two mites in Luke 21:1-4 (cf. II Corinthians 8:2-3) gave more than all the rich men throwing in their riches because she gave sacrificially; beyond what the law required. God does not want that which cost us nothing. Such are the demands of 21^st century living and the impact of the world on our thinking that we tend to give in terms of how much we can “spare.” The biblical concept of giving is in terms of how much we can sacrifice. We have become a spoilt generation and like a spoilt child we don’t like to let go! Furthermore we have been programmed by the world to line our pockets, to feather our nest. While the principle of laying aside some provision is a biblical one, yet the principle of God’s provision supersedes it. We do not rob God in order to establish ourselves in this world. This is counter productive.

The Scripture promises provision for those who trust God with all they have.

You might be wondering at this point whether there is a mandate place on you to give when all you have is nothing. A cursory look at the Old Testament shows that the saints in Israel give much more than the tithe. There were two tithes, perhaps three in addition to all the sacrifices that came out of their own flocks. In other words Israel as a nation, giving as it did, lived in constant dependence on the Lord. The law demands so much of them that apart from the provision of the Lord they would have been impoverished. Indeed, according to Malachi, when they stopped giving they found that they had not enough to live on (I Samuel 2:30; Malachi 3:10; Genesis 28:14-15; Matthew 6:30)

God is not trying to impoverish us, nor asking for us to live in poverty; he is asking us to recognise his sovereignty over all our possessions and to return him thanks for permitting us to use the bounty of this earth. If we could recognise this we would find that the Lord gives back to us what we give him, in joy, grace and even enjoyment in possessions (cf. Deuteronomy 21:25-26).

Conclusion

In answering the question then, should a Christian tithe? Or how should a Christian tithe? I say the New Testament Christian should engage in disciplined proportionate grace giving. Every word here is significant:

Proportionate: Somewhere between the law of the Old Testament and the Grace of the New Testament lies the more general idea of “proportionate” giving. The tithe is proportionate of course but in II Corinthians 8 and 9 Paul repeats the more general concept of proportionate giving without reference to the specific tithe (cf. II Corinthians 8:3, 11, 12).

Disciplined: The word “disciplined” is adjectival, it describes the proportionate aspect of giving. This giving proportionately is disciplined by the guidelines of Scripture outlined in the examples of Abraham and Jacob and also God’s will for Israel. This puts some boundaries on us and teaches us discipline in our financial giving. It is not contrary to the dispensation of grace to have commands. One writer states that giving in the New Testament is purely unrestricted, of our own accord without any divine command. He states: “an offering cannot be free will if it is commanded.” Such a statement falls short of understanding the nature of God’s gracious salvation. The salvation promised in the covenant of grace according to Jeremiah 31:33 and Hebrews 8:10; 10:16 is one that changes our wills to that which is according to God’s. We, like Christ, delight to do the Father’s will (Psalm 40:8; John 6:38; I John 2:3) and this will translate to giving.

Grace-Giving: Giving is the sine qua non of biblical Christianity. The Lord said in Matthew 10:8 “freely ye have received, freely give.” And in Acts 20:35 Paul says ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” In addition to proportionate giving, grace demands more. Grace demands self-sacrifice (II Corinthians 8:3 cf. Romans 12:1-2). Like those newly born saints in the book of Acts who were clearly conscious of conversion; “Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.” Acts 4:34-35.