Old Testament law required devout followers to give God specific amounts of money, animals, grains, oil and wine. These tithes – usually ten percent – were used to support the temple and priests. A more detailed history of the legal requirements for giving to the church is presented in Historical Tithing.
The New Testament States that Christ Supercedes the Law
According to Galatians 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law.” (NKJV) Although the requirement is gone, Christians who love God and trust their heavenly Father for what they need, will do more than tithe, more than what the law requires. Paul, the writer of Galatians, suggests that believers devote themselves and all that they have to God.
According to Paul, the religious laws in the Old Testament, including the requirement to tithe, are not binding on Christians today. The principle of these laws remains but the form is now a suggestion.
Writing to the Church of Corinth, Paul told believers to “give cheerfully”. (2 Cor. 9:7) That is, giving that is done with an attitude of joy, without worrying about the cost. Since Christians believe that everything belongs to God, and God is extremely generous, they can generously disperse what they have to help others. This kind of giving is a spontaneous result of overwhelming thankfulness for Christ’s goodness in their lives.
A New Testament Suggestion About Giving Money to the Church
In the Old Testament God-followers were required to pay the priest a fixed percentage of their wealth, mandated by ecclesiastical law. In the New Testament, Paul wrote to Timothy concerning the treatment of church leaders saying, “Give a bonus to leaders who do a good job, especially the ones who work hard at preaching and teaching. Scripture tells us, ‘Don't muzzle a working ox,’ and, ‘A worker deserves his pay.’" (1 Timothy 5:17-18 The Message)
Rather Than Dutiful Giving Jesus Presented a New Perspective, Stewardship
Jesus taught that Christian stewardship is a better way to view Christian giving because it's more comprehensive and encompasses everything: time, money, talents, strength, spirituality and the world.
After Pentecost, the spirit-filled church drew believers together from many different ethnicities, socio-economic levels, educational backgrounds, and spiritual experiences. They were able to have fellowship, to act as one body of believers, because they were united in more ways than just spiritual. They shared everything and assumed the responsibility of helping those in need.
Christians believe that God put the world and everything in it under the care of humankind. In addition to this corporate responsibility, each person past the age of accountability is responsible for how he or she utilizes all of God’s gifts. And, each believer is responsible for telling others about God’s grace and caring for less fortunate people.
A theologian asked Jesus what he had to do to receive eternal life. Jesus asked the scholar how he interpreted the Scriptures. "He said, 'That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence – and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.'" (Luke 10:27, The Message) Then Jesus commended the man for his good answer.
Giving the church a tithe, ten percent of one's money, isn't really very much compared to Jesus' teaching. Christian stewardship means that when a Christian belongs to the family of God, everything is included, passion, prayer, muscle and intelligence. Nothing is held back
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