The Gist on Giving and “Tithing”

All believers will stand before the Lord and give an account of their lives for what they do or don’t do at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This includes what we do with our income. More is expected of those with greater knowledge, talents and spiritual maturity. As Christ said, “To whom much is given, much will be required” (Luke 12:48).

New Covenant believers are not UNDER the Mosaic Law, rather we fulfill the moral Law by walking in the spirit (Romans 7:6).

Believers are under the law of Christ, which is the law of love — loving God and loving people as we love ourselves. If we are walking in love toward the diligent ministers & ministries that we receive from and are blessed by, we’ll support them from our income (whatever form that may be) and with our time & talents, not to mention respect (1 Timothy 5:17 & 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13).*

* Although we shouldn’t support or tolerate abusive ministers & ministries. Abuse is the misuse of power.

We are instructed in the New Testament to “grow in the grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7 & Luke 6:38), but no amount is set because it will be different for each believer according to their means & talents and how the Spirit leads. For instance, in the book of Acts, some believers were selling whole properties and giving the money to the Church (Acts 4:33-36). This was way beyond 10% of their income.

However, 10% is a good starting place because Abraham gave Melchizedek 10% of the booty (Hebrews 7:1-2). Melchizedek was a type of Christ and this was BEFORE the Mosaic Law, not to mention Abraham is the Father of Faith and New Covenant believers are children of faith (Romans 4:16).

As such, if a believer is part of an assembly and receiving from it, 10% of one’s income is a good place to start in regards to giving. If you have 10 eggs, give one. If you have a 100, give 10. From there you can “grow in the grace of giving” as led of the Spirit. While New Covenant believers are not under the Mosaic Law, giving 10% to support a ministry is considered “tithing” because tithe in the Hebrew simply means 10%.

But, please, it’s important to understand that the LORD only wants believers to give out of a giving heart that’s happy to give; He doesn’t want believers to give reluctantly or under compulsion — which includes being coerced by ministers preaching condemnation, aka ‘condo.’ There’s no condo in Paul’s request for funds for needy Christians in Jerusalem, as chronicled in 2 Corinthians 8-9. He shares the need, encourages the believers to give, stresses that they’ll be rewarded, and then adds that they should only give what they decide to gladly give (2 Corinthians 9:7). This is the only way they’ll be blessed for their giving; otherwise they’d be giving from the flesh to earn salvation or whatever, which is what Hindus, Muslims and other religionists do.

Another thing we can get from this passage is that Paul didn’t view believers as pawns to fund ministry projects which Paul considered important, including altruistic ones. He respected and loved the believers where they were spiritually and permitted them to make up their own minds as led of the Spirit (or not led of the Spirit).

Something else important to keep in mind is the fact that believers “are not their own” because we were “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), which explains why we’re instructed to be “living sacrifices” (Romans 12:1-2). In other words, our whole lives are God’s possession already, not just 10% of our financial earnings. Our bodies, our thoughts, our material possessions, our earnings — they’re all God’s already. This frees us up to happily “grow in the grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7).

Thus the principle of giving 10% is, at best, a starting point in the New Covenant. The LORD wants believers to become living sacrifices every day wherein we grasp that everything we are & everything we own has already been purchased by our Mighty Maker. “We are not our own.”

Of course believers have to grow into this powerful revelation, which is where the day-to-day process of sanctification comes into play.

This is the gist on giving for New Covenant believers; for details see this article.

Related Topics:

Provision, Money and “Prosperity”

Greed — What is it? Why is it Bad?

Spiritual Warfare — Do You know What You’re Fighting For?

Spiritual Growth — The Four Stages