First Baptist Church of Herndon

Tithing 101

Sean Roberds | Jan 22, 2014

Tithing 101

Tithing is the Biblical principle that instructs us to give 10% of what we receive back to God. Tithe means a tenth, so tithing is not just any amount we decide to give.  We are only tithing when we give 10% of all that we earn to God. Here is some of what the Bible says about tithing; Leviticus 27:30  “ ³⁰All tithes from the land, whether the seed from the ground or the fruit from the tree, are the LORD’S; they are holy to the LORD.” And Malachi does not hold back on the teaching of tithing when he says, “ ⁸Will anyone rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, “How are we robbing you?” In your tithes and offerings! ⁹You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me—the whole nation of you! ¹⁰Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts; see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you an overflowing blessing.” (Malachi 3:8-10)    Today most of us do not produce grain or other forms of produce to make our living, we receive a paycheck.  So our tithe is to give 10% of our pay to God.  The tithe was given so that the priestly work could be done in the tabernacle and temple.  Today our tithes are given for the work of the Church and without true tithes from the people, the Church struggles to function.

When we look at giving in the Bible, tithing is simply the base model for giving and not the full extension of what we are asked to give.  In the Bible, giving money to the poor was called alms giving and was over and above the tithe.  Reading Psalm 24 we realize that everything belongs to God and we are simply stewards of what God owns. Psalm 24 will not let us get away with thinking 10% belongs to God and 90% belongs to me.  No, it’s all God’s but ten percent goes to the Church.  Jesus tells the rich ruler, “Sell all that you own and distribute the money^£ to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (Luke 18:22).  The people in the early church gave all of their possessions to the church and shared everything in common. (See Acts 2:45).  The Bible teaches us that tithing is only part of what we are asked to give, not the full extension of our giving. 

But the reality in churches today is that the church doesn’t receive close to even a tithe from its people. The average church in America receives 3% of the congregation’s income which is well below the 10% that is the minimum giving asked by God.  Is there any wonder that the church is struggling these days?  It is and has been woefully underfunded for decades.   In America we know the problem is not a lack of money but a misguided placement of what we treasure.  “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)  We need to go back to treasuring the church and more importantly the Mission given to the church by God.  

Grace and Peace,

Sean