Should every Christian tithe? 

Yes

Is there ever a time when a Christian is not obligated to tithe?

No.

What if a Christian is married to a non-believer and he/she says "no" to tithing?  Should he/she tithe off of the mother-load, only tithe off of his or her income, or do what the spouse suggest?

It depends if the money maker is the Christian or not.

Should a person tithe if they can't pay their bills? 

Yes, tithe is first.

How do people tithe if they don't attend a church? 

What? Who are these people?

Do they tithe to various organizations and/or do they help their fellow man?

What?

Does grace change the law of tithing?

Clearly not!

Should we tithe off of our gross or net income?

Net (after the canker worm has eaten [the government])

If you aren't tithing, why not? 

Great question! 

In my diocese there is a big push to try to make people good stewarts...but I really like the approach. They say being a good stewart is not only tithing from our treasure...its actually threefold. We should be giving from our time, talent and treasure!

The best thing would be to tithe from all three in equal proportions... but if you can't tithe from your treasure, tithe from your time and talent.

I personally do not see a problem at all with not tithing from my treasure when I really can't afford it. I mean, by providing for my family I am providing for His people! I have been in a position when if I give 10% of my income I wouldn't be able to make rent... so I didn't tithe, but I was still giving Him my treasure by providing for my family...

obviously, if I spent the alloted 10% shopping and eating out then there might be a problem :)

I've gone to Calvary Chapels a lot.  Their teaching on tithing has one simple guideline: "If you feel like giving, then give.  If you don't feel like giving, then don't."  They also have another teaching: "Where God guides, He provides."  If provision doesn't exist for some additional ministry, it isn't pursued.  I haven't heard of an ineffective Calvary Chapel, nor I heard of one that is in unmanagable debt.

Personally, there are times when I've tithed and times when I haven't.  When I was without steady income, I prayed about tithing.  God put it on my heart to time only my time, and not my money.  I helped to set up and take down chairs at my church, and led worship when the occasion presented itself.  Now that I have a steady income, I give regularly, and I volunteer.  I never give out of guilt or a sense of needing to follow the rules (2 Cor 9:7).

Here's the verses Calvary Chapel base their teaching on (emphasis added by me):

2 Cor 9:7

7  Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.




Exod 35:5
5  'Take from among you a contribution to the LORD; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the LORD'S contribution: gold, silver, and bronze,

Exod 36:5-6
5  and they said to Moses, "The people are bringing much more than enough for the construction work which the LORD commanded us to perform."
6  So Moses issued a command, and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, "Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the contributions of the sanctuary." Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. 

Should a person tithe if they can't pay their bills? 

I think 1 Tim 5:8 covers this.

1 Tim 5:8
8  But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

  I would like to say some thing, I hear alot of talk on tithing,  one of you said that dose grace change the law od tithing ? and you said no it didn't, You can not have things two ways. If we are to still live by the law, we have to do it in every thing, and not pick what we have to do. you say tithing is in the law, so we have to do it, but there are other things in the law, and you say, we are not under that no more, we arw under grace, and another person,  if you can't pay your bill, you still have to tithe. show me where Jesus said that, you will not fine it, Jesus ;oves us amd our kids, and he would never tell us not to feed our kids, so we can pay him.

Just an interesting fact:

By levitical law, Jesus never had to tithe, and there is no recorded instance of Him doing so.

http://home.earthlink.net/~russkellyphd/index.html 

Interesting quote:

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: Questions and Answers.

It (tithing) is not mentioned in the New Testament except where it is describing Old Testament practices or in the Gospels where Jesus is addressing people who were under the Old Testament law. Note Jesus' comments to the Pharisees in Luke 11:42? A New Testament teaching on giving which may be helpful to you is found in 1 Corinthians 16:2.... This passage brings out four points: we should give individually, regularly, methodically, and proportionately. The matter of your giving is between you and God, and He always takes into account our circumstances. He knows when they are beyond our power to direct and control. The important thing is that we see giving as a privilege and not a burden. It should not be out of a sense of duty, but rather out of love for the Lord and a desire to see His kingdom advanced. Second Corinthians 9:6-7..... What has priority in our lives? Is Christ really first--or do we put ourselves and our own desires first? Make sure Christ is first in your life, and then ask Him to guide you.  Note: Billy Graham himself does teach tithing. http://www.billygraham.org/LFA_Article.asp?ArticleID=28

Act 20:17-36 "Now from Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all."

Paul is on his way back to Jerusalem and he has called ahead to have the Pastors in the region of Ephesus to meet him. The above passages tell us a great deal about the Apostle Paul's feelings concerning the ministry.

If you study carefully the way Luke (a frequent companion of Paul!) treats money in all  of his writings, you will see a great reversal in his treatment of money. He is not anti-wealth, but anti-greed.

Folks, we have gotten so far away from how the Church was intended to handle money it is sickening.

From where do we pull all proof texts for tithing?

Then are we saying we are still under the Law?

Some of the very same posters above argued with me that we are under no Law on one of Mike's (Mike and Laura) blogs concerning Law. Friends, we don't get to have it both ways. Either we are or we're not. Tithing was an OT principle that was placed on Land Owners and Farmers.


Chris

Voice, we gave money we didn't have. And I don't mean sacrificial as much as I mean just being 'stupid". We were brow beat that we needed to give and give and give some more. Many times we gave ourselves into the poor house. God never intended that. Although that's what was being preached to us at the time. I pray for people who are struggling with this.

Jesus said, "I will build my Church." He is God and will do this work without one cent of anyone's money. God's blessed us when we have tithed, but he has blessed us much more since we have been giving according to how he has prospered us.

Once we have taken care of our financial needs, we are free to give to meet any need that may arise. We have found ourselves giving more than what we gave just giving a tithe. Oh, yeah, and did I mention that God still has blessed.

There is a reason that this teaching is giving pause, it contradicts what most of us have heard for years.

Is the husband always the one who should make the decision on how much to give, even if he isn't a believer?  

Hi all,
I'm going to write about the #1 thing people write me about, which is tithing, and they always ask open ended questions like: What do you believe about tithing?

That's something like Groucho Marx asking the hapless guest on his show; "Have you stopped beating your wife?" If you answer yes, you're in trouble; if you say no, you're in trouble.

A question like that does not give me a clue where they're coming from or what their church experience has been, which puts me in the unenviable position of trying to write in some detail, yet for the sake of time and space having to summarize and assume a basic knowledge base, and inevitably I get burned as a result.

Most of those who ask such a question have a 'hot' button they got because they experienced a church that was either (A) very legalistic; or (B) very prosperity '100% tithing' minded; or; (C) they are tired of preachers arm twisting for money to the extent they now break out in hives if someone mentions Malachi 3, or; (D) all of the above or some combination thereof.

But they prefer to keep their little 'hot' button hidden from view, ask me an open ended question, and then attack or at the least, back off, when their button is pushed.

With the start of the new year it only seems right (in a funny sort of way) to try to push ALL the buttons on this week's "Thoughts" by sharing some basic principles, coming at it from another perspective, and once you have the principles down you can apply them to any situation you've experienced (even over and above money issues), and questions you may have...it may be a help.

The first principle sounds ridiculously elementary, yet it needs to be said: People have been giving to God since Abel's offering. The 2nd principle is: People have been getting mad over giving to God since Abel's offering. (Cain didn't take too kindly to it if you'll recall)

But seriously...
Giving to God is normal behavior for believers in God...but wait, here are some statistics from George Barna's organization:

Percentages of people who Donated money to a nonprofit organization in the past month:
Non-believers - 48% Christians - 47%
Gave money to a poor or homeless person in the last year:
Non-believers - 34% Christians - 24%

The fact that non-Christians out give Christians may be because we (Christians) have been so abused, beaten over the head, and had our arms twisted so much over the years from the traditional church that we are shell-shocked over the issue of giving and tithing.

Here I hope, is a little sanity to soothe your soul:

The first thing to keep in mind is that the Old Testament contained a series of 613 external laws to guide Israel's behavior. These laws were broken up into 3 groups: Worship, moral, and dietary/sanitary.

But now, God through the New Testament has written those laws in our hearts and minds. What used to be external is now an internal grace. Note Hebrews 10:16-17 quoting Jeremiah 31:34: "This is the new covenant, I will write my laws in their hearts and in their minds..."

This is why Jesus said in Matthew 5:17 that he didn't come to abolish the law, he came to fulfill it. Fulfilling the law is like this: When a person buys a car over the course 5 years with 60 months of payments for example, once they make that last payment they have fulfilled the contract. They didn't abolish the contract (negate the purchase), they fulfilled it.

Because they fulfilled the contract (law) they have now become the possessors of the contract and have (now) the grace to do whatever they wish to that contract. It's the same with a person paying off a mortgage. By paying the price in full you become possessors of the contract - burn the thing, frame it and hang it on a wall - it doesn't matter because you now own the contract.

Jesus fulfilled the law by walking blameless in all 613 rules, and then nailed those rules to his cross, taking possession as owner of the law. Colossians 2:14 says Jesus took the contract, the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, and nailed it to his cross. Jesus now owns the contract, and we own it by virtue of being in Him and He in us.

Those external laws of the Old Testament are now in us, we possess them, and we can do with them what we want...so keep that in mind as we proceed.

There is another principle that builds on the principle of owning the law that we need to look at, and that is the principle of using the cross as a strainer.

Think of the Old Testament, from Genesis through Malachi as the thing we want strained. The 4 gospels are the funnel, and the cross is the strainer. Anything that makes it through the strainer into Acts through Revelation is applicable today in one degree or another.

How do we know something has made it through? - If it's written about as being in the life of the churches Paul and others wrote to, OR if nothing is mentioned of it at all in the New Testament but understood to be relevant by the writers of the New Testament.

How do we know if something did not make it through? - It will be written about as being not for today.

How do we know if something made it through, but modified? - If it's written about in the New Testament as still being applicable but modified to the church then it's made it through the strainer. These issue are what I would term, swallowed up by grace and become part of a larger whole.

As a side note lest someone try to apply cultural issues to the 'strainer' and not understand this principle is limited to the Mosaic Law: Cultural issues are clearly identified as being cultural, such as Paul mentioning three times in I Corinthians 11 that the veiling of women was a local custom when he wrote about it. In Rome women weren't veiled, but in Corinth's area it was common, not unlike the Muslim mid-east versus the west today...follow the local customs is what he said. (I Corinthians 11:6,13,16)

Back to the subject at hand:
Some things making it through untouched that ARE addressed in the New Testament:

Sexual sin. Leviticus 18 is a chapter largely devoted to instructions about not uncovering the nakedness of various men and women - a friend's wife, your sister, your son's daughter, your sister in law, your dad's brother, etc.

Jesus in the 'funnel' of the gospels, and on the other side of the strainer, the letters of the New Testament have several passages dealing with fornication, which is sexual relations outside of marriage, so we know that guidelines for sexual relations has successfully made it through the strainer of the cross. (Incidentally, the instructions in Leviticus cover the subject of pornography, as seeing another man's wife/relative or husband/relative is forbidden)

The subject of sexual sin was in the Old Testament, addressed as being relevant in the gospels, and addressed as being relevant in Acts-Revelation; Therefore we are possessors of the law in this matter...it's not in my spirit to uncover another woman's nakedness...it's not a matter of external law, the law is inside my spirit man - the spirit/Spirit constrains me from the inside not to do such a thing.

Something not mentioned at all in the New Testament, and therefore has made it through unchanged:

Abortion and the question of life in the womb. Exodus 21:22-23 is a law that states if men are fighting and a nearby pregnant woman has a miscarriage as a result of inadvertently being injured in that fight, then the man responsible is to pay for it; anything ranging from a monetary fine to being put to death, giving "life for life", as the judges determine.

Therefore we know God considers a baby in the womb as life...was it addressed in Mathew through John? No. Is it addressed in Acts - Revelation? No. Therefore it made it through the cross untouched and we can say (it should be) illegal to kill a baby in the womb.

Now for 2 things strained out, that are mentioned in the New Testament and modified - diet and holy days:

Leviticus 11 and elsewhere limits what Israel's diet should be - including not eating scavengers of any kind. Those who know me know that I don't eat what I call, "insects of the sea" (crab, lobster, shrimp), which is consistent with the law. I don't eat them because I don't like the taste and texture, and am mentally turned off because they eat poop and dead things, not because Leviticus tells me not to eat them.

But...can you eat them nowadays if you want? We strain them through the cross and look for something in Paul's writing, and lo and behold he talks about food in Romans 14: 1-18 and I Corinthians 8:1-13 and 10:23-33.

In Romans 14 he mentions 2 issues of the day: those who consider one particular day a Sabbath day (who he calls weak in the faith) versus those who think all days are equal; and those who "believes he may eat all things; another, who is weak (in the faith), is a vegetarian."

His answer? If a person wants to eat anything under the sun; or if they want to eat just vegetables, let them, for each does so unto the Lord. As he would later say in I Corinthians 10:23, "all things are lawful, but not all things are expedient."

So the dietary laws are now on the inside of us and we can eat what we want...eating 3 Big Macs a day might not be expedient, but it is lawful. John the Baptist ate grasshoppers, buy hey, who am I to argue with him?

The same with holy days...the OT says Saturday is the Sabbath (as well as other OT feasts/fasts), but places in the NT show they met on Sunday (I Cor 16:1-2 for instance) and from house to house any day..."Let everyone be fully persuaded in his own mind." (Romans 14:5)

Thus...both the OT Sabbath laws and the OT eating laws got strained out. No where does Paul or the other apostles command Christians to worship on Saturday or hold other Sabbath days, nor do they command them to eat according to the Levitical law...it all got strained. Yet the principles, the kernel of truth, remain. It is good and right we set a Sabbath to rest, reflect, worship, and recharge. It's still needed, though not mandated to be each Saturday. And the eating laws are good principles that make for healthy bodies, so the kernel of truth remains, but it's up to us if we want to follow them.

In fact, Acts 15: 20-21 says the only constraints from the Old Testament they put on the believers was to abstain from sexual sin, idolatry (Commandments #1 & #2 having made it safely through the strainer), and from eating blood (for the sake of the synagogues and Jewish population around them - in other words, that part is a directive to be sensitive to local custom and culture no matter how 'free' you are in Christ - ie be considerate - if you're having dinner with an orthodox Jew, don't order your steak rare)

Thus whatever gets strained remains a good principle, and we can learn from it...but it is now a grace on the inside of us to do with as we wish. Paul said the things that happened to Israel were examples for us. ( I Cor 10:6)

Now something superceded and swallowed up by a larger principle:
What about giving to God, either 10% (tithe) or more, or even less? Giving to God has been in existence since Abel gave to God, and giving has made it safely through the cross, for giving is talked about quite a bit in the Gospels and rest of the New Testament, but not through legalism, but with grace.

Is there anything from Acts to Revelation about tithing?

The answer is no. Why is that? Because the law, having moved inside us, is now a grace. Therefore giving in the New Testament has superceded and swallowed up the 10% level of giving, for in Acts 2: 44-45 we see: "And all that believed were together and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them to all men, as everyone had need." and in Acts 4:32 "...but they had all things common."

Why drop down from 100% to just 10%? Tithing has been swallowed up by the 100% giving of the New Testament. (laying down your life for others) You aren't held to an external law, but rather an internal one - love, grace, integrity.

The Law not only set a minimum of 10%, but by naming a percentage it also provided a cap...they didn't have to give anything beyond that 10%. In the New Testament there is no cap. You give as you have, as you want, as you are led. Why would I want to drop down to 10%???

You don't suffer a curse at 9.999% giving and then burst into heavenly blessing at 10.001%...you are blessed because of Jesus' blood, and that is how God relates to you in terms of his relationship with you.

But in the natural realm we must ask: Is the truth of 'what is released on the earth is also released in heaven' still at work? Yes...from Genesis, through Proverbs, through Jesus' statements, through Paul's writings, God does bless the giver...that has made it through the strainer for sure, untouched.

How we give is modified by grace, but giving itself went through the strainer of the cross untouched.

There is a grace over Christian givers that is not over stingy Christians - a sense of timing, 'luck', favor, and a host of intangible things that are hard to put into words...we still live in this world and if you give you enter a flow of blessing that involves inflow and outflow and timing...it's just the way it is. God so loved that he gave...and those who follow in His footsteps by giving are blessed.

Paul called giving a grace in II Corinthians 8:7: "You abound in faith, utterance, and in knowledge, and your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also." Abound...in this grace also. We want to abound in grace when we come before the throne asking for mercy, or help, or peace...do we want to abound in this grace as well? (that's a heart issue each of us must ask of ourselves)

He says in verse 10 that he gives advice on that matter. Why advice? Because giving is a grace, not an external law. (His advice became our scripture so it was very good advice)

He continues: Verse 11: "Give out of what you have, not out of what you don't have."

In modern terms, don't give out of your need - give out of what you have. Don't charge a financial gift on a charge card unless you are going to pay that off within your card's 30 day or whatever billing cycle. Don't give your utility money or rent money to the church - you don't have it to give - give out of what you have.

Paul's advice in I Corinthians 16:1-2 was that they purpose to set aside something every week according to how God blessed them that week. In other words, it's a discipline that you must do...discipline yourself to set something aside from what you have, on an every pay day basis, is what he was saying.

To walk in grace, it is a discipline, no matter the issue. Let me explain why walking in grace involves discipline no matter the issue: Jesus said to look on another person with lust is the same as having sex with them. He said to hate someone without cause is the same as murdering them. (Matthew 5)

Grace requires discipline in the mind not to lust, not to hate, and discipline in the body not to take action in either of those areas. If that is true of the negative, then it is true of the positive. We must think rightly of that beautiful man or woman as a brother or sister, and we must think forgiveness when angry with someone.

In the use of money, we must use our mind to think about how God may want us to use the money he gave us this pay period, then have the discipline to follow through.

Didn't we get saved by grace? Jesus had to discipline himself to go to that cross...so grace involves discipline.

So the same thing with the grace of giving...Christ is in you, the whole of the law is in you, now it's just a matter of discipline and doing what is right, and that's why Paul told them each to set something aside each payday based on how God blessed them that week...

II Corinthians 8:12 continues: "For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what a man has and not according to what he doesn't have. For I don't mean that others be eased while you are burdened."

Don't give if it causes a burden on yourself...don't allow your bills and family to suffer and ease someone else's burden while putting a burden on you and your family.

Let me define what a burden is and is not: It is NOT that if you give you can't go to that movie you wanted to see. It is NOT that if you give you can't eat out that week. Those are luxuries. A burden means you can't pay for the roof over your head or to put food on the table or to pay the electric bill...please take care of those things first!

Paul said he wants them to ABOUND in this grace. Therefore in II Corinthians 9:6-7 he says "He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Every man as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or out of need, for God loves a cheerful giver."

If you follow his advice, you will have all sufficiency in all things and he will multiply your seed sown. (verses 8-9)

And...I like verse 10, where he says God will provide seed to be sown and bread for your food.

AHA! That is my job, to separate the seed from the bread!

In 1980 some friends gave us an unexpected donation of $300, which was the better part of our $375 rent. But we had some of the rent, I was getting paid next week which would take care of the rest, so immediately we sent the whole $300 on to some missionary friends.

The next day I got laid off work...we needed that $300 for the rent after all...God had intended it for bread, but we thought it was seed to be sown. From there on out we started holding on to extra money for a bit and seeing if it was seed or bread.

In about 1990 a lady in our church came to me. She was a nurse working full time, and raising a teen age son. She tithed regularly, and her tithe, $60, could either go to the church or to their groceries, for they were out of food until pay day. She came to me on Monday because she got afraid and withheld her tithe on Sunday.

I told her to use the tithe for her food...God would not have she and her son suffer...I showed her that even in the Old Testament, in Deuteronomy 14:22-29 God told them to eat their tithe by holding a party, and give to those in need in their community/neighborhood.

So she bought groceries...but later that week the power company sent her a refund for $59 and change...so she gave that plus a dollar in the offering, and was thrilled at the goodness of the Lord.

In Matthew 15:1-6 Jesus got angry with the Pharisees because they had made a law that said if a son had a gift for God, but his parents were hungry, the son had to give his tithe/offering no matter what, even if his parents were hungry. Jesus was irate, and told them the greater principle is to honor mom and dad...

Tithing has been swallowed up by grace - why would I drop back to 10%? (why would I come under legalism)

In the New Testament Christ lives in us - therefore it is up to us to honor him and give out of a pure heart - there is no external law of the tithe. I urge people to do what Paul said and set something aside each paycheck...whether 10%, 5%, 3%, 15%...whatever percentage it may be, find where there is grace in your heart to give, and discipline yourself to do it.

So do I believe in tithing? Sure I do! But it's only a small part of the larger whole...being grace, we (personally) have given way beyond 10% for years...when you give 20% or more the 10% is in there, but it's been superceded by something larger! Grace.

A few weeks ago I gave some money to a young lady who approached me in a shopping center parking lot who was down on her luck, so she could buy a bagel at the nearby coffee shop. After running my errands I went to the coffee shop and asked if she had bought a bagel. The lady behind the counter knew her, knew her story. She was in rehab, not working presently, and lived in a shed behind her mother's house. I went to the grocery store next door, bought a $20 gift card, and left it at the coffee shop for the young woman...later I verified she had picked it up.

Why did I do that? It was in my heart to do it. Do I track such things in a mental calculator to make sure I'm hitting at least 10% total giving? Of course not. It was in my heart to do -I had a $20 bill on me, so I didn't gas up the car like I'd planned, I bought her some food instead. I just did it. It's grace people...the laws concerning giving have moved inside me. Therefore God can use me to give where he sees fit. Beyond that, it's up to me to discipline myself to set something aside as Paul said, "on the first day of the week (or) when you come together...that's grace.

So if I say I tithe and believe in tithing, for me, you should understand that 10% is only part of a larger percentage...If I say we gave 18% of our pay last year what is that to you? I do it unto the Lord...it just came out that much, anything over 10% I don't track until the end of the year statements.

And if you set aside 15%, 10%, 5% or 3% (or whatever), you do so unto the Lord...I won't question your giving any more than I would question if you are a vegetarian or if you think Saturday is the only Sabbath...what you do, you do unto the Lord. Who am I to judge another man's (Jesus') servant?

I echo Paul's statement in II Corinthians 8:7 - I hope you will abound in this grace also!

Hope that clears up some of the mud floating around out there in church circles that makes it hard to see the truth and freedom of the New Testament.

for parts 2-4 go to http://www.ifaithhome.org/teaching/articles/tithing/tithing_1.html and go to the bottom of the page.

Howdy Mrs W,

Thanks for the testimony.  My Mom was a single Mom as well (my parents divorce when I was three).  One night she had money to buy gas for th ecar to get to work, or buy groceries so her four kids could eat.  She bought groceries, and then drove home.  I still remember the car sputtering to a halt in the driveway.  The next morning she woke up, and the gas tank was full.

I don't think people find tithing offensive.  What's offensive is when people use the Bible to subjegate others.  People use verses on tithing and other issues to tell people what "God" wants them to be doing.  The thing is, God wants us to listen to Him.  If I start living my spiritual lives by following the guy next to me, I'm not following Jesus any more.  Also, Jesus came to fulfill the law, but establish grace.  For many, the idea of presenting tithing or any other issue as "something a Christian must be doing to be a good Christian", makes tithing a law.  If it's a law, then people tend to give because they are obliged to, not because they appreciate what God's done.  Tithing isn't offensive, but the way tithing is taught and presented can be.  I love how you put this: Tithing and giving is a relationship - it is ok with me for Him to set the rules.
My concern is people using God's word to set the rules for people around them. 

I think your testimony is great.  You definately gave to God from your heart, not from obligation.  You didn't just give money, but time, effort and compasion.  Thanks for sharing.

I think it's interesting that there are actually two conversations going on here.  One conversation is whether the Word is being rightly divided concerning Tithing.  The other conversation is whether God's minitries can work if God's people aren't donating.

I keep seeing this pattern:

A response is entered that raises a concern that God's Word is portrayed as saying a Christian must give.
A countered response is entered that seems to assume the previous entry means that person doesn't want to give to God's ministries.

Does anyone else see that?

Well I see one big problem, It is that the whole topic is so divisive why start it.  IMHO BUT

If Gods ministries can not operate without tithing how did they do it 150 years ago because the teaching on tithing has only been popular in the last say 100 to 150 years.
IF as a ministry we are looking to God for support and not people HE will support the ministries HE wants IMHO.

So here we go

Should every Christian tithe? 
NO it is a law for the Jews and it was more like 33.3% no 10.
Is there ever a time when a Christian is not obligated to tithe?
See Above
What if a Christian is married to a non-believer and he/she says "no" to tithing?  Should he/she tithe off of the mother-load, only tithe off of his or her income, or do what the spouse suggest?  If we follow the Word it is not an issue.

Should a person tithe if they can't pay their bills?  NO

How do people tithe if they don't attend a church?  Do they tithe to various organizations and/or do they help their fellow man?  Well since I do not tithe, I give regularly to 5 different ministries.  Not a tithe but because the NT commands us to give!

Does grace change the law of tithing?  No it has nothing to do with it

Should we tithe off of our gross or net income? Welll as I said if we follow the Word this is not even a question

If you aren't tithing, why not?  LOL  see above

Tithing is not a salvific issue... Giving is between your heart and God's heart. However if you are a member of a church that believe in practicing tithing, and you sign membership with that church, then you are bound by a covenant. But... even with that covenant, you are free to tithe or not tithe, give more that 10% or less. It is really your choice. God will not send fire from heaven and burn you is you do or don't do either one ;-), but God will call us into account for our obedience. That is not negotiable. Obedience is not a choice, it is a requirement. When God asks for 10% and we fail to do so, or when He asks for 100% and we disregard his voice, then we have a problem that we need to correct. 

Remember... He promised to help us and guide us in everything, so we should be ok ;-)

Mike,

 My gross v. net understanding is based upon the scripture on the canker worm etc. eating into things. The idea is that we tithe after the cankerworm (in this case SSI and taxes) has eaten and before we even get the produce in from the fields. I used to tithe (self-righteously) on the gross before I understood this principle.

I agree with your pastor on the storehouse being local, however, Malachi commands we test the Lord with tithes and offereings and then we see the blessings, etc. A tithe is only 10% but it does not mean we only give that amount. I know that Randy Alcorn gives enormous amounts of his money in percent to the Lord's work. We really can not out give the Lord, as you know.

If we look at these verses closely, them seem a poor example for proof that we should tithe.

Also, Malachi three was a command to the Jews, God's chosen people, the nation of Israel, to challenege Him. Tithe and see if I will not poor out a blessing on you that you cannot contain was given to the Jews. Even then, it was to be given to the priest, and never from the poor, the priest, but land owners and farmers.

I am not saying we are not to give. I am saying that we are under no law to give, not out of necessity!

This may be harsh but here we go. The Apostle Paul could have so easly said “Keep Tithing” But he didn’t. He devotes 2 chapters on Giving. What do Cemetery teach? The Pastors and Preachers I have spoken to, who went to Cemetery school, say that they are taught that they have to teach tithing to support there Church Building.

Here is what is even more fantastic. God says my people shall live by Faith. The Word also says that only faith please God. Now why if I am preaching and teaching faith do I have to ask or preach on Tithing? Why don’t the Pastors and Preachers step out in faith and trust that the Holy Spirit will put it in the hearts of those attending the building services will support the building? Where is your Faith Preacher? What does your preaching on Tithing really show? Lack of Faith? Yes I think it does.

Tithes in the Old Testament was food stuffs, grain, seed and animals, so in our day its cold hard cash. The Apostle Paul also says:

1 Corinthians 9:18
What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel.

2 Corinthians 11:7
Did I commit sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge?

2 Thessalonians 3:8
nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you,

 I see no place in the bible to ask for a Tithe every week actually its like every 3 years in the Old Testement. Personally I think its just a wedge Satan uses to hinder the Gospel. Are there any pastors or preachers out there that will take a regular Job, work 40 hours a week and still serve 1 day a week for God with no charge? You will never see those scriptures above preached on a tithing day…

Why is it that I have never EVER heard anyone preach tithing from this scripture?

Dave, I respect your position in tithing, but I think the right word should have been "Seminary."  A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried.  Many awesome christians around the world (some of them, members of mychurch.org) have been educated in a seminary, and they are incredible men/women of God ;-)

Wow! This has been a great learning experience for me!
I have never really studied much at all on tithing, I have just taken what I have been told and accepted it as truth. I think this shows why it is good to question one another and to read the word!

The article Youth Pastor posted was awesome, if you didn't take a look you should, it was very informative and very much inline with what the bible actually says on the subject. I know I checked it out just to make sure and because I wanted to learn.

The following was taken from that article: http://home.earthlink.net/~russkellyphd/index.html and was the part I found to be most interesting.

1a. "The first religious tithe, called the "Levitical tithe," had two parts. Again, the whole first tithe was given to the Levites who were only servants to the priests (Numb. 18:21-24; Neh. 10:37).

1b. The Levites, in turn, gave one tenth of the whole tithe to the priests (Numb. 18:25-28; Neh. 10:38).

2. According to Deuteronomy 12 and 14, the second religious tithe, called the "feast tithe," was eaten by worshipers in the streets of Jerusalem during the three yearly festivals (Deut. 12:1-19; 14:22-26).

3. And, according to Deuteronomy 14 and 26, a third tithe, called the "poor tithe," was kept in the homes every third year to feed the poor (Deut. 14:28, 29; 26:12, 13).

4. Also, according to First Samuel 8:14-17, the ruler collected the first and best ten per cent for political use. During Jesus’ time Rome collected the first ten per cent (10%) of most food and twenty per cent (20%) of fruit crops as its spoils of war. One wonders what "churches" are trying to hide when they single out the one religious tithe which best suits their purposes and ignore the other two important religious tithes.

So does the first tithe still apply? I think 1b, certainly does, we have to be able to keep the church up and running somehow.  But I am not to sure about 1a, do we still have a levitical system, that requires the type of support they required? I don't think so...

Is the second tithe still required? required, No, but does it make sense, yes.  When thinking about how to apply this to today, I can see how this would be a great way to ensure that we save money back to spend time with our families in other cities and spend time just rejoicing that God has blessed us with so much. (Kind of like a vacation for God!)

Is the third tithe still required? again I don't think it is required, but to me this one makes as much sense or more than the other three... Giving to the poor and needy in your area is always a good idea! And if we all did this once every three years, think what a difference this would make in so many peoples lives!

Is the fourth tithe required? Taxes.... Need I say more?

As you can see, as usual I take a little different stance than most, but for the most part, I have to agree with most other folks and say that it is a grace issue, and we should give what we can give. 

And really it should be called an offering, not a tithe... Since we are no longer under the law...

I also really loved the cut and paste from Godsgirl. Good stuff!

Alot of light has been shed on this subject for me and now I have to figure out what it means to how I tithe or rather give offerings...  ;-)

Another Great Blog Sue! Keep it up!
Cheers and God Bless

Those who are certain we are to tithe, what do you say about this interprettation?

Just curious, because at face value (without any additional research) it sounds logical.
Thoughts?

Hi Sue, I'm just now catching up to this blog.

Mike you said "why do we keep getting the tithing sermon"

What tithing sermon?  I know Mark mentions tithing here and there, but a sermon? 

Although I do not believe the NT requires a tithe (and I respect intelligent opinions to the contrary), I have always chosen to use a tithe as my beginning point, because it's easier to keep record of than what I perceive as our real mandate, which is to give all to God, as it is all His anyway.  I think Jesus' idea of giving was far different from what most of us are capable of visualizing, as we are such products of our "mine, I worked hard for it" culture.  There are scattered communal societies, monasteries, etc. that I believe are living most closely to His desire, working and donating all to serving the poor and needy, while caring for and revering those within the society who are aging. 

Should every Christian tithe?  Every Christian is to give sacrifically to God (in money, time, and talents) and make nothing off limits to Him.

Is there ever a time when a Christian is not obligated to tithe?  There have been times when I have advised a Christian not to tithe for a period of time, in order to get out of serious debt trouble, for which God is displeased we get ourselves into in the first place.  A financial advisor can help work out a plan so that tithing can resume as soon as possible, and the lost time even made up if desired.  I wouldn't use the word "obligatory" for my thoughts here, as what we give should be given freely and with joy, in gratefulness for the blessings God has given us.

If a Christian is married to a non-believer . . .?  The Christian should give as God leads him/her, from his/her own income, not that of the spouse. 

Should a person tithe if he can't pay his bills?  See my second answer.

How do people tithe if they don't attend a church . . .?  I'm not sure I understand the intent of this question.  A homebound Christian can continue to send his gifts to the church.  A Christian who chooses to have no church, can give to whatever Christian ministries they believe in.  A non-Christian certainly would not "tithe" per se, although they might give to charity organizations.  It would not be intentionally for the cause of Christ.  One point I do consider important here is that my gifts to God must be used with His name attached.  i.e. to the church or a specifically Christian ministry.  When I give to other important charities like United Way or the Southern Poverty Law Center, I do not include that as a part of my "tithe", as, although very important, the money is not used specifically in Christ's name.

Does grace change the law of tithing?  Again, I'm not sure I fully understand the intent of this question, but we are not under the OT law, so, yes, I suppose in a sense, grace changed that.

Should we tithe off our gross or net income?  This is a completely individual question.  I am a meticulous budget keeper, so what I do would not work for everyone, but I tithe off the net, including any taxes I am refunded, any interest to my accounts, bonuses, misc. income, etc.  Anything that actually comes to me, I consider my income.

If you are not tithing, why not?  I am tithing because I choose this as one way of giving, although I neither find it a mandate nor nearly enough!

To another commenter:  There is no difference between six donuts and a half a dozen, or 10% and one tenth.

This is what I can tell you. My husband has been out of work for about 18 months. I am a stay-home mom. We have 4 children, two with neurological disabilities.  I feel God has called me to obedience in faith in many areas during this time of unemployment, including the area of tithing. I committed to giving 10% of any monetary increase to my family, no matter its source. My husband supports me in this. That meant giving 10% when I didn't see how I was going to pay our mortgage or feed our family. This was in a time when I could not afford to spend even 50 cents unnecessarily. I had to humble myself to accept help from others, which is very very  hard.

After I got more comfortable with tithing, He asked me to give more. He asked me to give to anyone who asked. For about two weeks every time I got in my car I met up with someone with a need, and I gave as I was led.

But PRAISE GOD! He is sooo faithful! He has provided for every need and He continues to do so! Every month somehow we have what we need, though the math often doesn't make sense. Gifts and money come from unexpected places to His glory!

We are still living from God's hand to our mouths, but what a way to live! We are in his miracle every day! We have so little materially speaking but we have EVERYTHING that matters. Even if God chooses that we should give up our house, I am confident he will care for us. He always provides a way!

I am also deeply comforted that God cares about providing for our spirits as well. He has provided very faithful friends to support us, He has provided for times of rest and times of refueling. 

As a person who has been paralyzed by fear about money most of my life, I can confidently claim, through the power of the Holy Spirit victory over that fear! I have less (monetarily) speaking than I ever have in my whole life, and yet I am so joyful and confident. I feel so loved by my Abba Father!

People, just trust God!!!!! Give in obedience and God will bless you! Seek His leading and follow it joyfully! So much more will be added unto you!

 Amen!

[star!]

WOW!!!  I would add their is a book available (one of many, I'm sure)...TITHING:  LOW-REALM, OBSOLETE, & DEFUNCT by Matthew E. Narramore