“In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.”
(Luke 14:33)

Last Friday night was a night to remember! The seventy-one members of the Toronto Church gathered together for an important Congregational Devotional to address the biblical expectation of giving to God! I was so inspired to see the response to my lesson. Although I preached for about an hour – a longer lesson than usual for a Friday night – about giving and sacrificing to God, the spirit of our group
was electric! Everyone was fired up! In fact, I was so encouraged by everyone’s response that I leaned over to Kirk Hamula after the lesson and whispered, “Now this is a healthy church!”

For many, giving to God is a sore spot. They have grown up in denominational churches, where the calling for financial sacrifice was abused, and church members gave only to line the pockets of those who were abusing them. Sadly, this can create a pendulum swing regarding our giving when we become true disciples of Jesus. Our past baggage arouses fear and distrust in us, and we shrug off any expectation of giving to avoid returning to the same abuse we experienced in our past. However, the question of what God expects us to give remains.

This is the question we addressed last Friday night. Interestingly, although the concept of tithing exists all throughout the Bible, many can disregard it as an Old Testament concept that does not apply to us in New Testament times. Yet, the Bible teaches us, in regards to tithing, “I the Lord do not change.” (Malachi 3:6) God did not suddenly repent and get baptized between the old and new covenants, nor did He need
to. So how does tithing fit into Christianity? Should we tithe? Is it wrong not to tithe?

Perhaps the confusion comes from a misunderstanding of what does and does not apply to us from the Old Testament. Most understand that we are no longer under the covenant of the law of Moses. As Paul stated, “Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify… and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3:20-24) Tithing was very much a part of the law. The assumption, therefore, is that since we are no longer under the law, we no longer need to tithe.

Not needing to tithe would seem logical from that perspective, but it is actually the wrong perspective. In everything Jesus taught, He elevated the expectation of the law. For instance, in His famous Sermon On The Mount, He taught that not only is murder sinful, but having hatred in your heart toward someone else is a sin. He taught that not only is adultery wrong, but even lusting after another woman is wrong. Instead of allowing divorce with the presentation of a certificate of divorce, it became impermissible to divorce your spouse except in cases of adultery. And the list goes on. Jesus always took it higher! Thus it would be wrong to assume that things would be any different
when it comes to giving.

Tithing was not just a single facet of the law done away with through Christ. In actuality, tithing preceded the law. It is first recorded that Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek, High Priest of Salem, from the blessing he received. (Genesis 14:20) Then Jacob, who was later to be renamed Israel, vowed to give God a tenth in response to the blessing he received. (Genesis 28:22) Jacob’s vow became all of Israel’s vow, and all of the Israelites were held to it. A tithe, or a tenth, was given back to God out of the prosperity that they received from God.

But what does that have to do with us? Everything! Paul makes the connection of our covenant through Jesus to the covenant God made with Abraham when he says, “for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s
seed, and heirs according to the promise.” (Galatians 3:27-29) We are not under the law of Moses, but we are still under the promise of Abraham. Instead of a physical circumcision to get into the covenant, (Genesis 17:9-10) we undergo a spiritual circumcision through baptism. (Colossians 2:11-12) And since tithing preceded the law and was a part of the covenant of Abraham, which we are still under, tithing must also apply to us.

This idea is confirmed through Jesus’ words to His religious opponents, “Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone.” (Luke 11:42) Jesus doesn’t discourage tithing here, but injustice and a lack of love for God. He even reaffirms that tithing should be done. However, tithing should be mixed with justice and love for God! Again, we see Jesus taking things higher! A tithe by itself can be viewed as a minimum. However, mixed with justice and love, or seeing the needs of others who are in poorer circumstances and giving out of our love for God, a true disciple would typically give beyond a tithe!

With all that being said, why didn’t Jesus explicitly command a tithe in the New Testament? After all, it seems pretty important; especially if not giving at least a tithe is considered robbing God. (Malachi 3:8) Perhaps, we are missing the bigger picture. Jesus said, “In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.” So it is true that Jesus did not explicitly command a tithe; He commanded everything! And I think we can all agree that “everything” includes a tithe! Therefore, let us give to God at least a tenth of the prosperity that He so richly provides us; and let us strive not just to give the minimum, but the maximum out of our love for Him! And to God be all the glory!