What About Tithing?

A Guide To New Covenant Giving

The following is taken from Chapter 6:

Let’s not “beat around the bush.” Nowhere in the New Covenant do you find the command to give 10 percent of your earnings to the Church. Nowhere in Paul’s theology of giving will you find him teaching his converts to tithe. Tithing is not a New Covenant principle. It’s just that simple.

Tithing contradicts Paul’s instruction that every person should give “according as he purposes in his heart.” That simple fact should be sufficient to settle the issue. But, to put a fine point on it, many modern pastor/teachers who advocate tithing fail to grasp the logical consequences of their own teaching. For instance, most tithing advocates include Malachi’s warning to “inspire” their congregants -

Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. (Mal 3:8-9)

I do not remember ever hearing a tithing message that did not include that passage. It is constantly plucked from its context and utilized to create fear in those who hold back their ten percent – “Give it or God will get you!” But conversely, the Apostle Paul never taught Gentile churches to tithe – not once, not anywhere. Now, if it is true that believers are required to pay that ten percent or
suffer the consequences of God’s curse, Paul not only failed to teach giving correctly, he brought a curse on the whole New Testament Church. That’s the logical consequence of modern tithing teaching. Spooky, eh?

Now, I must tell you that I have presented that argument to a few tithing advocates. Their responses ranged from indifferent was incredulous. The most common retort was that Paul did not have to teach tithing because it was already established in the early Church. The logic went like this: The Gospel was first preached in Jerusalem to Jewish converts, who would have already been paying tithes and that practice naturally spread throughout the world as part of the Christian life. So, Paul never taught it because it was unnecessary to instruct people to do what they were already doing. His instruction that every person give according to their hearts had to do strictly with offerings, which are “above and beyond” the tithes to which they were already accustomed.

The only flaw with that theory is its utter lack of either historic or Scriptural proof. And, it stretches credulity. It is hard to believe that, of all the traditions of Judaism, the one that caught on universally was tithing. But, more to the point, how did the necessity and doctrine of tithing spread to the far coasts of Gentile Christianity if the apostles did not carry it with them and teach it? And, if they taught it, where is the evidence?

No, the Biblical facts deny that theory. As far as we know, neither Paul, Timothy, Titus, Peter, John Mark, Barnabas, Luke, nor any other early propagator of the Gospel taught the Gentiles to pay tithes. And, there is a reason - a very good reason. The Church is under the New Covenant and tithing was part of the Old.

So, why is such obvious evidence ignored in favor of faulty teaching? What we must realize is that the Church is not what it once was. Our English word church comes from the Celtic chirche, or kirke. Versions of that word appear in all Latin-based languages. The word kirke is derived from the Greek word kyriake, which means “Lord’s” or from kyriakos, which means “belonging to the Lord.” So, the Church belongs to the kurios, the Lord.

Meanwhile, the Greek word translated church or assembly is ekklesia, which means “out-called-ones.” So, by definition the Church is not a building or a structure, it is a people – the ones called out of the world to God.

But, these days the word  church refers to a self-perpetuating corporate organization, with large edifices, enormous overhead, and huge budgets that need to be maintained. And the best bet to cover their astronomical expenses is mandatory giving. Most large church structures are built and funded by tithes – and the threat of God’s curse.


I spent several years in a church in Los Angeles that taught tithing as adamantly and constantly as any I have encountered. I know the arguments in favor of tithing. And, I know the legalism that must engulf a church in order for systematic tithing to take hold and continue unabated. But, I also know the freedom that comes from recognizing God’s plan of giving from a true motive for
His glory.

So, with that bit of introduction, let’s begin with some history and then we will refute the arguments. It’s enlightening to read what the Bible actually says on the subject. I guarantee – and, that’s an absolute, rock-solid guarantee – that you have never heard the whole story about tithing from any church that insists on receiving your ten percent.

But, you need to know.

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