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(Previous questions and answers listed below) |
Question from Vanessa:
Hi i have a question I have started to tithe, but i am confused... first f all when you tithe are you ONLY supposed to give the money to a church? i ask this because everytime i give to someone in need i deduct it form the tithing amount, is this a correct way to tithe? My sister in law that is a dear christian tells me that I can only tithe to a church , that i can help other but it does not count as tithing, it only counts as a good deed. Please enlighten me on this since i want to make sure i am tithing the correct way, are there scriptures that say that all tithing must ONLY go to churches? I am just not sure if I should just give all my tithing to church, and then give additional for good deeds because i wouldnt be able to afford it .
Answer:
Dear Vanessa:
Thanks for your question!
First of all, the principle of Old Testament tithing as it is with what some have called "proportional giving" in the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 16:1-2) is to honor God first with what He blesses us with through income or the harvest of our crops ("first fruits"). To give God the first and best of what we harvest (wages from our emplyment) declares that He is God and deserves the first and best of our finances, our hearts, and our lives. While the amount of 10% was given as the proper starting place for our giving, God has always been more interested in the attitude(s) of our heart (faith, sacrifice, mercy, joyful) than He is with any specific dollar amount. The poor woman (Mark 12:41-44) who gave what amounted to only pennies was commended by Jesus because she gave all that she had to give and it cost her dearly, while the rich people who gave were giving out of their abundance and it cost them little. The point here is simple. There are those who faithfully tithe to the Lord on Sunday, yet God is not the least bit impressed with their giving because they are not giving from a sincere heart of worship. And there are those who merely "tip" God with a few bucks each payday using the excuse that tithing is an Old Testament practice, and they because they are no longer living under the constraints of the Old Covenant are under no obligation to give a set amount to the Lord from the fruit of their income. Obviously God is not impressed with their rationalization for not giving a significant amount (as !0% certainly is to most people) God looks at our heart and if we are stingy, grumpy, complacent or faithless because we have spent or want to spend our money on worldly values (materialism, amusements, selfish pursuits, etc.), God is deeply grieved by what He sees.
Now, you raise the question - Where does God want me to present my tithe? The tithe to the Lord was to be brought into the central worship location (temple) and put into the storehouse (see Malachi 3:8-10), and was used to support those who were serving in the temple. In the New Testament beleivers were to bring their giving to the church gathering on the first day of the week and the church would then distribute the finances to meet the needs of those serving and those who needed help with their basic or special needs.
The Biblical model then is to bring the tithe or "proportional" giving to a central place (temple or Church gathering) and the tithe was then distributed to meet the needs of the church and in the church. The Bible also speaks of various "offerings" that Israel, God's covenant people were to respond to (over and above their tithe) to meet the needs of the less fortunate. This principle is clearly evident in the New Testament as well. God desires that we demonstrate love and care to the hurting through the resources that He has gifted us with. Some have come to think that the tithe principle can be re-interpreted to allow for exchanging the giving of the first fruits of our income to the Lord, by giving 10% of their time to the Lord in ministry, or by giving their tithe to help others and other para-church ministries (TV ministries, etc.), This CAN NOT be supported by any biblical example or any biblical principle. Yes, we can dedicate portions of our time to serving God in ministry, and yes we can support other ministries, but this is not considered the same as tithing or proportional giving as we have seen in the New Testament.
I hope this helps!
Pastor J. Jay Williamson
Living Hope Church
www.livinghopetoledo.org
Hi i have a question I have started to tithe, but i am confused... first f all when you tithe are you ONLY supposed to give the money to a church? i ask this because everytime i give to someone in need i deduct it form the tithing amount, is this a correct way to tithe? My sister in law that is a dear christian tells me that I can only tithe to a church , that i can help other but it does not count as tithing, it only counts as a good deed. Please enlighten me on this since i want to make sure i am tithing the correct way, are there scriptures that say that all tithing must ONLY go to churches? I am just not sure if I should just give all my tithing to church, and then give additional for good deeds because i wouldnt be able to afford it .
Answer:
Dear Vanessa:
Thanks for your question!
First of all, the principle of Old Testament tithing as it is with what some have called "proportional giving" in the New Testament (see 1 Corinthians 16:1-2) is to honor God first with what He blesses us with through income or the harvest of our crops ("first fruits"). To give God the first and best of what we harvest (wages from our emplyment) declares that He is God and deserves the first and best of our finances, our hearts, and our lives. While the amount of 10% was given as the proper starting place for our giving, God has always been more interested in the attitude(s) of our heart (faith, sacrifice, mercy, joyful) than He is with any specific dollar amount. The poor woman (Mark 12:41-44) who gave what amounted to only pennies was commended by Jesus because she gave all that she had to give and it cost her dearly, while the rich people who gave were giving out of their abundance and it cost them little. The point here is simple. There are those who faithfully tithe to the Lord on Sunday, yet God is not the least bit impressed with their giving because they are not giving from a sincere heart of worship. And there are those who merely "tip" God with a few bucks each payday using the excuse that tithing is an Old Testament practice, and they because they are no longer living under the constraints of the Old Covenant are under no obligation to give a set amount to the Lord from the fruit of their income. Obviously God is not impressed with their rationalization for not giving a significant amount (as !0% certainly is to most people) God looks at our heart and if we are stingy, grumpy, complacent or faithless because we have spent or want to spend our money on worldly values (materialism, amusements, selfish pursuits, etc.), God is deeply grieved by what He sees.
Now, you raise the question - Where does God want me to present my tithe? The tithe to the Lord was to be brought into the central worship location (temple) and put into the storehouse (see Malachi 3:8-10), and was used to support those who were serving in the temple. In the New Testament beleivers were to bring their giving to the church gathering on the first day of the week and the church would then distribute the finances to meet the needs of those serving and those who needed help with their basic or special needs.
The Biblical model then is to bring the tithe or "proportional" giving to a central place (temple or Church gathering) and the tithe was then distributed to meet the needs of the church and in the church. The Bible also speaks of various "offerings" that Israel, God's covenant people were to respond to (over and above their tithe) to meet the needs of the less fortunate. This principle is clearly evident in the New Testament as well. God desires that we demonstrate love and care to the hurting through the resources that He has gifted us with. Some have come to think that the tithe principle can be re-interpreted to allow for exchanging the giving of the first fruits of our income to the Lord, by giving 10% of their time to the Lord in ministry, or by giving their tithe to help others and other para-church ministries (TV ministries, etc.), This CAN NOT be supported by any biblical example or any biblical principle. Yes, we can dedicate portions of our time to serving God in ministry, and yes we can support other ministries, but this is not considered the same as tithing or proportional giving as we have seen in the New Testament.
I hope this helps!
Pastor J. Jay Williamson
Living Hope Church
www.livinghopetoledo.org
posted by Pastor Jay Williamson | 3:50 PM
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