Should Christians Tithe?

[Decoligny]

Abraham tithed (gave a tenth Genesis 14:17-20) to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ (Hebrews 7). "And Abram gave Him (Melchizedek) a tenth (tithe) of everything.". This was before the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15) and centuries before the Mosaic (Old Covenant.) Therefore the principle of tithing to Christ (in the church) is trans-covenantal.

Romans 4:1-12 teaches that Abraham is the (spiritual) father of all who believe whether they are circumcised (Jews) or not (Gentiles). Therefore, if you possess the faith of Abraham (and you must in order to be justified), then you will follow by faith the practices of your spiritual father and tithe (a tenth).

"They (the Jewish Pharisees) answered Him, 'Abraham is our father (according to physical descent).' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children (spiritually), you would be doing the work Abraham did.'" (John 8:39)

So Christian, is Abraham your spiritual daddy? Your checkbook ledger will indicate how closely you emulate the one whom the Scriptures describe as the father of all who believe.

Failing to tithe is not the unpardonable sin, but it is a (not the only) mark of spiritual immaturity. The Christian that demands a NT verse to establish what clearly has been established even before the practice was codified under the Old Covenant has failed to understand that the Bible is a cohesive book. The burden is not upon the one who upholds the continuing moral duty to tithe in the church age; the burden is upon the one who dismisses the tithe to provide biblical evidence that Christ or His apostles abolished the duty.

A.W. Pink is very helpful and clear on the subject.
http://www.davidcox.com.mx/library/P...%20Tithing.pdf

Abraham had a covenant with God. The outward mark of the covenant was circumcision. Since this was a practice of the "Father of us all" spiritually, before it was ever codified in the law, should we not also all be circumcised? What is the difference of following one pre-Mosaic law practice of Abraham, but not another?

Paul was pretty darned clear in Galatians that requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised was not acceptable.

Abraham CHOSE to give a tenth of all he had, ONE TIME. The Bible does not indicate that he gave a tenth at any other point in his life. It doesn't show that it was a recurring practice.

The practice of VOLUNTARILY giving 10% is totally different from what is being taught in most churches. The teaching that if you do not give a MANDATORY 10%, you are robbing God, and you are cursed, that is the issue at hand.

Should a Christian give generously and joyfully to the fullest amount possible and acceptable to them? Yes.

Should a Pastor condemn from the pulpit those in his flock who do not even have the means to consistently put food in their children's bellies because they don't pay a tenth to his coffers first? No. But I have seen it done.

The use of Malachi 3 as a proof text to instill fear of exclusion from God's blessings to those who do not give 10% is 100% wrong. Malachi 3 was written to the priests, who were diverting the tithe for their own profit, not bringing it into the storehouse and sharing it with the rest of the Levites (temple workers), whose inheritance it was.

The template for Christian giving in the New Testament Church is clearly written in 2 Corinthians 9:

1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
2 For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
3 Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
4 Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.
5 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:
9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.
10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness
11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.
12 For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God;
13 Whiles by the experiment of this ministration they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men;
14 And by their prayer for you, which long after you for the exceeding grace of God in you.
15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

We are to give in order to support the "every good work".
We are to give from our bounty. We are to give liberally. We are to give joyfully.

But to lay a mandate on the Christian that they must pay a set fee of 10% before God will even consider blessing them is as Pharisaical as it gets.

[Untamed1972]

Jesus praised the widow who gave the 2 small coins and said she gave more than those who gave out of their surplus.

Again....one of those times when Jesus was pointing out that heart motive is more important than just the physical act itself.

[Sailormilan2]

Unteresting how the Sabbath is no longer kept, because the Law was done away at the Cross. But tithing, a part if the Law, is still expected to be paid when there is no longer a Law.

[eb47]

Unteresting how the Sabbath is no longer kept, because the Law was done away at the Cross. But tithing, a part if the Law, is still expected to be paid when there is no longer a Law.

Where does it say that there is no longer a Law?

[Sailormilan2]

eb47, I was being facetious. But, the "Law being done away with" is one of the reasons many people quote for no long keeping the Sabbath.
I was trying to point out that either the Law is to be kept for all things, Tithing and the Sabbath, or it isn't, in which case neither one is applicable.

[LBC1689guy]

Well here we go.

Decolingy said: "Abraham had a covenant with God. The outward mark of the covenant was circumcision. Since this was a practice of the "Father of us all" spiritually, before it was ever codified in the law, should we not also all be circumcised? What is the difference of following one pre-Mosaic law practice of Abraham, but not another?

And again: "Paul was pretty darned clear in Galatians that requiring the Gentiles to be circumcised was not acceptable."

LBC1689guy says:
You've made my earlier point. Paul abrogates (physical) circumcision under the New Covenant. Where is Christ's or the apostles', abrogation of the tithe. That is your burden to prove chapter and verse.

Decolingy said: "Abraham CHOSE to give a tenth of all he had, ONE TIME. The Bible does not indicate that he gave a tenth at any other point in his life. It doesn't show that it was a recurring practice."

LBC1689guy says:
Abram's tithe was a response to grace. Melchizedek (type of Christ and don't miss the pointer to the Lord's Supper in the verses) blessed him (Genesis 14:18-19) and then Abram gave him a 10th. The tithe does not produce the blessing of God; it's an acknowledgement that by faith the Christian has already received the blessing of God.

If anyone teaches that failing to tithe produces God's curse upon His people then they have forgotten that all of God's wrath and condemnation for the sins of His elect have been laid on Christ. "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1) Refusing to tithe violates the pattern of Scripture, is a sign of Christian immaturity, and is sinful...but God does not curse His children.

As far as the number of times that Abram tithed, do you think that the Scriptures reveal everything that was ever done by the faithful? Do you think that the NT records everything that Jesus said and did? "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written."(John 21:25) Do you think that that might be true of all of Scripture?

In Genesis 28 Abraham's grandson, Jacob has a dream in which the LORD promised to bless him and to be with him repeating the language of the Abrahamic covenant. In verses 16-17 we read, "Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, 'Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.' And he was afraid and said, 'How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.'" The chapter ends with, "Then Jacob made a vow, saying, 'If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I may come again to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God's house. And of all that You give me I will give a full tenth to you.'"

See a pattern? How did Jacob think to give a tithe to the LORD out of gratitude for His covenantal blessings? Did it just pop into his head? Of course not. He saw his father and grandfather tithe to the LORD as a part of their worship. And so the regular practice of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, becomes codified in the law under the Old Covenant. There's the pattern. The Old Covenant came and went. Physical circumcision was abrogated in the NT. But where is the abrogation of tithing which is done in gratitude for God's saving grace received by faith in Christ Jesus? There isn't any such abrogation.

The verses in 2 Corinthians 9 that you cite as the basis of Christian giving presuppose the tithe. Tithe cheerfully for the grace that you have received. That's what the Lord loves. If you decide in your heart to give less than the tithe, why have you failed to follow the pattern of your spiritual father, Abraham? Are you less grateful for grace than he? Were you in less need of grace than he? Why are you reluctant to pay the tithe? Do you really think that giving less than the tithe shows "submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others..."?

Why tithe (apart from its abiding nature)? 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 likens gospel ministry in the local church to the levitical temple service under the Old Covenant. "Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." The Levitical priests were supported by the tithe and other provisions that God made for them. If Paul draws a parallel between support for OC priests and NC gospel ministers shouldn't we affirm that the tithe abides? That's the clear implication of the text.

Paul's instructions to the church at Ephesus in 1 Timothy 5:3-10 requires the church to honor qualified widows. The honor in verse 3 is financial compensation. In verses 17-18 Paul writes, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out grain (an Old Covenant law spiritually applied to pastors under the New Covenant),' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages.'" From this it is clear that it is the duty of Christians to provide for the financial care of qualified widows and to offer double support for those men who God has appointed as preachers and teachers in the church. Where is that kind of money going to come from if giving is without an objective standard...say a tithe? On average, Americans give roughly 3% of their income to the church. Guess what? large numbers of pastors, perhaps even most pastors, have to support themselves and their families outside of the church. Why? Because professing Christians fail to follow the example of Abraham, the pattern established before the Old Covenant, codified under Moses, and not abrogated under the New.

What about Paul's command in Galatians 6:6-7? "Let everyone who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." All good things includes faithful financial support and the clear pattern in Scripture from Genesis forward is the tithe and then offerings above that as one is able and so moved to do.

Untamed1972 said:"Jesus praised the widow who gave the 2 small coins and said she gave more than those who gave out of their surplus."

LBC1689guy says: She gave more than the tithe not less. If she had 2 coins and she gave both, she then gave 100%. WOW! Praise God!

God has given us 100% of what we have. If He were to ask for all of it back He would be just and good to do so. He asks us to joyfully give Him back the first 10% and whatever we can above that as the needs arise and we have the ability and inclination to do so. I wonder what portion of our income is devoted joyfully to the pursuit of entertainment and the accumulation of stuff? Didn't Jesus say something about our true hearts being revealed by what we treasure?

[LBC1689guy]

Yes, denying God, idolatrous worship, taking the LORD's name in vain, observing the sabbath, honoring father and mother, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness, and not coveting were all done away with on the cross.

Sadly, most professing Christians advocate keeping all 9 of the 10 commandments

[RAMCLAP]

Yes, denying God, idolatrous worship, taking the LORD's name in vain, observing the sabbath, honoring father and mother, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness, and not coveting were all done away with on the cross.

Sadly, most professing Christians advocate keeping all 9 of the 10 commandments

Perfect.

[mif_slim]

Yes Christians should tithe. If they dont tithe, then they dont love the ministry/ Great Commission enough.

I help ran a position on the church board before and i tell you it is not easy to keep the doors open. Without tithing, i believe a lot of church doors would be closed. One of our local church spends close to 2k to operate excluding tax, mortgage and all the little thing. That's little compared to larger church congregation.

So it boils down to, "do you love enough". Offering, you give when you want if you want, but tithing is whats used to sustain the ministry. Outreach programs and cost to operate them are funded by tithing. In our church, the pastors dont get paid because they believe all funds should go to the ministry, only a few permanent board members are paid (person to do IRS, etc). It is a hard task to take on if churches dont get tithing. Anyone who thinks church operates freely without a cost is a fool. Sadly, i know a lot of people who think that.

I love the quote in the first few pages:

""It is unthinkable from the standpoint of the cross that anyone would give less under grace than the Jews gave under law."

Dr. J B Gabrell."

[Not a Cook]

Yes, denying God, idolatrous worship, taking the LORD's name in vain, observing the sabbath, honoring father and mother, not murdering, not committing adultery, not stealing, not bearing false witness, and not coveting were all done away with on the cross.

Sadly, most professing Christians advocate keeping all 9 of the 10 commandments

Hi LBC1689guy. Can you please clarify what you meant to say in the post quoted above? I can see more than one possible interpretation and I'm not sure which was your intent.

[Decoligny]

Act 15:23-29 And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment: It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, Men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

The Gentiles did not have a "Tribe of Levi" to whom they owed an inheritance.

The tithe was specifically to provide a living for the Levites.

Those who were not Jews, were not required to follow the Mosaic Law. Tithing was the law.

Generously and joyfully giving as you purpose in your heart, is the New Testament template for providing for the work of the Ministry.

[LBC1689guy]

Decolingy thanks for the verses. First, It's worth noting that you are citing from the KJV which includes the phrase that you have highlighted which does not appear in the best and oldest Greek manuscripts. No modern or more scholarly translation includes the phrase that you think makes your point. This will surely open up a discussion about the KJV only controversy.

Second, if I grant your claim that these verses "Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:" abrogate law keeping, does this in your estimation overthrow the 10 commandments? If not which commandments does it abrogate. Your translation does not make it clear. I could cite your translation and argue against any commandment of God from it.

I think that you'll find that Acts 15:19-22 sets the immediate context for your quote and what is explicit in those verses is that sexual immorality (which is forever covered under the 7th commandment) and most specifically, Israel's dietary restrictions are set aside. Niether of these touch the tithe.

If your assertion is correct, then your burden is to harmonize your interpretation with the many passages that I have previously cited. I think that 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 is particularly difficult for your position especially with the apostle's special emphasis on verses 13-14 where Paul sets up a parallel between the support of the levites (through the tithe cited by Darto from Numbers 18:24) and the support of elders who rule well and especially who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Timothy 5:17-18). I don't see how your position can stand under the weight of the analogy of faith (that is the principle that Scripture is the ultimate interpreter of Scripture.) There are no contradictions in Scripture because all Scripture is breathed out by God. There are only contradictions in our interpretations.

So probably the most helpful thing is for you offer your exegesis of the texts offered and then harmonize them so that they are not at odds with one another.

Christ is the end of the law for all who believe. This speaks of a Christian's justification. But Christ is not the end of the law in Christian sanctification. A widespread and fundamental error across broader evangelicalism is an improper understanding of the Law of God and of the saints relation to it. Matthew 5:17-20 is clear and instructive.

[LBC1689guy]

Not A Cook what I was saying was in response to what many in this thread have said. Specifically the opinion among many professing Christians is that Christ satisfied the law so there is no need for it any longer. When you point out the abiding nature of the moral law they back peddle except for on the fourth commandment. By saying that I obey all 9 of the 10 commandments I'm making light of the fact that many, perhaps most Christians believe in the 10 commandments except for the Sabbath. The 10 are a unit forever together which cannot be separated from each other.

[LBC1689guy]

Decoligny said: "The Gentiles did not have a "Tribe of Levi" to whom they owed an inheritance.

The tithe was specifically to provide a living for the Levites.

Those who were not Jews, were not required to follow the Mosaic Law. Tithing was the law."

I agree that pastoral ministry is not a birthright. Israel was a tribal nation with certain duties given to certain individuals because of their heritage. The Kingdom of God is made of the elect from every tongue, tribe and nation. But the men who are called and ordained to preach perform the function of the Levites under the Old Covenant and therefore are to be supported through the tithe. That is the unescapable parallel that the apostle sets up. Christians in the local church must provide their pastors a living. The tithe is the means and the percentage faithfully paid by all of the members will ensure that the pastor is supported in a lifestyle that is reflective of the economic make up of that particular local church.

Again, it's helpful to remember that tithing was the established practice of the patriarchs before the Old Covenant. So ultimately, the Mosaic Covenant did not establish the tithe, it merely codified what the faithful already practiced. This cannot be over emphasized.

[WASR10]

Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made. – Galatians 3:19

I apologize for the length of this post.

Abraham tithed (gave a tenth Genesis 14:17-20) to Melchizedek, who was a type of Christ (Hebrews 7). "And Abram gave Him (Melchizedek) a tenth (tithe) of everything.". This was before the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 15) and centuries before the Mosaic (Old Covenant.) Therefore the principle of tithing to Christ (in the church) is trans-covenantal.

While the practice of tithing does indeed span a great amount of time, this is not evidence that it is to be done under the New Covenant.

Romans 4:1-12 teaches that Abraham is the (spiritual) father of all who believe whether they are circumcised (Jews) or not (Gentiles). Therefore, if you possess the faith of Abraham (and you must in order to be justified), then you will follow by faith the practices of your spiritual father and tithe (a tenth).

Romans 4:1 calls Abraham, “our forefather according to the flesh.” Paul uses the example of Abraham to express justification by faith. Paul teaches later in Romans 7 that the old law has been taken out of the way, that we are dead to it: “Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.” (vs. 4)

And that we have been released from it: “But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter."(vs. 6)

Back in chapter 4, vs. 13-15 Paul states, “For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. For if those who are of the Law are heirs, faith is made void and the promise is nullified; for the Law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there also is no violation.”

And in the next chapter, 5:1, ” Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” It is by faith, not law, we are now justified. Nowhere in this passage is it expressed that we are to follow the religious practices of Abraham.

"They (the Jewish Pharisees) answered Him, 'Abraham is our father (according to physical descent).' Jesus said to them, 'If you were Abraham's children (spiritually), you would be doing the work Abraham did.'" (John 8:39)

Just after this quoted passage, Jesus says to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and have come from God, for I have not even come on My own initiative, but He sent Me.” (vs. 42) Perhaps it is better to have God as our Father. Again, there is no suggestion here to Christians that they must follow the practices of Abraham.

Failing to tithe is not the unpardonable sin, but it is a (not the only) mark of spiritual immaturity.

This very well may be the case. There are a great many indicators of spiritual maturity. However, that does not make failing to give an exact percentage a sin.

The Christian that demands a NT verse to establish what clearly has been established even before the practice was codified under the Old Covenant has failed to understand that the Bible is a cohesive book.

"Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor." – Galatians 3:24-25

The burden is not upon the one who upholds the continuing moral duty to tithe in the church age; the burden is upon the one who dismisses the tithe to provide biblical evidence that Christ or His apostles abolished the duty.

"When He said, 'A new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear." – Hebrews 8:13 As you say in later posts, people tend to hold on to some of the old covenant, while letting other parts go. If the first is obsolete, then that will include tithing.

Abram's tithe was a response to grace. Melchizedek (type of Christ and don't miss the pointer to the Lord's Supper in the verses) blessed him (Genesis 14:18-19) and then Abram gave him a 10th. The tithe does not produce the blessing of God; it's an acknowledgement that by faith the Christian has already received the blessing of God.

While this is true of giving, it is not restricted to a specific tithe. It’s interesting to note that the tithe came to be around 22% under Mosaic Law.

The verses in 2 Corinthians 9 that you cite as the basis of Christian giving presuppose the tithe. Tithe cheerfully for the grace that you have received. That's what the Lord loves.

2 Corinthians 9 nowhere suggests that the giving mentioned presupposes tithing. Paul says in 1 Corinthians the Christian is to give “as he may prosper.” This is not a tithe as was the practice under the Law, for they were not under that law: “having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." - Colossians 2:14.

It is commanded to the church that the people give, and to give liberally. Giving is a key part of worship in the New Testament. But there is no command for a tithe.

If you decide in your heart to give less than the tithe, why have you failed to follow the pattern of your spiritual father, Abraham? Are you less grateful for grace than he? Were you in less need of grace than he? Why are you reluctant to pay the tithe? Do you really think that giving less than the tithe shows "submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others..."?

Why tithe (apart from its abiding nature)? 1 Corinthians 9:6-14 likens gospel ministry in the local church to the levitical temple service under the Old Covenant. "Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel." The Levitical priests were supported by the tithe and other provisions that God made for them. If Paul draws a parallel between support for OC priests and NC gospel ministers shouldn't we affirm that the tithe abides? That's the clear implication of the text.

No such thing is implied in the text. Christians are in no way accountable by Abraham’s practices. Nowhere do the scriptures teach that Christians fail if they do not do as Abraham practiced. The New Covenant does not teach that the tithe is a benchmark for spirituality. 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 speaks of the sustenance obtained from the Gospel, and does not refer to tithing.

Paul's instructions to the church at Ephesus in 1 Timothy 5:3-10 requires the church to honor qualified widows. The honor in verse 3 is financial compensation. In verses 17-18 Paul writes, "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out grain (an Old Covenant law spiritually applied to pastors under the New Covenant),' and, 'The laborer deserves his wages.'" From this it is clear that it is the duty of Christians to provide for the financial care of qualified widows and to offer double support for those men who God has appointed as preachers and teachers in the church. Where is that kind of money going to come from if giving is without an objective standard...say a tithe? On average, Americans give roughly 3% of their income to the church. Guess what? large numbers of pastors, perhaps even most pastors, have to support themselves and their families outside of the church.

All true, but does not mean that a specific percentage is required of Christians.

What about Paul's command in Galatians 6:6-7? "Let everyone who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God will not be mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap." All good things includes faithful financial support and the clear pattern in Scripture from Genesis forward is the tithe and then offerings above that as one is able and so moved to do.

Yet Galatians 6:6-7 does not teach a tithe is required.

God has given us 100% of what we have. If He were to ask for all of it back He would be just and good to do so. He asks us to joyfully give Him back the first 10% and whatever we can above that as the needs arise and we have the ability and inclination to do so. I wonder what portion of our income is devoted joyfully to the pursuit of entertainment and the accumulation of stuff? Didn't Jesus say something about our true hearts being revealed by what we treasure?

A wonderful attitude to have, and something that would be well to encourage. CONT...