Tithing and Grace

I have been working on this particular subject for many years. In fact this subject is what sent me into the study of grace. I want people to give rightly, with the right heart. Giving is the legacy of believing and living in grace. Tithing as required by the Mosaic Law, only maintains the Law’s grip on our hearts. We will not experience the complete liberty of grace if we continue to allow the Law to keep its grip on our hearts.

There are many good and even great teachers that hold to the belief that God still requires the tithe. As you read this posting you will see that the teaching has serious flaws which in my opinion undermine faith. Tithing (giving ten percent) was part of the old covenant of the Mosaic Law. As followers of Christ we are now under the covenant of grace through Christ. The subject matter in this letter is not exhaustive, but highlights several key issues.

The dominant issues that many teachers use for required tithing are as follows:

1. Tithing was not included in the part of the law that is now under grace.
2. Everyone was required to give ten percent under the Law.
3. There is a promise of blessing if we tithe, so we should tithe in order to receive the blessing.
4. Tithing was before the Law, Abraham tithed and therefore so should we.
6. Jesus said that the Pharisees should have tithed, therefore we should tithe.
7. We should give proportionally, so everyone should give the same.

These teachings are seriously flawed. My hope is that the following will help you be set free of performance giving.

In Deuteronomy 14:22-29, tithing is clearly spelled out. The tithe (ten percent of crops and animals) was to be eaten by the tither in the place of God’s choosing (Jerusalem) and with a Levite to share in the revelry. In the third year, the tithe was to be placed in the (local) town storehouse and distributed to the alien, the widow, the orphan, and the Levite. I can not see how these God given Mosaic Law tithes reasonably translate into giving ten percent of every earning to the local church. The bulk of these tithes as described in Deuteronomy didn’t even go to the direct support of the local temple (church). It is also apparent that the tithe was to be from the fruit of the land (crops and animals). Nowhere in the bible is it said that the proceeds of manufactured items were to be tithed. Admittedly, they were primarily an agricultural society, but other vocations or ways to supplement a living did exist. With these “trades people” the Lord did not require tithes of an annual wage or a year’s worth of fishing, pottery, garments, or carpentry. These vocations took place back in those times and God did not ask for them to be tithed, nor did he ask for their monetary earnings to be exchanged as He did in Deuteronomy 14:25-26. In fact, it could be argued that the wealthier people were more likely to tithe and not the poor. Those blessed (gifted) with croplands and herds tithed. It is clear God did not ask everyone to tithe on every earning, only those with crops and herds.

Tithing was under the Mosaic Law and it is the only place in the bible where it is commanded by God. As commanded, the people tithed in order to receive the promises/blessings as stated in Deuteronomy and more importantly they tithed to remember (Deut 14:23) that it was God who gave them such blessings. Some current teachers also use Malachi 3:8-10 to show that God blesses the tithe. The blessings and curses in Malachi are under the Mosaic Law (Deut 28). In order to receive the blessings you must follow the whole Law, not just part (Galatians 5:3).

The teaching that Christ sanctioned tithing beyond the covenant of the Law is contrary to the overwhelming bulk of New Testament teaching on grace. Jesus’ comments to the Pharisees (Matt 23:23) on tithing are easily understood, and are in context, as to their position under Mosaic Law. The hypocritical way the Pharisees followed the Law was the entire context of this passage. The tithing Jesus mentioned to the Pharisees was the recognition that they were following the Law (when tithing) as they “should be.” Obeying the Mosaic Law was God’s command to the Jewish believers and remained so until Jesus’ sacrificial death. Following the Mosaic Law is not a religious imperative to Christian believers and is a hindrance to faith (Romans 8:3-4). If we were to follow the “should be” to its logical conclusion, then we should be practicing tithing as written in the Mosaic Law. That was the tithing that Jesus recognized and that God required under the Law. Otherwise, it is clear we stand under a new and different covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13). Our covenant rests in belief in the Lord Jesus and obeying his voice through the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14). The submission of the believer’s heart (by faith) to the Spirit of Christ will yield the only fruit that is acceptable to the Lord (Heb 11:6).

The new covenant teaching in Hebrews (and Romans) should make it obvious that we are not required to follow previous old covenant requirements. Nevertheless, some teachers insist that we are required to tithe in order to follow Abraham in faith. I would like to address a few things about Abraham and his tithe (Gen 14:17-20).

1. Abraham received his blessing before he gave ten percent (tithed) to Melchizedek. There is no record that God required him to give ten percent, and some historians suggest the tithe might have been a traditional (cultural) gift to a king. The ten percent Abraham gave was likely a freewill offering and possibly in response to the blessing (grace) he received (Gen 14:18-20).

2. Abraham gave ten percent of the spoils of war (Hebrews 7:4). He was still on his way back home from the war (Gen 14:17, Hebrews 7:1) when the meeting occurred and would not have had his entire fortune with Him. There is no record that Abraham made it a habit to regularly tithe from his normal income.

3. Some teachers say we should follow Abraham in faith and therefore tithe. If being like Abraham means more than walking in faith (James 2:22-23), then maybe we should be circumcising all males. God commanded Abraham to circumcise all the men as an everlasting covenant (Gen 17:7-10). In fact, there is a better argument for circumcision than tithing if one was to use Abraham as a focal point to follow rather than to follow as an example of faith (Rom 4:13). Except, that Paul was adamantly against required circumcision because we were free of the whole of Mosaic Law (Galatians 5:1-6).

So, by what reasoning does a church enforce a custom (tithing) that God did not require of Abraham, in light of the fact that God’s previously required act of circumcision is now clearly defunct? The convenient choosing and/or disregarding of the context of Abraham’s life is not good, consistent, interpretive practice. It is clear that there is no record of God commanding the tithe until the Mosaic Law. Any inference that Abraham’s tithe has any bearing on the New Testament church’s requirement to tithe is at best a very poor interpretive practice.

It is quite clear throughout the New Testament (Acts, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, James) that the Mosaic Law was put aside because a new covenant (of grace) came into effect after Christ’s death on the cross. The Apostle Paul was a champion of grace. Don’t you think that he would have mentioned his endorsement of tithing if this part of the Mosaic Law was carried over into the new covenant of grace? Paul had plenty of opportunity to carve out an exception to his standing on grace in his writings. His silence on the subject of tithing, in light of his teachings on grace, should be a deafening roar to the Church that “Tithing is not required; His grace is sufficient.”

Since grace is unmerited favor, its truest and highest nature is shown when it is given in the liberty of choice. If grace is given with any condition to earn it, it is not grace. Regardless of our spiritual condition, the grace gifts show that God gives freely, generously, and miraculously. Giving is one of those grace gifts. This (unconditional) grace which is now freely given to us must be freely given by us or it is not a true expression of God’s grace, which is the very expression of Christ’s grace. The moment we place a ten percent requirement on giving, the gift is no longer grace but law (under conditions). The apostle Paul stated that by following one law you come under the authority of the whole law (Gal 5:3). We cannot conveniently carve out an exception to the law (tithing) without being trapped by the whole of it. Our new law in Christ is liberty, not to license, but freedom to obey Christ (Galatians 5:1) and therefore to be like Him. We are either free in Christ to give freely and express our liberty (to give) before God as a reflection/expression of His grace, or we are under bondage (of law or sin). Freely we have received and freely (in freedom) we are to give. Without liberty, grace and the love it conveys is meaningless because it is not an expression of a willing heart of love but one under the compulsion of the law.

Many churches require their members to be tithers. I am sure many of them do this because they feel strongly about tithing and have had some positive experiences with it. I feel strongly about Spirit-led grace giving. I personally expect to hear the Holy Spirit talk to me about giving. I ask Him to counsel me because I am a steward of my Father’s possessions and gifts. As a steward, these possessions are mine to invest in His name. I will be held responsible for all that He has given me and I’ll be rewarded according to my faithfulness to Him. Whether giving one cent or one-hundred percent, God will not judge by the flesh (law) but by the heart (faith-obedience) of the giver (Luke 12:34).

Under the New Covenant not all of us are gifted the same (Romans 12:6). Paul likens the church as a body. He says each of us has a measure of spiritual gifts to contribute in order to make the body work as a whole. Required tithing ignores the fact that giftings are disparate. Each person is gifted differently. We leave out the poor (or those less gifted to give) to the peril and health of the church when we require ten percent to be a member of a church. For everyone to give ten percent annually in order to join a church wasn’t even required by God in the Old Testament. Such a standard in a church gives preference and the seat of honor to the financially blessed, and leaves poorer people to a second-class citizenship in the house of God (James 2:1-3). James 2:5 states that the poor are often rich in faith. Wouldn’t it be interesting if that is one of the reasons why we see a lack of faith (Galatians 3:5) in the church? Personally, I would first rather be in a house rich in faith, and then secondly have the money to take that rich faith to the nations.

There is a grace war and it is still going on. This war began at the very beginning of the New Testament Church (Acts 15:1-29) and two thousand years later we are still at it. Our heritage of grace is being challenged. On one front, there is currently a whole group of brethren who think that the grace gifts (power gifts) became unavailable (died with the Apostles) after the first century. On another front, there are brethren who still think that following Old Testament Law will lead us to righteousness and promote greater blessing from God. These are just two (of many) fronts that lay down seeds of unbelief in grace and the Spirit-led life. The Apostle Peter challenges us to grow in grace (2Peter 3:18). As we need air, water, food, and a temperate environment, so does the Spirit of Truth need an environment of grace in order to mature within us. Grace provides the optimal growing environment for God’s truth, and without grace there is very little (if any) opportunity or provision for change or a changed life.

In contrast to grace, following the Law stunts our growth by placing us in a position to teeter between self-righteousness and condemnation. One moment we are proud we can fulfill the requirements and the next moment we condemn ourselves for our inability. Once condemned, we then try harder to do better (or we give up), only to fail because there is no power in the Law to save. We wind up vacillating between two positions of powerlessness both rooted in ourselves. A primary cause of this teeter-totter effect is unbelief in our reliance on grace and this unbelief stunts our growth. If our hearts are compelled to rely on the law or our own adequacy then our faith is compromised at the root. We are relying on powerless sources, the Law or ourselves (Rom 8:3). When we try to rely on both law and grace we are being double-minded and the faith behind our prayers becomes ineffectual.

Continually living the Spirit-led life is the only way to combat this effect. In every arena of life the Spirit must lead and this includes the way we give. Otherwise, we succumb to unbelief in the power and availability of His grace. Do we think that the grace gifts can be effectually ministered under any other spirit other than the Spirit of Grace? With these gifts we confront the world with the unmerited grace of Jesus Christ.

This finally leads to what I think about giving. Here is the very short version:

1. I am not my own. I have been bought by Christ for a price.
2. Since I am not my own, everything I am and own is His.
3. Since everything is His, I am then a steward of my Father’s possessions. Many of Jesus’ teachings revolved around being stewards and stewardship.
4. I will be held responsible for how I invest His gifts and will be rewarded accordingly. Unbelief in this area will be severely judged by Christ (Matt 25:25-30).
5. To give freely is the nature of Christ. Since the Spirit of Christ indwells me, I therefore expect to hear from Him on how and how much to give. Personally, this has been one of the primary ways the Spirit has trained my ear to hear His voice.
6. To the best of my ability, and sometimes beyond my ability, to happily give regular financial support to the church that I attend. This is one way in which I share in the work of Christ.
7. To help support a mission ministry that serves the orphan, widow or poor in Christ’s name.

In conclusion, I just don’t understand how a New Testament church can biblically argue that God requires that everybody should give an annual ten percent (tithe) when the Bible shows differently. I will agree that some people are called (by the Spirit) to give ten percent, but the required tithe many teachers and churches support does not realistically reflect any biblical command. Maybe required tithing is a noble intention, but it is a manmade command nevertheless. I think it is misleading and at a root level fosters unbelief in grace. Giving is a pillar to living a Christ-like life, but its foundation must rest as a freewill unmerited gift of grace as given to us through Christ, or we will likely remain a powerless compromised church.


I pray that you carefully consider these words.

Your Brother in Christ,

D. Cutler