Who Should The Tithe Be Given To?
May 10, 2009 – 11:14 amThere are some misconceptions floating around regarding the tithe. In particular I’m referring to how tithe funds are used by the receiving organization, and who the tithe should be given to in the first place.
Malachi 3:10 (New International Version, from BibleGateway.com)
10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.
Clearly this verse from Malachi states that we should “bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house”. The “my” refers to God, and therefore it is my understanding that the tithe needs to be given to your local church, meaning the church that feeds and nourishes you spiritually. This of course assumes that your church is abiding by the word of God and is fulfilling it’s expected duties.
Specifically, the tithe should be used to:
1. provide for staff and pastors
2. support evangelism, missionaries, etc.
3. feed the needy both within the church as well as outside the church.
As long as the church is fulfilling these responsibilities the entire tithe should be given to the church. Now this doesn’t mean you can’t give to other charitable organizations. It simply implies that the tithe, meaning the first tenth of the fruits of your labors, should go to your local church to support their ministries.
Many argue that the tithe is no longer necessary because it’s an old testament law, and this post is bound to draw a bunch of emotionally charged comments as well I assume.The fact is that regardless of whether we are required to tithe or not, God knows what is best for us and He calls us to be givers. This includes supporting our primary church home and supporting the necessary work in our own community as well as elsewhere. [For the record I still find it interesting that even Abraham tithed, and he did so four hundred years before the law was established!]
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2 Responses to “Who Should The Tithe Be Given To?”
I agree that the tithe must go to where you are fed God’s word, just make sure that you are being fed and not deceived. God is the same yesterday today and forever therefore ALL his commandments are still valid and should be applied today. If you rob God of His tithes then you will be robbed of your blessings.
By frostygirl on May 15, 2009
God never instructed today’s church to tithe. We are only encouraged to give what we can afford not grudgingly or of a necessity.
Looking at the scriptural reference you provided (Mal 3:10), the storehouse was a granary and this in itself says something: It was refering to farm produce. Money was never to be tithed.
Malachi 3:10 is unfortunately the most misquoted book in the bible. No one bothers to read the chapter from verse one to better understand whom was being spoken to. If we did that, we will know that this portion of scripture does not apply to today’s church. Looking at Malachi 3 from verse 6 we will see that God was addressing the descendants of Jacob:
(6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me.)
The children of Israel were accused of robbing God because they were given the command to tithe and disobeyed that command. No such command has been handed down to today’s church; hence this verse of scripture cannot apply to us. The church can very well survive on the freewill offerings of the people, same as the early church. There is no scriptural evidence that the early church ever collected tithes. People gave what they could afford.
You mentioned that Abraham tithed but don’t forget that he also gave burnt offerings and was also circumcised before the law. So if we decide to tithe because Abraham did so, then we have to bring back circumcision and animal sacrifice because Abraham did them 400 years before the law was established. Also, if we want to tithe following Abraham’s example,we should at least do it the way he did – he never tithed his personal belongings! He gave a tenth of the plunder he recovered from the war with the kings to Melchizedek and gave the remaining 90% to the king of Sodom, keeping nothing for himself.
Tithing is not a christian doctrine.
By Tony Isaac on Jun 9, 2009