[papili]

My employer and I agreed on a net amount as my salary. So I wonder, when tithing my 10% to the church, should it be calculated from my gross or net income?

[N0help4u]

The Church teaches from the gross.
Some teach that tithing was an old testament bondage and Christians are to give from their heart so the 10% does not count.

One thing I noticed when I read about tithing and giving is that the tithing of the old testament was set up so that every third year the money was given to widows and the poor and those with a need. The Church is following the 10% part but I don't see any Church giving the full third year tithe out to the widows, poor and those with a need.

[homesell]

"every man shall give as he is able"
"the Lord loves a cheerful giver"
As Christians, we are not under Law to tithe. But in Christ, the Law of Love says we must be more righteous than the pharisees. So 10% is a good start if you want to at least fulfill the Law.
If you tithe on your net, that is fine, but you must also tithe on any money back in tax returns.
If you tithe on your gross, that is fine also.
My wife is a nurse with a salary and we tithe on her gross.
I am a realtor (commission only)and we tithe on my net.
Tithe means tenth, but you will be blessed if you cheerfully and thankfully give more than 10% to whomever God leads you to give.
The jews actually gave closer to 30% when you count the tithe as the first fruits. Then there were the grain offerings, the wave offerings, the animal offerings, etc.
That's why many churches refer to it as "bringing your tithes and offerings"

[Triund]

Earlier I used to tithe from my net income. I was very happy doing. Then one day a pastor said that we should tithe from gross because that's what we get. I started doing that. Honestly, I found it hard to keep up with my budget. I am still doing tithing on my gross, but my paycheque from weekend job goes to the account of tithing.

So I don't know what to say. Yet God has never let me beg for food to anybody. ALL THANKS AND PRAISES TO LORD JESUS!

[N0help4u]

Yeah I don't get the 'from the gross' because that is what the government gets NOT us.
Then as homesell said pay the tithe on the tax return when you get it.

[revdrgade]

There is no "should" for us since we are not under any law of tithing.

Start with whichever is easier and you will prove to yourself that either tithing affirms God's grace and providence for you. You will most likely eventually go to whichever tithing you thought was more difficult; when you give from your heart out of faith in God's love.

2 Co 9:6-11

6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give , not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 9 As it is written:

"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
NIV

[450donn]

"every man shall give as he is able"
"the Lord loves a cheerful giver"
As Christians, we are not under Law to tithe. But in Christ, the Law of Love says we must be more righteous than the pharisees. So 10% is a good start if you want to at least fulfill the Law.
If you tithe on your net, that is fine, but you must also tithe on any money back in tax returns.
If you tithe on your gross, that is fine also.
My wife is a nurse with a salary and we tithe on her gross.
I am a realtor (commission only)and we tithe on my net.
Tithe means tenth, but you will be blessed if you cheerfully and thankfully give more than 10% to whomever God leads you to give.
The jews actually gave closer to 30% when you count the tithe as the first fruits. Then there were the grain offerings, the wave offerings, the animal offerings, etc.
Thats why many churches refer to it as "bringing your tithes and offerings"

OH Jeff you are so wrong here. The tithe is also taught in the NT in LK 18:12 and Heb 7:8. Even though it was first mentioned in LV 27:30 it is taught throughout scriptures. The tithe is 10% and 10% only. Anything you give above that is considered an offering.
And to answer the OP's question, you always tithe from the GROSS. God gives you a gross salary. From that there are taxes, insurance, and 401K deductions. But you still earned a Gross salary.
Hope that clears things up.

Jeff, if you are tithing on your net, then you are cheating God!

[Dondi]

The way we did it was we stared tything from our net income until we could afford to tithe from our gross income. It took us a little while to do that but we eventually were able and are still able to tithe from our gross. You have to remember that you don't want to lose out on stuff you need like food, shelter and so on... so don't go broke trying to please God but do eventually get to where you can tithe from your gross

[homesell]

450donn,
Thanks for correcting me when I am not wrong. First, I am not under law. I give cheerfully much more than the tithe. Second, apparently you don't know what not being paid a salary means, as I stated commission only for what I earn. I have a business and it costs money to run that business. Most businesses barely make 10 percent profit after all expenses of doing business are paid. Thirdly, what I give is none of your business and it's not up to one believer to tell another how much they should give since it's between God and the person. If you are giving money to God as if under compulsion (because of what some greedy or needy preacher told you)rather than willingly, cheerfully and out of loving gratitude stemming from your relationship with the Lord, well, that's between you and God. The only way I've been cheating God is I can never repay the lavish gift he has poured out on me by giving me His son who loved me and died for me. Let me know how telling other people that aren't under the Law, that they aren't keeping the Law, works out for you.

[450donn]

homesell
Man, I am sorry that you do not understand the meaning or spirit of the tithe. I was not trying to condemn you, but rather simply point out the error of your method of tithing. The tithe is 10% of your gross, throughout scripture that is how it is taught. If you choose to tithe then you need to tithe on the gross earnings not the net earnings. You tithe on the gross of your wife's income, but on the net of your income. What is the difference there?? Income is income no matter how it is earned. I have been unemployed for nearly six months and collecting unemployment insurance. So based on your assumption I should not be paying tithe on that income since I already paid tithe on it when I worked for 40 years. Before you go off half cocked and accusing me of things, I feel that you need to speak to your pastor about the meaning of the tithe and how it is suppose to be given.

[N0help4u]

Where in the Bible does it show gross vs net and the husbands being gross and the wife's being net?

It says render to Cszar what is Cszar's so to me what the government TAKES is Cszars NOT mine. Then IF I get it back at income tax time it is time to tithe that portion.

[belovedgift]

The tithe is a spiritual concept that christ used to point out that the pharisees took too literally in word and not literally enough in principle. Those who called for the temple tax came to peter and asked if Jesus would pay. Peter spoke out of turn and said yes,and went to tell Jesus what transpired. Jesus asked him who it was that paid taxes to an conquering king,whether it was a child of that king or the citizens of the country being occupied? Peter rightly answered that is was conquered citizens who paid the tax,and jesus replied that they as children of the king need not pay also,except that they would not offend the jews,peter was instructed to go fishin' and find a coin. Awsome story in the gospel! The coin peter found paid up for the group! Here is the true tithe, 10 lepers healed,only one returns to give Christ glory. Also forgiveness 70x7. This is not a multiplication problem,it is a proportionate ratio. What % of 70 is 7? The principle is forgive the other 90% as well. You really want to give to the standard Christ demands take all you have sell it give it to the poor and live your life according to his principles. He never commanded 10% of anything. Imagine if he had only 10%-30% healed anyone or saved us. Who would provide the difference. Give to the Church and the Gov. what is reasonable,the rest belongs to God.

[homesell]

The difference isn't because I'm a man and my wife is a woman. The difference is that she is on salary and I own my own business.
The tithe is on the increase(though I can't recall the exact scripture.) If I buy 1,000 items wholesale for $20,000. And then sell the items for $40,000. I didn't make an increase of $40,000. But of $20,000.
Regardless, of all this, I give as the Lord leads and instructs. I'm not under Law(and if you include tithing as some law we must keep, you need to include the 613 other Laws the Jews added) and it seems you all have totally missed the points I made concerning cheerful, grateful giving and that I do give way more than 10%. I am truly sorry if anyone was offended that I said it was OK to not tithe 10% of the gross or if they thought gross-net separation was a male-female thing. I tend to forget people just don't get it about Grace.
No Laws, rules, regulations, rituals... none of these bring us one step closer to God.(tho' sometimes they make us feel like we are closer) God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, the three persons in the one God is inside of us and we are in Christ... How close is that?

[450donn]

Jeff,
Based on your example above you made a GROSS profit of $20,000. Not 40K. So then the tithe should be given on the 20K. Now, if you give above that tithe on the 20K or 2k then that is an offering, not a tithe. Now, if the cost of doing business to buy and sell those items in your example cost you lets say 5K then you have a net profit of 15K. But according to all the teachings on tithing that I have ever heard you own the tithe on the 20K. That is your gross profit.
Same with your wife's income. If she earns 50K a year for example. Has deductions for taxes and insurance of 20K a year. Do you still tithe on the 50K or the 30K? On the 50k of course.
Based on where this discussion has taken us it is clear that many churches do not teach tithing. Shame really as it opens up a whole world of faith that is not available to those that do not understand the tithe principal.

[N0help4u]

Homesell I wasn't questioning. I understand 100% what you are saying and that the formula you use is what God put on your heart.
I want to know from the ones that say that gross is the way the Bible says where do they get that from?

As far as unemployment, I do believe you pay more into it than what you receive when you collect it so to be technical you could deduct the percentage you paid into it from what you receive.

[450donn]

No help,
I hope this helps.
There are many people that ask about the definition of the tithe compared other types of gifts. The tithe definition in its broadest sense means a tenth of one's increase - Deuteronomy 14:22. That is the broadest definition of tithe that is accepted by most of the population. There are even more defined meanings of tithing out there. For instance some would say that the definition of the tithe by nature, goes to your local church, and is taken off your gross income. This is because the tithe was delivered to the local storehouse in the Old Testament - Malachi 3:10, and in Proverbs 3:9 we are to honor the Lord with the first fruits of our increase.

Scholars and theologians constantly debate about the tithe definition. Mainly because the tithe's function was prescribed in detail in the old testament, defined for the nation of Israel, and was not done so for the Church in the NT. There seems to be many holes and many opportunities for personal interpretation of how we should prescribe the tithe into the New Testament Church.

The definition of the tithe was very simple and plainly laid out for Israel. They were to gather their harvest and count the tithe out from what they've gathered. For instance, if you had 100 apples, you must count them out from one-to-ten, and the tenth one you set aside for the Lord - Leviticus 27:32. As is stated in the previous verse, it did not matter if that tenth one was bruised or under-sized, you still set it aside. Also, you set the tenth one aside, not the first one aside.

There were other rules under the tithe definition. First, the tithe generally went to the Levites, and in turn the levites gave a tenth of their tenth to the priestly line for the work of the temple. Next, there were generally three different “types” of the tithe. First, was the poor tithe - Deuteronomy 26:12. Second, was the feast tithe - Deuteronomy 14:22-23. Third, was the Levitical tithe - Numbers 18:24. Practically, the tithe included the poor and the Levites all the time, but those are generally how the tithe is categorized. The feast tithe was the most unique and was consumed by the whole nation of Israel as a feast celebration.

Most people argue that the total amount of tithes given by Israel equaled over 23%. I don't follow that logic, just for the simple fact that when the bible says 10% of all your increase, generally it means just 10%. Maybe that's too simple minded? I don't know? Also genealogy and numbering records have shown that a 10% gift from the whole nation of Israel was plenty enough to take care of the small tribe of Levi.

Now that we got an abridged version of the tithe definition for Israel, what about the definition for the Church? Truthfully, you are asking the wrong person. I feel the definition of the tithe for the church is far more complicated than the IRS tax code. Like I said above, the definition of tithing for the New Testament Church has many holes and opportunities for personal interpretation. I'm of the persuasion that it doesn't belong in the Spirit-led Church. I know.. . I know what you're saying, how can the Church operate without the tithe? Well, first of all, the Church is not the nation of Israel so it has no need to operate under Israel's strict code of laws. The Church operates under the capacity of the Holy Spirit in tune with the principles of God's word. Yes, God's word said don't eat unclean meat, circumcise your sons, tithe of your increase.. . And so forth, but I said the Holy Spirit is in tune with the PRINCIPLES of God's word.

[N0help4u]

Scholars and theologians debate so that takes us back to square one since it is not specified in the Bible that 10% of gross income should be tithed to the church.

[homesell]

450donn
You say I accused you. Of what? You are the one that accused me of cheating God. How come He never told me that? You talk like I've never been in churches where tithing has been taught. Of course I have - almost everyone has. Just cause some churches are constantly asking for money doesn't mean it's right to tithe. If we are going to insist someone MUST tithe(gross or net) then we might as well insist on circumcision and worshipping on the Sabbath because these were definitely old testament principles as well.
In Acts 15:20 some Judeaizers(those that insist on keeping the Old testament Law) were trying to lay the guilt trip on the new gentile believers, telling them they had to follow the Law. The apostle James at the council of Jerusalem states exactly what they were going to ask the gentile believers to do. No circumcision required, no Sabbath keeping required, no tithing required. I wonder how you say I don't understand the "spirit" of the tithe principle when that is exactly what I told you I was doing rather than the letter.

[450donn]

Jeff,
Your right I should not be laying a guilt trip on you for your views of tithing. I apologize.

[homesell]

450donn,
I apologise also to you.I know I was harsh.