[nao381]

I know tithing is mentioned a lot more in the old testament than the new testament. My question is do you have to give 10%?
Thanks

[tithe]

No, you do not have to give 10%. Tithing was for Israel. They were under different rules and under a different covenant with God.

[Fr_Chuck]

Yes, you should today be giving more than that, in the early church they sold all they had and divided between those of need.

We see the NT church doing tithes and offerings. The difference is they don't have to, just should

[revdrgade]

No, you don't "have to" as if it were required to get to heaven. But you will personally (and spiritually) benefit if you do tithe... and give of you means and self out of love for God and others.

The contrast of giving only to fulfill the Law(just to avoid punishment or win rewards from God) and giving because you trust God to always take care of you is shown in the Bible:

Matt 23:23-24

23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices — mint, dill and cummin . But you have neglected the more important matters of the law — justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
NIV

2 Cor 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

[jakester]

I'd like to piggy-back on what TITHE and REVDRGADE have said.

First, with respect to TITHE's comments, I agree. The tithe outlined in the Old Testament law included a lawful, obligatory giving to the priesthood that God had ordained through the covenant. People were required to give a “tithe” to priests much in the same manner that we are required to pay our taxes. The tithe in Israel consisted of a portion of people's wealth set aside for the priests, who were required to officiate in the performance of their priestly duties and could not make a living outside of this office to which they were called by God. Under the Old Testament law the Israelites lived under a theocracy where God was their king and the priests were the mediators between the people and God. The priests collected the tithes and used the money for various things like dividing the money for the Levites themselves, the various feasts, and for the poor. However, the amount that the people were obligated to pay amounted to more than 10% but was probably closer to something like 23% because it appears that God had divided up tithes into different categories to be taken at key times throughout the year.

However, a careful reading of the Old Testament sections concerning tithes will reveal that beyond what was required in the tithe, there was such a thing as a free-will offering. For this, there was no law. The people were required to pay their tithes for the sake of the Levites, the observances of the feasts and for the poor. The people were obligated to give these tithes under the covenant and I'm arguing that it is very similar to our personal income taxes that we pay today as well as the taxation that all were subject to under the Roman rule, including Jesus. But when it came to giving something to God out of personal thankfulness or a joyful or glad heart, God was not requiring a set amount. It was up to the individual whether he or she wanted to give at all and how much he or she wanted to give.

When we move to the New Testament, Paul's teaching on giving is linked to the idea of grace. First he says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” If giving to God in the sense of a free-will offering were required, why would it be called free-will and why would Paul say that we should not give “out of necessity?” Not only that but he says “let each one give as he or she PURPOSES in his or her heart.” Paul is affirming that giving is entirely up to the individual believer and is not a requirement from God. The only time Paul ever commands us to give our money is in Romans 13:

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

My own sentiment is that tithing is predominately taught out of misunderstanding, greediness on the part of some, and distrust in the good heartnedness of God's people by those who are in authority (in other words, some in authority don't believe people will give freely so they compel them to give by teaching about tithing). If we give to God it should be because we want to from the goodness of our heart not because of guilt, a sense of obligation, or of peer-pressure. It is better to give nothing at all than to give from the wrong motives because God will not accept such an offering, “…for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Lastly, touching upon what Revdrgade said, if we give thinking that we will garner favor from God or worse—salvation—we have got to come to an understanding of who God is and what He desires from us. He doesn't need our money and He certainly won't be bought off. Salvation is something He gives of His own will not from being coerced in any way. That's an entirely different discussion but I thought I'd just mention this very briefly here.

[nao381]

I'd like to piggy-back on what TITHE and REVDRGADE have said.

First, with respect to TITHE's comments, I agree. The tithe outlined in the Old Testament law included a lawful, obligatory giving to the priesthood that God had ordained through the covenant. People were required to give a “tithe” to priests much in the same manner that we are required to pay our taxes. The tithe in Israel consisted of a portion of people’s wealth set aside for the priests, who were required to officiate in the performance of their priestly duties and could not make a living outside of this office to which they were called by God. Under the Old Testament law the Israelites lived under a theocracy where God was their king and the priests were the mediators between the people and God. The priests collected the tithes and used the money for various things like dividing the money for the Levites themselves, the various feasts, and for the poor. However, the amount that the people were obligated to pay amounted to more than 10% but was probably closer to something like 23% because it appears that God had divided up tithes into different categories to be taken at key times throughout the year.

However, a careful reading of the Old Testament sections concerning tithes will reveal that beyond what was required in the tithe, there was such a thing as a free-will offering. For this, there was no law. The people were required to pay their tithes for the sake of the Levites, the observances of the feasts and for the poor. The people were obligated to give these tithes under the covenant and I’m arguing that it is very similar to our personal income taxes that we pay today as well as the taxation that all were subject to under the Roman rule, including Jesus. But when it came to giving something to God out of personal thankfulness or a joyful or glad heart, God was not requiring a set amount. It was up to the individual whether he or she wanted to give at all and how much he or she wanted to give.

When we move to the New Testament, Paul’s teaching on giving is linked to the idea of grace. First he says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” If giving to God in the sense of a free-will offering were required, why would it be called free-will and why would Paul say that we should not give “out of necessity?” Not only that but he says “let each one give as he or she PURPOSES in his or her heart.” Paul is affirming that giving is entirely up to the individual believer and is not a requirement from God. The only time Paul ever commands us to give our money is in Romans 13:

“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God’s wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”

My own sentiment is that tithing is predominately taught out of misunderstanding, greediness on the part of some, and distrust in the good heartnedness of God’s people by those who are in authority (in other words, some in authority don’t believe people will give freely so they compel them to give by teaching about tithing). If we give to God it should be because we want to from the goodness of our heart not because of guilt, a sense of obligation, or of peer-pressure. It is better to give nothing at all than to give from the wrong motives because God will not accept such an offering, “…for God loves a cheerful giver.”
Lastly, touching upon what Revdrgade said, if we give thinking that we will garner favor from God or worse—salvation—we have got to come to an understanding of who God is and what He desires from us. He doesn’t need our money and He certainly won’t be bought off. Salvation is something He gives of His own will not from being coerced in any way. That’s an entirely different discussion but I thought I’d just mention this very briefly here.

I agree with jakester on the part of giving from the heart. Sometimes I feel uncomfortable with our church constantly emphasizing that we need to give 10 percent because that is what the bible says. I feel like it is more important giving from the heart. I just thinks it's kind of weird when the church keeps talking about tithing. I feel like they are in need of the money or something.