Do Christians Still Have to Tithe?

"Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and contributions." (Malachi 3:8)

The offering plate comes down the pew, and you feel the question in your chest. Do I really have to give ten percent? Does that Old Testament rule still bind me? Or did Jesus set me free from all that?

Honest believers ask this question, and it deserves an honest answer from the Bible.

The Short Answer

The New Testament never repeats the tithe as a command for the church. But it never lowers the bar either. Grace calls believers to give generously, cheerfully, and regularly. For most of us, ten percent makes a wise starting line, not a finish line.

What the Old Testament Required

A tithe means a tenth. Under the law of Moses, God's people brought a tenth of their harvest and flocks to the Lord. That giving supported the priests and Levites, cared for the poor, and funded the worship of Israel. In Malachi's day, God called the people robbers because they held it back.

But the tithe did not start with Moses. Abraham gave a tenth to Melchizedek hundreds of years before the law (Genesis 14:20). Giving a portion back to God runs deep in the story of His people.

Four Truths About Giving Today

1. Jesus affirmed the tithe, then pushed deeper.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, but notice what He said about their giving:

"But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others." (Luke 11:42)

Jesus did not scold them for tithing. He scolded them for treating it like a box to check while their hearts stayed cold. The Pharisees gave ten percent of their spices and kept a hundred percent of their pride.

2. Everything you own already belongs to God.

When King David gathered gifts for the temple, he prayed:

"For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you." (1 Chronicles 29:14)

Your paycheck, your health, your skills, your opportunities: God gave all of it. Imagine you came into the world on a remote mountaintop in twelfth-century Mongolia. Would you hold what you hold today? Giving does not hand God something of yours. It returns a portion of what He loaned you.

3. We hold more privilege than the Old Testament saints.

The faithful men and women of Hebrews 11 lived by faith in promises they never saw fulfilled.

"And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us." (Hebrews 11:39–40)

We know the name of Jesus. We hold the whole Bible in our hands. The Holy Spirit lives inside us. If God's people gave a tenth under shadows, should we give less under the full light of the gospel?

4. God wants a glad heart, not a grudging one.

Paul never demanded a tithe from the churches. He asked for something harder: a willing heart.

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Paul also taught believers to plan their giving: "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside" (1 Corinthians 16:2). Cheerful giving does not mean careless giving. It means joyful, planned, first-fruits giving.

Why Grace Raises the Bar

Here sits the heart of it. Paul did not motivate giving with a rule. He pointed to the cross:

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Jesus did not give God ten percent. He gave everything. He left heaven's glory, lived among sinners, and poured out His life on a cross to pay for our sin. When that grace grips a heart, the question shifts. We stop asking, "How little can I give?" We start asking, "How much can I give?"

Tithing works like a guardrail. It checks the blind spot of greed in our lives. But grace drives us further down the road.

What to Do This Week

• Start somewhere. If you give nothing now, pick a percentage you can give with faith, and give it this Sunday.

• Give first, not last. Set your gift aside before the bills, not after the leftovers.

• Give through your local church. The church Christ died to redeem deserves your support first.

• Grow toward ten percent and beyond. Raise your giving one step each year as God provides.

• Pray over every gift. Thank God for the grace that saved you.

Should we settle for a lower bar than the saints who lived before the cross? The Savior who gave everything for you invites a better answer.

Free devotional: Get Blessed Are You, 12 devotions from the Sermon on the Mount, free when you join the weekly Faithfully Entrusted letter: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/w05wk4i8uj

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