Isn’t the Tithe an OT Thing?
Since the New Testament doesn’t talk about tithing, we don’t have to tithe, right?!
Never has humanity ever wanted to say, “Amen!” and move on without further reflection than when it comes to handing over our money.
But, is this true?
Are those who preach tithing just money-hungry preachers and pastors motivated by greed?
Conversely, are those who say that you don’t have to tithe those Jesus talked about when He said in Matthew 5, “Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven . . . ” (New International Version, 1978, Matt. 5:18-19)
To answer this question about tithing, we need to consider how the Old and New Testaments relate to one another and apply to the believer.
Is everything in the Old Testament irrelevant?
Is everything in the Old Testament applicable as stated?
Has anything changed as a result of Christ coming – what we do and what we don’t?
And if so, how do we know how we handle different commands differently, so that we are found faithful to Scripture and not just picking and choosing?
All that to say, the question about tithing has to fall into a larger framework for understanding the relationship of the Old and New Testaments, and the following article outlines what is important to understand in simplest terms!
First of all, the tithe is, by definition, the first tenth.
Sometimes people talk of putting anything in the offering as a “tithe.”
It’s not a tithe unless it’s the first tenth.
Anything less than that is not a tithe.
And, biblically, anything beyond that is not a tithe either. It then is a “freewill offering” to use the Old Testament term or “generosity” to use the language of the New Testament.
Second, the New Testament wasn’t meant to erase the entire Old Testament so that only that which is re-written and repeated in the New Testament is to be obeyed as God’s law! Otherwise, what’s the point of the Old Testament?
However, there are parts of the Mosaic law that were given for national and religious Israel that do not apply in the same way today (for example, not eating pork). This is where the confusion comes in.
How do we know which commands fall in what category, meaning how do we know which commands apply exactly as stated and which apply in a different way?
Some people say, “If there are some parts of the Old Testament that we don’t do today, then can’t we say that all parts of the Old Testament are things we shouldn’t do today?” If we don’t have to avoid bacon today, and we don’t have to sacrifice animals at the altar today, then surely we shouldn’t have to do anything the Old Testament law says, including tithing.”
But did Jesus dismiss and do away with the Old Testament?
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Matt. 5:17)
Jesus said that and then the Old Testament is cited and referenced as authoritative all throughout the remainder of the New Testament as well.
The “all-or-nothing” reasoning that we see being used to argue against the tithe fails to understand what Jesus meant when He said He came to fulfill the law.
Based on what Jesus said, in every instance, we should expect to see Jesus taking the law and bringing it to its fullness, both when we obey the law the same way today, and when the application has taken on a new form.
How does He bring each type of law to its fullness?
Within the Old Testament there is a section of it we call the Mosaic law , meaning the parts of the law given through Moses when God rescued the descendants of Abraham from slavery in Egypt and founded the nation of Israel.
The Mosaic law has four types of laws within it:
Theocracy laws
Temple/Worship laws
Separation laws
Moral laws
Let’s briefly understand each type.
First, theocracy laws. A theocracy, is defined, to quote encyclopedia Britannica, as: “Government by divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided. In many theocracies, government leaders are members of the clergy, and the state’s legal system is based on religious law. Theocratic rule was typical of early civilizations.” (www.britannica.com)
Israel, being a theocratic nation, had laws related to what any nation has laws related to, such as land, judicial procedures and judicial consequences.
How are these theocracy laws “fulfilled” in the New Testament?
Well, Jesus said His Kingdom was not of this world. The borders of Israel were no longer the boundaries of the mission field, but it’s now the “ends of the earth.” In short, the earthly Kingdom pointed forward to a greater fulfillment of a spiritual kingdom crossing every border and nation.
Second, the Mosaic law also had temple/worship laws related to the tabernacle (and later, the temple in Jerusalem).
Temple/worship laws prescribed the kinds of sacrifices and offerings that were to take place at the temple prior to the Messiah coming.
How are these laws for the tabernacle and sacrificial system “fulfilled” in the New Testament?
We know that Jesus is the once and for all sacrifice for sins (Hebrews 10:12).
Also, we see throughout the New Testament that our sacrifice and offerings today are in our bodies through holy living (Romans 12:1), in worship (Hebrews 13:15), financial offerings (Luke 6:38), and service (1 Peter 4:10).
To fulfill the temple laws of the Old Testament, we look to the New Testament for the application of them, where the temple has been redefined around Jesus and His followers assembled in His name. In this way, the temple/worship laws within the Mosaic law are “fulfilled” in the New Testament.
Third, the Mosaic law contained a number of separation laws which served to keep Israel separate from other nations and other peoples.
The Israelites’ dress, their restricted table fellowship and more served to keep them separate from others. Why? They were to be a light that drew attention to God.
Today, in Jesus Christ, that separation looks different, but it is not gone. (2 Corinthians 6:17). The Old Testament law separated them by keeping them IN, whereas in the New Testament, we are separated as we go OUT.
So what changed?
God knows the truth about sin.
He knows that sin is deadly.
He knew it was a deadly contagious disease for which there had been no cure given on earth…not until Christ came and the Spirit of God began to indwell us. We now have the cure.
When there is no cure (as in the days of Old Testament Israel), you quarantine and you quickly and swiftly get anyone infected outside of the camp.
When there is a cure (in the era of the New Testament Church), you go out, and you bring it to the infected world who will die without it.
But as we bring the forgiveness of sin and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to overcome sin and death, we do not partake in sin as we do. We remain separate as we go.
That’s the difference.
Again, these separation laws are carried out in a better, fuller and more complete way in the New Testament, as were the theocratic and temple laws.
And finally, there were also moral laws in the Mosaic law.
God was not just founding a nation and foreshadowing a better covenant to come, but also He was revealing Himself and His ways and how to be holy and to please Him.
Moral law tells us what is timelessly true about holiness, right from wrong, and about what God does and does not approve.
For example, the command not to commit murder. Let’s look at what Jesus does with this moral law.
Does the God of grace, who is God in the flesh, reduce the moral requirements of obedience to God?
“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You should not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Matt. 5:21-22)
Don’t murder is the baseline, but the point is not to hate. Jesus takes it to the full extent.
Jesus came not to loosen the law, but to bring it to its fullness.
With moral laws, fullness means obeying it today the same way as then, but also at a heart level, not just in the outward behavior.
The moral laws go further and higher now, because in Jesus Christ, we can be forgiven our sins and filled with the Holy Spirit. We have been given the grace to do that which those in the Old Testament couldn’t do.
As you can see, all four types of Mosaic law find a fuller fulfillment in the New, including the moral laws. However, only the moral laws are fulfilled by the same behaviors today as they were then (although Jesus emphasized also the heart).
So, what about tithing? Is it a moral law? A theocratic law? A temple law? A separation law?
Hmmm. It’s tricky.
From the time of Moses forward, tithing actually fell into multiple of these categories, at minimum relating to the theocracy of Israel and the tabernacle/temple functioning, making it more difficult to discern.
But, here is what is different about tithing that removes it from this conversation about categories of Mosaic law altogether.
It preceded the Mosaic law in practice, and in such a way that failing to do it was considered sin even before the law of Moses was given!
For instance, the tithe of firstfruits in the first chapters of Genesis with Cain and Abel.
What do we read?
“So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. Abel, on his part also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering; but for Cain and for his offering He had no regard.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Gen. 4:3-5)
Now, keep in mind that Cain bringing his leftovers as an offering compared to Abel bringing the tithe/firstfruits of his is repeated in the New Testament and defined morally as evil versus righteous.
“Not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, 1 John 3:12)
His deeds, not tithing, were called evil by God in the New Testament, as well as in the first chapters of Genesis long before the Mosaic law.
That is not the only place pre-Mosaic law we see tithing in the Old Testament.
“For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995. Heb. 7:1-2)
Long before the theocracy of Israel and the laws for that season, we see Abraham giving a first tenth back to God, showing that this was not merely a temple or theocracy law.
The Mosaic law did not redefine tithing from a moral law into a theocratic or temporary temple law, but simply applied a moral law to the whole of a nation.
And let’s not forget, Jesus himself said to the Pharisees about tithing, “...These are the things you should have done.” (New American Standard Bible, 1995, Luke 11:42)
When we get to the New Testament, the standard is no longer the tithe, but generosity, which biblically goes beyond the tithe.
In the New Testament, we see a sacrificial generosity that leaves the Old Testament standard of the tithe in the dust.
We have far too many people reading the terms “giving” and “generous” in the New Testament and defining those terms to be what God called stealing in the Old Testament. But those are not terms that had no Old Testament anchoring. In the Old, there was the tithe. Tithing was not considered giving. Tithing was considered not stealing.
But in the OT beyond the tithe then there were freewill offerings as well.
The New Testament only talks about giving and giving generously and giving sacrificially, leaving the tithe in the rear-view mirror.
You simply cannot get to giving until you go beyond the tithe.
So we have half the church today reading about the early church selling all and giving all and concluding that the New Testament doesn’t reaffirm the tithe.
Can you see how inaccurate that is?
The New Testament standard is generosity, beyond the tithe, but certainly not less.
And should we be surprised?
The tithe preceded the Mosaic law.
In Christ, it’s bringing it to its fullness.
If tithing is a moral law, which we firmly believe it is, then what should we expect to see in the New Testament? What did Jesus do to “fulfill” the moral laws?
He expected not only the right behavior but the right heart. So, in the case of tithing, He might not just say, “Give” but perhaps “Give cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
We have read a verse about not giving begrudgingly but giving cheerfully as meaning “only give if you feel like it” when in fact it means “give, and give with this heart.”
Now, if you’re reading this and panicking at the thought of tithing off your already tight budget, let us encourage you: don’t be afraid.God’s blessing on the tithe also was pronounced in the prophets, post Mosaic law, and it still stands today as millions can testify.
Your 90% will go further than your 100% would have.If you test God in this, you’ll discover that it’s true.
Everyone who has would testify.We’re not claiming that tithing will make you rich at all. But, we do believe that your 90% blessed will absolutely go further than your 100% with some withheld from God.
© 2022 Shane Farmer, Rebekah Layton. All rights reserved.