The New Testament tithe!

Many of you have read my last post "The generous man will prosper".... I have received messages recently claiming that my 1st point, the necessity of the tithe is wrong. The email states that the tithe(10%) is no longer required by God because it is a part of the old testament covenent which was changed at the time of Jesus. The claim is then maid that the law of tithing 10% has been abolished and that we are only to give what we feel.The email also says that tithing is not mentioned in the new testament (tisk tisk tisk).

well because I am very accepting of critisism and more importantly because the bible teaches us that "My people suffer for lack of knowledge," I must prove the tithe is in the new testament before these unGodly teachings effect the growth of our brothers and sisters in Christ!

The first thing I have to say is that the bible NEVER mentions the abolishment of tithing.


secondly, tithing began well before the law was introduced. The Law only regulated the tithe.

Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, about 400 years (by my calculation) before the time of Moses and the Law, and according to Romans 4:12 we are to walk in the footsteps of the faith of Abraham. If tithing was good for him, it should be good for us, too.
We give tithes like Abraham gave them—by faith, not necessarily by law (if not thats like saying you serve God because you have to,not because you want to). And beside that, if the people of God paid ten percent before the Law, and ten percent at the time of the Law, should we be doing any less ? I mean we have a better covenant now (Heb 7:22-22 "Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant").

Hebrews 7:8 (New Testament) deals with this directly. "In the one case, the tenth is collected by men who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living."
Christ is declared to be living right?

Thirdly, The early Jewish believers had no problem with tithing since they had done it under the Law. They gave their tithe to the elders of the church and did it by love. However, as the church became less Jewish this issue came up to the church fathers.

Jesus answered the question of tithing with Matthew 23:23 (New Testament):
"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."

Notice Jesus said, "You should have practiced the latter (justice, mercy and faithfulness), without neglecting the former (tithing)." The fathers argued, and rightful so, that Jesus word ends the discussion. Since Jesus said not to neglect the former,being tithing,then no believer should neglect tithing.

Wait...Jesus is the creator of the new covenant, and he just said it, plain and simple.

Here is more New Testament evidence.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:13-14 and says,
"Don't you know that those who work in the temple get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. "

Paul argues that just as the priests got their food from the tithes of the people, so the preachers should live the same way. This passage clearly shows the mentality of the apostle and his understanding of carrying over the concept of tithing into the church.

The scripture that was used to argue against tithing was 2 Corinthians 9:7:
"Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

This was used to say that tithing is of our free will giving and not required, which is clearly untrue because the above passage is not dealing with giving to support the church at all. It is talking about giving to the poor. Giving to the poor was a free will offering. The Word of God clearly seperates tithes and "freewill offerings as 2 different things in the old testament book of Deuteronomy:

"But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. (Deut 12:5-6)"

So now that we have proved the tithe exists in the new testament, I just want to say be careful of who you let pour into your understanding because a little misunderstanding can lead to great disobedience. Now that you have it, Cherish understanding

Proverbs 19:18
He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who cherishes understanding prospers.

God Bless. .5