Tithing

This page is a consolidation of links to the articles that I have written on tithing. I initially undertook this study in response to an avid online community which strongly and vocally denounces tithing for Christians. In this first article, I gave a basic overview of how these people, who I frequently refer to as "anti-tithers," approach the topic of tithing:

Introduction to the arguments against tithing

I have isolated each of these arguments and answered them in a logical order. Firstly, because tithing is part of God's law, you must understand that God's law is relevant for Christians today if you want to defend the command to tithe. My next article in the series begins in Hebrews 7, where some anti-tithers say that all of God's law, and specifically tithing, was abolished:

Was tithing abolished in Hebrews 7?

Once it has been established that the law, including tithing, was not "done away," we are then ready to consider whether it applies under modern circumstances. In the Old Covenant, tithes were given to the Levites. Therefore, if tithing is going to be relevant for today, we first have to evaluate whether there is anyone who is capable of receiving it in light of the fact that we don't know who the Levites are today:

Did God give tithes to the Levites FOREVER, so that ministers today aren't eligible to receive it?

Another argument that anti-tithers make along this same line is that every believer in the New Covenant is a priest. If this is true, they then conclude that it doesn't make sense for ministers, who are priests, to receive tithes from members, who are also priests. Such is the topic of the next article:

Is every New Covenant believer a priest, meaning that ministers have no more right to receive tithes than anyone else in the Church?

Once we understand that tithing is part of God's law, which has not been abolished, and that ministers in God's Church are scripturally qualified to receive tithes, we move on to the anti-tithing claim that tithing was only commanded to be done within the borders of the Holy Land of Israel. If it was only for the land of Israel, then the command to tithe for Christians today would only be relevant if you were living in that geographic area:

Was tithing only supposed to be done in the land of Israel?

Next, once it is confirmed that New Covenant believers, regardless of their location, should give tithes to ministers of the Church of God, the question is, "what did God command us to tithe on?" Anti-tithers would have you believe that the bible says that we should only tithe on agricultural produce, which consists of wine, oil, the crops grown in the field, and farm animals that are kept in herds and flocks.

The practicality of tithing only on farm products - consider the "2nd" or "festival" tithe, and the command to rejoice in everything that you put your hand to

One underpinning that the anti-tithers use to support their idea that only these agricultural products should be tithed on is to say that these products are "God's miracles" as opposed to "man's labor." In the next article, I refute this notion by looking closely at what goes into making these agricultural products:

Are agricultural products really God's miracles instead of man's labor? Does God not bless other forms of labor?

With this foundation laid, I've now begun a systematic look at the main passages on tithing in the bible:

• Leviticus 27: Instructions for redemption, not a how-to for tithing
• Numbers 18: Emphasis on the how the Levites receive tithe, not a guide for the tither

This series is still ongoing, and this page will be updated as new articles are published. Future articles will examine more anti-tithing arguments. Additionally, I would like to write a couple of more positive (rather than defensive) foundational articles on the basic concept of tithing.