What Does the Bible Say About Tithing? #22
In the Old Testament, God commanded Israel to give a tithe, a tenth of their produce and livestock, to support the Levites, the temple, and the care of the poor, and Malachi warns that withholding it amounts to 'robbing God.' The New Testament does not repeat the tithe as a binding percentage for the church; instead it emphasizes generous, cheerful, and proportionate giving, exemplified by Paul's instruction that each believer give 'as he has decided in his heart,' not reluctantly but cheerfully. Across both Testaments, the consistent principle is that giving back to God from what he has provided is an act of worship and trust, whatever the specific amount or system.
Tithing raises one of the most practically contested questions in Christian life: does the Old Testament’s tenth still bind believers today, or has it been superseded by something else? Because churches and individual Christians land in different places on the specific mechanics, understanding both what the Old Testament commanded and how the New Testament reframes giving matters for approaching the question honestly.
What the Bible Teaches
The Mosaic law establishes the tithe explicitly: “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.” (Leviticus 27:30), a tenth set aside to support the Levites, the temple worship, and care for the vulnerable. Malachi rebukes Israel sharply for withholding it, calling it robbing God and promising blessing for faithfulness in this area (Malachi 3:8-10). The New Testament, by contrast, never commands a specific percentage for the church; Paul instead tells the Corinthians to set aside a sum “on the first day of every week” in keeping with their income (1 Corinthians 16:2), and frames the whole matter around the heart’s disposition: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The shift is from a fixed national tax supporting a specific temple system to a free, proportionate, worshipful response flowing from gratitude.
Living It Out
Because Christians hold different convictions about whether a literal tenth remains the standard or whether it functions as a wise starting benchmark under a broader New Testament ethic of generosity, this is an area for personal conviction rather than a single binding rule. What Scripture is unambiguous about is the heart behind the gift: giving that is planned, proportionate to what one has received, and offered cheerfully rather than grudgingly. Practically, this means treating giving as a regular, prayerful discipline — sowing generously, as Paul puts it, trusting that God who supplies the seed will also supply the harvest.
Key References
- Leviticus 27:30
- Malachi 3:8-10
- 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
- 1 Corinthians 16:2