Careful Christians land on both sides of this, and neither side is being lazy. What
Scripture plainly commands is generous, planned, proportional giving. What the New
Testament never does is tell believers to give ten percent.
The tithe is real and it is old. Abram gives a tenth to Melchizedek before the law exists.
The law then sets apart a tenth of Israel's produce as holy to the Lord. But Israel's
tithes funded a landless priestly tribe, a yearly festival the giver ate part of, and a
third-year fund for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow. Read as separate tithes,
as Jewish tradition read them, they came to more than a tenth, and none of them was a congregation's operating budget. When
the New Testament instructs churches about money it names no figure at all: give as you
have purposed in your heart, set aside a proportion regularly, cheerfully, not grudgingly.
So: give. That is commanded. Ten percent is a benchmark rather than a bill, and a useful
one, because it is specific, uncomfortable, and simple enough to teach a ten-year-old. If
you use it, treat it as a floor to grow from. If you set it aside, name the number you will
actually give and give it first, or the number quietly becomes whatever is left, which is
usually nothing.
The passages
Printed in full from the public-domain World English Bible, resolved from a local copy of
that text before this page was built. Read them before you take our summary on trust, and
see how we read Scripture on money for the ten rules
every page here follows.
8Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. 9You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. 10Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and test me now in this,” says Yahweh of Armies, “if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there will not be room enough for. 11I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast its fruit before its time in the field,” says Yahweh of Armies. 12“All nations shall call you blessed, for you will be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of Armies.
30“‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh. 31If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth part to it. 32All the tithe of the herds or the flocks, whatever passes under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to Yahweh.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
6Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that you, always having all sufficiency in everything, may abound to every good work.
1Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise. 2On the first day of the week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper, that no collections be made when I come. 3When I arrive, I will send whoever you approve with letters to carry your gracious gift to Jerusalem. 4If it is appropriate for me to go also, they will go with me.
The one place Paul gives a giving mechanism: regular, proportional to income, set aside in advance.
Contested: both cases from the text
Does the tenth still bind Christians today?
The short form of each case, with its weakest point named. The full argument, stream by stream, is on the theme page linked below.
Yes, the tenth still stands
The tithe predates the law, the law confirms it, and the New Testament never cancels it.
Passages relied on (WEB)
Genesis 14:18-20Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was priest of God Most High. He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth: and ble…
Leviticus 27:30-32“‘All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees, is Yahweh’s. It is holy to Yahweh. If a man redeems anything of his tithe, he shall add a fifth par…
Malachi 3:8-12Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with the curse; for you rob me, even this whole nation. Bring the whole tit…
Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have d…
Strongest point
Abram gives a tenth to Melchizedek centuries before Sinai, so the practice is older than the ceremonial law and cannot simply have expired with it. The law then calls the tenth holy to the Lord: set apart, not suggested. And the one time Jesus addresses tithing he subordinates it to justice and mercy without cancelling it.
Where it is weakest
The tithe of the law is not one tidy ten percent: separate streams funded a landless tribe, a festival the giver ate part of, and a third-year fund for the poor. Read as separate tithes, as Jewish tradition read them, they run past a tenth, and none of them is a congregation's operating budget.
No, proportional generosity replaces it
The New Testament commands giving that is planned, proportional and uncapped, and deliberately declines to name a number.
Passages relied on (WEB)
1 Corinthians 16:1-4Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I commanded the assemblies of Galatia, you do likewise. On the first day of the week, let each one of you save, as he may prosper, that no co…
2 Corinthians 9:6-8Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudging…
Hebrews 7:1-12For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (bei…
2 Corinthians 8:12-15For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don’t have. For this is not that others may be eased and you distressed, but for equalit…
Strongest point
When the New Testament gets practical about church giving, no percentage appears. Paul has each believer set something aside week by week, scaled to income, with the amount decided inside the giver's own purpose rather than imposed on him. And the one chapter that treats tithing at length is arguing about priesthood, and it ends with the priesthood that collected the tithes being changed.
Where it is weakest
A rule with no number is hard to teach, hard to budget, and easy to shave a little each year. This side rarely says what would tell a giver he had given enough, and the standard it does hold, the equality of 2 Corinthians 8, sits higher than the tenth it set aside.
Weighed by the Book
CommandedWhat Scripture commands
Give, regularly, in proportion to income, decided in advance rather than by mood (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:7).
Support those who teach, and the poor among you (1 Timothy 5:17-18; Deuteronomy 15:7-11).
WisdomWise application, not command
Ten percent as a starting benchmark: specific enough to teach, uncomfortable enough to notice.
Give first, off the top, before the month has spent it (Proverbs 3:9-10).
FreedomWhere faithful people differ
Whether the Old Testament tithe binds Christians today. Careful readers land on both sides.
Whether the percentage is figured on gross or net income.
Where it goes: local church, missions, the poor, or a mix.