Are Christians commanded to tithe, or does the New Testament teach us to give in a different way? I have heard believers warned that they will be cursed if they give less than ten percent, while others use freedom from the tithe law as a reason to give almost nothing. I want to work through the passages in their own settings so that neither legalism nor selfishness controls the answer.
Abram, Jacob, and Giving Before the Law
The Bible never treats money as a private corner of life where discipleship has no claim. The Lord owns all things, and every believer is a steward of what He provides. At the same time, Scripture does not tell the church to continue Israel’s Levitical tithe system. Christ fulfilled the temple system and changed the priesthood. The church does not possess Israel’s land inheritance or live under the Mosaic covenant.
I have seen both sides of this question wound people when Scripture is not handled carefully. Legalism binds the conscience where God has not bound it and can make frightened giving look like faith. Careless selfishness creates a different problem because it ignores the needs of gospel ministry and suffering people. We need to honor what God commanded Israel without placing that covenant upon the church. We also need to take the New Testament’s call to generosity seriously.
The first tithe mentioned in Scripture appears in Genesis 14. Abram had just rescued Lot after a group of kings carried people and goods away from Sodom. God gave Abram victory, and he returned with the captives and recovered spoil. The king of Sodom came to meet him, and so did Melchizedek, the king of Salem.
I think we should pay close attention to the contrast between the two kings. The king of Sodom represented a corrupt city whose wealth Abram refused to keep. Melchizedek came as king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He brought out bread and wine, blessed Abram, and praised God as the One who had delivered Abram’s enemies into his hand. Abram then gave him a tenth.
Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. And he blessed him and said: “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” And he gave him a tithe of all.
The order helps us understand the gift. God delivered Abram before Abram offered a tenth, and Melchizedek blessed him before he gave. Abram was not paying for divine help or bargaining for victory. Neither was he paying a religious tax. He responded in worship to the God who had already delivered him.
We also need to identify Melchizedek carefully. Genesis records a real event, but Melchizedek is not merely an ordinary king who later became a useful sermon picture. Hebrews calls him the king of righteousness and the king of peace. The biblical record gives no father, mother, or genealogy for him. It presents neither the beginning of his days nor the end of his life and describes his priesthood as continuing. I believe he is a Christophany, which means a preincarnate appearance of Christ in the Old Testament.
Abram therefore received blessing from One greater than himself. Hebrews later uses this encounter to show that Christ’s priesthood is greater than the priesthood that came through Levi. Abram’s tithe helps Hebrews establish that order, but the passage does not use his gift to command Christians to pay ten percent. It uses the encounter to magnify the superior priesthood of Christ.
The word tithe means a tenth. The Hebrew word commonly written as ma’aser is connected with ten. That tells us the amount, but it does not settle the theological question. The surrounding passage must tell us where the tenth came from and who gave it. We must then ask why the gift was given and whether God commanded it.
Genesis 14 says Abram gave a tenth of the spoil from a particular battle. It does not say he gave a tenth of his regular household income. The passage gives no monthly schedule and says nothing about Melchizedek demanding the gift. Nor does God command every later believer to copy the exact percentage. We should honor Abram’s faith without building a law from details the text never gives.
Keeping the passage in its proper place does not diminish Abram’s gift. He honored God as the Possessor of heaven and earth and recognized Him as the source of the victory. The spoil in Abram’s hand did not prove Abram’s strength. His gift brought worship, gratitude, and humility together because it confessed that the deliverance came from God.
Jacob supplies the second major pre-Law example. He was leaving the land under painful circumstances when the Lord met him at Bethel. God promised to remain with him and protect him. He also confirmed the land and descendants promised through the covenant line. Jacob answered with a vow.
Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on, so that I come back to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God. And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God’s house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You.”
Jacob spoke about a future tenth of what God would give him. Unlike Abram, who gave after the victory, Jacob made a vow while looking ahead to God’s care. Yet Genesis presents this as Jacob’s personal response to God’s promise, not a universal law spoken to every person. His vow shows devotion and dependence, but it does not establish the church’s giving system.
Both pre-Law examples are shaped by worship. Abram honored God after deliverance, while Jacob promised to honor Him if the Lord brought him home in peace. Neither passage sounds like a church finance policy. Together they remind us that everything we have depends upon the Lord, while also warning us not to turn a narrative into a command that Moses never stated and the apostles never placed upon the church.
Tithing Under Moses and the Rebuke in Malachi
Tithing became a commanded part of Israel’s covenant life under the Law of Moses. Israel was not simply a gathering of private worshipers. God brought the nation out of Egypt, gave the people a land, and established His sanctuary among them. Their worship involved an authorized priesthood, and the tithe served that whole covenant structure.
Leviticus connects the tithe to the produce of the land and the animals of the herd and flock. It calls the tithe holy to the LORD.
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 to the LORD.
The ordinary picture is agricultural because Israel’s covenant life was tied to the land God gave them. Deuteronomy allowed a person to convert goods to money when distance made them difficult to carry to the appointed place of worship. Even so, Scripture never describes this system as a universal paycheck rule for every economy and every age. It grew from Israel’s land and what its farms and herds produced. The command also belonged to the nation’s worship calendar and priestly order.
Numbers explains one of its central purposes. Levi did not receive the same kind of territorial inheritance as the other tribes. God set the Levites apart for tabernacle service and provided for them through Israel’s tithes.
“Behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tithes in Israel as an inheritance in return for the work which they perform, the work of the tabernacle of meeting.”
This was not a random fundraising plan. The Levites guarded the holy things and served at the tabernacle. They taught the Law and assisted the priests, then lived from the provision God assigned to them. Even the Levites gave a tenth of the tithe they received. The system was ordered before God rather than designed merely to let one group collect from another.
Deuteronomy also tied tithing to worship and mercy. Israel was to rejoice before the LORD and learn to fear Him. In the third year, food was stored within the towns so that the Levite could receive provision. The stranger, the fatherless, and the widow were also invited to eat and be satisfied.
“At the end of every third year you shall bring out the tithe of your produce of that year and store it up within your gates. And the Levite, because he has no portion nor inheritance with you, and the stranger and the fatherless and the widow who are within your gates, may come and eat and be satisfied, that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”
The Mosaic tithe cannot be reduced to “ten percent for religious leaders.” It provided the Levitical inheritance and belonged to Israel’s national worship. It also became a practical way to care for people who were vulnerable. The entire arrangement belonged to the way God governed Israel under the Law.
Deuteronomy also required Israel to rejoice before the LORD and learn to fear Him through this worship. The tithe was not meant to create a cold transaction in which the worshiper paid a bill and forgot God. It joined provision with gratitude and covenant fellowship. We cannot reproduce the whole Mosaic arrangement by taking one percentage out of it. The land and sanctuary gave that number its setting, as did the priesthood and Israel’s life as a nation.
That setting is essential when we come to Malachi 3, probably the passage most often quoted in church arguments about tithing. God accused Israel of robbing Him by withholding tithes and offerings. The words are serious, but we must identify the people He addressed and the covenant under which they lived.
“Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation. Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.”
Malachi was not writing to a Gentile church after the resurrection. He rebuked Israel for breaking its covenant. The storehouse belonged to the temple system that supplied God’s house, and the language of blessing and cursing came from the Mosaic covenant. Israel’s failure appeared in its offerings and priesthood, but the same unfaithfulness also damaged marriage and justice. The whole nation’s worship had become corrupt.
Christians can still learn from the warning. God is not honored by stingy worship or empty words, and religious people should not expect blessing while treating Him casually. Yet Israel’s covenant lawsuit must not be turned into a threat against believers. A local church building is not the temple storehouse. A Christian does not fall under the Mosaic curse whenever he gives less than ten percent.
The rebuke should make both leaders and worshipers examine themselves. Israel’s priests had treated holy things carelessly, and the people had withheld what the covenant required. Christians should hear the warning against empty religion without pretending that the covenant terms are unchanged. We honor the passage when we receive its moral warning and also respect the historical covenant in which God gave it.
Christ redeemed believers from the curse of the Law, not with silver or gold but through His saving death and His own blood. He did not do that because the Father cursed Him. The curse rested upon lawbreakers, and Christ rescued us by giving Himself. A pastor should never use Malachi to place blood-bought believers back under the covenant curse from which Christ redeemed them. The call to generosity remains, but Israel’s storehouse system does not transfer unchanged to the church.
Christ, the Changed Priesthood, and the Pharisees
The greatest change in this discussion is not cultural or economic. It is priestly. Jesus came as the final sacrifice and the eternal High Priest. He did not join Aaron’s line as one more Levitical priest. He is priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law.
Paul’s argument in Hebrews is not, “Abraham tithed to Melchizedek, so churches should collect ten percent.” Abraham was blessed by Melchizedek, and the lesser is blessed by the greater. Levi, still in Abraham for the purpose of Paul’s argument, is shown to be beneath Melchizedek’s priesthood. Christ’s priesthood is therefore greater than the Levitical order.
The change of priesthood brings a change of law. Christians no longer bring animal sacrifices because Christ’s sacrifice is finished. We do not need Levitical priests to stand between us and God because Christ is the one Mediator. Nor do we continue Israel’s temple economy after Christ fulfilled what it foreshadowed.
This is not an excuse for greed. It is an invitation to read the Law in light of its fulfillment in Christ. Christian giving stands on resurrection ground rather than under the shadow of an unfinished priesthood. We give because God first gave His Son and because Christ bought us with His blood. The Spirit teaches believers to support the ministry of the Word and to love one another through practical help.
Jesus also mentioned tithing when He rebuked the scribes and Pharisees. They carefully tithed tiny herbs while neglecting justice. Mercy and faith were missing from their obedience as well. Their exact calculations did not prove spiritual maturity; they exposed hypocrisy.
“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.”
I think we need to keep that setting in view. Jesus spoke to Jewish leaders who were under the Law before the cross. He told them to obey the Law without neglecting its weightier demands. A hypocrite may become very exact where precision costs little, then grow careless when obedience requires humility and real love.
The warning still reaches us. A person can calculate a religious percentage while mistreating his spouse or ignoring the poor. He may lie in business and refuse mercy, then point to his giving record as though it settles everything. God is not fooled by a tidy number attached to a hard heart. A gift cannot cover rebellion or purchase forgiveness. Only Christ’s blood cleanses sin, so no one forgiven by Him should use giving as a mask for disobedience.
How the New Testament Teaches the Church to Give
When the apostles address the church, their emphasis is clear. A believer should think about his gift and choose it willingly. He should give with a sincere and cheerful heart, and his generosity should support real ministry or meet a genuine need. The New Testament never treats generosity as optional decoration, but neither does it command churches to continue the Levitical tithe law.
Paul gave the Corinthians instructions for an orderly relief collection for needy believers in Jerusalem. Each person was to set something aside on the first day of the week as God prospered him. That regular planning meant the church would not need a hurried appeal when Paul arrived.
On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come.
The instruction is practical. Giving should not depend only on an emotional moment. A believer can look honestly at what God has entrusted to him, consider the needs before him, and then set support aside. The phrase “as he may prosper” leaves room for changing seasons and different incomes. It also keeps a prosperous person from hiding behind the smallest possible standard.
Planning does not make a gift less spiritual. It can keep a sincere desire from disappearing when other expenses compete for attention. Regular giving also lets a church care for ministry and relief needs without manufacturing a crisis every week. Paul wanted the Corinthians to prepare because orderly generosity was better than a last-minute collection built around his arrival.
In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul returned to that relief effort. The Corinthians had expressed a desire to participate, but they still needed to finish what they began. Paul pointed to believers in Macedonia whose deep poverty did not stop them from giving with remarkable generosity. They first gave themselves to the Lord and then gave willingly. Christ’s grace, rather than competition with another church, controlled their response.
So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
“Not grudgingly” and “not of necessity” should rule out threats and public shame. Manipulative appeals and false promises violate the same principle. A believer should purpose his gift before God. Cheerful giving does not mean pretending every sacrifice feels easy. It is the settled gladness of a person who trusts the Lord more than money.
The New Testament also expects believers to support people who labor in the Word. Paul says the person who is taught should share good things with his teacher. He also says elders who rule well are worthy of double honor, especially when they labor in sound teaching. The church should not pretend that spiritual work requires no material support.
Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches.
That support should serve real ministry rather than reward spiritual showmanship. A teacher who handles Scripture faithfully spends time studying and caring for people, and the church should not treat that labor as weightless. At the same time, financial support never places a leader above biblical accountability. Giving and integrity belong together.
Believers also gave to meet urgent needs. Acts records the early church sharing with people who lacked, but this was not forced confiscation. Peter told Ananias that the property remained his before he sold it and that he still controlled the proceeds afterward. His sin was lying to God, not refusing a compulsory community policy. The giving in Acts was voluntary and arose from the Spirit’s life in the church.
The New Testament pattern is therefore not, “Give nothing unless you happen to feel like it.” It is also not, “Pay a required ten percent and stop thinking about stewardship.” The whole life belongs to Christ, and money is one visible place where our loyalties appear.
Giving Faithfully Without Legalism or Selfishness
How should a Christian put this into practice? Begin with the truth that everything belongs to God. Your income and savings are His, and so are your home and any business you own. The tools you use and the strength to work also come from Him. Every opportunity is received rather than self-created. Stewardship begins before a percentage is calculated. The better question is not, “How little can I give and still be acceptable?” It is, “Lord, how do You want me to manage what already belongs to You?”
Support the local church where you receive faithful teaching and shepherding. Its correction and equipping are part of the work of the Word and should not be treated as weightless. Sound churches have real needs, and people who benefit from the ministry should share in that work. Give consistently and honestly after seeking the Lord in prayer. This does not mean every ministry deserves support. The teaching should be biblical, and the use of money should be honest.
Care for people with real needs. Scripture never lets us love doctrine while becoming cold toward suffering. A widow or orphan must not become an abstraction. The stranger and the poor believer also deserve practical care. Missionaries and persecuted Christians may need support, and sometimes the need is the exhausted family directly in front of you. Christian giving has faces attached to it.
Provide for your household because generosity is not the same as irresponsibility. Do not neglect ordinary obligations or refuse to pay debts so that you can appear spiritual in public. Faithfulness includes honest work and contentment. It also includes sober planning for the people God has placed in your care.
Refuse manipulation. A preacher who twists Scripture to frighten people into giving is not serving them well. Public pressure and staged guilt are abuses. So is a promise that a gift guarantees financial wealth, healing, or special favor from God. Biblical teaching about sowing and reaping must not become a sales pitch. God loves a cheerful giver, not a cornered one.
At the same time, refuse the selfishness that can hide behind good theology. A person may correctly say that he is not under the tithe while secretly meaning that no one may ask whether his money serves Christ at all. That is concealment rather than freedom. Grace teaches us to hold our possessions with open hands.
A tenth may be a wise starting habit for some Christians. It can help a family plan and resist spending everything on itself. Yet ten percent must not become a law for judging others, and it must not become a ceiling for someone whom God has greatly prospered. For one household, a tenth may require serious sacrifice. Another person may barely notice the same percentage. The New Testament looks at the heart, the need, and the person’s actual ability rather than giving everyone a flat number.
The aim is not to find the smallest number that clears a religious requirement. A Christian should consider present responsibilities, opportunities to support the Word, and people whose needs he can actually help meet. He should then give before the Lord with an honest heart. Different believers may reach different amounts without either one escaping Christ’s claim over the whole life.
The common objections become clearer from this wider picture. Abram’s pre-Law tithe does not bind the church because Genesis records no universal command, regular schedule, or tithe of his normal income. Malachi does not mean that every Christian who gives less than ten percent robs God; that rebuke addressed Israel under the Mosaic covenant and its temple storehouse. Matthew 23 records Jesus speaking to Pharisees under the Law before the cross. In each case, the passage still teaches us, but it must not be forced to say something it never says.
This way of reading does not divide the Bible into useful and useless parts. It lets every passage teach what God gave it to teach. Abram shows worship after deliverance. Moses shows how God ordered Israel’s covenant life. Malachi exposes covenant unfaithfulness, and Jesus exposes hypocrisy that hides behind religious precision. Hebrews then shows why Christ’s priesthood changes the legal structure, while the apostolic letters tell the church how to give after His resurrection.
Some fear that people will stop giving if churches no longer call ten percent a law. Some may, but that reveals a deeper heart problem. The New Testament calls believers to generosity from grace rather than minimum compliance. Freedom from the tithe law is never freedom from love. It cannot excuse neglect of ministry or indifference toward the needy.
The response should become regular and thoughtful. Give more as God prospers you, and let genuine needs shape the decision. Give quietly enough that pride does not feed on attention, but keep stewardship honest within your household. Gratitude should replace fear because a believer’s treasure is not locked inside this present age. None of this can be reduced to a one-time emotional appeal.
Christian giving grows from Christ’s finished work. Wicked men physically tortured, punished, and killed Jesus. He willingly bore that real punishment for our sins in His innocent body. He shed His blood, died, was buried, and rose bodily. The Father did not punish, curse, abandon, strike, bruise, or pour wrath on Jesus. Father and Son remained united in the work of redemption. We do not give to purchase God’s favor. We respond to grace already given.
Christ died for the whole world, and people can resist His genuine offer. Everyone who repents and believes is forgiven and justified, which means declared righteous before God. He is born again and made new. The Holy Spirit indwells and seals him, and his eternal life is secure because salvation is God’s work. Security does not excuse lawlessness, and a superficial profession is not proof of new birth. Generosity is fruit that grows from life in Christ rather than a payment that produces it.
For related studies, see A Complete Bible Study on Melchizedek, How to Study the Bible Properly, and A Complete Bible Study on Communion.
My Final Thoughts
After working through these passages, I do not believe the church is under Israel’s tithe law. Abram and Jacob gave before Sinai, but their examples do not create a recurring ten-percent command. The Mosaic tithe belonged to Israel’s land and supported its Levites and sanctuary within that covenant. Christ changed the priesthood and brought that system to its fulfillment. Christian giving now comes from grace. It should be thoughtful and willing, with a cheerful generosity that supports faithful ministry and people in real need. A tenth may help someone begin, but the deeper question is whether our money is honestly under the lordship of the One who gave Himself for us.