Why Should We Tithe?" "Should we tithe off our gross or net income?"

Why Should We Tithe?

Many Christians struggle with the issue of tithing.

Since God owns everything — "the cattle on a thousand hills" and all there is — it might seem that He doesn't really need our tithes and offerings. He doesn't need them, true, but we need to give them. For, in instructing us to tithe, God is helping us to understand the law of reciprocity.

In addition, failure to tithe means we are actually robbing God of what is due Him. In Malachi 3:8-9, God spells out the results when the nation of Israel does not repay Him what they owe:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?'In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse — the whole nation of you — because you are robbing me."

When we tithe, we receive many blessings from God.

"Give,and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap" (Luke 6:38).Tithing is not an early Christian doctrine. When the Jews became Christians, they lived under Grace and not the Mosaic Law which tithing on their land and animals was a portion of the Law. Tithing on money was not a portion of the Mosaic Law or Abrahamic Covanent. This became a man made doctrine after the writing of the New Testament.

The tithe is an Old Testament concept. The tithe was a requirement of the law in which all Israelites were to give 10% of everything they earned—or the crops and animals they grew—to the Tabernacle / Temple (Leviticus 27:30;Numbers 18:26;Deuteronomy 14:24;2 Chronicles 31:5). 

Believers in Christ are not commanded to give 10% of their income. Each and every Christian should diligently pray and seek God’s wisdom as to how much he or she should give (James 1:5). Many people believe that the Old Testament tithe is a good principle for believers to follow. Giving 10% of your income back to God demonstrates your thankfulness to Him for what He has provided and helps you to remember to rely on God instead of on riches.

The Bible does not specifically say whether we should give 10% off our gross or net income. The Old Testament teaches the principle of first fruits (Exodus 23:16;34:22;Leviticus 2:12-14;2 Chronicles 31:5). Old Testament believers gave from the best of their crops, not the leftovers. 

The same principle should apply to our giving today. Again, a believer should give what he believes God would have him give. It all goes back to the attitude of the heart. Are we giving out of reverence for God or out of selfishness for our own wealth? “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

GIVE TO GOD FIRST

By making a spiritual decision to give to God first you learn more about the love, care and reality of God our heavenly Father than through other spiritual disciplines.

GIVE TO GOD SYSTEMATICALLY

Christians who do not have a regular way of laying aside the first of what they receive from the Lord often feel pressed and confused when it comes to giving. Many people making good incomes experience no joy in giving because they have not made a plan to systematically and faithfully give to God's work.

GIVE TO GOD CHEERFULLY

Cor. 9:8 tells us: "God loves a cheerful giver.

GIVE TO GOD THOUGHTFULLY

Haggai, in the first chapter, says: "Is it time for you yourselves to be living in your paneled houses, while (God's temple) remains a ruin? Now this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'Give careful thought to your ways

GIVE TO GOD ETERNALLY

Tim 6:18-19 says: " Command those who are rich ...to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way, they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age."