I heard a story about a pastor who asked his congregation, “If you had a million dollars how many of you would be willing to give a 10% tithe to the church?” He noticed everyone’s hand raise except one man. After the service he approached this man and said, “I noticed that you didn’t raise your hand, why wouldn’t you be willing to give 10 percent to the Lord? Is there any greater joy than serving the Lord?” The man replied sheepishly, “I guess not, but I actually do have a million dollars.”
Maybe you have had a similar experience of feeling guilt when someone taught on the concept of giving, especially when you hear the word “tithing.” In fact, many Christians have a misunderstanding of this term. The word “tithe” is derived from an old English word meaning “tenth” and it represented a charge to someone of their crop, labor, or livestock. While the tithe is mentioned as a requirement of the law of Moses (Lev. 27:30-32; Num. 18:21-24; Deut. 12:5-6), it also pre-dates the Old Testament law. In Genesis 14:20 Abraham received a blessing from the priest Melchizedek and “gave him a tenth of everything.” Hebrews 7 mentions this tithe to Melchizedek but not as a requirement for the believer to give 10% of their income. In fact, most of the mention of tithe in the New Testament is critical. Like many other aspects of the law, the Jewish leaders had distorted what was intended to be good. When Jesus mentioned tithing (Luke 11:42; Matthew 23:23) he condemned the practice, which had become ritualistic.
It's likely the reason that nowhere in the New Testament is there a command to tithe. Additionally, there is not even a suggestion that a follower of Christ should ascribe to the Old Testament practice of tithing. Let’s look at two examples of how we should handle our finances according to the New Testament:
Luke 21 begins with a short account of people donating to the treasury of the temple. After some wealthier people gave, Jesus noticed a poor widow went up to give. Jesus saw the woman give two small coins and he said, 3 “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. 4 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” The emphasis of these verses is on sacrifice. God’s priority is not on the size of the gift but rather how sincere and selfless the gift is.
In the sermon on the mount, Jesus gives a warning about serving two masters. Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” This entire section of Jesus’ message is about the location of your treasure. Is it bound up in earthly things or is it set in heaven? As Jesus concludes this section on treasures the summation is we don’t have the ability to be enslaved to more than one entity. We are either slaves of Christ or we’re not. Money is mentioned here because it is often the thing that leads people away from giving their full devotion and service to the Lord (1 Tim. 6:10).
So, if we are released from the requirement of tithe, then what should be the expectation for those who follow Christ? In 1 Corinthians 16:2 Paul says, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.” This was part of a widespread collection that had been made for those in Jerusalem, but there is one specific element of this message that should be understood because it can help shape how we think about giving. Save what you are earning so you can purposely set aside a portion. Paul didn’t want to take up a random love offering at his arrival. He wanted there to be intentionality and faithfulness. Our giving must be regular and systematic instead of occasional and sporadic.
This is the reason why many Christians today still have a desire to tithe even though it is not required because it represents an easy way to make regular gifts. By using a standard unit like 10% it allows us to set money aside in “keeping with our income”. But whether you use a percentage or set dollar amount you should be able to review your giving and see consistency.
What does a next step look like for you? If you are consistent and faithful in giving, perhaps you should consider what you set aside. Have you begun to view your tithe as something on a spirituality checklist and rarely examine your heart to identify why you are giving? Maybe this is a reminder for you to examine what you give and why you give.
If you have a giving pattern that is inconsistent, perhaps your next step would be to move toward faithful giving of a similar amount each week or month.
What if I’m not giving at all? There are a couple reasons why someone would be negligent in their giving.
Heart issue: Another way to say this would be, there’s a sin issue. There are many sinful patterns that prohibit us from giving such as pride, fear, worry, lack of trust in God, selfishness, greed, lack of obedience, and covetousness. Would you be able to identify one of these as a prevailing factor in your lack of giving? If you allow these sins to remain unchecked in your life, then it will prohibit you from surrendering financially to the Lord, and additionally, your entire faith will be hindered.
Money issue: Not listed in the previous section is the sin of materialism which sometimes leads to collecting large sums of debt. Loan payments and credit card debt can place strain on your household and put you in a position where you feel like you have no available resources to give. Maybe you should seek counsel for how to handle your finances wisely. We have people in our church who would be willing to help you.
If you desire to make changes and want to commit to giving, a good way to begin is to start with an achievable goal. If you are giving $100 a week it would be difficult to adjust to $200 a week. But what if you decided to start giving $120 per week? If you are giving 0% of your income it would be a big step to start giving 10%. Maybe you could begin the sacrifice of giving 2% of your income with a plan to increase over time. Giving should be viewed in a similar manner as other disciplines. Start small with a desire to grow over time.
In 2 Corinthians 9:7 Paul sums up what our attitude should be when we consider our offerings, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
The incredible freedom of being released from the burden of a tithe carries with it the responsibility of frequently evaluating ourselves by asking the question, “Am I being obedient to what God has instructed in his word?” We would do well to reflect often on this in all areas of life.
Since many people over the years have asked how they can give to our church, I thought it would be beneficial to list out the ways you can practically fulfill this instruction. You can give to Rainbow Forest Baptist church using the following methods:
Preferred Method
Online through our website. This allows you to give via your bank account or credit/debit card. Fees for bank withdrawal are minimal, and giving through our website will allow you to give to multiple funds in the same transaction and set up recurring donations.
Check out this short video for more information about how to give online HERE
Other Methods
Through the church center app. Has the same benefits as through our website except you can only give to one fund per transaction.
Text to give. "Text any dollar amount to 84321 to give." You will follow a quick, self-guided setup process to tie your mobile phone to our church, your donor account, and a payment source. After that, donating is as easy as sending a text.
Give via check or cash in the offering plate. You can give with or without an offering envelope as the plates are passed during the worship service OR in one of our two offering boxes.
Mail your donation (check or cash) to the office. Please use our PO Box address when mailing in a donation or when using Bill Pay.
PO Box 976 Blue Ridge, VA 24064 Biblical Guidelines for Giving
-Pastor Jeff Kammerer
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