Deuteronomy 14:22-23 “You must set aside a tithe of your crops—one-tenth of all the crops you harvest each year. Bring this tithe to the designated place of worship—the place the Lord your God chooses for his name to be honored—and eat it there in his presence. This applies to your tithes of grain, new wine, olive oil, and the firstborn males of your flocks and herds. Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God (NLT).”
Why did God want the Israelites to set aside a tenth of their crops, grain, new wine, olive oil and firstborn males of your flocks and herds each year?
Answer: “Doing this will teach you always to fear the Lord your God.”
Galatians 3:23-25 “Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. Let me put it another way. The law was our guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. And now that the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian (NLT).”
Since tithing is an aspect or “matter of the law,” and we are no longer “placed under guard by the law” as under a schoolmaster. Also, because of our faith in Christ Jesus, we no longer need to be taught the fear of God, we have it already (Matthew 23:23).
Why? Because we are God’s ambassadors. It is “because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too (2 Cor. 5:11, NLT).”
Besides, as believers in Christ, we fulfill the laws requirements by loving God and loving others (Rom. 3:8; Gal. 5:14). Therefore, since we fulfill the laws requirements, we are under no obligation to tithe legalistically.
On the contrary, we are told in Scripture to “give in proportion to what we have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have (2 Cor. 8:11-12).
Remember the widow’s mite? In Mark 12:44-45 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on (NLT).”
Why had the widow given more than “all” the others? Because of her heart, it was NOT because of the amount!
Again, this is another reason to stop tithing 10% of your gross income and start freely giving food, shelter and clothing to those saints who are poor and in need. If it is necessary to give money to the poor saints, then so be it.
Deuteronomy 15:10 “Give generously to the poor, not grudgingly, for the Lord your God will bless you in everything you do.”