The New Testament Doesn't Require Christians to Tithe 10%

Did you know the New Testament never commands Christians to tithe 10%? Tithing is a Mosaic-covenant command. The NT gives no fixed percentage — but calls for cheerful, generous, proportional, and often sacrificial giving. The freedom is greater responsibility, not less.

Tithing Is OT — Mosaic Covenant:

The tithing commands appear in Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-24, and Deuteronomy 14:22-29 + 26:12-15. Actually THREE tithes in the Mosaic system: annual Levitical, triennial poor, and festival. Some rabbinic calculations put total annual giving at ~23%. The "10% tithe" is a simplification.

Malachi 3:8-10 — the Fundraising Staple:

"Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you say, 'How have we robbed you?' In your tithes and offerings... Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse."

Malachi is a post-exilic prophet addressing Israel under the Mosaic covenant. His rebuke lands on Israelites failing to keep the Mosaic tithing law — not on NT Christians.

Applied to NT Christians as a direct command creates the same category error as reading Jeremiah 29:11 as a personal-prosperity promise (see the earlier "Jeremiah 29:11 wasn't written to you" episode).

The New Testament Giving Texts:

2 Corinthians 9:7 — "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

1 Corinthians 16:2 — "On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper."

Proportional to income. No fixed percentage.

2 Corinthians 8:3 — "For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord."

The Macedonian churches gave BEYOND expectations — grace-driven generosity, not percentage compliance.

Luke 21:1-4 — the widow's mite. Jesus praises proportional sacrifice, not amount.

Acts 4:32-37 — the early church shared possessions; some sold everything.

The NT never commands 10%. Search it. The percentage isn't there.

Matthew 23:23 — Jesus and Tithing:

"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others."

Jesus AFFIRMS the Pharisees' tithing — but they are Jews under the Mosaic covenant. He is teaching Jews about the fulfillment of Mosaic law, not teaching the NT church about Christian obligation.

The Reformed Reading — NT Ethic Is HIGHER:

Tithing was part of the Mosaic covenant's civil/ceremonial law. New covenant Christians are not under specific Mosaic percentages, but the moral principle of generous proportional giving remains. Reformed teaching (WCF Larger Catechism Q141-142; Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity) reads the NT giving ethic as cheerful, generous, proportional, and often sacrificial — regularly exceeding 10% for those with means.

Freedom = greater responsibility. The correction is NOT that Christians shouldn't give generously. It's that the specific "10%" figure isn't NT-required. Some believers should give substantially more than 10%; others in hardship may give less. The determining factor is heart, means, and calling.

Sources: Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity (rev. 2003); John Piper on money and discipleship; David Croteau, Perspectives on Tithing (2011); Westminster Larger Catechism Q141-142.

The Pastoral Implication:

If your church teaches "10% is God's minimum," expand the reading. The NT never says that. But it also doesn't say "give less." It says: give cheerfully, proportionally, sacrificially, joyfully.

Some believers should give substantially more than 10%. Others may faithfully give less. The determining factor is not a legal percentage but a Spirit-shaped heart.

The freedom is greater responsibility, not less.

📖 Passages: Genesis 14:20, 28:22, Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-32, Deuteronomy 14:22-29, 26:12-15, Malachi 3:6-12, Matthew 6:19-24, 23:23, Luke 6:38, 12:13-34, 21:1-4, Acts 4:32-5:11, 20:35, Romans 12:8, 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15, Galatians 6:6-10, Philippians 4:14-19, 1 Timothy 6:6-19, Hebrews 7:1-10, 13:16