Tithe Stewardship & Church Tithing

Probably the number one question this time of year, is do i tithe on my taxes? What they mean is, am i suppose to tithe on the money i get back on my tax return? That’s a good question. So, here’s a question back. If you owe taxes this year, does the Church refund you tithe back? Probably not. Your gift that you gave this past year is long gone, and rightfully so. I wouldn’t expect the Church to give you any money back.

BUT . . . why are we so concerned with asking questions about these minute details on giving? Who really has the answer to tithing on taxes? The bible doesn’t have the answers on how you should exactly give within our complicated economic structure. The Bible was clear to Israel on how they should give their tithe, but the bible is not clear on how much the Church should give. It was simple for Israel - give a tenth of all your increase in crops and cattle(Leviticus 27:30). At harvest, they counted their crop and cattle and set aside the tenth one(Leviticus 27:32). They didn’t have pensions, 401k’s, and interest on grain or cattle.

Probably the number one thing that made it easy for Israel to calculate the tithe was the fact that they couldn’t give money, gold, or goods; they could only tithe on the cattle and agricultural increase. Tithing on taxes today, has become complicated at best. I’ve found that when people ask the “experts” on how they should tithe, most of the time the answer they give is a guess. The answers are never solid, and are never based on direct scripture. Most of the “experts” provide answers to these complicated tithing questions based on their opinion or interpretation of principles that they can find in the bible. Some of the answers are not even based on principles. Some of the “experts” give answers on how you should tithe, based on how they think the Old testament tithing system fits into our economic and New Testament structure now.

If you read in Matthew 23, you see that the Pharisees were perfect tithers. They knew every tithe question and scenario down to the smallest detail. Although there was nothing wrong with them doing that, and Jesus never said they were wrong in doing that. As a matter of fact Jesus told his disciples in that passage to obey the pharisees. Of course Jesus highlighted with a strong rebuke the actions of the Pharisees that the disciples shouldn’t follow. The difference between the Pharisees narrowing down every scenario of tithing and the New Testament Church narrowing it down is the difference between the law, and grace.

Most of these answers you receive on giving the tithing on taxes is an educated guess. The tithe cannot be followed directly through the avenues of the law, so most people just give an opinion on how tithing should be obeyed under grace. The sad thing is the “experts” do not inform you that their answers come from opinion. They give you these guesstimates as if the answers they have come from a direct phone line to God’s tax accountant.

So, tithing on taxes? I’d say pray, ask for advice, and consult the Spirit of God to direct you. Because the “experts” can’t give you direct biblical commands, more than likely the answer you get from your tithing on taxes questions will come from the Spirit of God anyways. The law cannot give answers the one who is governed by grace.

Here is a list of all the bible verses from the Old and New Testament that are about tithing.

• Genesis 14:20 – Melchizedek comes out to meet Abraham, as Abraham gives him a tithe of the spoils of his victory.
• Genesis 28:20-22 – After the vision of God’s renewed covenant, Jacob initiates a covenant with God vowing to give him a tithe of what he gets.
• Leviticus 27:30-32 – The specifications of the tithe is introduced into the law of Moses.
• Numbers 18:21 – The tithe is dedicated the Levites for the work in the tabernacle.
• Deuteronomy 12:5-11 – God gives instructions for what to do with the tithe once they cross over the Jordan.
• Deuteronomy 14:22-29 – God gives instructions on how to disperse and exchange the tithe.
• Deuteronomy 26:12-15 – God gives instructions on how they should have kept the tithes sanctified before they can ask for a blessing.
• 2 Chronicles 31:5-12 – The children of Israel do what’s right under the reign of Hezekiah, and bring the tithes to the designated places.
• Nehemiah 10:37-38 – Israel obeys God and brings the tithes to the storehouse.
• Nehemiah 12:44 – Officers were appointed to watch over the tithes in the storehouse.
• Nehemiah 13:5-12 – Nehemiah cleanses the storehouse and kicks Tobiah out of the room that was designated to store the tithe. He then restores order.
• Amos 4:4 – God commands Israel to bring back the tithe and reiterates the curse that is upon them if they don’t.
• Malachi 3:8-10 – God reprimands Israel for not delivering the tithe, and reiterates the blessings and curse that would be in result of whatever decision they chose.
• Matthew 23:23 – Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for not obeying the weightier matters of the law along with tithing.
• Luke 11:42 – A gospel parallel passage of Jesus rebukes the Pharisees for not obeying the weightier matters of the law along with tithing.
• Luke 18:12 – A Pharisee brags about his obedience to the law and tithing.
• Hebrews 7:5-9 – A change is announced concerning the priesthood and the tithe.