I just received a question in an email, “Should i tithe before or after taxes”. It’s a good question. Even though there are many other difficult questions in regards to tithing, many people have been confused for some time about whether they should tithe on the gross or net. Everything seemed pretty cut and dry with Israel in the Bible, but it doesn’t seem that way with us since so much has changed with the New Testament Church.
First, we don’t have Levites and priests. Second, we don’t have a temple, or storehouses. We don’t even have the Mosaic law. On top of that, we’ve been given some new things. We now have the Holy Spirit and are under grace. We are also under a new covenant. We are born again, and one of God’s sons. This list of changes from the Old Testament into the New Testament is a nightmare to weed through.
Let’s face it. Finding out whether you should tithe before or after taxes should be an easy question to figure out. There are many other more questions that do not seem to have such clear answers in the bible:
- Should i tithe on retirement
- Should i tithe on gifts
- Should i tithe on my investment returns
- Should i tithe on the benefits of my health insurance?
- Should i tithe on car insurance claims?
- Should i tithe on social security
- Is tithing before or after taxes?
- Can i count christian education towards tithing
- Can i tithe to a charity?
- Can i tithe to friends and family?
. . . and the list goes on and on . . .
Ok, so you get the point. Tithing is a complicated matter. Tithing before or after taxes is just the beginning of the complications. Through all of this i am reminded of the verse In Romans 2:29 – “and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter”
Those who have a heart towards God will seek obedience. So i understand why they questions in regards to the tithing command. But Godly Stewardship is not in the letter, it is of the heart and in the Spirit. Some may see fit to include a 10% requirement within the spirit of the law, but when confronted about whether 10% is a reflection of their heart, they answer, “No”. If a 10% commitment is not a reflection of their heart then how can it be within the spirit of the law?
The point is that all these questions about tithing show how 10% giving is a part of the letter and not of the spirit. The regulations about what you can give, who you can give to, how much you can give, when and where; are all part of the letter that kills. if you don’t think it kills, just look at how people stumble over 1 tithing question. Let alone, a hundred more that the bible doesn’t even give you answers for; because the instructions for tithing were given under the Old Covenant.
With Spirit led giving in the New Testament, the command to tithe is overwritten and fulfilled. If the law was fulfilled, that means its purpose is used up. You cannot continue to use and add more water to a bucket of water when it has fulfilled its purpose. It is full and finished with its job. It is not abolished. It is just fulfilled. Now, you need a different bucket that allows you to fill up with more water. Thank God for Spirit-led giving in its place.
Related Posts
- Tithing on Taxes
- Should Churches Pay Taxes or be Exempt?
- Incompatible Systems: Tithing v. Holy Spirit
- Tithing Questions are Frustrating
Tags: giving, stewardship, Taxes, tithe, tithing
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Following is part of a lay witness article in our new stewardship newsletter, Grace & Gratitude: “I also discovered that giving only from our excess and overflow isn’t what Jesus asks of us, nor does he ever ask for a specific portion of our income. The question we face is not about giving two percent or ten percent. God doesn’t ask for just a part of us; we are accountable for what we do with all of our work, wisdom, and wealth.”
I found the link to this article from Yahoo Tithing group. I love this article; especially the last paragraph.
Very profound!
Melani,
thanks for stopping by. It took me a long time for my little pea brain to come up with the bucket of water analogy.
- jared
Good good stuff, well said. Keep up the great work!
If the members tithe from the gross income the Pastor and his family can go for luxury vactions 5 times a year but if they tithe from net income the Pastor and his family take only 3 luxury vactions!
I realy are confused of giving tenth or should the ould testament be thrown away.Why are their then a ould testament IF IT IS THEN FULLFILLED BY THE CROSS OF JESUS.THE GOD HAVY IS THE SAME AS 6THOUSEND YEARS AGO.i want to obey GOD that is why i want to be specific.Father GOD JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.PLEAS ANSWER ME.
So, I take it since you didn’t actually answer the question, you are leaving it up to the person to decide?
I was thinking about when you wrote all those other options out, some of them would be dependent on pre- or post- tax tithing.
If you tithe on your gross, you are tithing on the money that is taken out for retirement, social security, 401K, (possibly even car insurance or health insurance benefits), etc. so why would you tithe on it again just because you received a check from it. Now, if you tithe on your net, it would make sense to tithe when you receive checks from these benefits. Of course, it’s hard to tithe on car insurance and Health benefits when they don’t ever actually hand you the money.
The Bible says tithe off your first-fruits, which is money you have physically worked for and earned. But then, what are your firstfruits? Does that include money you don’t even get to use because it’s taken away from you before you even see your check?
Gifts can be tricky. The person who gave the monetary gift to you (if a Christian) may have already tithed on that money. How many times do you tithe on money that has been tithed on? But then, there is the side, God allowed you to get that gift so you recognize God’s hand in providing something special for you.
Definitely an interesting subject. Personally, I tithe on gross income. But that’s just me. I’m not really sure if net tithing would be wrong or not.
.-= Robert Burke´s last blog ..Project updates =-.
Hi Robert,
To keep the law according to the old covenant you cant just keep one law and ignore the other 600 Mosiac law.
Apostle Paul said, you need to keep the whole Mosiac law .
We as christians have no right to enter the old covenant God had with Israel.
Christians only came in after Jesus died on the cross.
Do not mix the blood of Jesus with the blood of animals
Have a good day
Robert,
I don’t believe that we are required to tithe anyway. If you read the post, you will see that i said the tithe is fulfilled.
- jared
.-= steward´s last blog ..Incompatible Systems: Tithing v. Holy Spirit =-.