The New Testament contains no command to tithe
The tithe was an Israelite institution under the law of Moses, and it ended with the covenant that created it: “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Hebrews 7:12). The system was three tithes with three recipients: a tenth of the increase yearly for the Levites, a tenth yearly eaten by the giver’s own household at the feasts, and a tenth every third year for the poor. Malachi 3, the standard enforcement text, was addressed to Israel under that law (Malachi 1:1). The New Testament never commands a percentage; after the Gospels, tithing appears only in Hebrews 7, as history. What it commands instead: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).
What the tithe was
The Hebrew word is ma’aser (מַעֲשֵׂר , “a tenth”). The law of Moses defines three distinct tithes, each with its own recipient:
| Tithe | Command | Recipient and purpose | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Levitical tithe | Numbers 18:21-24 | The Levites, “for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle”; they receive no land inheritance | Yearly |
| Festival tithe | Deuteronomy 14:22-27 | Eaten by the giver and his household before the LORD at the chosen place, “that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always” | Yearly |
| Poor tithe | Deuteronomy 14:28-29 ; Deuteronomy 26:12 | “The Levite… and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates” | Every third year |
The yearly total was two tithes, about twenty percent of the increase; every third year the poor tithe raised it to about thirty percent. Leviticus 27:30 declares the tithe itself holy: it “is the LORD’s: it is holy unto the LORD.”
Malachi 3, preached today as the binding text on believers, names its own addressee. Malachi 1:1 : “The burden of the word of the LORD to Israel by Malachi.” The storehouse was the temple treasury: Nehemiah 13:12 records “all Judah” bringing the tithes “unto the treasuries.” The curse of Malachi 3:9 falls on “this whole nation.” Galatians 3:13 answers it: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
The covenant changed
The tithe was a component of the Mosaic law, and the New Testament states that the law itself changed:
| Text | Statement |
|---|---|
| Hebrews 7:12 | “For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.” |
| Hebrews 8:13 | “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” |
| Hebrews 9:16-17 | A testament takes force only “after men are dead.” |
| Galatians 3:24-25 | “The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ… we are no longer under a schoolmaster.” |
| Colossians 2:14 | The handwriting of ordinances was blotted out, “nailing it to his cross.” |
| Romans 6:14 | “Ye are not under the law, but under grace.” |
| Romans 8:1 | “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” |
Where the tithe appears in the New Testament
| Text | Setting | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew 23:23 ; Luke 11:42 | Jesus addresses scribes and Pharisees before the cross | “These ought ye to have done.” The tithe stood for those still under the law, while the law stood. |
| Luke 18:12 | The Pharisee’s boast in the parable | “I give tithes of all that I possess.” Self-commendation, held up as the wrong spirit. |
| Hebrews 7:5 | The Melchizedek argument | “The sons of Levi… have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law.” The command belongs to Levi and the law. |
| Every epistle to the churches | Instructions for Christian giving | No tithe command appears. |
What the New Testament commands instead
| Text | The principle |
|---|---|
| 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 | Giving is sowing; the measure is the heart’s purpose, “not grudgingly, or of necessity.” Hilaron (ἱλαρόν , “cheerful”) names the giver’s state. |
| 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 | A standing order for the collection, “as God hath prospered him.” Proportional to prosperity. |
| 2 Corinthians 8:12 | “Accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” |
| Romans 12:8 | With haplotēs (ἁπλότης , “sincerity, liberality”), the word rendered “liberality” for the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8:2 . |
| Acts 20:35 | “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” a saying of Jesus preserved outside the four Gospels. |
| Luke 6:38 | “Give, and it shall be given unto you.” |
With no percentage commanded, there is neither a ceiling nor a floor: the believer with more than he needs may give most of it, and the one struggling with rent and food is accepted at what he has (2 Corinthians 8:12).
The standard arguments checked
| Argument for tithing | What the text shows |
|---|---|
| “Abraham tithed before the law” (Genesis 14:20 ) | A one-time gift “of the spoils” of war (Hebrews 7:4 ). The remaining goods were Sodom’s own recovered property; Abraham restored them and refused to keep anything: “I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet” (Genesis 14:22-24 ). |
| “Jacob vowed a tenth” (Genesis 28:22 ) | A conditional personal vow: “If God will be with me… of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth.” The text records no fulfillment. |
| “Jesus affirmed tithing” (Matthew 23:23) | Spoken to Pharisees before the cross, while they were under the law: “these ought ye to have done.” |
| “God curses non-tithers” (Malachi 3:9) | Spoken to Israel, “this whole nation.” Christ bore the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13). |
| “Tithing is a universal principle” | The tithe is defined by its recipients: the Levites, who had no inheritance (Numbers 18:21-24). Without the Levitical priesthood and the temple storehouse, no one is authorized to receive it. |
The pattern in practice
- Acts 2:44-45 The believers “had all things common” and sold possessions “as every man had need.”
- Acts 4:36-37 Barnabas sold a field and laid the entire proceeds at the apostles’ feet.
- Acts 5:4 Ananias and Sapphira lied about the proceeds of their sale and both fell dead. Peter states the underlying freedom: “Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?”
- Mark 12:43 The widow’s two mites outweigh the large gifts of the wealthy: she “hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 The Macedonians gave out of “deep poverty,” “beyond their power,” and “first gave their own selves to the Lord.”
- Philippians 4:15-16 The Philippians supported Paul “once and again” when no other church did.