Hey guys!
I got this question recently from a few people, asking me, 'Daniel, I don't understand this tithing thing.
Should we give 10% to the church? Is it more?'
I don't know. There's so many different views and churches say different things.
Well, first of all, I can't give you my own answer.
We have to look at what Scripture says, because what I say doesn't matter.
What other people say, doesn't matter.
Even what the church, priest or pastor says, doesn't matter if it's not in line with Scripture,
because the church can never go above Scripture.
So let's take a look at what the Bible says. What it really says about giving tithes.
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I'm Daniel.
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Now, why do some people say, that we have to give 10 percent to the church?
Tithing.
Well it comes from the Old Testament.
Leviticus 27:30 says,
"Every tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the trees,
Is the Lord's; it is Holy to the Lord."
So yes, the Old Testament law did require people to tithe,
but it wasn't just ten percent and it wasn't just one tithing, but multiple tithes.
Deuteronomy 14:29 talks about, "For the poor people"
and Numbers 18:21 and also 26, and then also 2 Chronicles 31:4-5, talks about tithing to the Levites.
And then also for the temple and the feasts in Deuteronomy 12:5-6, and in Nehemiah 10:35.
Now, if you really want to work it out. It's actually more than 20 percent.
Because remember, it's for the Levites, the temple, for the poor, for the feasts and those kind of things.
But when we look at The New Testament, it doesn't say anything about a certain percentage,
or money that we have to give to God.
Remember, Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament, and you are not required to give exactly 10 percent
or over 20 percent to God, but you should be led by the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart,
not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver."
So you should always remember this, that the church can never force you to pay money to them.
This is between you and God, and He will lead you through the Holy Spirit, to whom you should give.
When you should give it and how much you should give.
Now, many people are very selfish and it's very hard for them to give to other people.
But it's not supposed to be.
It's not a legal, law thing.
It is more a heart thing, where you want to help other people.
If you have God's Spirit in you, He will guide you in moments and certain situations,
where you know, I have to help this person.
And then when you do it, it's not a thing of I have to help this person.
I have to give them a little bit of my money and I don't really want to.
No, it's more of a, 'Man, I can make a difference in this person's life.'
I can help them and then you do it with joy.
It should be joy to you, if you help other people.
Acts 20:35 says, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way
we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how He, Himself said it is more blessed to give than to receive."
So how much should you give, if it's not 10 percent?
Because now you're thinking, I need money for taxes. I need money to pay the bills.
I need money for this and that, and that's how we normally think, right?
Well Jesus came and He came to change everything.
He came to change our way of thinking, to see the bigger picture.
Read with me Matthew 22:15,
"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle Him in His words.
And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying,
'Teacher, we know that You are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and do not care about anyone's opinion,
for You are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what do You think.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?
But Jesus aware of their malice, said, 'Why put Me to the test, you hypocrites? Show Me the coin for the tax.'
And they brought Him a Denarius. And Jesus said to them, 'Whose likeness and inscription is this?'
They said, 'Caesar's.' Then He said to them, 'Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's,
and to God the things that are God's.'
Wow!
"And to God the things that are God's." So what is God's exactly?
Ten percent?
Fifty percent?
Five percent?
Everything is God's, because He created everything. He owns everything in existence.
And everything you have, is from Him. So how much should you give to God?
Well, that's between you and Him.
Sometimes it might be more than ten percent. Sometimes it might be less. It's between you and Him.
James 1:5 says, "If any one of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives generously to all without reproach,
and it will be given him."
Now, the New Testament doesn't give a legalistic 10 percent, that you have to tithe,
but it does give you a more of a guideline.
Where it says that you have to give according to what you earn, your income
1 Corinthians 16:2 says,
"On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up,
as He may prosper.'
Now, Paul was talking to the Corinthians here, but the principle to give is according to how much you earn.
Your income. How much are you able to give, and then let the Holy Spirit lead you.
If God blesses you with a lot of money.
Do you think His intention is just so you can just spend it on your own selfish desire,
in this short temporary world?
Well, definitely not. But then also if you do give, you should never give a lot of money just to boast about it.
Or then even think in your own mind, 'Wow, I'm such a great person. Look what I did.
I gave a lot of money to those people, and those people. That's pride talking and God hates pride.
Jesus says in Matthew 6,
"But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
So that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
So if your heart is right, and you give according to God's will.
With the right intention, with the right attitude, then God will reward you.
But not if you give with the wrong intention.
Some people only give with the intention planning in their heads and thinking,
'Man, if I'm going to give this money, God is going to bless me with more.
And then if I get more money, I can spend it on this and that.' Those kind of desires, human nature desires.
That's greedy. That's a greedy heart and God warns against it.
1 Timothy 6:10 says, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.
It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
Now, you need to know, that there's nothing wrong with being rich.
God can bless you.
Look at how He blessed Job.
But the question is. What are you doing with what God gives you?
And this is not just about money. This is about your talents and your gifts, that God gave you.
And then let's look at the other side of this.
Let's say God does not bless you with money,
Or even gifts and talents, and all these great things, that you think you should have.
Are you content with what God gives you?
Or are you greedy?
1 Timothy 6:8 says, "But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content."
So what is the bottom line here? Should you still tithe that 10 percent to the church?
Well, no, it is not a legal law.
We are not under the law anymore of the Old Testament.
Remember.
[Sigh]
I think I should make a video about this to explain how Jesus came to fulfill the law,
and why the New Testament says, that we're not under the law.
But okay, when it comes to tithing. No, we are not required to give that 10 percent to the church.
But we are required to give, according to how God leads us, in our hearts, through the Holy Spirit.
You can of course give some money to the church.
I grew up in the church. So I know how much money a church needs,
and it's usually a lot more than people think.
But it should be, a biblical church.
My father, he lived the way he preached.
And I saw all the good the church did to a lot of people.
But just a warning here. Don't give any money to a false church, to false preachers.
because then you're just actually helping him to, to spread that false doctrine even more.
And that's why the Holy Spirit should lead you.
You can also give to the poor directly, or a NPO, a non-profit organization, or even to social media preachers.
And always remember this,
Never give money to someone, if God does not lead you, in your heart, to the Holy Spirit to do so.
And always remember this;
God loves you, and I love you too. Cheers guys