Tithing 10% of gross or net?

How much giving makes you happy? God loves a cheerful giver. You may ask Him to give you more so you can share more but please don't be bound by legalism. It's deadly to conscience. Give cheerfully and God will be honored.

If someone is in need I offer out of what I have.
I give to the church in the same way...monetarily, materially and by way of
physical labor.

savedbygracebre said:

Not really gonna debate about the issue of tithing. I've just decided that 10% is
A good amount to give. Only question is whether its based on net or gross? If by a cheerful heart then I'm sure I already have my answer! Just curious as to the norm.

Click to expand...

Gross.

If you chose 10% because that is what you feel cheerful to give (and not out of a sense of religious obligation) than you are the one who decides how to determine what 10% means.

You cannot give 10% of what has been stolen before it ever reaches your pocket, so I favor tithing on what is left after taxes.

In the 1950's the top tax rate was 91%.

You need to give 10% of your gross income, or you will simply not value the (remaining) money enough to keep saving it.

Neither. The NT principle is set out by Paul:
2 Cor 9:6-5 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. NIV

John
NZ

Whatever you can give, give.

It depends whether you like paying taxes. Personally, I think the U.S. government is totally evil and paying my taxes is akin to giving protection money to the mob.

So, if the mafia extorted 30% of your income, presuming it was $100,000, if you tithed $7,000 a year, is that not your income?

I think it is important to recognize that every single penny we don't spend on a necessity belongs to God. In reality, everything belongs to God, but we have jobs so we can feed ourselves obviously.

If you decided 10% is a good amount then it is up to you to decide gross or net. As i believe 10% is an OT principle and we are not bound by it. New principles are given in the NT and should be followed rather than keeping to the old law just like it us ok to eat shellfish now.

Here's how I reason it to be based on gross income-

Point #1- The definition of the word "tithe" is "a tenth". There's no way around it, so you can't say it's any amount you feel like giving.

Point #2- The tithe began with Abraham, who operated under the Law of Faith.

Point #3- Since any taxes you pay are coming back to you in some form of service, e.g. public roadways, utilities, parks, military protection, police, etc., then you ought to pay tithes on your gross income. Whether you feel your getting a good bang for the buck is irrelevant. That's the price of living free.. Wait, that didn't seem to come out right!

Anyway, you get the picture.

Point #4- Is God greater than your government? I think most would agree yes. Same is true with health insurance premiums deducted from your paycheck. God is surely greater than your health care provider. Therefore, God should get the first cut. Jacob said, "and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth unto thee." (Genesis 28:23).

Furthermore, Numbers 18:21 says, "And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The word of emphasis here is "all".

Point #5- The most notable scripture on tithes and offerings is in the book of Malachi. Malachi was the last prophet before John the Baptist, approximately 400 years before Christ. Who was Malachi writing for? If there was no other prophet for the next 400 years, God must not have been moving and working during those years.

Both Malachi 3, which speaks of tithes and offerings, and Chapter 4, Malachi speaks of the Lord's 1st and 2nd coming. Therefore, I assume tithes are applicable during these time periods.

What you will notice is that people who pay their gross tithe are very sweet about the importance of it, whereas those that don't pay their tithe or pay a net tithe are very mean spirited about the letter of the law.

The tithe came before the law, in order to free us from the bondage of the law. If you are not tithing as the Holy Spirit commands, you are gradually entering into bondage unto the law.

Appealing to Christ is only effective in as much as you want to fulfil the law (and prophecy), so if you are appealing to Christ but denying the fullness of the tithe that is hypocrisy you will find roundly rejected by Christ.

I'm not even trying to teach you this, really. I used to tithe a kind of net tithe, where I wouldn't pay tithe on rent, because I was angry that I had to pay rent for nothing but space, which I should get by rights for free, all things well and good. The thing is, I got a credit card debt and I never paid it off, I just kept adding to it and adding to it... until one day I said "Lord, why do I never care about paying off my credit card, even though every time I have to make a payment I do it without question" I thought that because I wasn't questioning that I needed to make repayment that I would be motivated to pay it off. The thing was I just wasn't motivated and the reason the Lord revealed to me, was simply that I was paying a net tithe. I was staying in bondage to the law, because even though I wanted the letter of the law to work in my favour paying the credit off, I was not upholding the letter of the law paying the tithe on rent. I was robbing God and it was coming back to bite me.

So, now I just pay it, gross. If everything takes longer to repay, so be it, at least I am motivated to repay now.

I wish I knew what it was about the tithe that freed us from the law, in part I think it is a mystery, but in part I think it is because when you pay a tenth, you pay enough to remind yourself of Christ and his gospel, because you see a reflection of the full amount in the tithe you pay. If you could see a reflection of the full amount in a lesser tithe, you would be on to something, but it can't be done for reasons that also remain a mystery for the time being. Essentially what I am saying is that at heart, I would cheat the law if I could, but I just can't...

...even scripture sides with the law (and a gross tithe) when you read it as one who is paying their gross tithe, in the blood of Jesus.

Bobinator said:

Point #5- The most notable scripture on tithes and offerings is in the book of Malachi. Malachi was the last prophet before John the Baptist, approximately 400 years before Christ. Who was Malachi writing for? If there was no other prophet for the next 400 years, God must not have been moving and working during those years.

Click to expand...

Just out of curiosity would i be right in assuming you don't believe God is working today. After all there have been no prophets for how many years.

What you will notice is that people who pay their gross tithe are very sweet about the importance of it, whereas those that don't pay their tithe or pay a net tithe are very mean spirited about the letter of the law.

Click to expand...

I think that is an unfair categorization. Personally, I believe God asks much higher than 10%. He wants everything, 10% is a cop out.

In Acts 4, the original Christians sold their houses and held everything IN COMMON. That sounds like 100%. In 2 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the Macedonians giving out of their poverty, even though they already had practically nothing.

10% is too little and is just a feel good number so people can feel good about keeping their other 90%.

For the record, the Mafia does offer some services for their protection money that they extort. They act as a "local police," in a way.

forget worrying about it.
its important that it comes from the heart.

This is a true story about tithing that I heard once.
it's these revelations from real life that are the most moving.

An older man stood up in a church near San Francisco.
He told people in the church this story.
He had owned a family-run business in a small town in California.
He had run the business from the time he was a young man.
His whole life had revolved around building up that enterprise.

Once day he went down to the bank to check on some records.
It was apparent that something didn't add up.
The bank deposits for the business did not match the business records.
He went back and confronted his accountant.
His accountant, a friend and a Christian, tearfully confessed.
He had fallen on hard times and had been embezzling from the business.
The records had been wrong for years.
The business collapsed shortly afterwards - they could not pay their debts.
The owner was crushed.
His whole life's work - and security for his family - was gone.

He told the people in the church these words ...

"But I remembered one thing.
I had always tithed my income to the Lord.
A part of what we earned each week went to serve God in this world.
It was the only money that was untouched in the catastrophe."

BLESSINGS,
Gideon

quitespirit said:

If you chose 10% because that is what you feel cheerful to give (and not out of a sense of religious obligation) than you are the one who decides how to determine what 10% means.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

savedbygracebre said:

Not really gonna debate about the issue of tithing. I've just decided that 10% is
A good amount to give. Only question is whether its based on net or gross? If by a cheerful heart then I'm sure I already have my answer! Just curious as to the norm.

Click to expand...

Since it is the net amount that a Person actually has to work with , I believe God would be honored with a portion of THAT . And when that net amount increases over time, then so should the tithed amount. The ideal is to glorify God regularly , faithfully, and to never allow money to define who you are.

According to the scriptures, tithing always came from a NET amount, not from gross.

Abram’s tithe:
Genesis 14:20 (KJV) And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
Hebrews 7:4 (KJV) Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.
Genesis 14:24 (KJV) Save only that which the young men have eaten….

Abram gave to King Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils THAT WERE LEFT after subtracting out the food that had already be eaten from the spoils. Therefore, Abram gave a tenth from the NET spoils, not the gross spoils.

The Levitical tithe:
Leviticus 27:30 (KJV) And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the LORD.
Leviticus 23:22 (KJV) And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not make clean riddance of the corners of thy field when thou reapest, neither shalt thou gather any gleaning of thy harvest: thou shalt leave them unto the poor, and to the stranger: I am the LORD your God.
Nehemiah 10:37 (KJV) And that we should bring the firstfruits of our dough, and our offerings, and the fruit of all manner of trees, of wine and of oil, unto the priests, to the chambers of the house of our God; and the tithes of our ground unto the Levites, that the same Levites might have the tithes in all the cities of our tillage.

We start with the gross (total) crops, subtract the amount left at the corners and any gleaning of the harvest, and also subtract the firstfruits that were taken to the priests, and then tithe from the net amount.

Leviticus 27:32 (KJV) And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
Deuteronomy 14:23 (KJV) And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.

We start with the gross, or total number of new born animals during the year, remove the firstlings that were to be eaten at the festival, and tithe from the net by tithing the last one out of every ten counted under the rod.

Now if you want to follow some pastor who seems to know little of what the scriptures say but knows a lot about how to get more money from you, that is your choice.