Do I need to pay tithe?

Strong in Him said:

Yes, it is important to give money to the local church, so that salaries can be paid, missions started or continued, resources bought, etc etc. But there is no NT teaching that a Christian has to give 10% of their salary to these things. Some would dispute that they are even important.

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I'm not opposed to what a local body of believers do with their money. That's their business. But I have to wonder just how many paid staff there even should be in churches. It can be so easy for people to get into a mindset that they've really landed themselves into a career. Perhaps my own personal conviction but do you really have to have everything from paid music leaders to secretaries and right on down the list. Again perhaps just my own personal conviction of having reservations towards all of this and yes it's everyone's own business what they do with their money, not mine it's between them and God but it does make me wonder.

Bobber said:

If you said GIVING assures a stable church income etc, I'd agree with you. But why do you feel the need to insist it has to be a tithe? Perhaps some will give actually more than 10% and some less based on their means so what would be wrong with that?

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Any amount will do as long as it meets the needs of the church. Tithing isn't necessary or compulsory, it's just a traditional principle.

Bobber said:

Because you were blessed does that mean God did so because you gave an exact 10%? Or did God bless you for you were a gracious, liberal giver?

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The context of my post (that you quoted) is clear on which one. (10% isn't all that liberal.) We have given out of our discretionary income, as well, but Malachi 3:10-12 does not speak to that.

Jesus_is_Saint said:

Do I need to pay tithe?
A pastor said "not paying tithe is robbing God".
Did Paul say we (gentile Christians) must pay tithe in New Testament?

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No, the tithe is from the Mosaic law, which we are not, nor have we ever been under. We are instructed to give from the heart as we are led by the Spirit, and to give joyfully, not grudgingly, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2Cor 9:6-8. It also does not say we should give more than the tithe. There is no starting point, minimum, or maximum. At times people are not in a position to give at all.

Most synagogues in the U.S. don’t collect money. They procure resources through membership fees. The amount is lower for young adults and increases with age. None would deny membership to someone who couldn’t afford the fees. Members may choose to pay more too.

Floral arrangements are provided by members or from the budget. The same holds true for kiddush lunch. At our synagogue, the meal is provided by the family of the bat or bar mitzvah for that week. There are separate funds for the Rabbi and other focuses members can contribute to.

The lone collections we have are food drives for High Holy Days and an ongoing box that holds clothing donations for the needy.

Jesus_is_Saint said:

Do I need to pay tithe?
A pastor said "not paying tithe is robbing God".
Did Paul say we (gentile Christians) must pay tithe in New Testament?

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hello Friend. The bible says to 'Eat your tithe'. It is eaten by you, not paid to anyone else.

Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always. (Deuteronomy 14:23)

God Bless

Jesus_is_Saint said:

Do I need to pay tithe?
A pastor said "not paying tithe is robbing God".
Did Paul say we (gentile Christians) must pay tithe in New Testament?

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Paul said to follow the Savior, not him. Paul was a mere mortal, just like you and me. He had no authority whatsoever to change a single thing that the Almighty ordained. In fact the Scriptures warn us sternly not to add to, or subtract from, them.

There is a story in the Bible where the Messiah talked about how the Pharisees tithed even their spices. He said they should have done that, but that they neglected the weightier matters of mercy and justice. Who would Paul be to overwrite the Son of YHWH, aka God?

The biggest problem to me is that you are not seeing that Paul is not our Deity. Again, he was a mere mortal. In fact, He kept the Laws of the Old Testament, contrary to what Christian tradition teaches. For example in Acts 21 we see that he took a Temple vow to show that he kept the Law of Moses. (See the KJV.)

See also these verses:

1 John: 3-4 For sin is the breaking of the Law.
Romans 2:12 - For as many as have sinned without Law will also perish without Law, and as many as have sinned in the Law will be judged by the Law 13 (for not the hearers of the Law [are] just in the sight of YHWH, but the doers of the Law will be justified;
Romans 3:31 - Do we then make void the Law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Law.
Romans 6:16 - Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slave whom you obey, whether of sin [leading] to death, or of obedience [leading] to righteousness? [This is clearly saying that sin leads to death, i.e. eternal death. Yes, there is mercy, and there are so many opportunities to turn around, couontless "2nd chanes", but sin still leads to eternal death if we don't take it seriously and take it to the Lord. Not my opinion. It's what the Word says over and over.

These quotes are mostly from Paul whom we are often taught said the law was no longer in effect. Here is another quote from him.

Acts 25:8 Paul denied the charges. “I am not guilty of any crime against the Jewish laws or the Temple or the Roman government,” he said.

Oh, and we can't say there is one law for Jews like Paul and one law for the rest of us. The Bible never even hints at any such divide. In fact in the Torah we are told that aliens/foreigners are to obey the same Law in Israel as the Israelites, and in the New Testament we are told "There is neither Greek nor Jew."

If you ever want to look into traditions of men which too commonly the Church fosters, I suggest Psalm 119 Ministries videos. Maybe start with The Pauline Paradox. The channel is extremely scholarly, in historical, linguistic and Scriptural ways. Yet they are no way boring and they always say "Test the Scriptures....Test everything." They clear up what seems to be a lot of contradictions in the Bible, like how it seems Paul is saying the Law has been done away with in one case, but supports it in another. Hint: There was more than one kind of Law, just as in our country. In the Bible there is the Mosaic Law, the law of sin and death and so on. At least 7 different uses for "law." Psalm 119 uses their scholarship to show the true intent supported by context and language analysis.

But, again, Paul had no authority to change a single thing spoken by the Almighty and His Son. Further we are told in the Bible that the Creator "changes not." He says what He means and He means what He says. He said His laws are "for all generations."

Jesus_is_Saint said:

Do I need to pay tithe?
A pastor said "not paying tithe is robbing God".
Did Paul say we (gentile Christians) must pay tithe in New Testament?

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There are so many people who are totally confused about this, but there is a logical answer.

Is the tithe a requirement? yes, in the Old Testament, because God had to instruct His people to care about others who could not earn their own living because they were busy caring for God's house, and for His people.

Is the tithe in the NT? Actually it is!
Jesus came and fulfilled the OT requirements but He also expanded the OT teaching from only taking care of those who cared for God's house and His people. Jesus taught us about our duty to care for ALL of those who have less than we do, and to do so not out of obligation (as in the OT) but to give from our heart just as God gives to us.


So in short, instead of stopping at 10% as the Old Testament does, the NT *begins* with the 10%, and then extends the giving to include our neighbors, the poor, sick, lame, and those in need as well.

So in short, the 10% is just the beginning, not the bare minimum.

The real question that we should be asking ourselves is how much did Jesus give to us on the Cross? How thankful are we as Christians?
And lastly what are the various ways that we can thank Him back, and follow the example of giving that He set for us?

God already knows what we have in our checkbooks, but He also knows better than we do what expenses we will have for the week, and what we can do without in order to give to someone else who needs it more than we do.

The best thing to do is to look at the weekly offering not as a requirement, but as an opportunity to give back to God for all that He's done for us! Halleluiah!

Tithing....Here we go.....Yes. God doesn't need your money, he wants the sign of your obedience. If you can trust God with your money, and your salvation, you can trust God with anything. I mean he only asks for 10 percent. So I don't see why not. And if you can go beyond tithes into offerings, that's good too. Now Deuteronomy speaks of Blessings if you obey God, and curses if you don't. So, if you don't want be cursed, then obey God. If you don't pick and choose verses, but instead have the Holy Spirit give you insight to read and understand how all of the verses work together, then you would know Malachi 3:8-11 work in tangent with the verses of Deuteronomy. But some people believe differently, so it makes me wonder, "Is that your answer, or the answer God has given you through the Holy Spirit, and years of prayer and meditation on the word of God and study?" If it's not from God it isn't worth a grain of salt or sand.

My definitive answer is pray, work out what God's answer is. Then it doesn't matter who is right or wrong, because God is always right.

Bobber said:

No most certainly not Matt 17 wasn't an example to us that tithing is for today.
First Jesus was a Jew under the law at the time and secondly in real terms he was exempt from the tax being the Son of God. Jesus said to Peter none the less go to the fish and get the coin and pay it...why....so as not to be a stumbling block to the tax officers and others. But even with that the tithes was Israel's method of carrying out affairs of the state and also their welfare system. Believers in all Gentiles nations had their own governmental systems which did that so you most certainly don't make that a law over the Gentiles. God does however love a cheerful giver but just don't impose a 10% law over the conscience of believers. People should give today as they feel led by God in their spirit.
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Let's try this again.
First, Jesus has not yet declared Himself to be The Son of God, knowing that His time to do that had not yet come, because it was not the day that He would come into Jerusalem riding on a colt that no man had ever ridden before and thus fulfilling the scripture. That was for another day.
So Jesus was a Jew, and He fulfilled that law.

What I find most interesting in this discussion is that people have no problems with fulfilling the 10 Commandments because they were given by God, but they do have a problem with the tithe, even though that too was given by God, and even though we still have churches today.

Go figure!

Jesus_is_Saint said:

Do I need to pay tithe?
A pastor said "not paying tithe is robbing God".
Did Paul say we (gentile Christians) must pay tithe in New Testament?

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If the robbing God argument doesn't resonate, look at it from this perspective...

Paying Tithes today decreases the chance you'll have to pay Jizya tomorrow.

It's been our experience He can do more with what we have left after tithing than without tithing.

Dont know of any area of our lives that's not to be surrendered to The Lord.

Don't worry, your pastor is wrong. There is no person anywhere who can "rob God". Our omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient Creator has infinite resources and is more than able to do what He pleases.

Why then do we give? Because "God loves a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:6-7). In the same way a parent smiles tenderly and with joy when their child brings them a card or a gift, it delights our heavenly Father when we choose to give. We don't give out of duty or compulsion, we do it because of the relationship we have. We do it out of our love for Him.