The short answer: The tithe — a tenth — was a commandment of the Mosaic Law, tied to the Levitical priesthood and the temple. The New Testament never commands Christians to tithe. Instead, the apostles teach giving that is voluntary, cheerful, proportional to one's means, and generous: 'Let each one give as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver' (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Tithing under the Law
The tithe was part of Israel's covenant law: 'All the tithe of the land… is Yahweh's. It is holy to Yahweh' (Leviticus 27:30). It supported the Levites, who had no land inheritance (Numbers 18:21–24), funded the festivals (Deuteronomy 14:22–27), and cared for the poor every third year (Deuteronomy 14:28–29). Abraham's gift of a tenth to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:20) and Jacob's vow (Genesis 28:22) predate the Law but are described as voluntary acts, not universal commands.
Jesus, speaking to Jews still under the Law, affirmed tithing while rebuking what it had displaced: 'You tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone' (Matthew 23:23).
What the apostles actually taught
In all the letters to the churches, tithing is never commanded. When Paul organizes the great collection for the poor saints, his instructions are: 'Let each one of you, as he may prosper, lay by him in store and give' (1 Corinthians 16:2) — giving proportionate to income, decided in advance, without pressure.
The only extended New Testament teaching on giving is 2 Corinthians 8–9, and its principles are unmistakable: give willingly ('if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what you have, not according to what you don't have,' 8:12), give cheerfully and freely ('not grudgingly or under compulsion,' 9:7), and give generously as God supplies (9:6, 10–11). Compulsion — 'you must give ten percent or you are robbing God' — is precisely what Paul rules out.
What about Malachi 3?
Malachi 3:8–10 — 'Will a man rob God?… Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse' — is addressed to Israel under the covenant of the Law, about the literal temple storehouse. It is misapplied when used to bind consciences under the New Covenant. Hebrews is explicit that the priesthood has changed and 'there is of necessity a change made also in the law' (Hebrews 7:12).
This does not make giving optional for the Christian — it makes it deeper. The New Covenant standard is not a percentage but a Person: 'For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich' (2 Corinthians 8:9).
The New Testament picture
The first church 'sold their possessions and goods, and distributed them to all, according as anyone had need' (Acts 2:45). That was voluntary — Peter told Ananias his property and its proceeds were his own to control (Acts 5:4) — and it was the overflow of grace, not the extraction of a tax.
So give, and give sacrificially — but let no one turn a free-will offering into a law Christ never gave. The apostolic doctrine is simple: each gives as he purposes in his heart, in proportion to how God has prospered him, with joy. That is the truth about tithes and giving.
Key verses
“Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.”
“On the first day of every week, let each one of you save as he may prosper, that no collections are made when I come.”
“While you kept it, didn't it remain your own? After it was sold, wasn't it in your power?”
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Related questions
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The Sabbath — rest on the seventh day — was given to Israel as the sign of the Mosaic covenant (Exodus 31:13–17). The New Testament never commands Christians to observe the Sabbath; instead it declares that Christ Himself is the substance of which the Sabbath was a shadow (Colossians 2:16–17), and that true rest is found in Him: 'Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest' (Matthew 11:28).
Who Wrote the Bible?
The Bible's 66 books were written by roughly 40 human authors — prophets, kings, fishermen, a doctor, a tax collector — over about 1,500 years. Yet Christians confess one ultimate Author: 'No prophecy ever came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke, being moved by the Holy Spirit' (2 Peter 1:21). The human writers wrote in their own styles and settings; God inspired every word.