FAQ ID # 4191 - Doesn't Matthew 23:23 mean that we should more importantly give mercy etc but also not to forget to also uphold the law of tithing 10%?

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FAQ ID # 4191

Last Update : 2005/09/27
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Question / Issue

Doesn't Matthew 23:23 mean that we should more importantly give mercy etc but also not to forget to also uphold the law of tithing 10%?

Answer / Solution

Matt 23:23
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others."

In Matt 23, Jesus was speaking to people who were still under the law. Their righteousness came from trying to obey the law, and He was pointing out their hypocracy.

Many people choose to give 10%, and Christians should always be giving, but we are not bound by a law of tithing under the New Covenant. Tithe means a tenth, and actually under the old covenant, there were several tithes required, which was more like 25%. A lot of that went to fund not only the priesthood, but to provide a kind of "social security" for the poor.

Christians are to give willingly, and not under compulsion as 2 Cor 9:7 says,
"Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

We are also to give regularly (from the first of our increase, not what's left over), and proportionally to our income as it says in 1 Cor 16:2
"On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come."

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