Supporters of tithing as a requirement for Christians love to point to Malachi 3:10 for proof of why we should tithe. The most common argument is that this is the only place in the Bible where God tells His people to test Him. I’ve already discussed tithing in the Bible, but let’s look specifically at this idea. There are three major problems with claiming that we should tithe because God told us to test Him in it:

1. We are no longer under the blessings or the curses of the Law.

 

2. The entire Law of Moses was worded as a test for the Israelites.

 

3. Tithing alone was never enough to guarantee blessings from God.

No Longer Under the Law

       Christians are under the New Covenant, and our righteousness comes from the blood of Christ – not our ability to keep all of the Law. To throw ourselves back under the Law – even just the law of tithing – requires us to completely turn away from the imputed righteousness we claim in Christ. If we’re going to say that we are either blessed or cursed based on our giving, we’re saying that Christ died for nothing. We are no longer under the curse of the Law because Jesus has taken that curse for us. And we are not blessed because we tithe – we are blessed because we have received eternal life through the blood of Jesus.

       Taking Old Testament commands and saying that they still apply to Christians, along with the blessings and curses attached with those commands, is to completely ignore the necessity of Christ’s death. His death broke the hold of the Law over our lives. We are no longer judged according to our ability to keep the Law. We are judged according to Jesus’ ability to keep the Law and our acceptance of His sacrifice.

The Whole Law Was a Test

       The Hebrew word for “prove” in Malachi 3:10 is the only place in the Bible where that particular word is used by God to tell people to “test” Him. But almost every aspect of the Law was worded as a test to the Israelites. God told the Israelites if they would keep all of His commandments, then He would bless them. That’s a test. He also told them that if they didn’t keep all of His commandments, then He would curse them. That’s a test. God is saying if you do (or don’t do this), then I promise I will do this.

       To simply look for the word “test” in the whole Bible, only find it in Malachi 3:10, and then conclude that Christians should tithe because that’s the only thing God told us to test Him in is to ignore the context of the entire rest of the Law! It doesn’t matter if a particular word was used in Malachi 3:10 in a certain way and never used anywhere else in that way. God gave almost all of His Law to the Israelites in the form of a test and told them to do it. So Malachi 3:10 isn’t truly the only time God told His people to test His promises (either to bless or curse).

Tithing Alone Will Not Bring Blessings

       The final problem with this approach to Malachi 3:10 is that it assumes all you have to do is tithe and God is required to bless you. This was never true for the Israelites, the people this command was written for. They were required to keep the whole Law if they wanted to receive God’s blessings. If they broke even one part of the Law, God told them He would curse them. This false interpretation of Malachi 3:10 as a promise of God’s blessings if you tithe completely ignores Biblical truth.

       Was God promising to bless sinners and non-believers who only obey Him in regards to tithing? Was God promising to bless unrepentant Christians if they tithe? How can we look at this one verse as a simple “you do this one thing and I (God) will bless you abundantly”? How does that understanding mesh with the rest of Scripture? James made it clear that this is not the case in James 2:10, and Paul even quoted Deuteronomy 27:16 to show that you are cursed if you don’t keep the entire Law.

Better Giving Principles

       It’s clear that despite Malachi 3:10 being the only place God says to test Him we are not called to tithe as Christians. Under the New Covenant, we have much better and much more demanding principles for giving. I encourage you to read more about New Covenant giving guidelines if you want your giving to be founded on Scripture.

       If you’ve ever wanted to give a gift without the person knowing it came from you, there’s a great way you can do that. Giving Anonymously is a non-profit organization that helps you give anonymously to those around you who are in need. The process is very simple:

1. You create a virtual check with the amount and the name and address of the person you want to give to. You’ll also supply their phone number or email address. You can include a short note to the recipient as well.

 

2. You then send the money to Giving Anonymously through a credit card transaction, electronic check, or by wire transfer. You can also choose to contribute to Giving Anonymously’s operating costs at this point. (If your gift is over $500, they require you contribute at least 3% of your gift to cover the transaction costs. Gifts of $500 or less have no minimum contribution to Giving Anonymously.)

 

3. Giving Anonymously will contact the recipient to make sure they have the right address and to let them know they should be expecting the check. This keeps the check from getting thrown away or going to the wrong place.

 

4. Once the recipient receives the check, there’s a toll-free number they can call to leave a voice message expressing their thanks. Giving Anonymously will then email you an audio file of the message so you can hear. If the recipient doesn’t leave a voice message, Giving Anonymously will send you a scanned image of the check to let you know it was cashed by the recipient. If your check is not cashed, Giving Anonymously will completely refund your gift and any overhead contribution you made.

My Thoughts

       I think Giving Anonymously is a great way to give money if you don’t want to create any sense of obligation for the recipient. Yes, you can try to communicate this when you give a gift in person, but it can be difficult to make the recipient understand there are no strings attached and to keep them from repaying you in the future.

       If you use this service, I’d encourage you to at least contribute 3% of your gift to help cover the transaction costs. Giving Anonymously has to pay for the credit card and electronic check transactions plus the cost of the checks, postage, envelopes, and other overhead. There’s no transaction cost for them if you send a wire transfer, but you’re going to end up paying quite a bit for that and they’ll still have the other overhead costs. There are free ways to send money to people, but you’ll give up your anonymity with those methods.

       Finally, if you’re worried that hearing the recipient’s thanks via the voice message would go against Jesus’ instructions in Matthew 6:1-4 (give in secret – your Father will reward you), you can always delete the email that Giving Anonymously sends you. But you might miss out on an amazing story and a blessing – check out the sample messages they’ve received at the bottom of their home page.

       If you’re interested in using Giving Anonymously, I encourage you to check out their website and contact them if you have any questions.

Do you know someone in need? Give anonymously to them now! Just tell us their name and address and how much you want to give to them. We’ll send them a check for that exact amount.

Your Thoughts

       What do you think of the idea of giving anonymously to others? Is it a good idea? Is there a better way to do it than through Giving Anonymously? Let me know in the comments!

       After reading through my articles on tithing in the Bible, you might be wondering exactly how you should give. So here are some Biblical guidelines for Christian giving.

1. Provide for Your Family’s Needs First

       Giving so much that you neglect your family’s needs can be dangerous unless you have a clear call from God to do so. Your first priority must be to care for the needs of your family. God has made it clear that this is His first priority as well:

       But if anyone doesn’t provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever.

1 Timothy 5:8 (WEB)

       Paul makes is clear that neglecting your family’s needs is a serious offense to God for a Christian – on the order of denying the faith and being worse than an unbeliever. That’s a pretty strong statement! Paul is speaking here about believers who have widows in their family who need help, but the concept would also apply to your own household. Meeting your family’s needs is one way we show the love of God. Giving while ignoring your family’s needs can be detrimental to your witness as a Christian unless you have decided as a family to purposely deny your needs in order to give. This verse makes it obvious that you must be certain it truly is God’s will for you to give if it will prevent you from meeting your family’s needs.

       However, the difficulty for Christians – especially those in wealthy countries, like America – is differentiating our wants from our needs. The line between a want and a need is often blurred in America. Is television a family need? Is eating out a family need? Is an expensive car a family need? Be careful that you do not mistake a want as a legitimate need.

       This idea should also include reasonably providing for future needs, which would include savings and insurance. Again, remember we’re talking about needs and not wants. Making sure you’ll be able to eat a decent, healthy meal when you can’t work any more is saving for a need. Saving so you can eat at five-star restaurants every night during retirement is not a need – it’s a want. Again, be sure you don’t mistake wants as needs. I can’t emphasize how important it is that we don’t confuse the two in trying to figure out what we can give.

       If you are so poor that you truly cannot meet your family’s needs and give at the same time, consider alternative ways to give. Giving your time as a volunteer or simply taking time to show God’s love to someone can actually be much more powerful than giving money.

2. Pay What You Owe

       After meeting your family’s needs, your next duty is to pay whatever you owe. Your giving should never put you in a position where you will fail to pay what you owe to others (debts, taxes, etc.). Breaking a vow or promise to pay so that you can give will not honor God.

       ⁷ Give therefore to everyone what you owe: taxes to whom taxes are due; customs to whom customs; respect to whom respect; honor to whom honor. ⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.

Romans 13:7-8 (WEB)

Note: “Honor” in verse 7 can also be translated as “money”, as in a debt you owe.

       It’s clear that you must first fulfill your obligations to pay anything you have promised to pay. I don’t take this verse to mean that you shouldn’t give at all if you are in debt. Most debt agreements require that you make a certain minimum payment – and that is an obligation you must keep.

       If you are deeply in debt but able to meet your family’s needs and make your minimum payments, you will need to seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to determine how much of your extra should be given away and how much should go toward repaying your debt. Debt is not a sin, but it’s not necessarily a good thing either because of the burdens it can create.

       Being free of debt can enable you to give even more, but the decision to completely stop giving in order to get out of debt is something you must personally discuss with God through prayer. Scripture is clear that you must at least meet the payments you have agreed to make, but beyond that I can give you no guidelines about such a situation.

3. Give Generously to Anyone in Need (Even Your Enemies)

       After you’ve followed those first two guidelines the only instructions we have as Christians are to give generously to anyone in need (even our enemies). We should give willingly, cheerfully, and out of love.

       You’re not going to find a specific percentage or amount in the New Covenant that dictates how much a Christian should give. Our example for giving is Jesus, who gave everything generously and sacrificially – even while we were still sinners rejecting God. The only standards we have are to take care of our family’s needs, pay what we owe, and then give generously to the needy with the right motives in our hearts. Here’s what the Bible says:

       Give to him who asks you, and don’t turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

Matthew 5:42 (WEB)

       He answered them, “He who has two coats, let him give to him who has none. He who has food, let him do likewise.”

Luke 3:11 (WEB)

       ³² If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ³⁴ If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive back as much. ³⁵ But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing back; and your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind toward the unthankful and evil.

Luke 6:32-35 (WEB)

       Therefore, “If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing so, you will heap coals of fire on his head.”

Romans 12:20 (WEB)

       Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7 (WEB)

       But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart of compassion against him, how does the love of God remain in him?

1 John 3:17 (WEB)

       ¹ Be careful that you don’t do your charitable giving before men, to be seen by them, or else you have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. ² Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward. ³ But when you do merciful deeds, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand does, ⁴ so that your merciful deeds may be in secret, then your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:1-4 (WEB)

       If I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but don’t have love, it profits me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 (WEB)

       While those verses don’t tell you exactly how much you should give, they do make it clear that we, as Christians, are to be extremely generous for the right reasons (giving motivated by love for God or others). It’s also important to remember that just giving money isn’t enough to please God – right relationships are much more important:

       ²³ If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Matthew 5:23-24 (WEB)

       So what are we to do? How do we know how much to put in our “Giving” category when we make our budget? The answer is to commit yourself (and your money) to God first, then follow His Spirit’s guidance as to how much, to whom, and how often you should give. No, it’s not as simple as just saying give 10% and you’re good. But God’s desire isn’t for people who just follow a set of rules. God desires a personal relationship with each one of us – and good relationships require lots of time and communication.

       If you want to do some more in-depth reading about New Covenant giving, check out any of these articles:

• Give Yourself to God First
• Give in Response to Jesus’ Gift
• Give with Sincere Desire and Love
• Give Under Grace Not Commandment
• Give As Much As You Are Able or Even More
• Give So That There May Be Equality
• Give Joyfully and Cheerfully

       I pray this gives you a better idea of how Christian giving should look based on God’s Word. Please let me know your thoughts or questions in the comments below!