The tithe is rooted in creation: God owns everything, and thus we are to "honor the Lord with our substance, and with the firstfruits of all our increase." In the New Testament, there is no verse that nullifies this principle. Instead, Jesus affirmed it through his life and teaching.
Life: As a young man earning his keep as a carpenter, Jesus would have tithed. As he said, "I came to fulfill the law and the prophets." That law would have included the tithe.
Teaching: In Matthew 22:15-22, he sees through the duplicitous words of his enemies and affirms the legitimacy of paying taxes to Caesar, and then commands, "render to God the things that are God's. Many commentators confine the application of "rendering" only to the spiritual. But the context is talking about authority and money—who owns what, and what is owed. As the church Father Jerome said, "render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, namely, coins, tribute, money; "render to God the things that are God's," namely, tithes, first-fruits, vows, sacrifices."
In Galatians, Corinthians, and Timothy, Paul instructs the church to pay their pastors—that they are worthy of double honor: respect and remuneration. How are pastors to be paid if not by the tithe?
Some object that there is no obligation to give 10%. But the word tithe means "tenth." Furthermore, Abraham, as the father of the faith, is the first to pay a tithe. As the father of the faith, he set an example that has never been impugned and that his spiritual heirs ought to follow.
The work of the church is not carried out by occasional gifts or by a few paying 3%, or 5%, but rather by regular tithes of 10%.
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Kurt Snow serves as a ruling elder at Covenant Reformed Church of Sacramento (RCUS). He served as a member of the Board of Governors of City Seminary of Sacramento from 2000 to 2020.
