2. It is an Expression of Worship

When we tithe, it is an act of worship to God. Tithing is not about the needs of the church. We are tithing to God and not to the church. When you tithe, you are giving first and foremost to God, the Almighty. Giving is not dependent on how much financial needs the church has. If your church is big and rich, then the congregation can say that we do not need to tithe to the church. That is not the spirit of tithing. Tithing is about our relationship with God. It is an expression of our worship to Him just like the Jews who understand the sovereignty of God to give, to provide. We, in turn, like the Jews, bring back to God a tenth of our wealth as an action to express our love and worship to God. Proverbs 3:9-10 tells us to do so, to “honour the Lord with your wealth, with the first-fruits of all your crops, then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” The order is first we honour God with our wealth and the rest will then follow after.

3. It is a Means of Sanctification

Romans 11:16 explains the purpose of tithing. It says “if the part of the dough offered as first fruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” When we tithe a tenth of our wealth, God will sanctify the remaining 90% and make them holy and acceptable to God. Why is this so? The dough refers to what is used to make the sacred bread offered in the Temple of God. As mentioned earlier, the Israelites believed that when they take a tenth of the wheat and offer it to God, God will make the remaining holy, too.

In the new covenant, we walk under the blessings of God as His people. In the Old Testament, we learn how Adam fell to sin and the world fell to sin along with him. The land and all in it were cursed and are fallen. We still live in this fallen world under a curse although we are sanctified and walk under God’s protection. But the money we earn in this world is from the world and under the curse. The wealth we acquired in this world needs to be sanctified. When God accepts the 10% tithe offered as our first fruits, He also accepts the remaining 90% and sanctified them. What God has made holy, the devil cannot touch them. The principle here is that if God accepts the part then He sanctifies the whole. What remains, God will give us the ability to create more wealth out of it and to increase.

Wealth that comes from the Lord is a blessing, there is no trouble that comes with it – Proverbs 10:22. Hence, if it is a blessing, then it is not that we cannot afford to tithe, we choose not to tithe.