WHO DO YOU GIVE TO -- GOD OR THE CHURCH?

A friend and I were discussing tithing the other day. Now don't shut me out just because I mentioned tithing!

In the Old Testament, tithing, or giving God 10% of your income was mandatory. But to whom was this directive given? The Jews. But most of us aren't Jews; we're Gentiles. Tithing was an integral part of the Old Covenant. But we're not living under the Old Covenant. We're living under the New Covenant, or the New Testament.

Frankly, the New Testament doesn't give a required percentage for our giving. I Corinthians 16:2 says (L)et every one of you lay by him in store, as God has prospered him . . ." In other words, giving should be proportionate to the degree that God has blessed a person. How much has He blessed YOU?

New Testament giving should also be given cheerfully and from the heart according to II Corinthians 9:7. ""Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or of necessity; for God loveth a cheerful giver."

I would say that New Testament giving may be ten percent or more, OR it may even be less! We should give as the Holy Spirit directs us to give, not as the pastor or church directs us to give. This is the distinct difference between giving to God and giving to the church.

The New Testament never gives a percentage as a required standard for giving.

Preacher's Kid