F.A.Q. ABOUT TITHING
WHAT IS TITHING?
Tithing is the spiritual practice of giving back to God the first 10% of all that we earn. The word “tithe” comes from the number “ten” in Hebrew, and means a tenth. So simply put, for every $10 I earn or receive, the first dollar belongs to the Lord. The Old Testament tells us that “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives” (Deuteronomy 14:23 LB), and this principle is clearly continued in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 16:2, Matthew 23:23).
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TITHE AND AN OFFERING?
A “tithe” is giving the first tenth of my income. An “offering” is anything I give in addition to my tithe.
WHY SHOULD I TITHE?
Six Biblical reasons to tithe:
1. GOD COMMANDS IT
“A tenth of all you produce is the Lord’s.” Leviticus 27:30
“Yes, you should tithe, and you shouldn’t leave the more important things undone either.” Matthew 23:23
2. TITHING DEMONSTRATES THAT GOD HAS FIRST PLACE IN MY LIFE
“The purpose of tithing is to teach you to always put God in first place in your life.” Deuteronomy 14:23 LB
3. TITHING REMINDS ME THAT GOD GAVE ME EVERYTHING I HAVE
“Always remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” Deuteronomy 8:18
4. TITHING EXPRESSES MY LOVE TO THE LORD
“Each of you should bring a gift in proportion to the way the Lord your God has blessed you.” Deuteronomy 16:17
5. GOD SAYS THAT REFUSING TO TITHE IS STEALING FROM HIM
“God says ‘Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me!’ But you ask, ‘How do we rob you?’ God says ‘In tithes and offerings ... Bring your whole tithe to My house.’” Malachi 3:8-10
6. TITHING GIVES GOD A CHANCE TO PROVE HE EXISTS AND WANTS TO BLESS YOU
“’Bring your whole tithe to My storehouse. Test me in this’ says the Lord, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you won’t have room enough for it!’” Malachi 3:10
DO I TITHE ON GROSS OR NET?
Proverbs 3:9-10 says, “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing,and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
We may not live in agricultural society any more, but the concept of firstfruits still applies. Giving the first of our income to the Lord shows that He is first in our hearts.
So when it comes to tithing on the gross or the net, we have to ask ourselves: Is God first or is He not? Putting God first means putting him at the top of the list, so our tithe comes off the top, or the gross, before anything else is considered.
WHERE DO I SEND MY TITHE?
Does it all go to my local church or can I divide it up as I please (i.e. charitable organizations, my son's Christian school tuition, my brother-in- law's missions trip)?
The Bible tells us to “bring all the tithe into the storehouse”. This means the local church or place where you are being spiritually fed. If you do not have a local church, then I guess you could give to the various ministries you're receiving teaching and encouragement from, but I would strongly recommend everyone get planted in a healthy local church, bring the tithe to that storehouse, and give beyond that amount in offerings as the Lord leads you.
CAN I DESIGNATE MY TITHE?
The tithe is about trusting God to know better than we do and to do more with what we bring to Him than we can imagine. Retaining control by designating a tithe is not fully trusting God to know better or that He will keep His promises. The opportunity to designate for specific purposes can come in the form of gifts and offerings above and beyond the tithe.
The mistake we make when it comes to tithing is focusing on dollar amounts instead of the role tithing plays in our hearts.
Giving is an overflow of the recognition of what Jesus did for us — saving us from our sin — and what He wants for us — an abundant life. When we allow Jesus to guide our giving decisions, we will always be generous to the church.
HOW DO I GIVE MY TITHE?
You can send cash or check to Carmel Church San Diego 10802 Willow Ct. San Diego, CA 92127 or give during one of our Sunday services. That being said, 75% of our church gives online and we have discovered numerous advantages to this method (giving is immediate and very secure, you can give regardless of physical location, ability to set up several reoccurring giving schedules, easy to track and see how much you have given). We recommend setting up a reoccurring giving schedule through our mobile app or website.
Want to start tithing?
We would love to connect with you personally if you have further questions. You can contact our Finance Department at finance@thecitysd.org
For additional reading we recommend this position paper written by a sister church in California. CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD