Let me start by saying that this article isn’t for atheists or unbelievers or those who have a strong aversion to the subject of tithing. It is for those believing Christians who are open-minded and willing to learn more about the concept of tithing. My humble advice to atheists or unbelievers is to first believe in God, repent today, and accept His Son, Jesus Christ, as their Lord and Saviour. Life is short. Time is short. Death is sure. Eternity awaits us all.

Let me stress that this article is by no means a monopoly on the subject of tithing.

For decades the tithe has remained a subject of intense debate, especially in Christendom. There are two main schools of thought regarding this rather sensitive matter. While the first school believes that tithing is an Old Testament requirement, the second school is of the opinion that it extends to the New Testament.

But an inspired study of the Scriptures reveals a surprising truth: God does NOT require that we should PAY tithe!

This book will open your eyes to the lies and deception that many so-called ministers have built around the tithe in order to keep enriching themselves at the expense of poor and ignorant souls…

Let me commence by defining the word, tithe. The old English word for it is 'teotha,' which means a tenth. Generally speaking, tithe is a tenth part of profits or fruits legally acquired, owed to God in recognition of His Sovereignty, and supreme dominion, and given to His ministers for the furtherance of His Kingdom on earth.

Now, no doubt, a lot has been said and written for and against paying tithe. There are those who don’t believe in paying their tithes, because for them it’s an old covenant precept; there are those who pay theirs to the poor in the society, because they would rather do that and impact humanity positively than give their money to a so-called man of God who they believe would end up squandering their hard earned money; and then there are those who pay their tithes routinely – out of a sense of duty, and not that they are really expecting anything in return from God; and of course there are those who are threatened or arm twisted into paying their tithes…and the list goes on.

Money is one sensitive and painful subject many people want to avoid. But the truth is that God’s view on finances is paramount to fundamental Christianity.

Delving straight into the matter; I’d like to categorically state here that there is no such thing as PAYING your tithe in the Bible. As New Covenant Christians we are to GIVE our tithe. LUKE 6: 38, ACTS 20: 35, I CORINTHIANS 9: 6-10, and others.

The tithe is not an Old Covenant precept; no, it actually began before that. Many people have the rather erroneous notion that the Old Testament begins from Genesis. They forget that the Old Testament, which is the Law, actually began when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments on Mt. Sinai.

There are three dispensations as far as Scripture is concerned. We have the ‘Conscience Dispensation,’ which began from Man’s fall in Eden until Moses got the Ten Commandments. The ‘Law Dispensation’ began from that moment until Christ uttered these eternal words ‘It Is Finished’ on the cross. From that moment ‘Grace Dispensation,’ our present, dispensation, came into play.

The first man to give tithe in Scripture was Abraham; a man who lived during the Conscience Dispensation, GENESIS 14: 20; HEBREWS 7:6. And let’s not forget, the first man to give an offering to God, Abel, also lived during the Conscience era. GENESIS 4: 3.

The importance of giving one’s tithe can never be overemphasized. Why? Because as we see in MALACHI 3: 10 God staked His very reputation on it. He says “…prove me now herewith.” In other words, He’s means, “Try me and see if I will not give you the blessings attached to giving your tithes.”
Yes, it’s true there are manifold blessings attached to giving one’s tithes. However I am troubled by the rather brazen manner in which many so-called ministers, today, go about getting people to pay (instead of give) their tithes. They threaten, arm-twist, and manipulate their members into giving their tithes. They make them believe that they are robbing God; and as such they are under a curse. They make people feel condemned; in fact they ascribe the lack of answers to people’s prayers to their lack of giving their tithes. These people use the curse pronounced in MALACHI 3:8 as a sort of truncheon to beat people over the head. They tell people, “Look, if you don’t pay your tithes to God, you are under His curse; He’s angry with you; and He’s going to get you one way or another.” And since no one wants to be under a curse, or wants God to come after them they go ahead and give. In the end people give out of fear; and when you do that…you’re giving grudgingly. On the other hand, when someone manipulates you into giving, then you’re doing it out of necessity. And all this is just plain wrong.

Don’t let anyone compel you into parting with your money. Am I saying, as a Christian believer, you shouldn’t give? Of course not! But give voluntarily, as you’re led by the Holy Spirit.

But here’s the truth. And I want you to pay close attention. Under the dispensation of Grace, giving your tithe is NOT an obligation. You are free to give your tithe or not to do so. If you don’t give your tithe, believe me when I say that you are not under any curse. God is not angry with you; He is not going to come at you. God is not a mafia boss, who demands protection money from people.

Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that if you don’t give your tithe, God will take it away from you in one way or the other; maybe by inflicting you with sickness, so you’ll have to pay hospital bills…or some other painful way. God blesses us not because of our performance but because Christ made us righteous.

In the first instance, every born again child of God has been redeemed from the curse of the Law, GALATIANS 3:13. And that includes the curse in MALACHI 3:18. And then JOHN 3:16, one of the most popular references in Scripture, tells us that “For God so loved the world…” Again in EPHESIANS 2:4-5 we are made to understand that while we were dead in sin God loved us with a great love. Also, ROMANS 5:8 tells us that God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Now, if God loved us as sinners how about now that we’ve received His son as our Lord and Savior? Child of God, God loves you…whether you give your tithe or not.

In II CORINTHIANS 9:6-7 we see another often read but not properly or wholly interpreted Scripture. It talks about sowing sparingly and reaping sparingly; and also sowing bountifully and reaping bountifully. Straight to the point, you are not obligated to pay ten percent all the time. In other words you can give less than ten percent as your tithes, and still God is not going to get mad at you. That’s sowing sparingly. You can give less than ten percent…

See, it is better to give less than ten percent cheerfully than to give ten percent grudgingly, or out of necessity. And that’s exactly what many are doing today. They are arm twisted into giving their tithes. God loves a cheerful giver. God is not interested in the percentage you give as much as He is in your motive for giving. Remember, for God so loved the world. God gave His Son, cheerfully, out of His love. So, if you feel comfortable with giving God less than ten percent at that moment, with peace and joy, then do so. And like we are told you’ll still get your blessings…though sparingly.
On the other hand, you can give ten percent or more than that. That’s the bountiful part….and you shall reap bountifully.

Again, you are not under any curse if you do not give your tithe and offering. God loves you all the same. God’s love is constant; it doesn’t fluctuate based on your actions. God won’t love you more when you do right; neither will He love you less when you do wrong. ACTS 17:28 tells us that we live and move and have our being in God. He put His wrath on Jesus, so He’s not mad at you.

But the truth is that there are manifold blessings attached to giving your tithes and offerings, cheerfully and with love. One major reason people are not getting the blessings is because they are not giving cheerfully. The motive behind our giving is far more important than our giving.

Your tithe is a powerful seed. In agriculture, a farmer sows seeds to reap a harvest. In much the same way, God gives us seeds; but what we choose to do with them is up to us. Planting our seeds (giving our tithes) guarantees a future harvest for us. But don’t forget, God isn’t mad at you if you don’t plant your seed. He loves you even if you eat all your seeds; but don’t be astonished when you run out of money. It’s not God’s fault that you ate all your seeds. That is why you should exercise enough discipline to take a portion of what God has given you and sow it into your future.

Personally, I believe that if those guys under the Law could part with ten percent, then we who are under Grace should be able to do better. As a result, since I understood and really began practicing the concept of giving, I have endearvoured to give nothing less than ten percent. Of course this is personal; it's not for everyone; it comes with spiritual maturity and the extent of one's revelation of the subject-matter.

Many don’t give their tithes because as far they are concerned we are under Grace; and according to II Corinthians 8: 9 Christ has already settled all our debts; that we are no longer obligated to give our tithes. This is not exactly true. You forget that in JOHN 3:16 God GAVE…

And in GENESIS 14:20 Abraham GAVE…

If Abraham, our father after the flesh (ROMANS 4:1), gave his tithe, then I think we also should too.

And for those who give their tithes to the poor; it’s good…but you’ll only receive the blessings attached to giving to the poor. PROVERBS 19:17
I am not naïve; I know that a lot of weird stuff is going on in many churches. There are places where the giving of tithe has been downplayed, and now it’s all about seed sowing. A lot of abominable things are being done in the name of seed sowing. I know a pastor who literally threatens his members with the fact that God will inflict them one sickness or the other, tragedy and even death if they fail to sow seeds. And then he’ll start from a certain amount of money, let’s say N10, 000 and counted down to N200. And people, scared to their scalps, will rush out to sow the seed. There are places where people are given tithe and offering/ seed sowing cards to fill and submit to the pastor; the idea is enable the pastor monitor how faithful or frequent his members are in the sowing of their seeds. That’s ridiculous.

And then there is the first fruit deception. There are churches where every first month of the new year, the members give their first salary, all of it, as tithe and offering or some other kind of seed, based on what their pastors have made them believe. That’s absolute nonsense.

Please listen, under this dispensation of Grace, God will NOT tell someone to tell you to go and clear out your account and bring the money to him. If anyone tells you that…then he is either ignorant, or a criminal in God’s house. Please understand that you can decide, of your own free volition, to make a vow to God; that is something personal; between you and Him. You should decide…not your pastor. And let me quickly explain what first fruit means as stated in PROVERBS 3:9. First fruits simply mean the very first thing we do after getting money. We are to set aside some of that money as our tithe and offering, first – right before we take care of our other needs. It does not mean we should throw in our entire salary, for the month, in some basket or church account.

Please understand, the most powerful seed you can ever sow is your tithe and offering. Before I go further I’d like to say something here concerning offering. Your offering is a gift. People ask how much they should give as offering. My simple answer is: whatever amount the Holy Spirit puts in your heart to give. And it should be done freely. I CHRONICLES 29:6, 9. There are people who say that our offering should be equivalent to our tithe. That’s one big lie.

It’s crucial to note that the passage in MALACHI 3:8 says that the curse comes for robbing God in tithes and offerings. The ministers who teach tithing from a Law perspective seem to deliberately overlook the fact you also have to give offerings to keep the Law. And back then there were so many offerings that altogether totaled about 33%. So, anyone who is trying to live by the Law is cursed unless they are giving 33% offering as well.

Today, we don’t tithe in an attempt to keep the Law; instead we tithe out of appreciation for what God has done for us; our tithing is a response from our hearts as we seek to bless people.

The tithe is for our benefit, not God’s. LUKE 16:11 says, “And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitation.” The Greek word, ‘fail’ is translated to mean death or die. A major advantage of using money to touch people’s lives is that when you die, those people will assemble in Heaven to thank you for using your resources to help them.

Do you know that Christ spoke about money more than He did about any other thing: salvation, healing, deliverance, evangelism? Yes He did. That simply tells us that God is quite interested in our finances. God wants us to give; that’s why He didn’t ask us to pay a certain amount; instead the tithe is based on percentage, so that everyone can give. For me, not giving is simply an indication that you don’t trust God. See, the least (simplest) thing a man can trust God with is his finances, LUKE 16:11. I can go further and state that if you can’t trust God with your money then I wonder how you’ll trust Him to heal you. Please, don’t get me wrong; I’m not tying giving to your receiving your healing. No. I’m just saying it’s much easier to trust God with your finances (something physical) than it is to do so with Him healing you.

Not giving is a clear-cut indication that we don’t trust God; that we’re yet to recognize Him as the source of our abundance. JAMES 1:17 tells us that “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above…” There are people who are afraid to give; they have a rather strong grip on their money. They believe they’ve earned it; that they’ve worked for it. They can’t imagine giving a dime out of it to others. They don’t give their tithe and offering, they don’t give to others, they don’t give in support of the gospel; they just hold on tightly to all they have. And a lot of Christians are guilty of this. The rich ruler in MARK 10:17, 18, was guilty of this. These people forget that “There is that scattereth and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” PROVERBS 11:24. You wonder how someone can prosper by scattering what he has. You can’t really grasp that with your carnal mind. But that’s what the Scripture says. In God’s economy you prosper when you start giving out of love and in faith. It is God’s blessing upon your life that gives you the ability to prosper.

Abraham gave because he recognized God as his source of his abundance. He prospered not just because he was hardworking, but because of God’s blessings upon his life. Despite his flaws God blessed him in all he did. HEBREWS 6:13.

If God wanted to miraculously provide money for every ministry He could have; but instead He set up the giving/tithing structure. He really wants us to give. He wants us to participate in giving. Again, when we give, it’s for our own sake…not for God’s. God doesn’t need our money. He owns the silver, gold, riches…everything. Everything in existence belongs to Him. He even owns existence itself.

It is true that one can prosper without God. But such prosperity comes with heartache. Prosperity is a functional part of our salvation. I CORINTHIANS 8:9. God does not give us wealth; He anoints the work of our hands and causes it to prosper. And bear in mind: once God’s favor is on our lives, it cannot be stopped – except by our unbelief/negative thinking.

Furthermore, it’s essential for you to give where you’re fed; where you’re inspired, and not where you’re begged or put under pressure; or where you’re coerced, intimidated or condemned. Do not give out of desperation; do not give desperately because someone manipulated you into thinking that God would surely supply all your needs. You cannot buy a miracle.

It’s not enough to give your tithes to your local church; you should endeavor to give to a good local church. If your local church isn’t feeding you properly, then it makes no sense giving your tithes there. Again, do no limit your giving to just your local church. Give to genuine missionaries who are laboring in faraway countries, taking the good news to those that are impoverished. Also give benevolently – to widows, orphans, the poor generally. In other words a bulk of your giving can go to your local church, while the rest can go the mentioned areas.

On a final note, the highest form of giving is to help share the Gospel of Grace. Remember to give voluntarily. Give your tithe and offering cheerfully, motivated by love, and see prosperity flow your way.


Once again, if you're yet to give your life to Jesus Christ...today is another great opportunity to do so. Do it right now. Waste no single second. Jesus is waiting with His arms wide open. God's angels can't wait to enter your name in the Book Of Life. Heaven can't wait to receive you as one of its inhabitants at the end of your time on earth.

A simple prayer is all it takes: "Lord Jesus, today I confess and repent of my sins. I acknowledge Your death for me on the cross. I receive Your forgiveness. Come into my heart. I make You my Lord and Saviour.

Thanks for sharing this.