Why tithe to the local church

Brad Hewitt and Leith Anderson. The majority of evangelical leaders 76 percent say that it is acceptable for Christians who tithe 10 percent to give part of that 10 percent to ministries outside the local church, according to the July Evangelical Leaders Survey.

Related Resources. Press Release. But what does the Bible say about tithing? Why should Christians tithe to a local church? Additionally, giving to your local church aids in missions work, local outreach, church upkeep, and the care and provision of the leadership, as well as those who are in need.

And where does this idea even come from? Whoever would redeem any of their tithe must add a fifth of the value to it. This is why as a whole, the church generally teaches that we are to give 10 percent of our income to the church. In fact, the concept of tithing was not actually a practice of giving God money, but rather, giving and dedicating crops or animals, as we clearly see in Deuteronomy There was also a temple tax installed during this same time and was required annually in order to cover repairs and maintain the upkeep of the temple.

But again, this looks very different than what most Christians are accustom to. So, lets a take a look at the big picture here and find out why we should tithe, though we are in no way required to. In Acts 2, we see a beautiful picture of how the early church operated. Being careful and responsible. I am not one to hand money to people on the street, at least not in the U.

There are many ministries set up to care for people who are truly in need, and if they are abusers, the help they need is not from our pockets.

My conviction. I have begun to get that uneasiness again though, that conviction that means change is on the way. But I return many times to the story of the child on the beach, throwing starfish back into the ocean one by one, amidst a beach of hundreds of thousands. How will I respond? I will turn in my commitment card to continue giving to my church, and I will pray.

Beyond that I am aware that there are many ministry venues already in place and in need of my monetary support. The local Helping Ministries organization homeless shelter, soup kitchen, food pantry, clothes closet, utilities help, etc. A Christian research group recently reported that protestant church giving has hit its lowest point since the Great Depression. According to the study, which included 23 protestant denominations, the average church member was giving 2.

If we have been so richly blessed, is 2. Is 10? Is 50? I foresee in the near future a change in the physical landscape. Not necessarily a bad thing, I think. Giving sacrificially looks different for everyone since everyone is in a different place financially. The amount that the widow gave was a very little amount, but she. The amazing thing is that God blesses us when we give.

When giving sacrificially we are depending on God to help us with all of our needs. This is what the widow did. God was taking care of his people in the early church, and he will also do that now. Giving to the church is important it helps support the leaders in the church who help encourage and convict us. Not only that but the church building itself has needs, and tithing helps makes Sunday morning worship possible.

The amazing thing is that the church is there for others in addition to you and your family. The church is able to support different ministries and can help those who need it because of tithe. Those walking into your church for the first time may not be believers, but we as believers who tithe are a part of reaching out to those people whether we know it or not. While tithing is beneficial to others, it can also be beneficial to us. Tithing helps as we grow in our relationship with God.

We can increase our trust in what he will do through us, and increase our joy as we give. Even in Scripture, we see Jesus tells us the benefits of giving. When we tithe consistently we will create a lifestyle of giving, helping us to honor God even in difficult times. We want to give in a way that honors God, not legalistically, or only when we feel like it, instead intentionally and sacrificially.

Giving as we trust God with our resources and give back some of what he has given to us. Skip to content Skip to primary sidebar. What could we do to make this post better? We read all the feedback given, but it often helps to follow up with questions.

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