The Biblical & Theological Call to Giving

"For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten son..." - John 3:16 

It is our desire that you be very informed about the biblical and theological call for us to be a giving people.  Indeed, we feel that the Christian faith, in so many ways, is all about giving.  God gave his only begotten son and that son, Jesus Christ, gave his own life for our salvation from sin and eternal death.  Giving is at the core of our faith and we would like for your willingness to give financially to the church to flow out of a lifestyle and ethos in which you are willing to give freely of your time, energy, and resources as you serve out the call of God on your life

With over 2000 verses in the Bible on money and the handling of it, it is abundantly clear that the Lord is concerned with how we use our financial resources.  While it is often said that the Lord is concerned about our heart (and this is true), Jesus, in Luke 12:34 states that one can tell someone's heart condition by following the money trail of their life.  Giving a tithe (10%) of our regular income is not just an important custom of Total Grace Christian Center, it has been done throughout thousands of years of church history and has deep roots in Judaism that even pre-date the church.  Below you will find some of what the Bible has to say about the principle and mandate of tithing.

We often hear that tithing is an "Old Testament Thing" or that is a part of the "Old Covenant," but the truth is that tithing existed before the Mosaic Law, after the Mosaic Law of the Old Testament, was supported strongly by Jesus, and has existed for over 2000 years in the church historical. 

The two prominent instances of tithing in Genesis are: (1) Abram presenting the tenth of the spoils of his victory to Melchizedek (Gen 14:20; Heb 7:2,6). (2) Jacob, after his vision at Luz, devoting a tenth of all his property to God provided that he should return home in safety (Gen 28:22).

The tenth of all produce, flocks, and cattle was declared to be sacred to Jehovah by way, so to speak, of rent to Him who was, strictly speaking, the Owner of the land, and in return for the produce of the ground; though, if so disposed, a man was at liberty to redeem the tithes of the fruits of his field and his trees by paying the value of them with a fifth part added (Lev 27:30-33). The law did not specify the various fruits of the field and of the trees that were to be tithed. The Mishna (Maaseroth 1.1) includes everything eatable, everything that was stored up or that grew out of the earth. The Pharisees, as early as the time of Jesus, made the law to include the minutest kitchen herbs, such as mint and cummin (Matt 23:23; Luke 11:42). With regard to animal tithes, the law prescribed that every tenth beast that passed under the staff, i.e., under which the shepherd made them pass when he counted his flock, was to be sacred to the Lord, good and bad alike. It forbade any attempt to substitute one beast for another on pain of both animals-the tenth as well as the one exchanged for it-being required to be redeemed (Lev 27:32-33). This tenth, called Terumoth, was ordered to be assigned to the Levites as the reward of their service, and it was ordered further that they were themselves to dedicate to the Lord a tenth of these receipts, which were to be devoted to the maintenance of the high priest (Num 18:21-28).

This legislation is modified or extended in the book of Deuteronomy, i.e., from thirty-eight to forty years later. Commands are given to the people: (1) They were to bring their tithes, together with their votive and other offerings and firstfruits, to the chosen center of worship, there to be eaten in celebration in company with their children, their servants, and the Levites (Deut 12:5-18). (2) All the produce of the soil was to be tithed every year, and these tithes with the firstlings of the flock and herd were to be eaten in the metropolis. (3) But in case of distance, permission was given to convert the produce into money, which was to be taken to the appointed place and there spent for food for a festal celebration, in which the Levite was to be included (14:22-27). (4) Then follows the direction that at the end of three years all the tithe of that year was to be gathered and laid up within the "gates" and that a festival was to be held in which the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, together with the Levite, were to partake (vv. 28-29, see marg.). (5) Last, it was ordered that after taking the tithe in each third year, "the year of tithing," every Israelite had to declare that he had done his best to fulfill the divine command (26:12-14).

From all this we gather (1) that one-tenth of the whole produce of the soil was to be assigned for the maintenance of the Levites; (2) that out of this the Levites were to dedicate a tenth to God for the use of the high priest; (3) that a tithe, in all probability a second tithe, was to be applied to festival purposes; and (4) that in every third year either this festival tithe or a third tenth was to be eaten in company with the poor and the Levites. The question arises, Were there three tithes taken in this third year; or is the third tithe only the second under a different description? It must be allowed that the third tithe is not without support. Josephus distinctly says that one-tenth was to be given to the priests and Levites, one-tenth was to be applied to feasts in the metropolis, and that a tenth besides these was every third year to be given to the poor (cf. Tob. 1:7-8). On the other hand, Maimonides says the third and sixth years' second tithe was shared between the poor and the Levites, i.e., that there was no third tithe. Of these opinions, that which maintains three separate and complete tithings seems improbable. It is plain that under the kings the tithe system partook of the general neglect into which the observance of the law declined, and that Hezekiah, among his other reforms, took effectual means to revive its use (2 Chron 31:5,12,19). Similar measures were taken after the captivity by Nehemiah (Neh 12:44), and in both these cases special officers were appointed to take charge of the stores and storehouses for the purpose. Yet, notwithstanding partial evasion or omission, the system itself was continued to a late period in Jewish history (Heb 7:5-8; Matt 23:23; Luke 18:12).

The firstborn, the firstlings, and of the tenth of the flocks and herds and produce of the soil were offered to Jehovah as being sacred to Him. Tithes and offerings, along with the firstborn, were intended, therefore, to represent the entire produce of the land and the whole of property generally. Being paid over as they were to Jehovah, they constituted a practical confession and acknowledgment that the whole land and all possessions in general belonged to Him and that it was He alone who conferred them upon those who enjoyed them.