Is Tithing a Binding Command for Christians Today?
1) Direct answer
Yes. The tithe—a tenth of our increase—still belongs to the Lord and is binding on believers today. It is not a man‑made tax; it is God’s portion, holy to Him. Offerings are freewill and beyond the tithe.
2) Scriptural explanation
- Before the Law: Abraham gave tithes of all to Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20). This shows tithing is a faith practice that predates Moses.
- God’s claim: “All the tithe… is the Lord’s; it is holy unto the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30).
- Jesus affirmed it: He rebuked the Pharisees for hypocrisy but said, “These ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (Matthew 23:23). He did not cancel tithing; He set it in its right place with justice, mercy, and faith.
- New Covenant priesthood: Hebrews 7 ties tithing to Christ’s Melchizedek order and says, “Here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth” (Hebrews 7:8). That shows an ongoing recognition of the tithe under our living High Priest.
- God’s unchanging promise: “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse… and prove Me… if I will not open you the windows of heaven” (Malachi 3:8-10). The same chapter says, “I am the Lord, I change not” (v. 6).
- Support of the ministry: “They which preach the gospel should live of the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:13-14). The tithe is God’s way of providing for His ministry; offerings meet other needs.
3) Simple clarifying logic
- If tithing was only “Law,” why did Abraham tithe hundreds of years before the Law? Because faith recognized God’s claim.
- Did Jesus ever say, “Stop tithing”? No. He said don’t neglect the weightier matters—but also “don’t leave the other undone.”
- Hebrews does not push tithing away; it lifts it higher by linking it to Christ’s ongoing priesthood.
- “Each as he purposes in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7) speaks of offerings for special needs, not of the tithe which God already named as His.
- The “storehouse” is where you are fed by the Word—your local assembly. Tithes go there to sustain the God‑ordained ministry. Gifts to the poor, missions, and other causes are offerings beyond the tithe.
4) Reinforcing statement
Honor the Lord first with His tenth and then give offerings as He leads. Do it by faith, not grudgingly. The tithe is God’s, the firstfruits of our increase; and the Bible promises He will rebuke the devourer and pour out a blessing.
Ask a Follow-up Question
What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
Questions and Answers (God being misunderstood)
61-0723E §19
...s know, you see, we'd be glad... Brother Neville and myself, or Brother Beeler, or Brother Collins, or any of these ministers here who are ordained to this ministry, and so forth, can do so. Now, but now, does a Christian not get to heaven because they do not pay tithe? I could not say "yes" or "no" to that. But I do believe that every Christian is obligated to pay tithing because it is a commandment of the Lord. "And blessed are they that do all his commandments, that they might have a right to enter into the life...
Hebrews, Chapter 7, part 1
57-0915E §64
...n the less is blessed of the better. [Certainly! Watch who He is!] And here men that die receive tithes; [That's the priesthood of the order of priests and preachers and so forth; men that receive tithe, die. See?] but here he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. What would a man take tithings for, if he had any... If he never was born, and never will die, and was from beginning to end, and never had no father or mother or descent, and owned the whole heavens and earth and all in it, why would he...
Enticing spirits
55-0724 §37
Notice. Then instead of this, they have tried to adopt handshaking for the old-time experience we used to have. Today the church has become modern. They walk up and give their right hand of fellowship, and that's about the way they do it. But it'll never take the place of the old-fashioned mourners' bench, where sinners called out and got right with God. Right! Today they're trying to take the place of God's tithing. They're trying to adopt something; they're trying to make it different. They go down and have Bunco...
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §91
...should. He's the one man that will work, is a Christian. "Pay tithes to an individual?" It depends on who the individual is, see. That's right. In Hebrews 7, the first time tithings was talked about in a stand that we... Wait a minute, I believe, number two question. No! Uh, uh. No! For Brother ... Said, "Two questions for Brother Branham." When... In Hebrews the 7th chapter, when Abraham, returning from the slaughter of the kings, met Melchisedec, he paid Him a tithe. That was Melchisedec, the King of Salem, which...
Questions and Answers (God being misunderstood)
61-0723E §49
QUESTION: "Brother Branham, don't you feel that everyone who claims to be a Christian should pay tithes, pay their tithes into the storehouse of the Lord? Please give scripture to this question." All right, if you will... That is right, that the Bible said in Malachi, the fourth chapter, "Will a man rob God? And you say, 'Where have we robbed Thee?' In tithe and offerings. Bring all of your tithes and offerings into my storehouse, and prove me," saith the Lord, "if I will not open up the windows of heaven, and pour...