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
61-1015M §85
QUESTION: "Would it be wrong to use tithes on church building funds?" Well, now, here's a touchy little thing for the church now. No, correctly, tithes is to go to the minister. That's right! In the Bible they had a box they'd set at the door in the Old Testament when the ... building. This box was a fund where the people put in there for the repairing... You've read it many times in the Old Testament. They kept up the buildings and things like that... All the repairs on the building was taken care out of that fund...
From the beginning it wasn't so
59-1125 §24
The people say today like they did then. They say today, "Oh, the Bible says so-and-so, but..." There's no "but" to it. Jesus said it would be the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Bible says it and that settles it. There ain't no if, ands, or nothing else in the way of it. It's Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. God's Word is eternal. Some of them say, "Oh, I believe that Jesus was the Son of God, but the Holy Ghost, I don't believe they have to receive it today like they did then." See, th...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 6:E-42
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Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever
55-1113 §25
Now, this is the only Scripture in the Bible, that I know of, that we are commanded to contend. We're to keep contentions from us, but here, we are to contend for the faith that was once delivered unto the saints. Now every one of us want to believe that, that our church contends for that faith. The Methodist, they want to believe that. "Our church contends for the faith." The Baptist, "We believe that." The Catholic, and the Pentecostal, and every one, wants to think, Our church contends for that faith that was on...
Questions and Answers, Part 2
64-0823E §92
...give God ninety. And then, when the law told me I couldn't do that, I'd have to take... And if I did, it was all to be charged to it, then I had to take and bypass it into foreign missions and so forth, and then just take a wage out of that of a hundred dollars a week; and I pay my tithes from that. Yes, sir! I believe in paying tithes. It's one of God's blessings that's proven to be a blessing. You say, "That's of the Old Testament." It is of the New Testament too! Yes, sir!