VOX Mini - Why Does the Church Talk about Tithing?

Voxology

Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.7 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 September 2019

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How understanding the heart behind biblical generosity can reshape your relationship with money, discipleship, and community. In this fourth episode of the Voxology Q&A Series, Mike, Tim, and Bonnie dive deep into the topic of tithing—addressing how it was practiced in the Old Testament, its evolution through the early church, and what generosity looks like in the life of a Jesus follower today.

Mike and Bonnie reflect on personal stories, spiritual disciplines, and scriptural insights to challenge the legalistic approach to giving and recenter it around the person and teachings of Jesus. They draw a clear line between the Levitical tithe and New Testament generosity, offering a liberating reframing of tithing as a joy-filled practice of trust, stewardship, and kingdom participation.

Key Takeaways:
• The Purpose of Tithing in the Old Testament – Exploring tithes as temple support, social justice, and a tool for cultivating generosity.
• New Testament Giving – Why Paul doesn’t teach a 10% mandate, and how Christian giving becomes about internal transformation, compassion for the poor, and freedom from the idolatry of wealth.
• Generosity as a Spiritual Discipline – How being both disciplined and spontaneous in giving shapes our character and breaks the grip of consumerism.
• The Danger of Legalism – Why tithing shouldn't be reduced to a religious checkbox, and why giving should be rooted in joy, not guilt or manipulation.
• What to Consider When Giving to a Church or Organization – The importance of support for the poor, church transparency, and non-religious motivations behind your generosity.

Guest Highlights:
Bonnie – Reflects on a transformative teaching moment from Mike that shaped her perspective on generosity and how trust in God's abundance opens the door to free and joyful giving.
Tim Stafford – Shares lessons learned from partnering with homeless shelters, encouraging intentional, impact-driven giving and how generosity of time and presence is just as vital.

Resources Mentioned:
• Biblical References: Genesis (Melchizedek), Levitical laws on tithing, Deuteronomy (stewardship), Acts 2 and 4, and Paul’s teachings in 2 Corinthians
• Homeless services and shelters in Long Beach as examples of targeted giving
• The Popcorn Illustration teaching from Mike’s Rock Harbor sermon

Let’s move beyond obligation and into a lifestyle of transformative generosity. Subscribe to Voxology, leave us a review, and follow us on social media to stay connected!

As always, we encourage and welcome discussion as we journey together. Email your thoughts or questions to [email protected], or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram.

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Follow Mike: twitter.com/mikeerre
Music by Timothy John Stafford
Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

As always, we encourage and would love discussion as we pursue. Feel free to email in questions to [email protected], and to engage the conversation on Facebook and Instagram.

We're on YouTube (if you're into that kinda thing): VOXOLOGY TV.

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Learn more about the Voxology Podcast

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The Voxology Spotify channel can be found here: Voxology Radio

Follow Mike on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mikeerre

Music in this episode by Timothy John Stafford

Instagram & Twitter: @GoneTimothy

Transcript

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0:00.0	And now for episode four, a new hope, where Tim will answer the questions first.
0:10.1	And it will be awesome.
0:11.8	Yes.
0:12.9	Yes.
0:13.8	Yes.
0:14.2	Yes.
0:14.5	And I'm hoping to call episode five Bonnie Strikes Back.
0:17.4	Oh, my God.
0:19.6	So, all right. So again, we are, we are just plowing through some
0:23.7	questions doing these as separate episodes instead of one big one. I'm interested in your
0:28.6	feedback about this. And so we'd love to hear what you think. All right, Bonnie. Okay, here we go.
0:34.3	This is from Chris. Nice. Chris says.
0:38.3	Chris also left you a cell phone number if you want to call Chris.
0:42.3	Well, first of all, first of all, you tell Chris he's awesome. Don't read any of the personal stuff.
0:49.3	I won't. I won't. Okay. I have a couple of topics that I hope are easy for you. And the phone number is.
0:55.9	Yeah, exactly. I have a couple of topics. You could call Chris. Okay. I have a couple of topics that I hope are
1:04.5	easy for you to refer me to links or other resources for the answers that you see is the most
1:09.6	accurate of your time of biblical and cultural studies. I've been countering topics and a lot of conversations
1:15.2	recently. I don't want to take too much of your time, but here they are. Number one, what is
1:20.8	your view on tithing? It's purpose for the tither and its appropriate uses for the church that you
1:25.5	give it to. How does the purpose of tithing to the church today differ from Old Testament time period
1:31.3	to the time of Jesus and someone like me who is going to and giving to a quote mega church?
	...

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