What can you tell me about tithing from a Messianic perspective? How am I to honor God with my money and resources today?
There are a wide variety of opinions given as to what “tithing” means, even though all of us should agree that we need to honor the Lord with our resources. One of the things which we should keep in mind, is that the instructions regarding tithing in the Torah, specifically with land, produce, livestock, etc.—were intended to be kept in the Land of Israel in conjunction with the priesthood and Tabernacle/Temple service. Since there is no operative Tabernacle/Temple service today, we can only derive various principles from these instructions.
The Book of Acts is probably the best place to start, where we see how the early Messianic community shared many of their possessions, and gave money, supplies, and goods to one another as they needed them. This too, of course, would be a challenge since today’s Messianic community is spread abroad, and most of us are not in need for someone else to provide us with daily wares. Furthermore, those in the West do not live in economies which would largely allow for common ownership to this extent. When we see the early Messianic community growing beyond the borders of Judea, we see that as congregations and small groups were established, monies were regularly collected for the expenses of the local assembly and for the traveling Apostles. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, for example, was largely written thanking them for a generous contribution they made to his ministry work.
Today, these are all things we have to consider as we return to our faith heritage in the Scriptures of Israel, and the Messianic movement continues to grow. Many people do not have local assemblies, and as such do not consider it important to give a tithe or offering of some kind. These individuals may be served and taught by various Internet-based Messianic ministries or a local congregation’s streaming services—but sometimes do not support them financially in any way. Is this right? Many people feel convicted to tithe or to give, but do not know how to do it.
We see the issue of tithing and giving offerings applied in some unique situations in the Apostolic Scriptures. We would encourage you to support those who teach and minister to you just as the Apostles did. From the Apostles’ work, our faith was able to survive and last for two millennia. In today’s Messianic movement, which has quite a bit going against it, there is a great deal of difficult work ahead to establish a theology and discipline which will last into the future. People who are on the front lines in Messianic ministry need the financial support of others, so they can continue the work God has given to them. Pray to the Lord and ask Him to genuinely show you, how He would have you serve Him with your finances.
