Malachi 3:10 [NIV] is the most often quoted scripture reference when it comes to the subject of tithing. It reads: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” Apparently there are some 51 Bible verses about tithing in the New Testament but of these, only a few mention a tithe by name: Matthew 23:23, Luke 11:42 and 18:12; Hebrews 7:5; and some of these are actually from the Old Testament: Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21; Deuteronomy 12:11 and 14: 22-26; and, as I said, Malachi 3:10. Is the tithe just another law—another rule—to follow and are we to follow the law if we’re living under grace?

Galatians 3:19-4:7 provides an interesting and somewhat counter commentary to my point but I contend that Jesus’ assertion that He came not to abolish the law but fulfill it (Matthew 5:17) and that the tithe predates the law trumps the argument against making a tithe. God should come first in our lives and one critically important way to do this—to honour this—is to reconcile our finances with our faith and return to Him a portion of that which He has already bestowed upon us.

From my experience, making a tithe allows my wife and I to be in right relationship with God; to do otherwise would be stealing.