Is Tithing for Christians Today? (What the Bible Actually Says)

Thomas Costello, our executive pastor, says up front that he asked to preach on tithing months ago because, apart from following Jesus, nothing has changed his life more. He grew up in Hawaii Kai, and his first ministry job was running sound for Ross. After Bible college and serving as an associate pastor in Santa Rosa, he and his wife moved to Austin in 2007 at 27 to plant a church with about 15 people. He worked 50 hours a week in cold-call sales for about $10 an hour, the money was tight, and it was the hardest season of their marriage.

On Memorial Day 2008, at a pastors’ conference in Houston, a speaker preached on tithing to a room of pastors. Thomas admits he had preached on tithing without practicing it. That day he and his wife decided to start giving the first tenth. That same month he received his first commission check, and God began changing their marriage and their hearts too.

He gives three disclaimers: he chose this topic, most pastors live nothing like the televangelists, and he wants zero guilt and zero judgment in the room. Then the big idea: when God is first in everything, including our finances, our lives are in order and blessed.

First, our first things belong to God. Right after the Exodus, God tells Moses to consecrate every firstborn. Thomas remembers a church member whose brand-new truck was gashed by a baptism tub, and who said, “It’s all God’s anyway.”

Second, God blesses those who bring their firstfruits (Proverbs 3:9-10, Malachi 3:10). Scripture says to bring the tithe because it already belongs to God, like returning a friend’s salad bowl. The tithe goes to the local church. Thomas warns against prosperity formulas: the blessing is real, but it is not always money.

Third, the tithe must be first. With ten dollar bills, he asks which dollar is the first one. His answer is the first one that leaves your hand. He and his family set up an automatic gift on the first of every month.

Fourth, tithing is not about law. Jesus told the Pharisees to tithe without neglecting justice, mercy and faithfulness, and Abel gave firstborn portions long before the law.

Fifth, tithing is worship. Exodus 13:14 pictures a son asking why the family gives up its firstborn, and the father telling how God brought them out of slavery. Thomas remembers his son, at eight, balking at giving two dollars of a twenty-dollar allowance, and he closes with Malachi’s invitation to test God in this.