By Russ Johnson
Somewhere between Moses
and megachurches,
generosity got kidnapped.
What began as a spontaneous act of love
turned into a spiritual tax.
A 10% membership fee.
A number you owe to God
if you want to validate your commitment
or stay in his good graces.
But here’s the thing:
the tithe doesn’t belong
to the story of grace.
It belongs to the system
Jesus ended.
Let’s explore why.
The Tithe Was A Temporary System
The Old Covenant tithe
wasn’t a generic rule
about “giving to God.”
It was an agricultural tax
to support the Levites
who ran the temple
and sacrificial system.
“I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting.”
(Num 18:21)
In other words,
the tithe existed
because of the temple.
So, no temple, no tithe.
But Jesus himself declared
that system finished:
“Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” (John 2:19)
He wasn’t talking about bricks.
He was talking about his body,
the new temple.
In Jesus, the priesthood,
sacrifices, and temple system
all came to their end in his revelation.
Hebrews lays it flat:
“By calling this covenant ‘new,’ He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.” (Heb 8:13)
And it did.
The temple structure they knew
literally collapsed in A.D. 70.
The system the tithe supported
died right along with it.
So why do Christians keep resurrecting it?
A Transitional Moment
Yes, Jesus mentions the tithe,
but context matters.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices… but you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness.” (Matt 23:23)
Notice his audience:
Pharisees under the law.
Jesus wasn’t commanding
new covenant believers to tithe;
he was exposing the hypocrisy
of people who thought 10%
could buy righteousness.
It’s like saying,
Sure, you tithe your herbs,
but you’ve missed
the whole point of the story.
After the cross of Jesus,
the tithe never appears again.
The apostles never mention it.
The early church never practiced it.
Sure, they gave.
But not by law.
Grace Doesn’t Tax You.
When Paul talks about giving,
he doesn’t say: tithe.
He says grace.
“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7)
That’s the opposite of Law.
Because the Law demands.
Grace inspires.
Paul’s letters are full of examples:
Collections for the poor believers in Jerusalem (Rom 15:25–27)
Support for his travels to spread good news(Phil 4:15–16)
Encouragement to share with those in need (Eph 4:28)
Instruction to care for those who labor in teaching (1 Tim 5:17–18)
But never a command to pay 10%.
The pattern is simple:
People gave
because love moved them.
The funds went directly to needs
and the spread of good news.
No one enforced it.
Everyone participated freely.
And they gave generously.
Fuel the Movement, Not the Machine
Churches never owned property,
never built a building,
never set up a “campus.”
Paul received gifts from friends
so he could keep traveling
and starting conversations
that empowered the spread of grace.
“When I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need.” (Phil 4:15–16)
And even then,
it wasn’t an obligation:
“Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account.”
(Phil 4:17)
Paul saw giving
as participation in grace,
not payment to validate faith.
He even worked as a tentmaker
when needed (Acts 18:3),
showing that leadership
wasn’t about financial dependence.
It was about friendship in motion
in everyday life.
A People. Not A Payroll
The first Jesus-followers
didn’t gather in buildings —
they gathered around tables
in ordinary homes.
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.” (Acts 2:44–45)
“There were no needy persons among them.” (Acts 4:34)
They didn’t funnel their generosity
into a hierarchy
that kept a machine in tact.
They funneled it into each other
and to those spreading good news
that went beyond their circle.
Giving wasn’t an institutional duty;
it was a family reflex.
Wherever there was need,
grace met it through generosity.
Wherever there was opportunity,
grace funded it.
No budgets.
No “church” brands.
Just love moving freely.
Rethinking The Modern Machine
Fast forward 2,000 years.
The church that began in living rooms
now spends over $37 billion a year
in the U.S. alone on buildings,
salaries, and programs —
maintaining what already exists.
The result?
Many leaders are burned out.
Members are in debt.
Real needs go unmet.
And the world sees “church”
as a business dressed in Jesus language.
That’s not generosity.
It’s misdirection.
The system takes
what was meant for people
and buries it in property.
It calls this stewardship,
but Jesus called it foolishness:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Matt 6:19)
Jesus’ words are an invitation
to imagine what becomes possible
when we stop investing in bricks
and start investing in people.
True Giving: Where Freedom Flows
Grace doesn’t tell you
what percentage to give.
It tells you who you are.
You’re part of a body that shares life,
not a business.
“Freely you have received; freely give.”
(Matt 10:8)
Generosity is a natural byproduct
of seeing who Jesus is for us.
And when you realize he gave everything —
his time, his table, his very life —
you stop asking,
How much should I give?
and start asking,
How much can I share?
“If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” (1 John 3:17)
This isn’t about guilt.
It’s about awakening.
Because the more we see grace,
the freer our hands become.
Where Giving Goes Now
The invitation here isn’t to stop giving.
It’s to give what gives life.
Support the storytellers,
travelers, and table-makers,
like Paul said,
who keep grace moving to a world
downing under the weight of religion.
And fuel the friends
who are running nonprofits
that meet real needs.
Because when you share your resources
where Jesus is still breaking bread,
you’re not just funding ministry.
You’re joining the movement of the Spirit
that’s been setting people free
since day one.
That’s the irony of it all.
The modern tithe has become
the very thing
it was supposed to end —
a tax that funds a priesthood
and a program
that stands between God and people.
But Jesus tore that curtain.
“You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood.” (1 Peter 2:9)
Every believer is now a priest.
Every table a sacred space.
Every act of generosity
a mirror of grace itself.
So if your giving
doesn’t make you freer,
it’s not grace — it’s guilt.
The Invitation
The question isn’t how much to give,
but who it’s for.
Does it keep you tethered to a machine,
or does it set someone free in their need,
or with their time to disciple a world
uninterested in what’s become church?
The first feeds religion.
The second fuels resurrection.
So maybe it’s time
to trade the tithe for trust.
To give like the early friends of Jesus.
Freely.
Joyfully.
Generously.
Because grace doesn’t pass the plate.
It passes itself on.
That’s not charity.
That’s church,
the way Jesus meant it.