Is it a sin not to tithe?

No, it is not a sin for a Christian to give something other than ten percent. The tithe was part of the Law God gave Israel. Christians are not under that Law. And God is not angry with you over a number.

But there is a real sin nearby, and we should be honest about it. A heart that never gives, never shares and never cares is not a free heart. It is a cold one.

Why people feel guilty

Maybe you sat in the back row with sweaty hands as the plate came by. You paid rent and bought food for your kids. Then someone said, “If you do not give ten percent, you are robbing God.” You went home afraid.

That fear usually comes from Malachi 3. But Malachi was speaking to Israel under the Law about food for the temple storehouse. The curse belonged to that covenant.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

Galatians 3:13

Jesus carried that curse to the cross. He did not leave a piece of it for you.

The apostles never called it sin

After the cross, no apostle tells a church to tithe. When the church met in Acts 15 to settle what non-Jewish believers must keep, their letter did not mention it. Peter asked why they would put on believers “a yoke... that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear” (Acts 15:10). Then he said, “We believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11).

If not tithing were a sin, that was the place to say so. They did not.

What God does care about

God looks at the heart, not the percentage.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

“As he has decided” is προαιρέομαι proaireomai, to choose ahead of time with God, not on a whim or out of guilt. Pray. Make a plan. Give often. Give more when you have more.

If you have very little, God sees you. The widow’s two tiny coins were more than all the rich gifts (Mark 12:43). God measures the size of the heart.

Freedom is not stinginess

Some hear “you do not have to tithe” and think “I can keep it all.” That misses the point. “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly” (2 Corinthians 9:6). Under grace the question changes from “How much do I owe?” to “How much can I give?”

Jesus did not give ten percent. He gave everything. When that sinks in, giving stops feeling like a tax. It starts feeling like joy.

So lay down the guilt. Pick up the joy. Give because you are free.