Is tithing in the New Testament?

Yes, the word is there. But look at where it shows up. Every time, it is about the Law before the cross, about proud religious leaders, or about Abraham long ago. Not once does an apostle tell a church to tithe.

Jesus and the Pharisees

For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.

Matthew 23:23

The word here is ἀποδεκατόω apodekatoō, to pay a tenth. Some say, “See, Jesus told them not to neglect the tithe.” He did. But think about when and to whom. He was talking to Pharisees, before the cross, while the temple stood and the Law was in force. Of course men under the Law should keep the Law.

And His main point was not money. They were careful with tiny garden herbs and careless with people. That is a warning about religion, not a rule for the church.

The Pharisee who tithed

In Luke 18 a Pharisee prayed, “I give tithes of all that I get.” A tax collector stood far off and begged, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Jesus said the tax collector “went down to his house justified, rather than the other” (Luke 18:14). The man who tithed the most went home lost. The tithe did not save him. Mercy saved the other man.

Abraham in Hebrews 7

Hebrews 7 tells how Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of the spoils of one battle. It happened once, and then he gave the rest away (Genesis 14:20-24). Hebrews tells the story to show that Jesus is a greater priest. The point is Jesus, not money. Hebrews never says, “So you should tithe too.”

What the apostles did say

After the cross, the apostles talk about giving a lot. They never set a ten percent rule.

On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper.

1 Corinthians 16:2

Give often. Everyone take part. Give in step with what God has given you. That is a habit, not a number.

When the church met in Acts 15 to decide what non-Jewish believers must keep, their letter listed a few simple things. Tithing was not on it.

Something better than a tenth

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

2 Corinthians 8:9

Jesus did not give ten percent. He gave everything. The first church in Jerusalem shared so freely that “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34). No one passed a law. Their hearts had changed.

So the New Testament does not hand you a lower bar. It hands you a better reason. You give because you have been given so much.