Grace: A Higher Standard Than Law

Living in the New Testament era of grace isn’t an excuse to ignore or drop below the standard of the tithe set in the Old Testament era of law. You see, when Jesus taught on the Old Testament law he always took the baseline standard the law set and raised it. He never lowered it. Here’s just two quick examples. In Matthew 5:21-22 Jesus said: Never mind murder! Don’t even be angry with someone! And in Matthew 5:27-28 Jesus said: Forget adultery! I’m telling you don’t even lust! In both these instances Jesus took the base line standard set by the law and raised the bar. So According to Jesus, God set the foundation of the law for us to build on, not shrink back from. We’re to move forward in our giving, not backwards. We’re to look at the example set in the law of the tithe and raise the bar, not lower it.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Do those of us who live in the New Testament era of grace have to give exactly 10%. NO!!! We are free to give MORE! You can give 12%, 15%, 20% or more if you want. I know some pastors who give 90% and live off only 10%. Living in the era of grace is an invitation to live at an even higher standard than the law, not a lower one. That’s why Kristin and I give 15% of our income to the Lord’s work. We give our tithe, which is 10%, then we give another 5% as an offering, above and beyond the tithe. Like Jesus taught, we’ve taken the baseline standard of the law (the tithe) and built on it.