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Example Of Christian Giving 2
Corinthians 8:1-6 Paul brings us back to
earth with a thump! The subject changes from Christian living to Christian
giving, which is as vital as living, since Jesus said that where our
treasure is, our heart is. Our
heart is very much tied to our wallet, or what we treasure most. This section, which
includes chapters 8 and 9, divides this way: Example of Christian
Giving, 2Co. 8:1-6 Exhortation to Christian
Giving, 2Co. 8:7-15 Explanation of Christian
Giving, 2Co. 8:16 through 2Co. 9:5 Encouragement to Christian
Giving, 2Co. 9:6-15 I preach very few messages
on giving, yet we have seen the giving increase exponentially over the
years. This confirms my belief that God's people will support a ministry
that teaches and preaches the Word of God. I resent the high-pressure
promotion and money-raising schemes which are being used in Christian work.
I do not think they are scriptural by any means.
You know the saying, you get what you pay for.
Christians pay for what they get. These two chapters give us
the most extended and complete section on Christian giving that we have in
the Scriptures. Actually, all we need to know is here. There are no rules,
but there are certain clear-cut principles for giving. The word that is important
in this section is the word grace. In this chapter the word grace occurs
seven times, and it occurs three times in chapter 9 -- ten times in these
two chapters. The subject is the grace of giving.
Example Of Christian Giving (8:1-6) Moreover, brethren, we do
you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of I want to spend a little
time here on that word grace. We find it here in the first verse. We find it
again in the fourth verse: "Praying us with much entreaty that we would
receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the
saints." The word gift in our translation is actually "grace." Another way
of translation would be, "Praying us with much entreaty that we would give
effect to the grace and fellowship of the service to the saints." The word
appears again in the sixth verse: "Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as
he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also." He is calling giving a
grace. It is a grace of God. It is a disposition created by the Spirit of
God. He is writing to the Corinthians and is telling them that the
Macedonians had that kind of grace, and he is hoping that the Corinthians
will have that same grace. We usually define grace as
the unmerited favor of God. Yet it does not adequately describe this word.
It may cause you to miss the rich flavor of it. I studied Koine, the Greek
of the Scriptures, and I found that the Greek word charis means an outward
grace like beauty or loveliness or charm or kindness or goodwill or
gratitude or delight or pleasure. Paul uses it again and again. Now notice
carefully this definition: The grace of God is the passion of God to share
all His goodness with others. Grace means that God wants to bestow upon you
good things, goodnesses. And He wants to bring you into the likeness of His
Son. This is the grace of which
Paul writes in Ephesians: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should
boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). We were lost sinners; we had nothing to offer God for
our salvation; so He saved us by grace. He had a passion for wanting to save
us. He loved us, but He could not arbitrarily forgive us because He is a
holy God. He had to provide a way, and that way was that He sent His Son to
die for us. We are told that "God so loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son" (see John 3:16). God is in the business of giving, not
receiving. I think sometimes we give
the impression that God is poor and that He needs our gifts. He doesn't. God
is not poor. He says, "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle
upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild
beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for
the world is mine, and the fulness thereof" (Ps. 50:10-12). God doesn't get
hungry. Even if He did, He would not tell us! God is not in need of
anything. The early church considered
giving to be a grace. It was a passion, an overwhelming desire to share the
things of God with others. Paul is writing
specifically of a local situation, and we need to recognize that. The Now as Paul went about on
his third missionary journey, he collected an offering for the church in Paul was not yet able to
come to What a contrast that is to
the usual method today. The usual invitation that I receive is to come over
and hold a meeting and while I am there a love offering will be taken for
me. And the better the meeting the better the offering.
It is performance based.
And we do it the same way w/ our speakers, and there is nothing wrong w/
that, but it all just goes to prove how these people considered giving a
grace and a privilege. They
weren't really giving to the person but to the person's God and to the
furtherance of the gospel thru them. Now I have given to you the
color of the local situation and the background of the instructions in this
epistle. The facts of the local situation have now passed into history, but
the principles which Paul lays down abide. I believe they are as sharp and
fresh today as they were when Paul first gave them. In the first verse Paul
cited the Macedonian believers as examples in Christian giving -- this
referred to the church at How that in a great trial
of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded
unto the riches of their liberality [2Cor. 8:2]. Notice that the Macedonians
gave out of their "deep poverty." They didn't have riches. They didn't give
of their surplus or of their abundance; they gave out of their poverty. I'm
afraid we don't know much about that kind of giving today. For to their power, I bear
record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying
us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the
fellowship of the ministering to the saints [2Cor. 8:3-4]. It would be more accurate
to translate this: "Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the
grace" -- that gift they had taken up was a grace, and it was fellowship,
which means it was a sharing of the things of Christ. Now notice what the
believers in And this they did, not as
we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the
will of God [2Cor. 8:5]. Paul says this was not
something that he had expected. First of all, they had given themselves to
the Lord. That is basic. Secondly, they had given themselves, apparently to
some local work of Christ and they were sold out to it. They gave themselves
to Paul, which means they helped him to get out the gospel his way. You see,
they were sold out to God. Back in Paul's first letter
to the Corinthians he wrote about the Resurrection and heaven (see ch. 15),
and they were about to say, "Brother Paul, tell us more about heaven." Then
Paul shook them right down to their shoestrings by saying, "Now concerning
the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of They owed the home church
in You remember that the Lord
Jesus stood aside and watched the people give in the temple -- I think He
still does that. The rich came in and gave large gifts, but the poor little
widow came and put in her two mites. The Lord said she had cast in more than
they all (see Mark 12:41-44). She gave of her poverty and she gave all that
she had. If you measured the value of those little coppers against the
riches of that temple, they didn't amount to anything. But the Lord Jesus
gives God's evaluation: "And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this
poor widow hath cast in more than they all: For all these have of their
abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but she of her penury hath cast
in all the living that she had" (Luke 21:3-4). It has been said, "When it
comes to giving, some people stop at nothing." That is where a great many
stop. The story is told of a
Scottish church that was attempting to raise money for a new building. One
member of the church was a rich Scot who was known to be worth fifty
thousand pounds. He was a typical Scot and was pretty stingy, like most of
us are. A deacon came to see him and asked, "Brother, how much are you going
to give for the new church?" The Scot replied, "Oh, I guess I'll be able to
put in the widow's mite." The deacon called out in the next meeting,
"Brethren, we have all the money we need. This brother is going to give
fifty thousand pounds." The man was amazed. "I didn't say I would give fifty
thousand pounds; I said I would give the widow's mite." The deacon replied,
"Well, she gave her all, and I thought that is what you meant to give!" It
is interesting that God notes what you give but also what you keep for
yourself. In another church they were
taking up an offering for a building program. The man calling on one of the
members said to him, "How much are you going to give, brother?" "Well," he
said, "I guess I could give ten dollars and not feel it." The man replied,
"Then why don't you make it twenty dollars and feel it?" You see, the
blessing only comes when you feel it, my friend. This is the meaning of "It
is more blessed to give than to receive." The Macedonian believers
gave themselves to God. And, my friend, if God doesn't have you, He doesn't
want anything from you. If God doesn't have the hand, He doesn't want the
gift that is in the hand. If He
doesn't have the heart, He doesn't want the wallet chained to it. Insomuch that we desired
Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace
also [2Cor. 8:6]. Paul says that the grace
which motivated the Macedonians should be the same grace that would motivate
the Corinthians. The real test of any person lies in what he gives. Someone
has said there are three books that are essential for a worship service: the
first book is the God's book, the second is the hymn book, and the third is
the pocketbook. Giving is a part of our worship to God. If we do not have
the grace of giving, we should pray to God and ask Him to give us a
generous, sharing spirit.
[w/ helps from J. Vernon McGee]
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NOTICE! Our sermons are free to download, copy and paste, edit and use as you see fit...but only our free subscribers get the newest messages, featured sermons, and some free gifts we shower on them from time to time! Help keep this service free by recommending it using the links above the sermon
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