Transcript

Prompted To Give

2 Corinthians 8:6-15
Sunday, November 9, 2014
Pastor Randy Smith

Someone must have thought it was a good idea - after all they built twelve of them altogether during and after the World War 1 era. The concept was a concrete ship! The most famous is the SS Atlantus whose remains can still be seen at the place it went down on June 8th, 1926 - 150 feet off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey, at a location fondly known as "Sunset Beach." Every time I go there I think to myself, "A concrete ship; what in the world were they thinking?"

I think many pastors feel the same way when they need to preach on money to their churches. It's not going to float! How can I expect to have any success without shipwrecking this ministry? The apostle Paul was seeking to get a collection going from the Corinthian church when in a short period of time the whole thing sunk.

Permit me to provide a little history first to establish the context. You see, there were many poor Christians living in Jerusalem which was a result of overpopulation in the city, a recent famine and severe persecution from their fellow unbelieving countrymen. So Paul felt obligated to put together a financial collection from the Gentile churches to minister to these suffering Jewish Christians. The collection was announced to the Corinthian church and then the bottom fell out once the false teachers infiltrated the flock. The church turned on Paul and thus the collection Paul started naturally fizzled out.

But as we have been learning, the church responded to Paul's severe letter. They repented. And with soft hearts now submissive to God's Spirit, Paul now pleads with the church to resume their collection.

As Paul says in chapter 8, verse 6, "So we urged Titus that as he had previously made a beginning, so he would also complete in you this gracious work as well."

This morning as we look forward to many baptisms, we are going to see how Paul frames this financial collection he's taking up in a Christ-honoring way. There are no gimmicks. There is no hint of the manipulation, coercion or intimidation that often characterizes most fund-raising drives today. The people are the means used by God, but we'll see that God is the source and the success of this operation. God's plans are moved forward by the actions of His people, but how does Paul prompt the people to give while keeping God as the focus from the beginning to the end?

Let's find out! The four points that support this thesis are found in your sermon outline.

1. Giving Is Prompted By Changed Hearts (verses 7-8)

First, Paul prompts the church to give by appealing to changed hearts.

Last week we observed that God changed hearts of the believers in the Macedonian churches (an area in Greece north of Corinth). Paul said while battling affliction and deep poverty they gave with great joy according to and beyond their ability (2 Cor. 8:2-3). As a matter of fact, we learned that this church even begged to participate in the collection (2 Cor. 8:4). What can produce results like that? 8:4, "They first gave themselves to the Lord." The result of total submission to Christ? 8:1, "The grace of God which has been given [to these] churches." The result of God's grace? Generous and sacrificial giving!

So after holding up the neighboring Macedonian churches as an example, Paul now turns to the Corinthians themselves. They repented. They were again walking with Christ. They were, verse 7, "[abounding] in everything - "faith and utterance and knowledge and…all earnestness." They were filled with "the love [which Paul] had inspired in [them]." Therefore it's only natural that they complete what they started. It's only natural that God's grace will move them as it did the Macedonians. It's only natural that Paul can call them to, end of verse 7, "abound in this gracious work also."

So how can I know I am filled with the Holy Spirit? Grace will be empowering my actions. And what is one of the demonstrations of that grace? I will express to others what I have received from God. Here in this passage there can be no doubt that one of those expressions is a generous heart with my finances.

Randy Alcorn in his great little book called "The Treasure Principle" said, "Our giving is a reflexive response to the grace of God in our lives. It doesn't come out of our altruism or philanthropy - it comes out of the transforming work of Christ in us. This grace is the action; our giving is the reaction. We give because He first gave to us. The greatest passage on giving in all Scripture [2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9] ends not with 'Congratulations for your generosity,' but 'Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift' (2 Cor. 9:15)! As thunder follows lightening, giving follows grace. When grace touches you, you can't help but respond with generous giving. And as the Macedonians knew, giving was simply the overflow of joy" (p. 30-31).

So it's almost as if Paul's saying, "You know greedy people with their time and money give no evidence of God's grace. We've seen what the grace of God did in Macedonia with their 'wealth of liberality' (2 Cor. 8:2). I believe God's grace is working among you. I'm looking forward to seeing what you'll produce now that God is moving in your hearts as well." Verse 8, "I am not speaking this as a command, but as proving through the earnestness of others the sincerity of your love also." No prescribed amount, yet an understanding that they will do what is expected among mature, Spirit-filled believers living for Christ.

2. Giving Is Prompted By The Sacrifice Of Jesus (verse 9)

So giving is prompted by hearts changed by God's grace. Second, giving is prompted by rightly understanding the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

There's a place for following the example of exemplary Christians (like the Corinthians were called to do with the Macedonians - 1 Cor. 11:1), but our primary focus should be on Jesus Christ. "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith" (Heb. 12:2). So the question we then need to ask is: What can I learn about giving and sacrifice from Christ and then how can I follow my Savior in these things?

Verse 9 hits that point home. "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 through His poverty might become rich."

So how was Jesus "rich?" Perfect glory and fellowship with the Father. Worshipped by the angels. Uncontaminated and removed from the direct presence of sin.

How did Jesus become "poor?" He departed from His eternal home in glory. He took on human flesh, was misunderstood by the religious leaders and His closest followers, accepted the sin of humanity, was brutally crucified on a cross, punished and deserted by the Father, buried in a grave.

Paul said it best in Philippians 2. "Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Phil. 2:6-8).

Look at verse 9 again. "Though He was rich, yet for your sake ["your sake," hear that?] He became poor [why?] so that you through His poverty might become rich." For the benefit of you, Christian ("your sake")! He gave it all so that in Him you might spiritually have it all! Specifically, we are all "rich" in the "righteousness of God" imputed to us (2 Cor. 5:21) and generally rich with "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph. 1:3). Is there anything greater to admire than this gracious work of our Savior at Calvary? Is it wrong to imitate Jesus? So is there evidence we are imitating Jesus with the same joyful selfless sacrifice for others?

One older commentator said, "If this love of Christ, so magnanimous in its motive and so self-sacrificing in its execution, is an active force in the believer's heart, how unnecessary, the apostle implies, any command to practice giving ought to be. What, without that love, might seem a cold moral duty has been transformed by it into a joyous privilege" (Tasker, 2 Corinthians, p. 116).

3. Giving Is Prompted By Internal Desire (verses 10-11b)

Third, it must be stated that giving is prompted by one's internal desire.

As we have been learning on Wednesday night, every act of obedience for it to be honoring to Christ must come forth from and with an internal heart desire that delights in that action. As one author said, "Genuine obedience is an act of delight-driven duty. The greatest way to honor the one who commands is not to obey because one must, but to do what is required with joy, having willingly given oneself to his authority" (Scott Hafemann, 2 Corinthians, p. 337).

Do we think the Lord is looking for slavish obedience that completes the task to finish a job while resenting Him for expecting such a responsibility? Of course not! Our Savior wants us to understand His deep love for us. He wants us to understand that His expectations are not only for our good, but also a reflection of His good character. Therefore as we abide in union with Christ, He works the desire for His will on our hearts. And as we understand and obey His expectations, it brings us good pleasure not only to do as our Lord dictates, but also to do what we really desire deep down inside ourselves.

Consider church attendance. It's the Lord's Day; we should all be here! But are we here only out of routine or obligation? If so, the Lord is not pleased. He wants us here, but He wants us to want to be here. It's only when we are walking in the Spirit that we will have the desire to praise Him together in song and fellowship with each other and hear the Word preached and serve and give of our finances and look forward to the upcoming baptisms.

In verses 10 and 11 we see Paul zero in on the church's desires. "I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it" [stop right there].

So for this Corinthian church, the desire was there before. Yet the desire for the Lord's business ceased when they walked away from the Lord. They are now back with the Lord. The Lord's desires permeate their hearts. Therefore the giving should now resume. You see, when the heart is right, right actions will always follow.

Here's one I pulled from my "Grace Quotes" database: "Where love is the compelling power, there is no sense of strain or conflict or bondage in doing what is right: the man or woman who is compelled by Jesus' love and empowered by His Spirit does the will of God from the heart" (F.F. Bruce, Paul - Apostle of the Heart Set Free, p. 21).

4. Giving Is Prompted By Proper Expectations (verses 11c-15)

So one, giving is prompted by God's grace. Two, giving is prompted from the example of Jesus. Three, giving is prompted by desire that delights in obedience. And finally, giving is prompted by understanding the proper expectations from God.

Now we learned last week about the Macedonians. Remember, the text says in 8:3 that they "gave beyond their ability." That's really hard to define. We can only give what we are able to give. Somehow these Macedonian churches went beyond what they were able to give. We don't specifically know what they did or how they did it. Again, it's like the coach asking for 110%. Unless I borrow energy from someone else, all any person can give is 100%!

God commands His children to give. Specifically, God commands His children to give financially. Amounts and percentages are not provided in the New Testament nor is giving beyond our means the expectation. Yet clear and consistent guidelines are presented throughout Scripture. Giving should be cheerful. It should be sacrificial. It should be regular. It should be our first fruits. And there is no set amount, but giving should be in proportion to how God has blessed us. Christians are to give according to their ability.

At the end of verse 11, Paul speaks of the completion of their offering. A price tag is not provided, but the expectation that the funds collected are, look there, according to their "ability." Yes, the Macedonian church gave "beyond their ability," but in 8:3 Paul also encourages them that they gave "according to their ability." When Paul originally spoke to the Corinthians of this collection in 1 Corinthians 16:2 he said they should "put aside and save, as [one] may prosper." Same thing! Look at verse 12 of 2 Corinthians 8. "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have."

What makes any financial gift acceptable to the Lord is when the gift is proportionate to how He has blessed us. Jesus praised the widow who dropped in "two small copper coins" (Lk. 21:2),> yet found no words of commendation for "the rich putting their gifts into the treasury" (Lk. 21:1). The great thing about this is that all people regardless of their economic status can honor the Lord from their wealth. And honoring the Lord in this area is something He takes very seriously (read Malachi 3:8-9). The general principle? Though all our money belongs to the Lord, we deliberately set aside that which we will give back to Him. We give an amount proportionate to what we have. It's not the quantity. It's the percentage from a cheerful heart that our Lord is concerned about.

Please understand that Paul did not desire that the Jewish Christians now become rich at the expense of the Gentile Christians. The goal in this collection was simply to assist those with a greater need. By all means it was, verse 13, "not for the ease of others and for your affliction." No, the goal was, as he says, "by way of equality." It's not socialism either. It's Christians with plenty helping other Christians with needs (cf. Ac. 2:44-45; 4:32-37). The goal is, verse 14, that the Corinthians "at this present time [their] abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality." Perhaps the tables will be turned in the future. Perhaps those in Jerusalem will need to help those in Greece. Perhaps it refers to the spiritual blessings that the Gentiles received and will continue to receive from the Jews.

And then in verse 15, Paul draws on a biblical quotation from the Old Testament. "As it is written, 'He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little had no lack.'" This is reference from the book of Exodus to the Exodus when God fed His people manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16:18). So how can it be that those who gathered much did not have too much and those who gathered little had no lack? The only answer I can think of is that the people who had excess shared with those who had a need.

I think the point Paul is making as we wrap up this section is that God provided for His people directly. Everybody was cared for. We know they had hard hearts during this first exodus with Moses. Now during the second exodus through Christ, God's people with the indwelling Spirit have soft hearts. Paul thinks it's not unreasonable for them to provide for each other. More confidence expressed by Paul that the quality of the people's givings will match the quality of their transformed hearts.

So God's people understand His commands given in the Scriptures. Then they by God's grace with eyes upon Jesus obey those commands with joyful desire. Is that your heart? Is your giving honoring to Christ in this way?