“The Grace of Giving” Pt3

(8:1) – How can we tell when we are practicing “grace giving”?

I. When We Give in Spite of Circumstances (8:1–2)

II. When We Give Enthusiastically – (8:3–4)

III. When We Give Because of Our Commitment to God – (8:5-7)

IV. When Our Motive for Giving is Love – (8:8)

V. When We Give as Jesus Gave – (8:9)

VI. When We Give Willingly – (8:10–12)

VII. When We Give by Faith– (8:13–15)

(v.13) – Paul did NOT suggest that the rich become poor so that the poor might become rich.

(v.14) – Paul saw an “equality” in the whole procedure: the Gentile churches at that time were enjoying some measure of material wealth, while the believers in Judea were suffering.

That situation could one day be reversed. There might come a time when the Jewish believers would be assisting the Gentiles.

Who does the equalizing? God does.

(v.15) – Paul used the miracle of the manna as an illustration of the principle!

Exodus 16:18 CSB

18 When they measured it by quarts, the person who gathered a lot had no surplus, and the person who gathered a little had no shortage. Each gathered as much as he needed to eat.

No matter how much manna the Jews gathered each day, they always had what they needed!

Those who tried to hoard the manna discovered that it was impossible, because the manna would decay and smell!

Exodus 16:20 CSB

20 But they didn’t listen to Moses; some people left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and stank. Therefore Moses was angry with them.

The LESSON IS CLEAR: gather what you need, share what you have, and don’t hoard God’s blessings!

Grace giving is a matter of faith: we obey God and believe that He will meet our needs as we help to meet the needs of others!

Concluding Matters…(8:16-24)

Beginning in (8:16), Paul suddenly turned from a profound spiritual principle to some practical counsel on how the special collection would be handled.

While it is true that grace giving means giving by faith, it is also true that grace giving does not mean giving by chance!

The believer who shares with others must be sure that what he gives is managed faithfully.

Paul was very careful how he handled money entrusted to him, because he did not want to get the reputation of being a “religious thief.”

The churches that contributed to the collection chose certain representatives to travel with Paul, so that everything would be done honestly, decently, and in order.

Grace giving is not foolish giving. The men or women of any Christian ministry who handle the Lord’s money—whether a local church, a mission’s organization, or a benevolence organization—should possess the following qualifications:

1. A God-given desire to serve – (vv.16–17)

Paul did not “draft” Titus; God put the desire in his heart to assist in the gathering of the special offering.

(v.16) - “…God, who put the same concern for you in the heart of Titus.”

2. A reputation for effective service - (v.18)

3. An appointment by the churches - (v.19a)

4. A desire to honor God – (v.19) –

“…for the glory of the Lord himself”

5. A reputation for honesty – (vv.20–22)

Paul made it clear that he welcomed the representatives from the cooperating churches.

He wanted to avoid any blame!

It is not enough to say, “The Lord sees what we’re doing!”

We should make certain that men can see what we are doing as well!

Note the emphasis in (v.22) on diligence.

If there is one quality that is needed when handling finances, it is diligence!

WE are blessed as a church to have two men who oversee the offerings an finances: Denny Bell and Allen Tetrick.

6. A cooperative spirit – (vv.23–24)

“…he is my partner and fellow worker”