Grateful for Salvation

II Corinthians 9:6–15

When somebody does something kind for us, we usually know we ought to say thank you.

Parents spend quite a bit of time teaching that to their children.

Someone gives the child something, and before he runs off with it, Mom or Dad asks, “What do you say?”

We want him to notice the person who gave it to him.

He may be excited about the gift, but there’s somebody standing there who deserves his thanks.

That’s a lesson we need long after childhood.

We can enjoy what someone does for us and give very little thought to what it cost that person.

And tonight, I want us to consider that in our relationship with the Lord.

We haven’t forgotten that Jesus died for us.

If somebody asked how a person gets saved, we could explain it.

But knowing the answer and stopping to thank Him aren’t quite the same thing.

It’s possible to talk about salvation often and seldom speak to the Saviour about how thankful we are.

Our character trait tonight is Grateful.

The definition we are going to use is,

Grateful: Expressing gratitude to Jesus Christ for the gift of salvation made possible by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection for me.

That definition gives us a particular focus.

The Bible certainly approves thanking other people.

Paul thanked Priscilla and Aquila in Romans 16.

But tonight we’re concentrating on gratitude to Christ for salvation.

And we ought to be clear about something in that definition.

Our faith didn’t accomplish the work of salvation.

Jesus Christ accomplished that through His death and resurrection, and we receive His gift by faith.

Psalm 100:4 says,

Psalm 100:4 KJV

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

The psalm calls us to worship the Lord because of who He is and our relationship to Him.

Verse 3 reminds us that we belong to Him.

Verse 5 tells us that He is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures.

Those are reasons to give thanks before we’ve ask for anything else from Him.

Some weeks we come to church with something weighing heavily on us.

We don’t have to hide that from God.

You can thank Him for saving you while asking Him to help you with something you don’t understand.

A hard week hasn’t undone what Christ accomplished at Calvary.

Now, in II Corinthians 9, Paul is discussing an offering for needy saints.

There are believers who need help, and the Corinthians have an opportunity to help them.

Paul wants the offering ready, and he wants their giving to be willing.

As he explains it, he keeps connecting their service to God’s grace and to thanksgiving.

Then verse 15 closes the discussion: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

I understand that gift to be Christ Himself, with the salvation God has given us through Him.

Paul has already pointed to Christ’s grace in chapter 8, verse 9, as the great example behind their giving.

That helps us understand where this passage is taking us.

People who have received grace have reason to give thanks, and that gratitude ought to affect how they treat others.

Remembering God’s gift of salvation should move us to thank Him with our lips and serve others with what He’s entrusted to us.

In this passage, we see three expressions of gratitude that God’s grace should produce in us.

I. Give With Gladness

In this expression of gratitude, God takes us to what is often the deepest expression of our gratitude.

We give because we are grateful.

We give with gladness, because the gratitude has stirred our heart until we want to give.

That is not always natural for everyone.

My love language is gift giving.

I feel love when something is given, time, money, gifts.

In those same ways, it is most natural for me to show my love to others.

But for some people they may feel and express love through spoken affirmation, or through quality time spent together, or physical touch.

So Paul tells them to…

A. Purpose in Your Heart

Verse 6 says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

Paul begins with sowing and reaping.

A farmer knows that seed left in the bag won’t produce a crop.

Putting it into the ground involves parting with something now in expectation of a harvest later.

Paul uses that picture to encourage generous giving.

He isn’t selling them a way to get rich.

The following verses describe financial provision for the church to be able to accomplish good works, it describes the needs of believers being met, and thanksgiving going up to God.

That’s the harvest we need to keep in view.

Verse 7 says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give.”

This offering was to involve a thoughtful decision.

They were to think about what they could give and willingly follow through.

Sometimes we treat generosity as something we’ll get around to if there’s anything left.

But by the time everything else has had its turn, there may be very little left.

Paul tells them to purpose in their hearts.

What we do with our resources deserves prayerful thought.

And gratitude for salvation belongs in that thinking.

I didn’t earn the mercy God that was shown to me.

I couldn’t provide what was needed to take away my sin.

Christ gave Himself for me.

Boy, When I remember that, it ought to make me willing to consider someone else’s need.

The immediate subject here is money.

This also fits in application to our time and abilities.

A thankful Christian can make room in his plans to help.

That might mean setting something aside for an unknown need instead of waiting to see whether he feels generous when the request comes.

Paul starts in the heart and says, Purpose in your heart…then he says…

B. Give Without Grudging

“not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

He cares about the spirit in which they give.

You can put something in an offering and wish you still had it.

You can agree to help someone and resent him the whole time you’re helping.

We’ve probably heard the sigh that says, “Well, I suppose if I have to.”

The person gets the help, but he also gets the message that he’s a burden.

Paul wants these believers to give willingly.

That doesn’t mean generosity never costs us anything.

Sometimes we have to change a plan or give up something that we would have enjoyed.

But there’s a difference between recognizing the cost and resenting the opportunity.

In chapter 2 Corinthians 8:9, Paul writes,

2 Corinthians 8:9 KJV

9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

Consider who gave Himself for us.

The eternal Son of God humbled Himself, came among us, and went to the cross.

He knew what our salvation would cost.

And He willingly gave Himself.

We cannot repay Him for that.

We aren’t adding our generosity to His sacrifice to make salvation complete.

Ephesians 2:8–9 KJV

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Our service follows His grace.

So when I find myself becoming resentful every time somebody needs something, I need to examine that.

Perhaps I’ve been giving a great deal and need some rest or help myself.

But perhaps I’ve also lost sight of how generously Christ has dealt with me.

Remembering His grace can change the way I respond.

Still, there’s a concern that can make willing people hesitate.

What about the needs I have?

Paul hasn’t forgotten those, so he says…

II. Depend Upon His Grace

We need God’s grace for more that just salvation!

So he tells the church, first…

A. Trust His Sufficiency

Verse 8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.”

Paul directs their attention to God’s ability.

“God is able.”

The Corinthians were responsible to give, but they weren’t being asked to live as though everything depended on their own resources.

God was at work in this ministry.

Notice the purpose of His provision: “that ye ... may abound to every good work.”

Paul isn’t promising that every giver will have a bigger house or an easier life.

He’s assuring them of God’s ability to supply them for fruitful obedience.

We need that assurance because we tend to count what we lack very quickly.

We know the bills that are coming.

We know how tired we are.

And sometimes there really isn’t much available.

Scripture doesn’t require us to pretend that our limitations don’t exist.

In chapter 8, verse 12, Paul says that a willing gift is accepted

2 Corinthians 8:12 KJV

12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

The Lord knows what we have.

We can be honest about that and still ask whether fear is keeping us from something we could do.

Have I considered God’s care, or have I only considered what might go wrong?

The One who gave His Son for me knows the needs of my household.

I can seek His wisdom and obey Him without treating every opportunity to give as a threat.

Verse 9 quotes Psalm 112:9

Psalm 112:9 KJV

9 He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; His righteousness endureth for ever; His horn shall be exalted with honour.

That quotation describes the generous righteous man.

His care for the poor has lasting significance before God.

There are things we do that are soon used up.

A meal is eaten, or money helps pay a bill, and the immediate need passes.

But God sees the righteousness expressed in that generosity.

The service matters to Him even after there’s very little left for anyone else to see.

B. Share His Provision

Verse 10 speaks of God ministering “seed to the sower” and “bread for your food.”

There’s provision to eat and provision to sow.

Paul asks that God multiply their seed and increase the fruits of their righteousness.

Then verse 11 says, “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.”

The purpose of the supply is generosity, and the result is thanksgiving.

That should shape how we think about what the Lord has placed in our hands.

Certainly we have responsibilities at home.

Providing for our families is part of obedience to God.

But we should also be willing to ask whether some of what He’s supplied could meet a need beyond our own.

For example, suppose you learn that someone needs a ride to an appointment.

You have a vehicle and some time available.

You may be able to help without doing anything that looks especially remarkable.

But to that person, the ride matters.

Paul is talking about a financial offering, but the same willingness to share should affect ordinary opportunities like that.

We don’t have to wait until we’re capable of doing something impressive.

We can consider what’s actually available and what’s actually needed.

Sometimes the difficulty is simply that we’d already pictured using that time or money for ourselves.

That deserves an honest conversation with the Lord.

“Lord, I had something else in mind, but is this something You would have me do?”

Gratitude makes that a reasonable question.

We’ve received mercy we could never have purchased.

It’s fitting that we should be willing to share what God has supplied.

And the effect of that service can reach beyond the immediate need.

The third expression of Gratitude that Paul gives us is for us to …

III. Multiply Thanksgiving to God

Paul now shows us what happens when God’s people give.

The help reaches someone who needs it, and that person has a fresh reason to thank the Lord.

We can do this by doing three practical things

Notice where he begins in verse 12—with the needs of the saints.

A. Meet Real Needs

Verse 12 says, “For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God.”

The offering would supply what these believers lacked.

Paul doesn’t treat practical needs as an interruption to spiritual ministry.

He organizes help.

That ought to teach us something.

If someone needs food, our concern should include whether he has something to eat, not just say I’ll pray for you!

We can pray with him and take practical steps to help.

Those belong together.

The Corinthians’ offering would become useful help in the lives of people they might never meet personally.

And those people would thank God.

Think about what that means.

A believer gives in one place, and another believer praises the Lord somewhere else because of it.

The giver may never hear the prayer.

He may never know exactly what the help meant to that family.

But God hears their thanksgiving.

Sometimes we want to know whether a small act of service accomplished anything.

This passage reminds us that we may not see every result.

Meeting the need is worthwhile even when we don’t get to hear the whole story.

B. Bring Him Glory

Verse 13 says that the recipients “glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ, and for your liberal distribution unto them, and unto all men.”

Their giving provides evidence that their profession of faith has affected their conduct.

They say they belong to Christ, and their willingness to share is then consistent with that confession.

The people receiving the gift see God’s grace at work and glorify Him.

That gives us a good purpose for serving.

We want our conduct to help people recognize His goodness.

How we give matters here.

We can offer help discreetly and speak to the person with respect.

Needing assistance can be embarrassing enough without someone making a public project out of you.

And if somebody thanks us, we don’t have to make that awkward.

We can say, “You’re welcome; I’m glad I could help.”

In our own hearts, we know where the provision came from.

Verse 14 adds that the recipients pray for the givers and long after them because of God’s exceeding grace in them.

Their generosity draws believers closer together.

The people receiving help care about the people who gave.

There is prayer and affection between them.

That’s a beautiful result from something as practical as an offering.

Then in the end of this chapter, in verse 15, He draws it back to the reason why we give…

C. Remember His Gift

Then Paul closes with verse 15: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

After discussing what the Corinthians would give, his attention rests on what God has given.

Christ is greater than any gift we could place in an offering.

We can explain the gospel truthfully, but we cannot exhaust the wonder of God’s grace in giving His Son.

The definition tonight ends with the words “for me.”

If you’re saved, take time to consider those words personally.

Christ bore your sins.

Your forgiveness rests on His finished work.

You can come before God through Him.

And death will not separate you from your Saviour.

Those aren’t small mercies.

Psalm 103:2–3 KJV

2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all his benefits: 3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases;

David calls his own soul to remember.

We need that deliberate remembrance too.

Our attention gets taken up with whatever is demanding an answer today.

We can spend a great deal of time thinking about a problem while giving very little thought to the forgiveness we still enjoy.

Take a moment and tell the Lord what that forgiveness means to you.

You don’t need impressive words.

You can thank Him that a sin you remember with shame has been forgiven through Christ.

You can thank Him that He receives you when you come to Him in prayer.

That is personal gratitude for His gift.

Conclusion

Tonight, I want to leave you with those words from Paul: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

If you’ve never trusted Christ, receive Him by faith.

You cannot earn salvation by giving money, helping people, or trying to improve yourself.

Christ has done the work you could never do.

And if you know Him, spend some time thanking Him specifically for saving you.

Then consider whether there’s a need you could willingly help meet.

Let the grace that you’ve received affect how you respond.

We have good reason to be thankful.

Jesus Christ gave Himself for us.