Sermon Tone Analysis

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6,7

A PROVERB TO GUIDE OUR GIVING

 

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Every language has its proverbs.

English is an expressive and marvellously powerful language in part because it is so dynamic, adapting to the changing world including the adoption of sayings, proverbs and adages found in other languages.

The proverb Paul quotes is obviously ancient; and though we cannot speak with authority of the origin of the proverb it was certainly current among those conversant with the lingua franca of the New Testament world, what we now speak of as koine Greek.

I suspect that the proverb quoted is as ancient, in one form or another, as agrarian society.

So long as man has tilled the soil, I would suppose that this proverb has been quoted.

I make no claim to being a horticulturist; my thumb is not green and plants simply die by reason of my proximity.

Therefore, I have no advice concerning your efforts to plant or grow plants in your yards.

However, Paul is not speaking of plants in this proverb.

He is applying the universal truth underlying the proverb to instruct his readers in a biblical principle concerning giving.

The greater your gift, the greater the return you may anticipate.

Though there may be caveats applied to the proverb, the truth remains that generosity begets blessing.

Join me in a study of this ancient proverb to discover how the truth may be applied in contemporary life.

The Biblical Basis for Generosity in Giving  — There lived during the early years of the century only recently passed, a wonderfully gifted man who was richly blessed by God in his business.

The name of this gifted man was R. G. LeTourneau.

LeTourneau was a designer and builder of the great earth moving equipment which was instrumental in permitting North American governments to design and construct the vast network of roads and urban infrastructure which has built the modern nations.

In the process, LeTourneau earned a vast fortune.

Being a Christian, R. G. LeTourneau was determined that he would honour God through his generosity.

At the first, he committed to giving a tenth of his income, which he soon increased to twenty percent.

As he kept on earning money he continued increasing the amount he gave to God and His work until he was donating ninety percent of his earnings to the work of the Lord.

Near the end of his life, he confessed that he had enjoyed life immensely, and especially had he enjoyed contributing to the work of the Lord.

His testimony was that as he was shovelling money out the back of his life with a spoon God was shovelling money into his life with a scoop shovel.

His testimony was that no one could out give God.

God will be debtor to no one.

No mere mortal can so live, can so give, that God becomes indebted to that individual.

Job, pondering the deep questions of the divine mind, asks rhetorically of God:

 

If He snatches away, who can stop Him?

Who can say to Him, ‘What are You doing?

[*Job 9:12*]

            The Living God is generous beyond all human comprehension.

Throughout the Word of God are statements of His compassion and generosity which are given to stimulate His people to emulation of His noble character.

We are familiar with the statement which underscores our Faith and which is recorded in *John 3:16*: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son.

I have often noted that this example of infinite generosity finds its foundation in the promise of *Isaiah 9:6*:

 

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given.

God is defined by His generosity, by His compassion for fallen mankind and His willingness to give that man might live.

How wonderfully does Paul sum up this divine munificence in *Galatians 2:20*: The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Never forget that God is generous, that God is benevolent to us as a race and as a people.

God, through Malachi, the last writing prophet of the Old Testament era, issued a command, attaching a wonderful promise revealing His generous nature toward His people.

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house.

Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, ‘‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.

“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the LORD Almighty [*Malachi 3:10-12*].

I am often struck by the admonitions to generosity discovered in the wisdom literature.

Listen to two such exhortations from *The Psalms* and *The Proverbs*.

The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously

[*Psalm 37:21*].

Those who are generous are blessed,

for they share their bread with the poor

[*Proverbs 22:9*].

According to the Psalmist, generosity characterises the righteous.

According to the Wise Man, the generous may anticipate blessing because they are considerate of the needy.

Akin to these Old Testament instructions and sage counsel are instructions from the lips of Jesus and from the pen of Paul.

Consider two such words of counsel.

The first was provided by our Lord, and though often wrenched out of context that they may be applied to sate raw greed, the counsel is worthy of thoughtful consideration.

Give, and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.

For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you [*Luke 6:38*].

Surely this is a promise of blessing for the generous.

Writing his young theologue, Timothy, Paul urged him to remember that and teach that [Christians] are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share [*1 Timothy 6:18*].

The mark of a Christian is generosity.

Let me summarise this vital point.

The character of God is generosity and the child reflects the parent in expressing this same spirit of generosity.

Generosity, if you will, is synonymous with love for it is an expression of the Spirit of God and *God is love*.

I do not need to tell you these truths; you already know them.

I do, however, find it necessary to remind us as believers from time-to-time that the spirit of generosity is the true expression of our God.

The Promise of Blessing Flowing from Generosity — Remember this: … whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

We have already discovered that God is pledged to bless the generous heart.

The verse before us, however, is quite pointed in the promise that God will remember generosity.

In that respect, the verse is akin to several Old Testament promises.

I want you to listen to these promises as they are displayed in the Wisdom Literature.

The first I quote is from *The Proverbs** *and the second is quoted from *The Psalms*.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more;

another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

A generous man will prosper;

he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

People curse the man who hoards grain,

but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.

[*Proverbs 11:24-26*]

 

It is well with those who deal generously and lend,

who conduct their affairs with justice

[*Psalm 112:5*].

These proverbs to which I have just now referred are statements of general principle, which though inspired by the Spirit of God, were based upon the observations of the respective writers.

In other words, revealed theology confirms the conclusion drawn from natural theology.

Nevertheless, we may take it as divine promise that God takes note of the generous and that He is pledged in turn to show Himself generous toward generous people.

The Corinthians were not noted for their generosity.

In an earlier letter, the Apostle had found it necessary to take them to task for their lack of compassion.

You will perhaps recall the passage: When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat, for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else.

One remains hungry, another gets drunk [*1 Corinthians 11:20, 21*].

These people were inconsiderate of one another at the best and without compassion at the worst.

Even at the Lord’s Table they came together, but were yet in a state of disharmony—there was no unity, no harmony, no sense of oneness in Christ.

Those able to care for themselves provided enough for their own comfort even while ignoring the hunger and the thirst of their fellow saints.

Before the Lord Christ some went without food and drink in the Agape Feasts which preceded the Lord’s Supper!

This was not a compassionate church.

Small wonder, then, that the Apostle found it necessary to remind them of the need for generosity.