Distributing Our Gifts

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2 Corinthians 8:16-24

Distributing Our Gifts

I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.  For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.  And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.  What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honour the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help.  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.  For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.

             In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.  As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honour to Christ.  Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.

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ome years ago in Vancouver, the spiritual leader of the Cabalarian Society, a numerology cult located in that city, was arraigned before the courts for sexual misconduct and misappropriation of cult funds.  The case was the subject of radio talk shows for months.  The newspapers dispatched reporters to dig into multiplied allegations of misconduct, including financial mismanagement and fraud.  Reporters charged that members of the cult claimed losses greater than sixteen million dollars over a period of years as result of misuse of donated funds.  The charges of financial deceit and deception are not so different from those pressed against Christian spiritual leaders a couple of decades back, including such former religious luminaries as Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart.

            You may recall that when charges were first pressed against Mr. Bakker and later against Mr. Swaggart, supporters amazingly denied that either was capable of financial mismanagement.  A frequent theme heard then, and a theme heard among members of the aforesaid Cabalarian Society, was that moneys are given by donors and that is the end of donor responsibility.  Can it be true that when we have given funds to a cause we bear no further responsible?  Have we no responsibility to review the work of those organisations to whom we make donations?  As Christians, do we bear any responsibility to insure financial integrity of charities to which we contribute?  What responsibilities does God impose on those churches receiving contributions?  If money represents the labours of those possessing it—money being a medium of exchange obtained through labour—it has an intimate attachment to those possessing it.  Therefore, do we not bear responsibility for the ultimate employment, for the administration of our donated funds?

            The questions are not so remote as we might imagine; they are central to wise giving.  Christians are to be generous, and they are to support those institutions which contribute to their spiritual welfare and to the advance of God’s Kingdom.  However, not every religious society bears the blessing of God.  There are too many religious societies which superficially appear to be Christian and are yet false.  Paul warned about such people when he cautioned the elders of Ephesus: I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.  Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them [Acts 20:29-30].

Administrators of Church Funds must Have Clear Concern for the Local Congregation.  I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you.  For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative.  And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel.  When we select and appoint those to administer the funds donated to the church, we must give primary consideration to their spiritual qualifications.  I insist on sound financial principles by administrators.  I am equally convinced that we require skilled men and women trained in administering the books so that an accurate and honest report is always available to the people of God.  Nevertheless, the first criterion for individuals chosen by the congregation to perform this service is that they must be trustworthy, having the good of the Body uppermost in their minds.

            Paul was concerned for the health of all the churches, and especially was he concerned for those churches he had visited and among whom he had invested service, prayer and tears.  Therefore, demonstrating his concern, he dispatched Titus, whom he trusted as a father would trust a beloved son, together with certain unnamed brothers who were known to all the churches.  Most importantly for our focus at this moment, these unnamed brothers were known to the Corinthian church and trusted by them as those concerned for the welfare of the congregation.

            Who were these unnamed brothers?  We cannot say with certainty, but that has not stopped theologians and scholars from speculating.  Probably as good a guess as any is that Luke was one of these men.  Whoever the men may have been, they were well known to Corinthians.  Their names may be included among a list of travellers with the Apostle provided in Acts 20:4.  There, we read of Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia, and of course, Luke.  Whoever the brothers may have been, they were well known to the Corinthians and to other Macedonian and Achaian churches.  On the basis of 2 Corinthians 8:22, we may speculate that they were noted for their evangelistic zeal: we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.

            Here is a note of considerable importance.  The brothers chosen by the churches to administer the funds were likely evangelists.  We are quick to appoint zealous soul-winners to evangelism committees or other such committees which we associate with outreach and mission; but perhaps we should insure that each person appointed to a finance committee—or to any church position itself—has an evangelistic heart.  Those administering the funds of the church ought to be zealous for the spread of the Gospel and for winning the lost to the Faith.  Failure to invest our funds in winning the lost is an offence against divine love.  The church which fails to direct its moneys into evangelism and missionary enterprise is a church which has forgotten its purpose; and appointment of evangelists to the official boards of that church would go far toward rectifying the stupefying malaise which dulls the spiritual senses.

            As a corollary to this matter of appointment of those with evangelistic hearts to official positions within the congregation, note that it is only those with a heart for evangelism who are capable of serving to please the Lord.  Only those who desire the salvation of the lost can be said to be concerned for the welfare and the continued vitality of the local congregation.  For to neglect the salvation of the lost is to condemn the church to a hopeless future marked by an absence of fresh life and plagued with steady decrease—and ultimately facing death.

Administrators of Church Funds must Seek the Lord’s Honour in Every Action.  What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honour the Lord himself.  I have no doubt that those concerned for the welfare of the local congregation will also wish to honour the Lord Christ.  As a guiding principle to any congregation, and especially to our own congregation, determine that every service, that every ministry, that every act performed by the congregation or by individual members, must have the Lord’s honour central to the planning and implementation.  Paul boldly states that the administration of funds received is designed to honour, literally to glorify, the Lord Himself.

            I seriously doubt that anyone present today would dispute the thought that we ought to honour the Lord.  However, I am equally confident that we hold differing ideas of how we may best honour the Lord.  Ultimately, as a people of the Book, we must determine how to honour the Lord, not through listening to the most strident voices among us nor through a democratic procedure, but through appeal to His revealed will in the Book.  As we continue our study of this letter, we will discover that we honour the Lord as we openly administer donated funds, through adopting an attitude welcoming accountability, and through insuring an environment which encourages generosity.  Each of these actions must have the will of Christ central to both planning and implementation, and Christ’s glory shall be ensured as we witness souls saved and lives transformed through our ministry.

            I am concerned by a tendency among our churches to appoint individuals charged with administration of church funds who seem to know the cost of everything but know the value of nothing.  I am concerned, not by legitimate questions which challenge the congregation to weigh the most effective and the most efficient distribution of funds, but I am concerned for that view which sees only the bottom line on the finance sheet.  Such a view exchanges the eternal for the temporal.  That view exchanges true wealth for earthly trinkets and ephemeral baubles.  That view devalues Christ through attempting to place a price on the priceless message of life and salvation of souls.  The ultimate appeal for the Christian is whether Christ is glorified, whether souls are confronted with the love of Christ, whether lives are transformed by the grace of God.  In the salvation of souls and in the building up of the Body of Christ our Lord is glorified.

Administration of Church Funds Must Always be Open Before God and Man.  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift.  For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.  From earliest days as a minister of the Gospel I have insisted on biblical principle that the business of the church ought to be open before all mankind.  A full accounting of receipts and of the distribution of the gifts received ought to be rendered to the congregation on a regular basis.  The surest guard against error in administration of funds is to provide regular reports to the people giving the gifts.  The surest means to engender suspicion and questions over administration of funds is through concealment.

            The human mind naturally wonders about what is done in the dark.  Since we are children of the light, let us insure that our work and that the administration of gifts received is always performed in the light.  This is in keeping with the Word of God.  In John 3:19-21 we discover: Light has come into the world…  [W]hoever lives by the truth comes into the light so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.  Let this word serve to guide our actions.

            In Ephesians 5:8, we have received the admonition: Live as children of the light.  While the context clearly demands that we make every effort to foster the fruit of the light within the church (goodness, righteousness and truth), it involves as well every effort to nurture unity and to dispel doubt.  That instruction reminding us that the fruit of the light consists in … truth is applicable to the instruction given the Corinthians in the text, and is consequently given to all saints.

            Let me review the dangers associated with secret administration of received goods, refreshing your memory concerning the wisdom of openness in administration of donated goods.  The great danger of secret disbursement of received funds, besides denying that we live in the light, lies in the fact that those donating the funds lose any sense of ownership.  Those giving gifts receive a message that they are untrustworthy, that they are not capable of making decisions concerning distributing donated funds.  The membership of the assembly is reduced to a mere source of moneys and is thus devalued and treated with disdain.  Donors themselves become disconnected and ultimately begin to respond solely to emotional appeals instead of applying reason and forethought to giving.  Secrecy in administration of church funds insures that the people degenerate into giving by rote—a pernicious expression of legalism.  At the last, generosity is stifled and compassion is silenced and the church grows cold and uncaring.

            In contrast to this attitude of secrecy, an attitude of openness values individuals as gifted members of the Body of Christ and admits the dignity of the individual within that Body.  Openness seeks participation in the planning of and in disbursement of funds, thus advancing compassion and responsiveness to genuine needs among the membership of the church.  Those giving become partners sharing in the advance of Christ’s Kingdom because they are encouraged to think how best to distribute church funds and because they are invited to participate in the work.  Openness in administering church funds encourages thoughtful partnership in the work of the church, being foundational for evangelism and missionary advance.  Openness encourages generosity because the people see how their funds are used and gives them opportunity to ensure that funds are employed wisely.  Openness transforms the members from a mere source of money to partners in the advance of the Gospel.  Openness in financial matters is not a uniquely Baptist principle, it is a biblical principle.

Administration of Church Funds Must Always Insure Accountability.  In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you.  As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honour to Christ.  Those who handle moneys in the world are held to strict principles of accounting.  The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency has conditions which are considered minimal for those institutions receiving registration as a charity.  It is my stated conviction that churches—and more particularly that our congregation—ought to view government standards as a minimum—a mere starting point.  While we ought to determine that we will be accountable for every coin passing through our treasury, the accountability of this assembly exceeds the accountability demanded by human government.  The accountability we render is to the Risen Christ as we speak to the people of God who give of their goods week-by-week.  As a church, we receive a sacred trust from those donating their gifts, and we must carefully ensure that we fulfil that trust.

            Consider the issue of accountability to the people of God for employment of church funds.  We who are leaders administering the funds donated by the congregation, ought not only to be able to detail where the funds are employed, but justify that such employment is in accord with the desires of the congregation and according to the revealed will of God.  Not everyone in a congregation will be in total agreement with the use of funds at any given time; but no Christian will dissent from using church funds in a manner which builds the people, advances the cause of Christ, and wins the lost.  In short, we are obligated as leaders to insure that funds are employed in a moral and ethical manner.  One reason it is vital that we maintain an air of openness in distribution of church funds is that the leaders must have the pulse of the congregation demonstrating that the funds are used according to the revealed will of God.

            Think of our accountability to God for the administration of funds.  We are convinced that each believer is accountable to Christ for what is done with what has been entrusted to him or her.  Each of us as Christians is responsible not only to exercise wisdom in administering the wealth entrusted to our oversight, but each of us bears responsibility to insure that those to whom we donate funds as a gift to God are worthy of receiving our trust—and that includes our own congregation!  We cannot shrug off responsibility with the claim that once a gift has been given we have no further responsibility for the funds we donated.

            Individual responsibility for administration of church funds is multifaceted, including: insuring that the sources from whom funds are solicited and received are honourable individuals; insuring that recipients of funds deserve the assistance received; insuring that administrative costs for distributing funds are reasonable and not excessive; and insuring that any and all individuals handling the funds donated adhere to biblical principles and standards.  As a general guideline in determining the worthiness of those whom we entrust with administrative responsibilities, we ask: would Jesus distribute these funds in the manner reported.

            I insist on reporting to the congregation on a regular basis the receipts and expenditures, not to indulge the prurient interest of inquisitive souls, but to permit members to assess how well leadership is fulfilling the task which God assigned.  The task we have received includes evangelism of the lost, building the Body of Christ, and honouring Christ Jesus as Lord.  While accountability to God may be assessed in part through reviewing the teaching and outreach ministries of the church, other areas underwritten by the gifts of the people may be harder to assess if there is no opportunity to review distribution of donated funds.  Those administering church funds must be above every hint of scandal and enjoy reputations as honest men and women.  In this respect, leaders responsible for handling moneys fall under similar guidelines set down for deacons of the church, although they need not necessarily be deacons.

Administration According to Christ’s Will Results in Increased Love for Christ the Lord.  Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it.  Paul was undoubtedly proud of the churches he had established.  Although the Corinthian church was in many respects a problem church, they were still a people belonging to God.  As such, Paul could take pride in what God had accomplished through him in that wicked city.  There was a witness for Christ.  Souls had been saved and the promise of others being saved was always just ahead.  Though there were some dark blots on the record, there were some brilliantly, glowing saints to whom he could point and to whom he could lay claim as a spiritual father.

            Do you love Christ?  The surest evidence that you love Christ is that you want to honour Him as Lord.  One visible way in which we honour Christ as Lord is through our participation in worship, including our worship in giving.  Focus on Paul’s plea to the Corinthians: show these men (Titus and the unnamed brother) the proof of your love especially your love for Christ.  Beyond that, the Apostle pleads, show these men … the reason for our pride in you.  Notice that the reason he wants these men to see why he was proud of the Corinthians was so that they in turn might report it to the churches as evidenced by the clause so that the churches can see it.

            An obedient church encourages other Christians.  The impact of one obedient church extends farther then anyone could imagine.  Because our ministries are not conducted in a corner, because the missionaries we support move far beyond our own doorstep, because the ministries we provide touch many lives, the witness of our love for Christ will be known far and wide.  Because we love Christ the evidence will be seen in our financial report with the result that many more are saved, brought into the fellowship of the assembly and built up in the Faith.

            We cannot imagine what Christ will do through our congregation as we submit to His will.  Though considered small by the standards of the world and perhaps no doubt viewing ourselves as stretched beyond our abilities, it has yet to be seen what Christ may accomplish through us.  What astonishing ministries, what astounding outreach, what amazing impact this congregation shall have in our various communities will be witnessed once we discover the wonder resulting from the presence of the Risen Christ among His people.  The giving of our church, generous as it is, has a glorious future.  I think of giving not simply that we may boast of the amount, but giving which permits the advance of the work of Christ and makes His Name known everywhere.  The giving of our church has the promise of laying such a foundation that many souls are won to the Faith and the Name of Christ becomes known throughout our world.

            I know the majority listening this day professes to love Christ, but the challenge presented to each of us who profess Christ is whether our giving speaks fully of our love.  The message has focused on the mundane subject of administering the funds of the church.  Those longing to see the church advance should await the financial report of the church as eagerly as any investor awaiting the report of the performance of invested funds.  Christians must assume responsibility for sharing in the work of Christ, and we do so as we see that administering the funds is an expression of the collective will.  Through this, the work of evangelism, the work of advancing the Kingdom of God, the work of building the Body, is accomplished.  The mundane is transformed into the means of honour to the Lord.  I invite you to share in the work.

            For any who share our service without knowing Christ as Lord, your giving cannot be pleasing to the Lord.  You cannot give until you have received life in Christ, and our invitation to you is to receive Jesus as Master of life that you might have proper motives in your giving.  We invite you to consider the love of God in Christ, submitting to Him as Master and believing the message of life.  Listen to the Word of God in this passage from Paul’s letter to the Romans. 

            If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.  As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."  For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”  [Romans 10:9-13].

The great danger of secret disbursement of received funds, besides denying that we live in the light, lies in the fact that those donating the funds lose the sense of ownership.

Secrecy says to those giving gifts that they are untrustworthy, that they are not capable of making decisions concerning such simple matters as distributing church funds.

Secrecy reduces the membership of the assembly to a mere source of moneys and thus devalues and treats them with disdain.

Donors themselves become disconnected and ultimately begin to respond solely to emotional appeals instead of applying reason and forethought to giving when secrecy prevails.

Secrecy in administration of church funds insures that the people degenerate into giving by rote, a pernicious expression of legalism.

At the last, generosity is stifled and compassion is silenced and the church grows cold and uncaring because of secret administration of funds.

In contrast to this attitude of secrecy, an attitude of openness values individuals as gifted members of the Body of Christ and admits the dignity of the individual within that Body.

Openness seeks participation in the planning of and in the execution of disbursement of funds thus advancing compassion and responsiveness to genuine needs among the membership of the church.

Those giving become partners sharing in the responsibility of the advance of Christ’s Kingdom because they are encouraged to think how best to distribute church funds and because they are invited to participate in the work, when the church is open.

Openness in administering church funds encourages thoughtful partnership in the work of the church, being foundational to evangelism and missionary advance.

Openness encourages generosity because the people see how their funds are used and have opportunity to ensure that funds are employed wisely.

Openness transforms the members from a mere source of money to partners in the advance of the Gospel.

Openness in financial matters is not a uniquely Baptist principle, it is a biblical principle.