1 Corinthians 8 1-9, 13-14 M
Pentecost 6
1 Corinthians 8: 1-9, 13-14
July 20, 2003
“The Grace of Giving”
Introduction: Doesn’t seem to make much sense. No professional fund-raiser would go asking for money from those who are down and out. One wouldn’t ordinarily kick off a fund drive by reminding one’s hearers they’re living in suffering or poverty. The text finds God’s people once again challenged to believe and put faith into action. Paul has mentioned the upcoming collection for the Christians at Jerusalem no fewer than four times in his letters to Gentile churches, but this time he goes into the greatest detail. Chs 8 and 9 become, then, a powerful stewardship lesson even for today.
Following Pentecost, the church of Jerusalem experienced many faith challenges (Acts 6). Not only was Jewish hostility and persecution leveled at this new church, but it was also beset with a critical financial shortage that seemed to threaten its existence. Paul now calls on the church at Corinth to respond to this sister church in its time of crisis. He will ask them to give of their first fruits, not leftovers. But before he asks them to give, he will share again the message of what they have been given in Christ Jesus. Their giving is to be understood as a love response to the ultimate sacrifice God made in his Son, Jesus. Giving now becomes a privilege rather than a problem.
The situation is indeed grave; the saints in Jerusalem are in deep financial difficulty. Paul’s solution is to ask those who have to give to those who have not. Paul knows that God has empowered them to do this because the Christians in Corinth, like all believers, have been given infinitely more than their material blessings.
Paul calls attention to the giving done by the Macedonians, who “gave as much as they were able . . . and . . . beyond” (v 3). This is not said to lay a guilt trip on the Corinthians, but to lead them deeper into what is coming next; namely, that this giving is “to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others” (v 8). Love that is real gives of what it has received, as is seen in “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ” (v 9).
Paul’s bottom line: You cannot out-give God. Made rich in Christ Jesus, what do we have to lose by loving and giving in love? We, after all, have been blessed to be a blessing. Paul does not want his request to be construed as a divine “order,” but rather as an invitation to let Christian love be seen as evidence of a faith that is real. The giving done by the Corinthian church for the Jerusalem church, as requested by Paul, will actually bear witness to the gift given by Christ Jesus himself in his death and resurrection.
For many a person sitting in the church pew, few words stir up as much emotional friction as the word stewardship. When church leaders begin talking about a Stewardship Drive or setting the next year’s budget, you can be sure there will be hearts that whisper, “What’s mine is mine,” and voices that declare, “All the church ever talks about is money. How come the church is never interested in me unless it needs money?” How can giving turn from something that hurts into something that heals, even brings joy?
Joyful Stewardship Comes When We Grasp the Grace of Giving.
I. The grace of giving: What is that?
A. “Grace” is often defined as “undeserved kindness.” Does that mean that giving of my hard-earned money is an act of undeserved kindness on my part? If that’s it, then others should be grateful for what I’m doing for them out of the goodness of my heart. But that not what the grace of giving means.
B. Does the “grace of giving” have something to do with a change of attitude—for instance, as when a person is said to “age gracefully”? Can “giving gracefully” mean “giving without feeling the pinch”? I doubt it.
II. What is the grace of giving then? And how do I get it?
A. St. Paul talks about grace given, for instance, “the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches”. He mentions the gift of God’s grace experienced by those churches. It is a grace under pressure. They were experiencing “severe trials” and living with “extreme poverty.” But even as faith in response to God’s grace is tried, the Macedonian believers feel privileged to contribute, to give generously, “gracefully,” in response to what God has given in his Son. Illustration: A cartoon shows an usher with a collection plate in his hand standing over a man in the pew. The man drops in some change, but the usher doesn’t move. Instead, he points to a sign in the front of the church that says, “Give as the Lord has given you.” The man begrudgingly takes out his checkbook, writes a check, and thrusts it into the plate. The usher still does not move. The man looks up as if to say, “Now what?” The usher points to another sign that says, “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.” The look on the man’s face softens. He writes another check, smiles, and the usher moves on.
B. Grace had been given the people of Corinth. This same grace moves the heart to give itself in response to what has been given. Grace does become attitude. If God has one’s heart, he also has all that comes with it. His grace then turns into action.
C. For Paul the grace of giving is borne out of the attitude and action of God in Christ Jesus so that what was true for the early church is true for us now. We, too, experience trials, and at least by our very prosperous standards, poverty. But we, too, have received the eternal riches of God’s grace that the Macedonians knew.
D. The River Church has just organized it’s own Stewardship Committee. In so doing we have begun to understand the grace of giving in our own lives as well as in the life of the congregation. Based on God’s Word, we seek to be more faithful to God as He has ever been faithful towards us. We are beginning to understand our response to God who has given us all things when He sent His Son Jesus to live among us and to ultimately give His life dying for our sins. We have been bought with a price. We are not owners but stewards of all that God has given to us. Our Stewardship Committee will teach us what this grace of giving means – defining it as, “The free and joyous activity of the child of God and God’s family, the church, in managing all of life’s resources for God’s purposes”.
III. This is the grace of giving, “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”. Illustration: “When you were a child, did you enjoy going to the neighborhood ice-cream stand and watching the person at the counter fill orders? When someone ordered a pint or a quart of ice cream, the person on duty would take the carton and set to work. He’d take a large scoop, dip into the vat, and draw out a huge spoonful of ice cream. Then he’d press it down to fill the space at the base of the carton and go back for more. This would go on until the ice cream literally bulged over the top of the carton. When satisfied he could get no more in the carton, he closed the lid and sent a happy customer on his way, a customer who believed beyond a doubt that he’d gotten his money’s worth.” The Lord has given us more than any money could buy. He has taken from His Son and given to us, making Him poor, and making us rich.
A. For the redeemed child of God, riches are a matter of the heart bought and paid for by the one Lord Jesus Christ.
B. For the soul living under the cross of Christ giving and grace mean one thing: Jesus died for us and rose again.
Conclusion: In a sermon on giving, Dr. Oswald Hoffmann, former speaker of The Lutheran Hour, said, “I’m not afraid to talk about money and giving. All we have belongs to God anyway, including eternal life bought through the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And to that we say, “This is most certainly true.” Amen!