The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 45; 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 "Opportunities for Love and Unity"

The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 45 2 Corinthians 8.1-24 Opportunities for Love and Unity It began with a prophecy, as in a prediction of the future. Agabus was one of a group of prophets headquartered in Jerusalem. One day, they arrived in a newly recognized center of the followers of the way: Antioch, a city in modern day Turkey about 300 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Antioch was the place where what we call world missions was launched. And Barnabas and Saul were at the forefront. In Acts 13 we read that several church leaders were worshiping the Lord and fasting. During their worship, they heard the Holy Spirit telling them: "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." Thus begins Paul's first missionary journey. But this is not the first connection of Antioch with "world-wide" missions, or more precisely, Empire-wide missions. In Acts 11:20 we find that Messianic Jewish disciples began preaching the gospel to the gentiles in Antioch and the Lord added many of them to the church. And for over a year the new disciples, both Jews and gentiles were taught the ways of the Lord. The discipleship training was so evident among them, that non-Christians there sat up and took notice. It was in Antioch the non-Christians nicknamed the followers of the Way the very unflattering term Christians, or "little Christs" for the first time. A major put-down. It would be like a non-Christian calling a Christian "holier than thou" today. Or judgmental. Or "fill in the blank" phobic. It was at Antioch when Agabus made a prediction of dire times in the near future--a famine all over the known world. What to do with this prediction? Luke writes in Acts 11.29-30: So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul. Notice the wording Luke uses, because we will see this again today. The relief was most likely financial, and certainly it was according to the ability to the disciples. According to historians the coming famine was actually a series of severe famines that were to take place throughout the empire during the reign of Emperor Claudius. It was the famine in Judea that the prophet Agabus predicted. Food was about to get scarce--of course food prices would be sky high. The saints, primarily Jews who lived around Jerusalem were about to encounter a great need. And so the church, made up of Jews and gentiles sent a collection to these brothers and sisters to help the prepare for the famine. We might want to call this the first episode of prepping in the Bible. Isn't it a great thing for those in the family of God to not only take care of one another when there is a need, but even prepare for it before it takes place? The Lord gave his disciples a command that he has never rescinded: John 13.34-35: A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. A few hours later the Lord Jesus prayed to the Father and requested of Him to make his disciples one. Jesus wanted his followers to be as unified as he and his Father were: I do not ask for these only--as in his 11 apostles, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. As we have pointed out so many times, unity has always been what the Lord Jesus is about when it comes to his disciples. And love is his commandment among Christians. The world will know that we are Jesus' disciples if we have love for one another. The world will also know that he came to be their Savior and Lord if we his disciples, are unified. These are the 2 hallmarks of what it means to be Christian. So, here is the bottom line up front: love and unity among us as God's people--as God defines love and unity--is what we are to be about. This is really right at the heart of all that we do. Evangelism is proclaiming the good news of Christ. And when non-Christians see our unity, this is the best demonstration of what evangelism does in the hearts of people. Of course, love and unity is at the heart of disciplemaking as well. Paul told Timothy in 1 Timothy 1.5 what the goal of all they wanted to do in the church was teach one another how to love: The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Again, it is love as God defines love, not as the world tells us how we ought to view it. Let me highlight 2 more points before we go to our passage for today, 2 Corinthians 8.1-24: love and unity is to be expressed between Christians. These precious things were not given to non-Christians. Remember a vital point here. Agabus predicted that a famine was going to affect Judea. Now I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer but I think I can safely say that not every person in Judea was a follower of Jesus. Agabus did not go to the various governmental authorities and announce his prediction to get ready for the famine. He announced this to the Christians. Notice as well. The collection the Christians raised was not for everybody in Judea. It was for the Christians in Judea. Ergo, love and unity among Christians is what God is after. Second, the money was raised for a need for Christians outside the church in Antioch. It was for brothers and sisters literally hundreds of miles away. Open handed generosity was not limited to just those in the local assembly. It was for those in another local assembly--or perhaps multiple assemblies. Once again, the purpose of the church is not to facilitate human flourishing. The purpose of the church is not to make the world a better place. The purpose of the church is to be the better place, to give those outside the kingdom of God a much better alternative to the way they are living in the kingdom of darkness. And those outside can see the alternative if we are living together in love and unity--as God defines things. See, any civic or even governmental organization can and sometimes does make the world better. Lives in this life do improve when human beings help other human beings, by whatever source. But no civic or governmental organization can do what the church does. Though the church is to help one another with things they need in this life, our primary task is to help one another get ready for the next life. Rare indeed is the concern of any civic or governmental organization, to help others prepare for the next life. But the church meets needs in this life and in preparation for the one to come. More can be said about this, but we need to move to our passage for today, again, 2 Corinthians 8.1-24. We began in Acts today because what happened there serves as a foundation of what Paul is doing in 2 Corinthians 8. Remember, he and Barnabas were the brothers who delivered the much needed money for the famine relief to the saints in Judea. I marvel at God's timing here. Today we are talking about some bedrock principles of giving--that of Christians meeting the needs of other Christians. But next Sunday is Easter, of course. At the heart of what really amounts to a 3-part series on giving is what we are going to celebrate next week! We are going to bask in God's ultimate goodness to us of the most extraordinary, most exquisite gift He could ever give us--salvation found in Christ's death and resurrection. Paul loudly and proudly proclaims the gift of his Son this way in 2 Corinthians 9.15: "Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!" And the following week we will take another dive into God's principles of giving. So, yes, we will talk about money the week after Easter. But you won't want to miss what I have to say about it. It may surprise some of you. Many of you who have been around for awhile know where I'm coming from when it comes to Christians and finances. And I will share a couple of things that I have rarely disclosed. So you want to be here as talk about money. I have a hunch that the Lord will use the message to set some of you free. Enough said about that today. Because it took a little while for me to set the stage, we will hit some of the outcroppings as it were which stemmed from what we found in Acts 11, for we will find that Paul is still at it--collecting money for the saints in Judea. They are still struggling. Apparently, even though the devastation of the famine in Judea fell off the empire wide news cycle, massive needs still existed. So Paul and company were busy going from church to church, communicating the need. But before we do, let's reach back just a bit to remind us of where Paul is in all this with the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 16.1-4: Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me. Remember, Paul made this announcement was awhile back to the Corinthians--a couple of years to be exact. They were to continue to set aside what they decided in their heart to give toward the famine relief. In 2 weeks we will see how important this one thing is--the decision regarding how much to give is made by the one making the contribution. Also, they were to give on an ongoing basis. Paul told them to store it up. "Nickle and dime" won't do with this massive need. Third, by their storing up the collection, they were showing that their commitment to giving in this was not merely driven by mere sympathy. As we know, sympathy can only carry a commitment so far. And that makes sense. Take the after care of a family when someone passes away. With the best of intentions, how long does the direct support last? We say to the grieving family that we will be there. And for a couple of weeks, we are. But their lives must go on and ours does as well. Paul says, in essence, don't stop till you have given everything you have decided to give to this massive relief effort. Now, let's turn to our passage for today, 2 Corinthians 8.1-24. We will see here in vv.1-5, the Macedonian motivation to give to the famine relief: tremendous principles for us to follow as well. In vv. 6-15 we will see Paul encouraging the Corinthians to complete the work they started. And in vv.16-24 we will see accountability in action. And how necessary and refreshing this is whenever and wherever finances are involved. We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints- and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. What a great example were the churches in Macedonia! These churches, namely Thessalonica, Philippi and Berea, were ready, willing and able to help with the famine relief. They were in large measure gentile churches. But ethnic issues--we call it racial issues today--meant nothing to them. There was a need in the family, and they wanted to help. But notice the scope of their motivation to help. The external forces, no doubt, tempted them to turn inward. They were severely afflicted. They were in extreme poverty. The natural thing, and by all "rights" they should have held on to what they had. But they did not live natural lives. The joy they had in the Lord overflowed from their wallets to their hands and over to Judea. And to make matters even more profound, notice in vv.3-5 the depth of their motivation to help. First they gave of themselves to the Lord and to Paul and his friends. For them, it was not simply throwing money at a problem. They took this as a joyful opportunity to express the love they had for the Lord by meeting the real needs of their brothers and sisters on another continent. And they trusted that Paul and his friends were going to carry out the mission--their giving was a sacred trust. And what this giving of themselves first produced in them was a giving beyond even what they could afford. For those in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea, giving for them was not something they had to do. No, for them, it was something they had the extreme privilege of doing. After Easter, I'm going to flesh this out in our midst because I can see some of that here. But let me simply introduce this. Think David in Bangladesh. Because you and I have given to the Lord, we have the awesome privilege of helping a brother in what amounts to a situation we can call a famine. For whatever the reason, food is increasingly scarce there. And David and his wife have the responsibility for 2 families to meet their needs. Again, more on that later. But let's take away from these brothers and sisters in Macedonia 2 marvelous truths. First, they gave of themselves, not merely their money. Second, because their hearts were right before the Lord, they counted it a profound privilege to give to brothers and sisters in need, regardless of ethnicity, showing love and unity in the body of Christ. Seeing the Macedonian motivation in action, now let's look at Paul's encouragement to the Corinthians to finish what they started. Let's read vv.6-15: Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything-in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you-see that you excel in this act of grace also. I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack." In short, let's look at 2 principles here. First, giving is to be "grace filled giving." Notice how Paul describes the Corinthians' giving as he encourages them to finish what they started regarding the famine relief in v.7: It is an act of grace, literally a blessing. But it's not a blessing out of the "goodness of their heart," as if human goodness is in view. For notice in vv.8-9 again. Their verbal commitment of generosity is to be backed up by action, in this case it is the display of the spiritual fruit of faithfulness. Paul wanted them to show love to their Jewish brothers and sisters by completing what they started, meeting their real need for food. But what was source of this love, expressed in blessing others? It was the extravagant, super abundant, over-the-top blessing of Christ to them. Christ, who has all riches became poor. The king of the world stepped down from his throne to wash feet. To be laughed at, misunderstood, tortured, killed. But in his poverty, he became the source of dispensing the riches of eternal salvation. And what are the practical outworking of this eternal salvation? Open handed generosity to fellow disciples of Jesus, while not shunning those outside the family of God. Let's keep in mind Galatians 6.10: So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Should we help non-Christians? Absolutely. But God through Paul says, "family first."--we give to all, and especially to fellow disciples of Jesus. Again, for the purpose of displaying love and unity. This is not snobbery. This is witness. We are to be the better place, not make the world a better place. So, besides grace giving, Paul says, they are to be faithful in giving. In other words, don't put off storing up the offering. Give according to what you can give. But do this in a timely manner. In a word, this is what we have come to know as a "faith promise." A person commits to giving a certain amount and by the grace of God they will give it as the Lord provides. Small amounts saved up over the year can achieve the goal. For example, say a family pledged to give $5,200 in a year. They have decided to, before the Lord give that amount. They can afford to give $100 a week IF they store it up-or give--every week. But say they don't store it away right away. And they "fall behind". And the longer they go in the year, the $5200 becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. If they would have started week 1 with $100, then the $5200 pledge would have been achievable. But they year slipped away and now the end of the year is here. Look again at v.11-12 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. Paul's point is simply this: God has given us resources, in our care, to meet the needs primarily in the family of God. We are to give as we are able, and as we decide to do so. Not so that we are excessively burdened. But because Christ blessed us with eternal things, therefore we can give of our temporal resources to meet the needs of others. And should it be that we have needs, then other members of the body of Christ can take their turn to meet ours. So, again, the 2 take aways from Paul's encouragement to the Corinthians are these. First, our giving is to be grace-filled. Jesus has given us profound spiritual riches. Would he be asking too much of us to give of our material resources to meet the needs of those in the family of God? Second, we are to give out of our ability, not out of our inability. Giving is not to be a burden, but one of joy! Let's remember the words of our Lord: "Where your treasure is, there is your heart." In other words, we willingly give to what we highly value. That is the stark reality regardless of what we say. If I have an expensive hobby that I supremely love, don't ask me to give part of that money to the Lord and his ways if I don't value the Lord and his ways more than my expensive hobby. Paul has given us 4 principles for meeting the needs of our spiritual siblings. But as we give of our resources, it is imperative that they be safeguarded, by people of integrity. And this is what vv.16-24 is about. But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men. I count 5 men here set to safeguard the joyful sacrifice offered by the Corinthians: Paul, Timothy, Titus, the "famous, trusted brother" appointed by the churches--supposedly the Macedonian churches, and finally, the brother, "tested and found earnest" by Paul himself. These men are trusted. They are fellow workers in the gospel. They have been changed by the grace of God. And at least for Paul, he has had experience doing this. Recall that he went to the Galatian churches. He mentioned here the Macedonian churches. And Corinth is in Achaia. So 3 provinces on 2 continents. Paul is not hiding what he is doing. He is collecting money for famine relief. Integrity. Relationship. Tested, proven character. This is what these men have for this task of collecting a LOT of money for the Jewish Christians from believers all over the Empire. What an incredible show of love and unity here! Let me make 2 points here before we finish the message. First, money is neutral. It is a great servant but poor master. And it has a way of revealing character. Jesus said it best in Matthew 6.24: No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. The point Jesus is making here is not that it is a sin to serve money, though it is. The original language points out, not the sinfulness of serving money, but the impossibility of serving both. One must serve one or the other. The saying really is true: Money is ok to have, but the question is, does money have you? Because, as we know, it's not money, but it's the love of money which is a root of all kinds of evil. It reveals one's heart. Second, a team of people with the utmost of integrity is an absolute must in any ministry where there is any level of finances. How many pastors, how many ministries have been destroyed because those who are entrusted with the finances were not trustworthy? Members of the financial team must share the heart of Paul and his companions as he describes them in vv.20-21: We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man. In other words, everything above board, honorable in the sight of God and in the sight of man. In a word, this is not "my money." Once it leaves the hand of the one giving it, it now becomes "God's money." And the financial team must have Teflon hands. Too many financial team members have a little velcro on their finger tips. And the result is double dishonor for the ministry, both in the sight of God and in the sight of man. This message is chock full of application. Let's review. Make it personal. 1. We give ourselves to the Lord before we give our money to the cause. 2. With a right heart, giving is a profound privilege, not a burden. 3. Giving is a grace-filled response based on Christ's exquisite eternal grace to us. 4. We give according to our ability not our inability. This implies we give systematically so that we can achieve what we have decided in our hearts to give. 5. Money reveals character, and who our master really is, whether God or Mammon. 6. A trusted team with members full of integrity is required when handling "God's money." Let's finish this message this morning with a reminder of what Grace United is about. The Lord has entrusted this ministry to us. Let's commit ourselves anew and afresh to accomplishing the mission he has set for us. For after all, these are things the Lord has in mind for every local church. Upon the foundation of prayer, we exist to love God, learn the Bible and care for people the lost and the found. We are to evangelize the lost, disciple the saved, and live together in love and unity. For the glory of the King we pledge these things, that he might glorify himself here at Grace United.