The Corinthian Correspondence, Part 46; 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 "Giving and Thanksgiving"

The Corinthian Correspondence; Part 46 2 Corinthians 9.1-15 Giving and Thanksgiving Well, here we are. Getting ready to deal with the M word, but most people translate it in their brains as the T word. From God's point of view, it is the G word, which leads to many people speaking a heartfelt T word. What in the world am I talking about? Well, if you have a manuscript today, you can crack the code. M is money. The first T is tithe. G is giving and the second T is thanksgiving. As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, we are going to talk about financial issues today. But it's not that I'm riding a hobby horse. As a pastor, I have never enjoyed preaching about giving. Later on in the message today, I'm going to tell you a story about how my lack of preaching about giving came with a price--the actual dissolving of a church. But today, we are going to talk about God's principles of giving because 2 Corinthians 9.1-15 addresses finances and it just happens to be the next passage in the Corinthian correspondence, so we must talk about these things. Going through the Scripture book-by-book like we have done with rare exceptions since we have been Grace United is a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is that I don't have to wrestle with what to preach next--it's right there, whether I like what's coming or not. The bad thing about going book-by-book is illustrated this way: Mike and his family were church shopping in a town in Wisconsin a number of years back. They moved there because Mike was enrolled in a PhD program in one of the graduate schools in town. They heard that the church was solid--the pastor preached the Bible and the church sought to love the Lord and one another. Mike especially anticipated hearing a great message the second Sunday they were there. It was his favorite passage of Scripture! The pastor opened the Bible and began his sermon this way: "I know we are supposed to cover these verses, but they are just too weird. And I don't know what they mean so we're just going to skip over them." And with that, the pastor actually began his message in the next chapter! Needless to say, Mike and his family never went back! The bad thing about preaching book-by-book through the Scripture should be obvious. There is no getting around the next passage. But no preacher worth his salt can do what this pastor did and expect the Lord to bless his ministry. And by God's grace and help, I won't be guilty doing this as long as I'm in the pulpit. I have a responsibility to take us through the whole counsel of God's word, regardless of the comfort level of the subject matter. As I mentioned, 2 Corinthians 9.1-15 is about God's principles of giving. I want to explain this text this morning by going through it fairly quickly. In this chapter, it is pretty straight forward and not a whole lot to explain. And after I explain the passage, I want to illustrate and apply the financial principles found here by going through what God has to say about giving throughout the Scripture-a pretty tall order. Again, as it so often happens, when God and money are mentioned in the same breath, tithing is usually what people hear. So, I want to set the record straight regarding tithing as best as I can. I want to deal with this issue from a biblical, historical and personal perspective about how we as God's people are to handle the finances he has entrusted to us. Finally I want to drive this home with a few points to ponder, to include possibly answering some questions you may have about giving. You should have an insert in your bulletin with those things on it. And if we have time, perhaps we can entertain some live Q and A. Now that's a lot to cover. So let's get going. Let me remind us of why Paul is dealing with finances here. As we remember, these Christians in Judea were in the middle of a terrible famine. And Paul took this opportunity to solicit funds from churches all over the Empire, for 2 reasons. First, to offer tangible help to those in the family of God. Second, Paul also wanted to powerfully put on display love and unity in the body of Christ before the watching, pagan world. So, let's read together vv. 1-5. Here we have what I call sanctified peer pressure. The main point in these verses is "Corinthians, follow through on your promise," to contribute in the Judean famine relief project. Let's read together these verses. Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry for the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them. But I am sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated-to say nothing of you-for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians seems to have come a long way. Remember how he spilled so much ink on trying to win back their affections because false teachers sought to lead them astray, away from the truth of the gospel. With the air now cleared, Paul presses home the need for them to continue amassing the collection for their brothers and sisters who are in dire need of food on another continent. But notice how he does this. Paul says something like: "I have really talked you up to your northern neighbors--Philippi, Berea, Thessalonica. They know your eagerness to give really big to this project. Your zeal has them excited as well. So, Corinthians, don't let me down!" Now, it's great to encourage others to complete a task they promised to do. But as we all know, good leadership is not so much what one expects, it's what one inspects. So, Paul is sending on ahead of him some brothers in Christ, tried and true, and full of integrity, to tie up some loose ends so the Corinthians will be ready when Paul arrives to collect. Notice Paul's concern: Would the Corinthians prove to be a source of humiliation to him in front of the Macedonian Christians? Or would they pass the test resulting in thanksgiving to the Lord? Paul threw down the gauntlet-gently and lovingly. But he threw it down nonetheless. Did the Corinthians come through with their massive donation? The text does not say. But here is a point of application for all of us. As followers of Christ we need to be faithful to fulfill the promises we make. We need our spiritual siblings to help us follow through with what we agreed to do. For faithfulness is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Spirit controlled people are faithful people, in increasing measure. Not perfect, but maturing in faithfulness. And this is what Paul was driving at in his encouragement to the Corinthians to complete the task they started, for the good of others to the glory of God. But accountability in this case was a delicate thing, not to be something coerced. For the issue at hand was money. Paul wanted to make sure the Corinthians knew that he was not forcing them to give to the famine relief against their will. By sending several brothers on ahead--Titus, and 2 unnamed, godly Christ-followers--Paul wanted to ensure that their collection would not be awkward, but it would be fully ready to go. Now, I see Paul's concern over their financial gift as very refreshing. It was not lost on him how delicate of an issue one's personal finances is, especially in a church setting. Perhaps we have all heard horror stories of churches passing offering baskets and if not enough was put in, then it would go around again. Paul didn't want any awkward moments regarding this collection. He put his concern out there for all the Corinthians to see at the end of v.5. He wanted to be sure their gift was willingly given, not done, as he said, "as an exaction". The idea here is that Paul did not want them to feel as though he was simply using them to get some money from them, even though the money would be put to an extremely good cause. But how often do leaders, whether in the church, charitable organizations, you name it, manipulate the listener? Marketers know exactly how to pull on the heartstrings so that we will pull out our wallets and credit cards. How many innocent, unsuspecting people have been used to line the pockets of greedy people? So again, here is the bottom line in all this: "Corinthians, finish what you start. Have everything together so it won't be awkward when I get there to pick up your pledge from you." As we saw in vv. 1-5, Paul encouraged them to complete their task with sanctified peer pressure-other churches were watching and perhaps even following the Corinthians' lead. Now let's take a look at the Corinthians' True Kingdom investment in vv. 6-9. I say "true" because the issue is not the money per se, but the motive and heart behind the money. If a right heart does not accompany the donation, it is not a true Kingdom investment, regardless of how much is given. Let's read these verses together: The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." And in the most concise, tactful way anybody could put it, we find Paul revealing the very heart of any gift given for the Lord's work. First notice God's investment strategy: it is the old adage: "you will reap what you sow." This is truth. This is wisdom. It is the way life works, isn't it? Regardless of the issue at hand, we will reap what we sow. The more time and energy and resources we invest in something, or someone, the more skilled we get at the activity; the better we know the other person. This is obvious. But profound. And the reality is that it takes away our excuses for avoiding that which is most important. The truth is, at every turn, we have choices to make: into what or whom do we invest? Oh, and by the way, the stark reality is that our intentions, regardless of how noble and sincere, don't count. What we actually do invest in is what counts. When it comes to the things of the Lord, what we actually do with them determines the amount of spiritual yield. Say I spend 30 minutes a month outside of corporate worship services looking at my bible and praying: I will reap 30 minutes' worth of relationship with the Lord. Now a question: what will those 30 minutes accomplish in my life in my battle to overcome temptation and sin? I suppose it would be better than 5 minutes a month. But truly, we really cannot get away from God's investment strategy. And when it comes to giving of finances, Paul said, we all have a choice. We don't have a choice of whether to give. That's a given--giving is a command. The issue is not if we give, but how much do we give? This is something we get to decide. Again look at v.7, the positive side: each of us must give as we have decided in our heart. Now look at the negative side: not reluctantly or under compulsion. But look at the final result: God loves a cheerful giver. It is significant that "cheerful" in the original language appears only 1 time in the entire New Testament. But it is pretty straight forward. One author describes this word this way, as 'one's heart is laughing' or 'one's eyes are dancing.' A great description! Now, that is a challenge, isn't it? To part with one's financial resources with a great big smile is a big thing in our culture, where we put so much stock in our money. But the Corinthians had the same issues we do regarding riches. Remember their culture. Corinth had the best--and worst--of everything if you know what I mean. Mammon was just as formidable of an obstacle to living for Jesus in Paul's day as it is in ours. But it's not as though the Lord tells us sternly and harshly to tough it out! What does the Lord do to enable His people, then and now, to be able to have a big smile on our faces as we part with the presidential flash cards in our wallets? In vv. 8-9 we see that the Lord over abundantly supplies everything we need. Why? So that we can abound in every good work. Open handed generosity results in God filling our hands with what we need as we pass on his blessings to others. But it is our choice as to how involved to be in passing on these blessings. We can pass on as much or as little of his blessings in our circle as we desire. He has given us so much--What tremendous freedom has the Lord given us in this?! And this is the essence of what Paul is telling the Corinthians: If he has blessed you so abundantly, can't you bless others with a portion of those blessings? And their, and our, answer can only be, "Indeed! Yes, Lord!" Such is the True Kingdom investment as found in vv. 6-9. And finally, in vv. 10-15, we will see the results of the True Kingdom investment, which really is God's glorious goal for us: God's people giving immense thanksgiving to him, for 2 reasons. First, thanksgiving happens because of what he has done to bless his people. And second, we give thanks to the Lord for the greatest gift he could ever give us: His Son! Let's read these verses together: He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! What an amazing flow of blessings! It begins with the Lord himself--the source of all blessings! God supplies physical needs to everybody: seed for the sower and bread for food. As a result, God's people pass on his provision to give to others in need, especially brothers and sisters in Christ. As physical needs of spiritual siblings are met, the harvest of righteousness increases--Christians see the righteousness of Christ in other Christians. And what will the increase of righteousness do in the lives of those who give to meet the needs of others? They continue the generosity! They meet the needs of even more people who will then give thanks-to them, yes, but most definitely to the Lord! He is the giver of all blessings! To God be the glory. But there is more! In vv. 13-14, on a practical note, as the Corinthians contribute to the famine relief, what will the Jewish Christians in Judea see in the lives of gentile Christians in Corinth--that pagan city where God's people are? Jewish Christians will glorify God because they will know that He has done such a marvelous work in the lives of former pagans in such a wicked town called Corinth! And what will this all produce? The Jewish saints in Judea will then pray for and desire to have fellowship with the gentile saints in Corinth! in other words, love and unity will abound! And for us, especially those who know David in Bangladesh, we've got to know that he prays for us. He misses us dearly. He sends us pictures of his daughter's progress in school. He shares his life with us. And why? All because the Lord laid it on our hearts to give to our brother for his famine relief. As I mentioned 2 weeks ago, David and his wife now need to provide food for themselves, and for more relatives, as the husband and father, the only breadwinner, in their extended family recently passed away. As we might imagine, jobs are scarce there--food more so. There are Christian churches where David lives. Let's continue to pray for him. And again, let's continue to give to our brother cheerfully, as we have decided in our hearts to give for his sustenance. And the absolute, glorious, inexpressible bottom line is this: God gave the Corinthians--and us--the gift of his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Without him, there would be no life transformation. There would be very limited generosity in our world. We would rack and stack others and live our lives with ourselves on the top. We would tell the world with all of their needs: Who I am and what I do are far more important than who you are and what you do. But the Lord Jesus changes all of that. Salvation comes to a sinner and the Lord Jesus turns them into his servants for his sake. Hallelujah! And I think it would be a very fitting ending to the first part of the message by giving the Lord thanks by reciting v. 15 together. It is on the screen. So say it with me--and say it like we mean it! Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift! Having gone through the text, let's turn the corner and take a whirlwind tour through Scripture, history and parts of my life personally regarding the issue of tithing. And let me tell you up front that by conviction I do not believe that the Lord requires the tithe of his people in the church. There are many reasons. Obviously, this is not an issue we are to break fellowship over. There are many godly people on all 3 sides of the fence. I've told you where I stand. You do your homework. And live your life in this regard according to your conviction. Because we as Christians will all give an account of how we handled this issue. Let's begin with Scripture, particularly the Old Testament. Of course, the tithe means, "tenth." We can say, "10 percent." It has come to mean for us 10 percent of our income. But the tithe as described in the Old Testament is far different in usage and purpose than what so many people see as giving their 10 % in the offering basket on Sunday mornings. Tithe is mentioned in the Old Testament about 40 times. There were typically 2 uses for tithe. First, every 3 years, people were to take the tithe and feed the poor and needy in their local area. The second use for the tithe is for God's people to provide for the priests on one hand and on the other, to come together and consume it feasting! They were to use their tithes to have great big "dinner on the grounds" events! God seems to love to have his people come together to celebrate that fact they are his people! Also, the full tithe is about 22% according to Bible scholars who also pose as numbers geeks on the side. When all the requirements for the tithe are put together, it comes out to over 20%, more than double of what we think of when we hear the word "tithe." In the N.T. there is no mention of the tithe being a standard for anybody. It is true that Jesus told the Pharisees they should tithe. But it was in the context of a rebuke. He said to them, "you are so good at setting aside 1 sprig out of 10, 1 seed out of 10 of your herbs, but you have missed what really matters: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!" In the first few centuries of church history we have a consistent point of view of many of the leaders. One of them was a guy named Justin Martyr. In A.D. 155 he wrote this in regard to giving in the early church. "And the Christians who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president-or pastor, who supports the orphans and widows, the sick, those in prison and the homeless just passing through." Another leader named Tertullian wrote these words right about the same time as Justin Martyr: "On the monthly day (one day a month), if he likes, each puts in a small donation; but only if it be his pleasure, and only if he be able: for there is no compulsion; all is voluntary. These gifts are, as it were, piety's deposit fund. For they are not taken thence and spent on personal pleasure, but to support and bury poor people, to supply the needs of orphans, and the elderly homebound; also those out of work and those in prison." So, before tithing became "somewhat mandatory" in the church, it was completely voluntary. It was also like a clearinghouse of sorts. When people gave their offering to the church, the church leadership was to give it away. But time marched on. The first organized attempt to make the tithe mandatory in the church, world-wide was in a church council in A.D. 567. About 200 years later, the Catholic church joined hands with Charlemagne, king of the Franks. This made tithing official with the legal backing of the state. In the years that followed, tithing was more emphasized in some places and less in others. But the point is, tithing became mandatory among many because of the wedding of church and state. So it seems that Protestant pastors, especially Baptist preachers who emphasize the tithe, are more Catholic than Baptist! The Scripture does not support the idea of a tithe for Christians. And church history does not lend itself to the tithe either. I said before that I am a "non tithe guy" by conviction. And it is also somewhat personal for me. The story I'm about to tell you, to be frank was a difficult circumstance to have gone through. I am no longer angry at the personalities in this story. But I tell you this to let you know that I have felt the sting over the issue of the tithe, for the leader I dealt with was absolutely convinced tithing was commanded by Lord. My story has to do with how Grace United Family Church came to be. In large measure, we exist today because of the issue of the tithe, or lack thereof. Before we became Grace United, we were part of a network of churches. Because I did not push tithing, we ran well behind in meeting the budget the leader of this network set for us. One day he sat me down and said something to the effect that because I was not bringing in enough tithe money, that as of right now, the church is dissolved. It was a gut punch. Traumatic for me and for all of us who remember the meeting we had a couple of days later. At that meeting of 50 people, everybody decided that we would go forward as a church and you would have me as your pastor. And I'm so grateful to the Lord for how he turns things around for his glory and our good, aren't you? I praise the Lord for what he has done since June of 2012, when we became Grace United! The Lord has continued to bless us, prompting his people to give and we have been faithful to obey his prompting! There have been times, though when things were not so clear as to our future. It was a couple of years ago that we were very close to having no money in the account. If you remember I sent out a letter explaining our need. And we prayed. And God prompted. And we were faithful to obey his promptings. And I'm proud to report that the Lord has abundantly provided and we aren't going away anytime soon! As I mentioned a little earlier, because we have been faithful to God's promptings to give, we continue to provide the means for famine relief to 2 family units in Bangladesh this year. And remember what happened in our recent past. Because we gave even over and above what we normally do, we were able to send 2 of our young men to Kenya. They came back changed with a much bigger picture of what the Lord is doing in his world. And every missionary we regularly pray for, we either give consistently or have given in various amounts at various times. Of course, part of what everybody gives goes to pay the rent, keep the lights on, and supply the stipend for 2 of your servants here at Grace United. I want to say, in speaking just for Kitty and me, I would be the first to tell you that I am in a unique circumstance when it comes to pastors, at least in this country. The vast majority of pastors are fully supported by the offerings of God's people in their congregations. That is perfectly fine, and normal, and biblical. Remember what Paul told the Corinthians: 1 Corinthians 9:14: the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel. For my family, such is not the case. I don't get my living by being your pastor. As a family, we could not survive on what Grace United gives me. I am what is called a bi-vocational pastor. Simply put, I have more sources of income than what Grace United offers. And I would not have it any other way. What Grace United offers closes the gaps in our finances. I am most grateful for the amount of the stipend because it allows me to be available to you and gives me time to prepare for the sermons and teachings and most of all, to pray for you and this ministry. But more ministry can be done if we have more resources. It is true that much ministry can be accomplished by using resources other than money. Take, for example, the time God entrusts us with. It is extremely valuable and we don't have enough of it. How many people are profoundly changed by the gospel if we take the time to give it to them, and live it before them? But again, it takes time. The things we possess can also be, and are often used to further the ministry. Things like our tools. Or our vehicles--anything we have falls into this category. But money is a major pool of resources that can be used to further the ministry at Grace United. The more we give over and above the bare bones expenses of what it costs to keep Grace United going means that we can give more to others. I mentioned a bit ago about the numbers geeks--the Bible scholars who dive into the fine details in the Scripture. There are also church financial numbers geeks as well. I was given a statistic a while back by someone I trust which goes like this: if every family unit would give 10% of their income to the local church, then the church would never have a financial need. Of course, that means the church is being responsible with finances that people give--let's not go crazy here. But I find that stat pretty amazing. And what the geeks mean by family unit could be a person living alone or in a household with 10 people under the same roof. So, with all of these facts and figures rolling around in our heads, my prayer is that some of this would find lodging in our hearts. First we can rejoice as to how the Lord has so abundantly blessed us over the years. He has tested us in the past, and now we are in a season of abundant blessing. Second, we can be challenged. I have mentioned several times that our tongues are tied to our hearts. As the Lord tells us, "out of the overflow our heart, the mouth speaks." But there is something else that is tied to our hearts--our wallets. Jesus told us in the context of personal wealth that we are to lay up for ourselves treasure in heaven, "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." A sure sign that the Lord has got our heart is how generous we are with the money that he has entrusted to us. If we are comfortable parting with the presidential flash cards in our wallets to meet the needs of our church or blood family, then we know that it is the Lord, not mammon that we serve. Now before we finish the message, let me direct your attention to an insert you should have in your bulletin that I mentioned at the beginning of the message. Due to lack of time, we won't be able to go over it here. But let me encourage you to read it over and consider what is written, to help all of us honor the Lord with our giving. Finally, let's consider the key issue in our giving. Paul encouraged the Corinthians to follow the amazing example of the Macedonian Christians as they went all in regarding Paul's famine relief project. He outlined this in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5: 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 was the key? Before they gave their money, they gave themselves to the Lord and recommitted themselves to God's people. May we in the 21st century follow the trail our brothers and sisters blazed as to how giving is done. The Lord, who gave his all to give us salvation, and the one whom we follow, had to borrow a coin to give an illustration. Money was not his master, his Father was. And what can we say to this? "Thanks be to God for the unspeakable gift--of His Son!" Let's represent him well regarding the riches he has entrusted us with, located in our wallets. That God may be praised, and his people, blessed.