Amazing Grace Giving

2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-15 “AMAZING GRACE GIVING”

A) You may not have put the word, “grace,” and the word, “giving,” together before!

* It may come as a surprise to you that the word, grace and giving, are connected together, but

surprised or not, they are. * We normally think in terms of grace and its salvation aspect.

* We think about saving grace ... We love to sing, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound ...”

* We understand saving grace ... “For by grace are ye saved, through faith.”

* The grace of God (which is the favor of God), caused Him to send His Son the Lord Jesus Christ

to die on a cross for our sins, though we did not deserve it!

* So we understand that amazing grace is all about saving grace!

B) Sometimes we don’t connect the idea of grace with our daily life!

* But when you study the Bible you will discover that grace not only has to do with saving grace,

but the Bible talks in terms of living grace!

* Paul, in 1 Cor. 15:10 said, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

* He was saying, not only am I saved by grace, but my very life, my very existence is dependent

upon the grace of God, and anything I am and anything I do .......

* I do it because of the work of God’s grace in and through my life.

C) Our life, as born again believers, is to be an expression of God’s grace in our life!

* James 4:6 says, “He giveth more grace.” * We need saving grace, but we also need living grace! * We have to have God’s grace if we are going to live the way we ought to live and be what we

ought to be on a daily basis. * He giveth more grace, which means daily supplies of grace!

* I heard about a wealthy man who became interested in a poor man and decided he would just

meet his every need.

* Every month the poor man would get a check from the wealthy man that would completely cover

everything that man needed for that month.

* With the check there would be a note that said, “More to follow.”

D) That is exactly the way it is with God’s grace!

* God’s grace saves us, then God gives more grace and makes it possible for us every day to live

and to be what we ought to be.

* Grace is God’s inflow into our life, and then as God’s grace works in and through our life, giving

becomes the outflow of our life.

* In 2 Cor. 8 and 9, he is talking about the whole subject of giving!

* He’s talking about the giving of these believers in Corinth, and he is encouraging them to give.

E) But as you read through these two chapters you will discover that ten times, in those chapters,

he talks to them about grace!

* So he puts God’s amazing grace and the matter of giving of their gifts, to amazing grace giving!

* You will notice in v.7 he says, “As ye abound in everything ...”

* Then he talks about the different things that were characteristic of their life.

* Then he says, “See that ye abound in this grace also.” * He is talking about the matter of giving!

F) Here’s the background of these two chapters as Paul wrote it to the Corinthian believers!

* The believers in Jerusalem were on some hard times.

* So Paul was taking up an offering from the other churches that he might carry that offering and

meet the needs of the believers in Jerusalem.

* The Macedonian churches were very faithful in their giving. * Paul points out that they have

demonstrated God’s grace in their life by their giving.

* He is using them as an encouragement to the people over in Corinth that they also will be faithful

in their giving. * He is talking about amazing grace giving.

* That’s what I want to talk to you about this morning!

* When you look at these verses that we are going to consider, there are three words I want you to

circle or underline in your Bible, which characterize amazing grace giving as I understand it.

(1) THE FIRST WORD IS IN V.2! * It is the word, liberality! * It means, generosity!

* He says in v.2, “abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”

A) Generosity should be a characteristic of our giving! * We should be liberal in our giving!

* He’s talking about the matter of generosity of giving and the whole matter of giving in general.

* Sometimes we don’t like to talk about that.