Purpose: To encourage biblical giving.
Aim: I want the listener to learn how to worship God with their giving.
INTRODUCTION: Why did Paul say: “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NAS)
Paul is saying that we should worship God with our very lives because of all of His “mercies”. He had already explained the greatness of God’s love, grace, righteousness, and the gift of faith. All of this is available to us because Jesus gave His very life for us. The only right response to God’s great love for us is a willingness to give everything we can to Him.
If we have really given our bodies to Christ then giving our wallets will be easy. The reason we struggle to give our wallets to Christ is because we don=t trust the Lord with what we already have, i.e. our bodies.
So far we have looked at nine guidelines for giving to God in chapter 8.
REVIEW:
8:1-3 I. Give Freely even When it’s Hard to Give “in a great ordeal…great poverty”
#1 Give based on what you have “according to their ability”
1 Corinthians 16:1 . . . each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper . . . (NAU)
#2 Give sacrificially “beyond their ability”
#3 Give willingly “of their own accord”
8:4 II. See Giving as a Privilege “the favor of participation”
8:5-8 III. Give Every Part of Your Life to God “first gave themselves to the Lord”
8:9 IV. Give as Christ Gave to You “for your sake He became poor”
8:10-12 V. Give—don’t just Intend to Give “finish doing it”
8:13-15 VI. Give Because Others Have Less than You “that there may be equally”
8:16-17 VII. Give as God Leads Godly Leaders “God who puts…earnestness…in the heart of Titus”
8:18-23 VIII. Be Careful Who You Trust with Your Giving
Vs.18 A. Trust those with a passion for the Gospel “fame in the things of the gospel”
Vs.19 B. Trust those with a good reputation “appointed by the churches”
Vs.20-23 C. Trust those who allow accountability “honorable…in the sight of men”
Vs.24 IX. Give Because You Love Believers “proof of your love”
Now, let’s begin looking at the results of this kind of giving in chapter 9.
LESSON:
Vs.1-11 I. What Happens When We Practice God Centered Giving?
The Pharisees gave money to their religion, but they did it to impress God (or perhaps just to impress others) instead of giving because they loved their God. “But woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others” (Luke 11:42, NAS).
Instead, God is only interested in receiving what is given out of a love for Him. A good example of this is when King David asked the people to donate toward the building of the Temple in 1 Chronicles 29:3-9 AMoreover, in my delight in the house of my God, the treasure I have of gold and silver, I give to the house of my God. . . Then the people rejoiced because they had offered so willingly, for they made their offering to the Lord with a whole heart, and King David also rejoiced greatly. (NAU)
Vs.1-5 A. God centered giving encourages others to give “your zeal has stirred up most of them”
The generous promise that the Corinthian church made to give encouraged many others to give, too.
“The interesting thing is this: Paul had used the zeal of the Corinthians to challenge the Macedonians; but now he was using the Macedonians to challenge the Corinthians! A year before, the Corinthians had enthusiastically boasted that they would share in the offering, but then they had done nothing. The Macedonians had followed through on their promise, and Paul was afraid that his boasting would be in vain.” [1]
Phillips’ translation of this verse is colorful: “For, between ourselves, it would never do if some of the Macedonians were to accompany me on my visit to you and find you unprepared for this act of generosity! We (not to speak of you) should be horribly ashamed, just because we had been so proud and confident of you.”
Our generous giving is a way of encouraging other believers. Hebrews 10:24 and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, (NAU)
In order for others to be encouraged through our giving we must do two things:
Vs. 1-2 1. We must decide to give “I know your readiness”
Paul was saying that they were prepared to give. Very little giving happens until we decide ahead of time to do it.
Thirteen times in the book of Psalms it says “I will give thanks.” For example, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, and will glorify Your name forever.” (Psalm 86:12, NAS)
Accomplishing anything for the Lord must start with a “I will.’
Vs.3-5 2. We must plan to give “arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift”
Paul used other churches as an example to this church. Other churches had decided how much to give as they felt the Lord was leading them. They did not decide what to give based on what they thought they could afford: 2 Corinthians 8:1-4 Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, (NAU)
Making promises ahead of time to give money is not new to us. We do this when we buy a cell phone, or take out a mortgage. If we will promise to pay a business a certain amount of money every month, then why shouldn’t we be willing to promise the Lord to pay Him a certain amount of money each month?
When we say, “I can=t afford to give to the Lord,” usually what we really mean is, “I have chosen to spend my money in other ways.” Think about this: If you drank one Pepsi every day at work that cost one dollar, you would spend over $20 a month instead of drinking water that is free.
A lot of people give more to the cable company than they do to the Lord. The average Christian in America gives less than 2% of his income to the Lord’s work.
According to the Barna research group:
Among adults attending churches of less than 100 adults which make up a majority of America’s Protestant churches the average (mean) donation was $488 over the course of the year.
One out of every six born again Christians (16%) gave no money to his/her church during 1999.
In general, the more money a person makes the less likely he/she is to tithe.
While 8% of those making $20,000 or less gave at least 10% of their income to churches,
that proportion dropped to 5% among those in the $20,000 $39,999 categories;
to 4% among those in the $40,000 $59,999 range,
down to 2% for those in the $60,000 $74,999 niche;
and to 1% for those making $75,000 $99,999.
Look again at the end of verse five. Paul wanted the giving to be done as they promised so that they wouldn’t be tempted to break their promise because of “covetousness.” In other words, if we don’t give regularly, according to what we feel that God is leading us to give, it is easy let “covetousness” or literally, “a desire for more” keep us from giving a lump sum because we are afraid of doing without something. “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves abundance with its income. This too is vanity. ” (Ecclesiastes 5:10, NAS)
The point is that we should plan to give and then give what we planned. What is your plan for giving?
Vs.6-11 B. God centered giving will bring God’s blessing
Philippians 4:17-19 Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent, a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God. And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus. (NAU)
“R. T. Kendall, longtime pastor of the Westminster Chapel, London, wrote that shortly after he and his wife were married they found themselves hopelessly in debt. Tithing seemed utterly impossible to them. Some of the bills could not be helped, and others were the result of foolish spending. Kendall was working at the time, and one day he came home very, very discouraged. He fell on his knees in a sense of desperation, hoping that God would give him a ray of light that would help him through. There on the dining room table lay the large, white Bible his grandmother had given to him. He picked it up and opened it at random. Instantly his eyes fell on these words: ‘Will a man rob God?’
“He didn’t like what he found one bit, so he closed his Bible and sat down to watch the television (for which he still owed). But he was perfectly miserable. He knew that God wanted him to begin tithing, but he postponed it for a while longer; and in the meantime things went from bad to worse. ‘Although my wife and I were both working, it seemed that paying our bills was like dipping a cup into the ocean of debt.’
“Then one day they made a turn. They took 10 percent of their income right off the top, making tithing the number one priority. He paid their bills with the remaining 90 percent.
“ ‘We were not out of debt in weeks, but we were completely out of debt in less than two years, and those days became the happiest we have known.’” [2]
Proverbs 3:9-10 Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. (NAU)
We need to learn to put God first and then trust that God will take care of us. “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the LORD of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. ” (Malachi 3:10, NAS)
Vs.6 1. When we give generously “he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”
Luke 6:38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure B pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. (NAU)
“BOUNTIFULLY This word is derived from the Gr. word which gives us the word “eulogy” (“blessing”). When a generous believer gives by faith and trust in God, with a desire to produce the greatest possible blessing, that person will receive that kind of a harvest of blessing.” [3]
“There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:24–25, NAS)
Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. (NAU)
A wealthy man often prayed in church that the Lord would meet the needs of the missionaries. One day, after church, his son came to him and said, ‘Dad, if you will loan me your checkbook I’ll answer your prayer for you.’
Vs.7 2. When we give with the right motive “not grudgingly or under compulsion”
There is can a story about a pastor who went to a carnival that illustrates the wrong way to give to God.
“Each carnival had its strong man, but the one that came to this little town in Oklahoma featured the ‘strongest man in the world.’ To demonstrate the power of his grip the announcer would cut a lemon in half and give it to the strong man. With his left hand he would squeeze every drop of moisture out of it. Then they would work the crowd to sell tickets for the rest of the performance inside the tent. And as an additional come-on, he said the carnival would pay anyone from the audience twenty-five dollars for every drop of juice that person could squeeze from the lemon. This attention-getter attracted the usual run of local talent, but none of them was successful. Then a small nondescript man asked if he might try. Using only his thumb and two fingers of one hand he squeezed three additional drops of juice from the lemon half.
“As the amazed carnival announcer paid him his seventy-five dollars, he asked for the secret to his ability. He replied, ‘I have been the Pastor in our church for twenty-five years, and compared to trying to squeeze money out of reluctant members for the budget, that lemon was easy.’ But guilt, anxiety, and resentment are wrong motives for getting people to give. Joy and Christian growth come to those who assume the responsibility for the Lord’s work gladly.” [4]
The amount we give should not change just because of how we feel at the moment.
Our giving should come from a settled conviction that we are giving what the Lord has led us to give.
“Cheerful giving is born of love, and therefore it is a lover loving a lover and rejoicing in the [fellowship]. Giving is the language of loving; indeed, it has no other speech. ‘God so loved that He gave!’ Love finds its very life in giving itself away. Its only pride in possession is the joy of surrender. If love has all things, it yet possesses nothing.” [5]
“Giving to God and others is not enough. It is important to the Lord not only that we give, but how we give, and why we give. That=s what Paul said, and if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). We can give out of hatred, duty, or cringing fear. We can give to impress others. We can give scraps to salve our conscience. We can give to earn salvation or put God in our debt and try to earn His blessings. We can even listen to many preachers and give to get more back.” [6]
The Amplified Version put it this way, 2 Corinthians 9:7 Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart
The Greek word translated CHEERFUL is the same word that we get the word HILARIOUS from. It means cheerful or joyous.
CONCLUSION: We should praise the Lord when we have an opportunity to give!
We will either give ourselves to our sinful pleasures or to God’s glory.
Ephesians 4:19 and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. (NAU)
2 Corinthians 8:5 and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God. (NAU)
So, have you given yourself completely to God? “Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” (Romans 12:1, NAS)
“They are fools that fear to lose their wealth by giving, but fear not to lose themselves by keeping it.” John Trapp
[1Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, 2 Co 9:1 (Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books, 1996).
[2]R. T. Kendall, Tithing: A Call to Serious, Biblical Stewardship (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1982), 25. Morgan, R. J. (2000). Nelson’s complete book of stories, illustrations, and quotes (electronic ed.) (Page 341). Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[3]John Jr MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed., 2 Co 9:6 (Nashville: Word Pub., 1997).
[4]Chafin, K. L., & Ogilvie, L. J. (1985). Vol. 30: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 30 : 1, 2 Corinthians. Formerly The Communicator’s Commentary. The Preacher’s Commentary series (Page 255). Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Inc.
[5]William MacDonald and Arthur Farstad, Believer’s Bible Commentary : Old and New Testaments, 2 Co 9:7 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1997).
[6]Bob Marcaurelle, "The Church that Broke Paul’s Heart" Page 29
[7]I.D.E. Thomas, The Golden Treasury of Puritan Quotations, electronic ed., 67 (Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation, 1996).
