Not in Polite Company! – 2 Corinthians 9
There are some things you just don’t talk about in our culture. At least not in polite company. Picture yourself at a party or in a gathering of folks who you don’t know well. What kinds of things do folks chat about? You can talk about the weather, you can talk about your kids, you can talk about cars or sports or cooking or decorating or lawn care. But there are some things you don’t talk about in polite company. You can make your own list, but I suspect that everyone’s list would include money.
Just for fun, I went on the internet while I was preparing this sermon and looked up the phrase, “Things you don’t talk about in polite company.” I was not thinking that there would be any reference to that inquiry, at least not in the exact phrasing that I entered it. To my surprise, there was an immediate reference. And the reference was to money!
In Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church that we have come to know as 2 Corinthians, he was not afraid to discuss money. And he was not afraid to discuss how and how much the Believers in Corinth should contribute to the Lord’s work. Jesus wasn’t afraid to broach this subject, either. Did you know that Jesus talked more about the proper approach to money and posessions than any other subject – even more than heaven, hell or loving our neighbor. And some of Jesus’ most memorable statements are about money. Even non-Believers can quote “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Mt. 6:21), or “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
And there are at least 2,350 passages in the Bible dealing with money and material possessions. That’s more than on any other subject.
I can’t think of any excuse for not attending church that is more popular than the phrase, “All they talk about is money.” But if the Bible talks about money 2,350 times, maybe it’s not a topic we should avoid. In fact, I think the reason why we DON’T talk about money in polite company is because there are few subjects that expose our hearts more quickly than our view of money. Perhaps it’s not so much the frequency of the sermons on money that folks struggle with, but rather the fact that the topic cuts so close to who we really are.
So let’s launch in this morning, partially because chapter 9 is the next chapter in this series, and partially because it is a subject that we really need to address. This won’t be a total treatment of the topic – that could and should take several weeks. But at least as far as Paul addresses the issue, we’re going to try to gain some understanding and some principles from the text today.
The context is that the Corinthian church had made an enthusiastic promise of a gift to help the church in Jerusalem. And now we find Paul planning to send a delegation to Corinth to make arrangements to receive this gift. He has apparently been boasting to the churches in Macedonia about the Corinthians’ generosity and willingness to give. And now, if you will, it’s time to make good on their pledge.
The first principle I’d like us to consider is found in verses 2-5. Let me read these again.
"2For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 3But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you in this matter should not prove hollow, but that you may be ready, as I said you would be. 4For if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we—not to say anything about you—would be ashamed of having been so confident. 5So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to visit you in advance and finish the arrangements for the generous gift you had promised. Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given."
The principle I’d like us to see is this: Models Matter!
Paul had been telling the churches in Macedonia about the Corinthians’ generosity. And what was the net result? Look at verse 2: “Your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action”.
There are few things in the Christian life more powerful than good models of behavior. Paul says in 1 Cor 9, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” And in Philippians 3 he says, “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”
My first lesson on giving to the Lord’s work was learned at home. My father was not a Believer when I was a child, and although he was generous with his family, he was not generous with the church. So when folks who were discipling me began to talk about giving, I had an uphill road to climb. I had an inappropriate model, so I had some inappropriate views on the subject of giving.
But I vividly remember a moment, single and in my first year on YL staff, driving on a bus up to Canada for a ski trip, talking with a guy who was also on YL staff and who was married with children. Somehow we got talking about how we were to survive on the salaries we were being paid by YL. I was making all of $700/month and he might have been making a few hundred dollars a month more. I asked him how he was able to provide for his family on such a meager wage. And what John Gerstmeyer said to me immediately and very matter-of-factly was this, “Well, first, we tithe.” I was stunned, and that comment changed my view on the subject. Models matter.
I was doing some handiwork for a family who attend this church when I noticed in their little boy’s bedroom two jars on the dresser. One was marked, “college” and the other was marked “God’s”. And each had some coins in it. Models matter!
This is not to say that we should grandstand as we give and flaunt our generosity. We absolutely should not. Nobody outside of your family may ever know what you give, and that is the way it probably should be. But as a body we still may be encouraged by each other’s giving. I don’t know what anyone gives in this church. I have never seen a giving report and I never will. But I do know this: this is a generous congregation, and that generosity encourages me. You can be a good model even if you are an anonymous model.
The next principle I’d like us to consider is found in verse 6. You reap in proportion to what you sow.
This is a principle that is found throughout the Scriptures. Paul expands on this idea in Galatians 6 where he says, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked – a man reaps what he sows”. Why would we be in danger of being deceived or of mocking God? I’ll tell you why. Because we don’t really believe it. In our culture we have become accustomed to being lazy and trying to get something for nothing. And in God’s economy, this is not possible. Everything costs something!
Now let me make an important caveat to that statement. Everything costs something, but it may not cost YOU. For example, your salvation was free, but it cost God the death of His Son.
It’s also important to note that Paul does not say that we will reap the same thing that we sow. In God’s economy, as in gardening, we actually reap something different than what we sow. Think about it. You plant pumpkin seeds and what do you reap? More pumpkin seeds? Well, yes, but they happen to be contained in pumpkins. I wouldn’t advise trying to carry the harvest in the same bag that you held your seeds in!
This is important because I think it underscores the fact that there are few one-to-one relationships in the XT life. If you sow service, you may not be served! But your harvest may be another kind of blessing, proportional to your sowing. And if you sow financially, you may not reap a financial blessing. But you can be sure that God promises to reward you proportionally, even if it is not financially. Let me go on record here as saying emphatically that Robert Tilton and others like him who promise you that you will become rich financially if you send him lots of money are not only in error, they are heretics. That principle of financial reward that they teach is not found in the Scriptures, it comes from the pit of hell, and smells like smoke. Clear enough?
I am absolutely sure that God does bless some generous people financially. I sat with a man like that on Friday for lunch. He can’t seem to give his money away fast enough. And I am absolutely sure that God does not bless other generous people financially. I’m not sure why this is. It’s God’s business, not mine. But the principle is taught throughout the Scriptures and I am absolutely sure that it is true - You reap in proportion to what you sow.
The third principle I’d like us to consider is this: God desires your decision.
Let’s read v. 7 again: “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
There are three sub-points to this main point that I would like us to see. First, you should give what you have decided in your heart to give.
Notice that conspicuously absent here is a reference to tithing. Now, I told you that this would not be a full treatment of this subject and tithing is a Biblical principle that bears studying. But what seems most important to Paul here is that you decide what to give.
Why would this be the case? Why would God leave it to you to decide, rather than simply imposing a flat tax? Wouldn’t that be easier and make more sense? Perhaps, but remember, our giving is an absolutely reliable indicator of the condition of our heart. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” I think this is why the Scriptures teach that it is our decision.
Because we can assess the condition of our heart when we decide what to give.
A second quick sub-principle here is that our giving should not be reluctant or pressured. What causes reluctance or pressure? Guilt and obligation, usually. We sometimes do what we do because we have to, or because we fear the consequences of what would happen if we don’t. That includes guilt and fear.
Now, I suppose that doing something out of obligation is better than not doing it at all… sometimes my kids obey me because they have to, not because they want to. But that’s not the goal! The goal is for them to trust me and love me enough that they respond to my direction willingly and cheerfully.
Let me ask you this, do the words “guilt”, “fear”, “pressure” and “obligation” sound like the Gospel to you? “Gospel” means “good news”. Did any of those words sound like good news to you? The salient question becomes, “How do I make myself give cheerfully?”
Let’s get back to the main point to answer that question. You can be a cheerful giver if your motivation is right. And if your motivation is gratitude and love, you will be cheerful. You won’t be able to help it! Meditating on God’s love, His provision, and His providential care should be sufficient motivation to give cheerfully. If those are not the things you are thinking about as you give, don’t give!
I’d like to quickly consider just a couple more principles…
God provides so that we can provide
Look at verses 8-11. I’m going to read these in the NLT – a translation that I think really captures this idea very well:
And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “Godly people give generously to the poor. Their good deeds will never be forgotten.” For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously.
Have you ever thought about this: God does not need your money! No, God does not need your money! Frankly, He does not need anything that you can give. Not your money, your service to others, or anything at all. God, who created the world from nothing, can provide for the needs of His people just fine, thank you, without your help. But He chooses to use you and me as His means of providing for others. And in fact, the very reason why He blesses you and me is so that we can be a blessing to others.
Before we receive the offering in this church, I almost always acknowledge in my prayer that we are only giving that which God has given us. This is true, for sure. But we are also giving BECAUSE God has given to us and we happen to be the means He has chosen to use to do much of His work.
I love the way the NLT puts verses 10 and 11: For God is the one who gives seed to the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will give you many opportunities to do good, and he will produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched so that you can give even more generously. God gives us wealth so that we can be generous. Those of you with kids know exactly what this is like. How many of you have given your kids a quarter or a dollar to put into the offering plate? You give to them so that they can give. Why not just streamline things and include that quarter or dollar in your check? It’s because you want your kids to give it so that they can learn to be generous and be blessed by giving. The next time you write a check to the church or any other ministry, I want you to have that image in your mind. God is handing you a dollar so that you can hand it over to Him!
The last thing I’d like us to see this morning is that Giving Produces Unexpected Benefits.
Verses 12-13 tell us that two things happen when we give. One is obvious – needs are met. Paul says we are supplying the needs of God’s people. But he goes on to say that there is another, even greater benefit. People will praise God!
You and I want people to praise God. And we typically try to get them to do that by either sharing the Gospel with them, or encouraging or dragging them to church. Have you ever thought that your generosity, whether giving of your time, talent or treasure, is a sure-fire way to get people to praise God? I think it is interesting that Paul does not say that the recipients will praise the church in Corinth. He does say that the Corinthians will be prayed for, but he makes it clear that it is God who receives the praise.
Let me go back and recap those principles for those of you who are really spiritual and are taking notes:
Models Matter
You Reap in Proportion to What You Sow
God Desires Your Decision
God Provides So That WE Can Provide
Giving Produces Unexpected Results
We would be absolutely remiss if we did not end by noting the end of this chapter. Paul concludes this part of his letter by exclaiming,
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
Whatever we purpose to give, it will never be a billionth of what God has given us. And if you find yourself annoyed today that the preacher talked about money, I’d bet my socks that it’s because you haven’t understood the last line in this chapter of 2 Corinthians.
In Romans, Paul says, 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
My friends, as I said in the first point, models matter. And God has given us an indescribable gift. The gift of His Son, so that you and I might live. This is the surpassing grace of God. That He has offered us the gift of salvation for free. A salvation that was not free – it cost the life of Jesus Christ in a horrible death on a Roman cross.
If you have never received this gift, then the giving you need to consider today has nothing to do with money. It is your life that you should give, because Jesus has willingly given His for you. And as you come to understand that indescribable gift, my bet is that you won’t struggle ever again with a sermon that talks about money.
Amen
