2 Corinthians 9 – “1There is no need for me to write to you about this service
to the saints. 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. 6Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to
give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in
all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every
good work. 9As it is written: “He
has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his
righteousness endures forever.” 10Now he who supplies seed to
the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed
and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be
made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and
through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 12This service
that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also
overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves,
men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the
gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with
everyone else. 14And in their prayers for you their hearts will go
out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
Second Corinthians 9 is about
God-honoring giving. For sake of clarity
the topic starts at the end and moves to the beginning of the chapter.
The indescribable gift (V. 15)
According to the dictionary a gift
is “something turned over to someone without exchange,” yet something always
comes back in return. You give a gift to someone and the person becomes kinder.
You give a gift and they are more receptive to you.
There is reaping in a gift and the
greater the gift, the greater the reaping. Gifts of any size are appreciated
but large gifts seem overwhelming and lead to greater responses. God gave the
Ten Commandments and reaped a holy nation. He gave His Son and reaped
multitudes of transformed lives from every
nation. By giving His greatest gift, He is reaping the greatest results.
Nothing
compares to God giving eternal life to those who love and serve Him. Describing
the magnitude of His gift is unimaginable. An incomprehensible gift!
What does this mean to your efforts
at giving? Simply this: God is your standard-bearer. Your giving is never based
solely on the request but is an expression of a meaningful relationship with
Him. People who love much give much; people who love little give little.
Some give to impress others. In
comparison to what God has done, no gift is impressive. The focus of giving is
not the monetary amount. He has outdone anything you can possibly do.
Ananias and Sapphira gave to
impress the church. (Act 4:36-5:11) The couple was fixated with the recognition
Barnabas received. God saw their actions as “lying to the Holy Spirit,” costing
them their lives. People are losing their soul over similar attempts. Those who
give to impress others end up unhappy when the response does not meet their
expectations.
God’s indescribable gift is the
measurement of giving.
The obedient gift (V. 13)
“Men
will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the
gospel of Christ.” Love’s expression is submission.
An obedient gift is seen in the
Lord’s tithe, faithfully giving ten
percent of your earnings. The
Bible describes tithing as something owed to God, even adding twenty percent
interest when borrowing from it. It
is financially wiser to borrow from a bank than to fail giving the Lord’s
tithe. Unfortunately some are only willing to give
God credit for salvation and
reluctant to give cash by obedience.
An obedient gift is a thanks gift. “Your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” (V.11) Edwin
A. Robinson wrote, “There are two kinds of gratitude: the sudden kind we feel
for what we take and the larger kind we feel for what we give.”
Genesis 14 records Abram (Abraham)
defeating King Kedorlaomer on a single occasion and
expressing his gratitude to God by giving a tenth of the spoils. The enemy of
your soul has been defeated forever
at Mount Calvary and tithing expresses thanksgiving for the ongoing victory
over sin.
Throughout
numerous years of overseeing churches, I have noticed that moral failure does
not normally happen by people who tithed. The obedient gift expresses a depth
of satisfying love that upholds a divine standard for living.
The cheerful gift (V. 7)
People are generally obsessed with
money, hoarding what little they have. This is consistent with the sinful
nature. You never have to teach children to hoard but must always teach them to
share. Genuine freedom occurs when not dominated by money. Giving frees people
from a life of bondage.
One of the most critical positions
in a church involves those who administer the assets. Financial administrators
oversee funds and know giving-habits. Managing church accounts and knowing how
people give can greatly impact their spiritual life. They can become overly
possessive of church money, treating it as personal treasury, and overly
cynical of the financial stewardship of people.
In a church where I served the
Deacons wanted a sizable amount of money to go toward a much-needed project.
The financial administrator, a great guy, became highly stressed over the
decision. He was beside himself at what this would do to the church account, his personal treasury.
The action of the board seemed to be leading to a personal stroke. As he
privately and anxiously talked to me about the decision I looked at him and said,
“Thus saith the Lord, let My money go.” He thought for a moment and laughed.
The phrase became a regular part of his vocabulary and he became free from the
stress of financial burdens.
The more you give, the more you
live. There is nothing more exhilarating than giving. The word “exhilarating”
comes from the root word, “hilarious.” The word hilarious is from the Greek
word “hilarios,” translated in the Bible as “cheerful.” Cheerful giving lifts
and frees your heart. God loves a hilarious
giver, someone free from bondage.
The generous gift (V. 5)
The word “generous” is the Greek
word for “blessing.” Giving is a blessing and is to bless others. Ephesians 4:8
states the purpose of employment includes helping others with their needs.
Some advocate giving to receive a blessing but Scripture states
to give to be a blessing. Oswald
Chambers wrote, “Have no other motive in giving than to please God. In modern
philanthropy we are ‘egged on’ with other motives; it will do them good, they need
the help, they deserve it. Jesus Christ never brings out that aspect in His
teaching. He allows no other motive in giving than to please God.”
In various Chicago locations, during
the Christmas season, the Salvation Army has received gold coins in their
buckets without pretense; no tax-deductible receipt and no name recognition.
The only motive was to bless, the nature of a generous gift. Give to be a
blessing.
The most unblessed people on earth
are misers.
Faithfully give
A gift is
something turned over to someone without exchange. A gift is an expression of
your heart condition. The reward of a gift is thankfulness, freedom and
blessing. His indescribable gift is your standard, the obedient gift is
your thanksgiving, the cheerful gift is your freedom and the generous gift is
your blessing. Express love to God by giving.
The next article is exclusively devoted to the
great principle stated in verse six: “Whoever
sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also
reap generously.”
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