2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Commitment to Charity WC McCarter
Introduction
As
you know, I usually do not plan sermons around holidays, except for Easter and
Christmas. The same is true of this
sermon on Palm Sunday, the first day of the remembrance of the Holy Week (also
known as Passion Week). Yet, a sermon on
Christian giving is certainly linked with the Passion. In fact, I think that the giving of Christ on
the cross is the supreme example for our own practice of generosity. It is the foundation, the motivation, and the
pattern for all Christian giving. Eph
2:8 says that our salvation is not our own doing but is a gift of God by
grace through faith. Rom 6:23 says that
eternal life in Christ Jesus is a free gift of God. Of course, we all know John 3:16, “For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever
believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” And 2 Cor 8:9 says, “For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became
poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” You have to look no farther than Christ to
find an example, the supreme example,
of sacrificial generosity. As we begin
this sermon today, contemplate Christ’s giving of Himself to pay the penalty
for your sin and the sin of the whole world.
Disclaimer: I have relied heavily on the
work of others for this sermon. I want
to be careful to present to you what the Bible says and not my own
thoughts. I have mainly relied on Garland
in the New American Commentary and McKnight
in the Dictionary of Paul and His Letters,
especially for background information.
Jerusalem Collection
The
text we are going to look at today comes in a very specific context. As 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:1-4; and 9:2 show us,
the apostle Paul was rallying churches all over the known world, including the
Corinthians, to raise funds for the Christians in Jerusalem who were suffering
from severe poverty. Let me share with
you the purpose and historical context of this Jerusalem collection so that we
can then make proper application for our giving today.
The
Purpose: (1) To
relieve the poverty of Christians in Jerusalem; (2) To fulfill an obligation
from the Jerusalem Council to remember the poor; (3) To show solidarity between
Jewish and Gentile Christians; and (4) To demonstrate the success of the
Gentile mission.
Historical
Context: There
may have been several reasons why the Jerusalem church had been struck with
severe poverty. For example, (1) The
relief of more and more widows may have been overwhelming; (2) Pilgrimages of
the elderly and Galileans to join the Jerusalem church may have been too
costly; (3) Communal life (everyone selling what he had to give to those in
need) may have run out or even backfired; (4) Famine may have cause economic
hardships; and (5) There was most likely economic persecutions.
Background
While
the apostle has been discussing the very specific project that the churches had
launched into for the relief of the poor in Jerusalem, he now turns to a
theology of Christian giving. The
ministry of giving is now shown to be related to the Gospel and the glory of
God. In our verses today, general
principles are provided for the type of generosity that God expects of His
people. And, this is nothing new. Back in the Old Testament, the Lord spoke
about these things. For example, in Deut
15:10-11 the Lord commands, “You shall surely give to [your poor brother], and
your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing
the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put
your hand. For the poor will never cease
from the land; therefore I command you, saying, ‘You shall open your hand wide
to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.’” From the First Covenant to the New One
inaugurated by Jesus Christ, the Lord has always expected His people to be
generous. There is a deep doctrine of
generosity in the Bible. We can gain a
few of those godly principles for giving today as we look into 2 Corinthians 9.
READ Scripture- This is the Word of God
Connective: The brief article in the NKJV
Study Bible calls 2 Corinthians 8-9, “The most detailed passage on giving in
the New Testament. . . .” There are
several passages that could be included in this study, but if you want one
passage to study to know what the New Testament says about Christian giving,
this section is possibly the best place to look which is the reason I have
chosen it for our study this morning.
Proverb about Giving (6)
Firstly,
the apostle begins by sharing a basic proverb about farming. Whether you live in a purely agricultural
society or not, you can understand this proverb. The first phrase, “He who sows sparingly will
also reap sparingly,” views a stingy farmer who is tightfisted when he goes out
to the field as he clutches his seeds closely.
He only puts a few seeds here and a few there so that he can save some
for the following year. On the other hand, the second phrase, “He
who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully,” pictures a farmer using
generous swings of the arm as he throws out his seed. He is not careless. He is confident. The one who sows this way completely trusts
God for a future harvest and for the seed to sow the next year. It is a simple principle: the more seed you
cast out the greater potential for the harvest that will be returned. A great harvest allows the farmer and his
family to eat well, make a good living, share with his neighbors, and have
plenty of seed to sow for the following year.
For
cross-references see: Prov 11:24-25;
Job 4:8; Psalm 126:5; 19:17; 22:8-9; Mal 3:10; Luke 6:38; and Gal 6:7-8.
Christian Giving (7)
Just
as a farmer can throw out as little or as much seed as he would like, each
Christian should decide is his or her own heart how much to give. This is also taught in Acts 11:29 and 1 Cor
16:2. This principle is about inward
resolve. You should determine for
yourself and your family how much you will give off of the top of your income. You may base that figure on a percentage or a
dollar amount (many people base their regular giving on the 10% principle from
the Old Testament, but you may want to set your figure at 12% or 15% or more). The standard figure is whatever you decide,
but that number should be given regularly.
You should discipline yourself to take it off the top, set it aside, and
give it on the first day of the week.
Once
that regular amount has been decided, the Christian should give it
cheerfully. These gifts are neither
given reluctantly, as if painful; nor are they given under compulsion, as if
there is no alternative. The main point
here is that God knows our hearts. The
amount does not matter as much as the attitude.
God knows whether you trust Him or not.
He knows if you are being stingy or generous. Let me say one more thing about being a
cheerful giver. To be a cheerful giver
is to imitate God who is the most cheerful giver of all. God “loves” the cheerful giver in the sense
that He “approves” of generosity.
The Graciousness of God (8-10)
As
often as the regular amount is given, it is replenished by divine grace. That is taught here in Scripture, I believe
it with my whole heart, and I could call up numerous examples of folks in this
room who have given regularly to God for decades, and the Lord has always made
sure that they had enough to keep living and keep giving. This is a promise of Scripture that we should
claim. So, we are not self-sufficient,
but dependent on an all-sufficient God.
God is
ready to provide everything necessary for generous giving. Notice how the term “all” becomes a keyword
in this paragraph. All grace; all ways
(times); all sufficiency (necessities); all things; and all good work. Let me put it this way: God is All-Resourceful. God promises to give us all that we need, not
just for ourselves but enough to give to others as well. Yet, He does not promise to give us all the
money we want; just enough for ourselves and to share. Let me challenge you to think along the lines
of Rom 8:32: if God gave us the best gift that could be given in the delivering
up of Christ Jesus for our sins and eternal life, why would He not give us all
things? It is an argument from the
greater to the lesser.
So, generosity
pays handsome dividends. God’s bounty is
full, and His liberality is that much greater.
Verse ten builds on verse six so that if you give generously and
joyfully, God will always make sure that you have what you need for life and
giving.
Thanksgiving as a Result (11-15)
God
blesses the giver so that he or she can go on giving. The greater the giving, the greater the
blessing, but not in a material sense.
The
seeds of generosity bring forth a great harvest of thanksgiving to God. Several
benefits of giving are identified here: (1) Giving helps those in need []; (2)
Giving makes one spiritually rich [9:8-10]; (3) Giving causes thanksgiving to
God [9:11-13]; (4) Giving causes the recipients to pray for the givers [9:14];
and (5) Giving advances Christian unity [9:13-14].
Conclusion and Christian
Application:
If we
are to pull together principles from not only this text but also from 1 Cor
16:2, we may say that giving should be (1) Regular [1 Cor 16:2]; (2)
Proportionate [1 Cor 16:2; 2 Cor 8:11]; (3) Generous [2 Cor 9:6]; and (4)
Joyful [2 Cor 9:7-8].
(1) This is not a sermon against wealth
or wealthy people. If you are well-off,
then congratulations. Yet, God expects
you to be generous with that wealth.
(2) If there is only one thing that you
hear today, it should be this:
We
are to be generous people.
(3) This is not a call to legalistic
observance but to grace. We have been
shown great grace from God, and we ought to show grace to our brethren. Now, there may be an element of sacrifice
here. The great example of the
generosity of the churches of the Macedonian region was that they gave out of
their own poverty. Thus, you may have to
reduce your own wants so that you can share with others. The question is, what do you treasure (Matt
6:21)?
(4) Decide how much you will give and
stick to it. Also, go above and beyond
your set amount whenever needs come up in the church or in your sphere of
influence.
(5) You see, when you give to the local
congregation, you are not “sowing” into a ministry that has nothing to do with
you. Practically speaking, it is right
to support the local church for:
A.
A Pastor (this is biblical as well)
B.
A Staff
C.
Various Ministries
D.
Mission Work
E.
Benevolence
F. Keeping up the
Property