And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us. So we urged Titus, just as he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)
In this passage, Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to give to the offering he is collecting for the poor saints in Jerusalem. Basically, Paul is answering the question: Why give? And he gives the Corinthians five reasons.
Though our opportunities to give to the Lord’s work today are different than those in Paul’s time, the five reasons for giving that he lays out are still relevant today. We can look at these reasons and they should encourage us to give, not only to the Lord’s work through the Church, but to the Lord’s work that is being done through other organizations as well. Let’s look together at Paul’s five reasons to give…
Reason #1: The Example of Others
In his effort to encourage the Corinthians to give to the poor of Jerusalem Paul begins with the example of the Macedonian churches.
Who were these churches? We know who they were based upon the record left to us by Luke in the book of Acts. Beginning in Acts 16 we read of Paul’s first missionary journey to Macedonia during which he was taking the good news of Jesus Christ to Europe for the first time. This missionary journey took place in the early 50s of the first century. Paul visited Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. These were the Macedonian churches.
Paul tells us that these churches were going through a severe trial. He does not spell out specifically what this trial was, but we can guess. Paul faced persecution from his fellow Jews almost everywhere he took the message of Jesus Christ. In particular, the Jews of Thessalonica turned against, not only Paul, but other followers of Jesus who had come to faith through Paul’s message. What they said about Paul and his companions was very interesting. They said, “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here…” (Acts 17:6) Literally, they referred to Paul and his companions as men who had turned the world upside down. That’s what Jesus does when he comes into a person’s life—he turns things upside down. People who don’t want to move out of their comfort zone will do anything they can to prevent change. That’s what the Jews of Thessalonica did. And so, they persecuted followers of Jesus not only in Thessalonica but in the next town Paul went to, Berea, as well.
So, that persecution may have been the cause of the “trial” the Macedonians were going through. But what happened to these young Christians amidst their “trial”? Did they give up? Did they renounce their newfound faith? No. As we saw earlier in 2 Corinthians, God’s comfort applied to our trials produces perseverance and endurance. And that is what happened with the Macedonian Christians. Rather than giving up, because of persecution, they counted the experience of suffering for Christ a joy. And even in their own poverty, they gave generously to meet the needs of the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Paul says, “they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.” They even pleaded with Paul for the opportunity to give to the collection he was taking up.
When was the last time you saw that happen in church? When was the last time you saw someone running after one of the ushers saying, “The plate passed me by before I could get my offering in. Please let me give!” That happens, I know, but it is not often that we plead for the opportunity to give. Usually, the shoe is on the other foot and those who are raising money plead for people to give to the cause.
Is it not fascinating how some of the poorest people in the world give the most? Jesus gave the example of the widow who put all she had into the collection plate at the Temple. I imagine many have followed her example over the past two thousand years.
My first fundraising experience took place when I was in college. I had the opportunity to go on a Holy Land Tour which I have told you about before. However, I did not personally have enough money to pay for the tour, so I had to raise my support. Pat, the mother of two children I taught in Sunday school at my home church, sent me the largest gift I received—$500. I was flabbergasted. And that was only the first of many gifts that she gave to support my ministry over the years from that day to the present.
One day, several years ago, I met with Pat for lunch to thank her for her support over the years. She told me how she learned as a young Christian to tithe. She regularly gave 10% of her income to the Lord’s work, even when she was a single mother and down to very little money in the bank. But she learned early on that she could never out-give God.
I remember the day, not too many years ago, when I received a check for $4000 from Pat in the mail. Once again, I was flabbergasted. I called her up and said, “Thank you, Pat, but why?” She said, “Oh, I received a check the other day for the proceeds from an oil well in Texas that I inherited. So, I decided to send the tithe to you and my local church.” Truly, you cannot out-give God. I am sure the Lord has been blessing Pat through her whole life because of her faithfulness.
I think Paul felt about the Macedonians, the way I felt about Pat that day. He says that the Macedonians exceeded his expectations. I can imagine how.
But then Paul gives us a great formula for living a life of giving. He says, “They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”
You know what? If you give yourself first to the Lord and give yourself as completely to the Lord as you know how, and that includes your wallet, your bank account, everything you have, if you do that, then no one is ever going to have to ask you for money. If you give yourself and all that you have to the Lord—he will guide you as to where, and when, and how much to give—because you will have taken care of the “why”. Your “why” for giving will be the Lord.
And that leads to the second reason Paul offers for a life of giving…
Reason #2: The Example of Jesus
Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”
Think of it! The Son of God had all the riches of heaven. And he gave it all up for your sake. He became poor. Not just middle class. But poor. Really poor. Do you know anyone born in a barn and laid in a feeding trough for his cradle? The only person I know like that is Jesus.
Do you know anyone who has only one article of clothing and one pair of shoes. I don’t know anyone like that except for Jesus. That’s how poor he became.
Many years ago, I was on a mission to Latvia. I was helping my friend Steve Russo with some evangelistic meetings there. We were in Riga in 1991, not long after the Baltic Republics had come out from under the domination of the former Soviet Union. Every night for a week we held meetings in a large auditorium that sat hundreds. I participated in training the Christian counselors who spoke with the new believers each night. I noticed one of our young counselors, Ronald, who was maybe twenty years old. Every night he came wearing the same clothes. Undoubtedly, he wore the best shirt and best pair of pants that he had. But it was the same outfit every night. At the end of the week, I gave him all the shirts I had in my suitcase except the shirt on my back. I could not stand to see his poverty any longer.
You know what Ronald did? I later learned that he gave all those shirts away to someone who needed them more.
The Son of God was richer than Ronald. He was richer than me. He was richer than the richest person on earth. The Son of God had all the riches of heaven, but he gave it up for you and me, so that we through his poverty might become rich.
Now, I am far from being the richest person in the world, but the Lord has blessed me both monetarily and even more importantly he has blessed me spiritually through my relationship with him. Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Seek first God’s kingdom agenda and his kingdom righteousness and he will meet all your needs.
And here is the thing… looking at what Jesus has done for us, giving up the riches of heaven for us, how can we not give to his kingdom work? That is Paul’s second reason for giving—the example of Jesus.
Reason #3: The Example of Our Own Past Record
The third reason for living a life of giving that Paul offers is the Corinthians own past record in this regard. Paul notes that in the previous year the Corinthians were the first not only to give to his collection for the saints in Jerusalem, but the Corinthians were also the first to have the desire to do so. Paul’s assistant, Titus, was apparently involved at the beginning in collecting these funds from the Corinthians. Now Paul is dispatching Titus to finish collecting the promised funds from the Corinthians.
Furthermore, Paul praises the Corinthians for how they have excelled in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in earnestness, and in love. Given this track record of excellence, Paul urges them to excel in the grace of giving as well.
Isn’t that beautiful how Paul connects grace and giving? He makes this connection not once but twice in the space of one short paragraph. It is our experience of God’s grace that leads us to want to give to others. And the act of giving itself is a gracious act.
I wonder, as you look at your own past track record of giving, what do you learn from your own experience? Have you ever been able to out-give God? Has God ever failed to meet your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus? Is giving for you a dull habit or a deep desire?
Perhaps what we all need to experience is a more profound in-filling of God’s grace through the Holy Spirit. And if we experience that, then we will naturally excel in the grace of giving.
Reason #4: The Need to Put Feeling into Action
The fourth reason Paul offers for living a life of giving is because of the need we all have to put feeling into action. It is good to have a desire to give. It is good to be moved by the needs of others. But if we don’t put that feeling into action, what good is it?
Paul urges the Corinthians to finish the work they began the year prior, “so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.”
William Barclay says, “… a feeling which remains only a feeling, a pity which remains a pity only of the heart, a fine desire that never turns into a fine deed, is a sadly truncated and frustrated thing. The tragedy of life so often is, not that we have no high impulses, but that we fail to turn them into actions.”
I know that one reason why many people do not want to pledge to their local church is because they are afraid that they will not be able to follow through on their desire. It is obvious to all that we live in uncertain times. No one can know what is going to happen in the future. And the leaders of our church certainly understand that things do happen in life that make it impossible at times for people to fulfill their pledges.
We as your church leaders do not expect, and more importantly, God does not expect you to give what you do not have. As Paul says, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.”
But on the other hand, when we do have the means to give to the church, when we do have the means to give to the poor, and we fail to do it, what does that say about our character? Personally, I believe God cares far more about our actions than our feelings. We can have all the desire in the world to help the poor, but one material act of giving is worth more than all the desire there is in the universe.
People say it’s the thought that counts. God says it is the action.
Reason #5: The Measure You Give Will Be the Measure You Get
The final reason that Paul gives for living a life of giving is that life has a strange way of evening things up.
Paul tells the Corinthians that at the present time their plenty will supply the need of the saints in Jerusalem, so that in turn those saints in Jerusalem may supply some need of the Corinthians in the future.
Paul quotes from Exodus 16:18 in support of this idea: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” The reference in Exodus is to the Israelites gathering the manna God supplied to meet their need for food during their wilderness wanderings. God always meets the needs of his people. But note: God meets our needs, not our greeds.
Paul’s statement here reminds me of Jesus’ statement in Luke 6:38,
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Jesus’ statement and Paul’s statement both raise some questions… What measure are we using to give to others? Are we generous in our giving, or sparing? If we are generous, God will pour back into our laps an overflowing measure.
I would like to close with a prayer by one of the most prolific authors of all time… Anonymous…
I do not thank thee, Lord,
That I have bread to eat while others starve
Nor yet for work to do
While empty hands solicit heaven
Nor for a body strong
While other bodies flatten beds of pain.
No, not for these do I give thanks
But I am grateful, Lord,
Because my meager loaf I may divide
For that my busy hands
May move to meet another’s need
Because my doubled strength I may expend to steady one who faints.
Yes, for all these do I give thanks!
For heart to share, desire to bear,
And will to live,
Flamed into one by deathless Love—
Thanks be to God for this!
Unspeakable!
His Gift!
Amen.[1]
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