The Grace of Giving

The 18th fundamental belief is tithing. So, that will be our theme for today. We'll talk specifically about tithing in the Bible study. But in the sermon, we are going to talk about giving and more specifically monetary giving. The giving of your money. The title of our sermon today is, The Grace of Giving. I invite you to open your Bibles. Let's turn to 2 Corinthians 8. We're going to begin in verse 1. 2 Corinthians 8. We're going to begin reading verses 1-9. You know, the subject matter that we're about to address this afternoon, I would say that we have addressed it sparingly. In fact, in looking over my notes over the last years, apart from references to Holy Day offerings, I couldn't find—this may be the first sermon message I've ever given on the topic of giving as it relates to money or monetary giving. And of course, I am being prompted by the fundamental belief Bible study. But there have been questions brought up to me regarding what we are to do as God's people. What is our responsibility? How should we look at giving to the work and to the church? And so I believe it is appropriate time to give this topic. So let's begin this passage. This is the absolute perfect passage to begin with as we set our foundation upon this. 2 Corinthians 8, beginning in verse 1.

For I better witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God. So we urged Titus that as he had begun, so he would complete this grace in you as well. And he's writing to the Corinthian church. But as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. I speak not by commandment, but I'm testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 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. Let's stop there. You know, what, where, when, why, and how God's people give to the work of God, it says something. Not everything, but it says something about the state of our commitment to Jesus Christ and to God the Father. Bottom line, we could say that our bank activity speaks volumes. Because in our bank activity, you can tell where the largest purchases are made. You can tell where, you can see where the latest and largest ongoing commitments are to be found. And it has been said that if we give grudgingly, then our approach is essentially, we have to.

If we give dutifully, then our approach is essentially, I need to. And if we give thankfully, then our approach is essentially, I want to. So somewhere this afternoon, to some degree or another, we will be found in either grudge giving, I have to, duty giving, I need to, or thanksgiving. I want to. And here before us, it is a very helpful passage to give us a proper understanding on where we need to be in our giving. Because as we read here, you'll notice that Paul's concern, as stated at the end of verse 7, I wonder if you notice this, that these believers, these Corinthian believers, to whom he writes, his concern is that they might excel in this particular grace.

And he's speaking about the grace of giving. In the earlier part of verse 7, you'll notice he's already given the Corinthian church their scores, their report cards, if you will, regarding faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, and love. And he says, you have abounded in these things. And as you abound in everything, he says, first part of verse 7, in faith, speech, knowledge, diligence, and in your love for us, again, see that you abound in this grace also. So while you have a 4.0 in these other five matters, make sure you're excelling in this grace, the grace of giving.

And really, all these elements here, faith, speech, knowledge, and so on, diligence and love, all these things are expressed in their most practical terms. You will see them expressed in the realm of generous monetary giving. And that's what he's addressing here, the generosity, the overflowing of goodness, the goodness of God's people through monetary means. Now, in looking at this passage, you'll notice, one thing to notice is tone. The tone of Paul here is very important.

And it's always very important. Tone is always very important. Look at the opening phrase of verse 8. You'll notice that Paul says, he makes it a point to say, I'm not commanding you. So this is not a command exhortation. And essentially what he's saying is, I'm setting before you a test, a test of the sincerity of your love.

And I'm actually comparing your sincerity with the sincerity of others, namely the churches of Macedonia. Again, verse 8, this is not a commandment. I'm testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others, he says. And we know it's the Macedonian brethren to which he's comparing or wanting to give an example, because we saw that in verse 1, of course, the Macedonian brethren mentioned. And then in verse 3, he says, I bear witness. I have seen that according to their ability, the Macedonian brethren, yes, beyond their ability, they were freely willing, imploring us, Paul says, with much urgency that we would receive their gift in the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

So Paul is saying, I'm going to give you their example, and I want you to compare yourself to them. And I want it to be a test of the two, and I want it to test your sincerity. One more reference to tone. If you go down to verse 10, we didn't read this particular scripture, but verse 10, and Paul speaks of this topic throughout, but verse 10, it says, in this, I give advice.

Advice that is to your advantage. So this is what's best for you. So this is not a heavy-handed approach. I don't think you should ever put forth a heavy-handed approach in this way regarding this matter, because Paul recognizes that the Bible declares regarding this matter of the individual believers giving, monetary giving to the gospel, that it's so much more than just considering it a command.

It's so much more than just considering it an obligation. And what we're going to see throughout this is, the reason it's more than just a command, it's a heart thing. That's what he's going to bring forth here. Our giving, the admonishment of giving here, it's being directed to the heart of the Corinthian brethren, the Corinthian men and women. We won't delay on this, but turn one chapter forward to chapter 9.

It might just be one page for you. Chapter 9 and verse 7. So 1 Corinthians 9 verse 7, here we see it does, it's Paul speaking to the heart. And it's so much more than just a command or an obligation. Chapter 9 verse 7, he says, So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly, or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver. So there's always necessity. God's work, there's a necessity for monetary giving. But he's saying that's not his purpose. This purposes are for it to be given from the heart, he says here. So with all that being said, this is what we're going to do today.

We're going to look at this Macedonian, the brethren's giving example that Paul provides. And we're going to pull out four aspects of their giving to focus upon. And then we're going to take a test. We're going to take this test of sincerity here. And I'll let you know up front that the test will actually come from the four aspects that we'll pull out from their example. And we'll essentially take this test home with us for application.

So let's consider this example here that he provides. And what example is it? Well, again, it's the example of the Macedonian men and women. And they're monetary giving. And they have operated in a way that no doubt is particularly pleasing to God. That's why Paul can hold them up as a perfect example for us. So, number one, the number one giving aspect to consider from the Church of Macedonia. Number one is they gave themselves first to the Lord. That's the first thing to notice.

So in their giving, they gave themselves first to the Lord. Very important here. Going back to chapter 8, 2 Corinthians 8 and verse 5. We want to begin here in verse 5 with this first aspect. This is the foundational element here with regards to our monetary giving. This is where it begins. Verse 5 of chapter 8, Paul says, And not only as we had hoped, but they, the Macedonian men and women, first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.

So stop there. So in other words, their giving was simply an expression of their devotion to God. To God first. Very important. They gave themselves first, not their money first. So it's real important to get this in the right order. And by the giving of themselves first and foremost, what they were doing was that they were acknowledging the one who makes it possible to have anything to even give.

Right? It's, He God gave them everything. He gave them life. He gives us life. They knew this. They acknowledged this. He God is the one responsible for even bringing them into existence. So logically, they would give their life first. They would offer their life first back to God.

Everything in it. He, as their creator, He is their sustainer, giving back their life to the one acknowledging that He's the one that gives them their very next breath. So they, if you like, put themselves in the offering basket first, you know. Then their monetary giving of the blessings would naturally follow. So this first aspect that Paul here for us to consider is of foundational importance because the person who comes in to our fellowship, let's say the new person that's called, that God's working with, to follow Jesus Christ, learning what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

When a person understands that becoming a follower of Jesus Christ is the giving of themselves first to the Lord, then all the other stuff follows, really. So to the new observer, this is what we preach first. This aspect first before ever coming to any consideration or teaching of giving of money. Again, very important to get this in the proper order. We first give of ourselves. The individual needs to come to the knowledge of the Lord is the God is the Lord of their mind. God is the Lord of their affections. God is the Lord of their goals. God is the Lord of their dreams. God is the Lord of their future. You have to come to that point. And then and only then will you be in the proper position to then come and say and acknowledge that God is the Lord of my finances. You see? So we've got to start at this part, this starting point of giving and get this resolved in our hearts and minds. Because ultimately, what we know about God is what stirs our hearts to the necessity of generous giving. If you're having struggle in your heart and it's okay to struggle, we're all in a growth period in the giving, you need to go back. It doesn't start with the giving. It starts with what you know about God. And the core of our knowledge is that God owns everything. Ultimately, all things belong to Him.

It might help you to think about it this way. If we go home tonight and only to discover that while we were gone, our neighbor came over to our house with a can of spray paint. And they had proceeded to write in big letters on the side of your house, This is my house. And then they signed their name and they even put a date on it. You would be very upset, obviously, about the mess on your house. But regardless of however much paint they use, it would not alter the fact that he or she does not hold ownership or title to your home. They may claim so, but it's not so. Ultimately, you own it. Likewise, today, if we go out into society and we ask men and women to acknowledge whose world is this, no matter what they say, men and women, by and large, and it's becoming increasingly so, that they don't acknowledge God. And by not acknowledging God, they are acknowledging that this world is theirs. This is our world. We created it. It's a materialistic world. One in which God is diminished, man is exalted. But the Bible says that God created the heavens and the earth and therefore everything in them is God's. And man is merely a manager. Just a manager, not an owner.

We won't turn there. Psalm 24.1 is a reference. Psalm 24 verse 1. The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness. Let that sink in. The earth is the Lord's and all of its fullness. Everything in it. Everything is the Lord's. In fact, keep your marker here in 2 Corinthians. We're going to come back. Let's turn over to Psalm 50.

Psalm 50 is we want to reinforce this first aspect of the Macedonian giving. As we think of giving ourselves to the Lord, this is where we begin in any consideration of any other giving. Psalm 50. Here is a recording of God speaking to his people. And it really is a fascinating passage. You may recognize certain parts of this passage once we begin reading. Psalm 50. Let's read verses 9 through 12. Psalm 50 verses 9 through 12. The Lord says, I would not tell you, for the world is mine and all its fullness.

Let's stop there. So, I have no need for a bull from your stall or goats from your pen. In fact, all the animals of the forest are mine. He says a cattle and a thousand hills even. If you want me to throw a number out to you, I know every bird in the mountains. All the creatures are mine. If I were hungry, why would I tell you? Because the world is mine.

All of it is in it. It says God. Okay. So, I don't need your bulls. I don't need your goats because don't forget my people. All this is mine. I may give you a little of it. I may give some more, but don't forget I created it. It's all mine. And I would like to think that we're stating the obvious, but unfortunately we're not. In the culture that we're in, unfortunately, men and women are accepting today more and more the non-acknowledgement of God.

And that somehow we are self-made. Somehow we crawled ourselves out of anemic beginnings. The self-made men and women. The Bible says you've forgotten the fundamental truth. You're not self-made. I made you. So, a show of hands. Which one of us today were in control of our conception? I'll wait. Now, which one of us today is ultimately in control of the day of our death? Ultimately, which one of us today can be assured of our next breath? None of us. Why? Our times, our lives, our whole being is in His hands.

Everything in the universe. Stamped. Seal of ownership. God. In fact, we are physical. Sometimes this helps. Sometimes physical actions help. You may, if you're like us, you may have a drawer at home where you have different titles to things. Maybe it's a file cabinet of different entities.

Maybe, in practical terms, we should go to that drawer and maybe on the outside on a piece of tape or something, right across it. Owned by God. God possesses all things. My bank balance, my savings, my securities. Everything I hold dear in this physical life owned by the Creator God. You've got to get a hold of this. We've got to get a hold of this before we ever talk dollars and cents. God doesn't need our dollars and cents. This is a hard thing.

This is a hard thing. It is an obligation, but first and foremost, it's a hard thing. So we can't be missed this. We've got to be gripped by this foundational truth. The Macedonians were. So, it's like this.

Everything we give to God is just a formal recognition of His original and present ownership of it. So, we pray. I pray. Father, all that I have, that I give you, is only the giving of whatever already belongs to you. I like examples. It helps secure in our minds. Here's another example. And we think about God owning everything. Imagine staying at a Holiday Inn. And it was a nice day. A comfortable bed. I digress. In response to the grace of God, the grace of God was bestowed upon them, the Macedonian brethren.

And Paul tells us in verse 1, more over brethren, so he's speaking to the Corinthians, We make it known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. So, they were giving grace, and the grace from which their giving flowed here. This is where the grace flowed from. The giving flowed from His grace, God's grace. What is grace?

What is grace? Well, Paul tells us in verse 9. Allow your eyes to go down to verse 9. The grace of God. Paul says, verse 9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, That though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. And though, and through His poverty, that you through His poverty might become rich.

So, He emptied Himself of sitting next to the right hand of God, stepped down upon this earth, emptied Himself. Though He was rich for your sakes, for my sake, He became poor. Gave up all that. That you through His poverty might become rich. Now, there's no surprise in this second aspect responding. They gave in response to the grace of God. In fact, any consideration of our giving inevitably leads to God's giving.

We won't turn there, but 1 James 1, verse 17. James 1, verse 17. Every perfect gift comes from the Father. So, we know that. We acknowledge that. Understanding God's grace. Probably the most well-known scripture in the Bible. John 3, 16. We won't turn there as well for your reference. John 3, 16.

God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. So that we might be rich, right? That whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. That's the riches that we gained by Christ becoming poor for us. So any attempt to encourage ourselves or anyone else for that matter to give to the work of the Gospel with any kind of mechanism that doesn't quickly get to the grace of God, it's a flawed mechanism. You have to get to the grace of God quickly in this matter. Simply, He is such a giving God. We're so grateful that our gratitude releases itself in our own giving. The appearing of God's grace enabled the Macedonians. It enables us to become like our Father. Who is our Father? Well, He's a giving God. So we as His children, as we put on more and more the family likeness, it's one of the characteristics of His children is generosity. So this was real important. This second aspect is so important for the Macedonians. It's very important for us because there's going to be things that come in our lives that hinder us. That want to prevent us from excelling in this grace. And there were things that came to the Macedonians that could have and would have prevented them from this grace. But they were overflowing from the grace of God that they didn't allow the struggles and the things that came in their life to prevent them from the grace of giving. Notice verse 1 and 2 again.

Verse 1, Moreover, brethren, we make it known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. Verse 2, here it is, that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. So let's stop there. So neither severe trial of affliction nor deep poverty inhibited them from the grace of giving. Very interesting to think about because Paul, you would think, would use an example. You know, this Macedonian church, you would think it would be an example like, oh, this Macedonians, these men and women, they had tons of money. Things were going really well for them and really easy over there. So be like them, you know. Now, he looks at the Macedonian church, and this was what was so striking as Paul viewed them, is that as they were in the face of extreme trial, as they were in extreme poverty, notice verse 2, that in, in it, the most severe trial, abundance of joy was there. In extreme poverty, that ushered in rich generosity. So in other words, out of poverty, out of trial, out of these things came joy and generous giving. How could that be? How could that be? It would only be that they were stirred by God's giving first, and that stirred them. And nothing was going to inhibit them from excelling in the grace of giving. Again, we can't read this enough. Verse 9. What is grace? You know grace, what grace is. Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for Your sakes He became poor. He did that for You. So that through His poverty, You might become rich. They grasped this. And I wonder if we grasp this today. Paul wants us to think about this. The one from the right hand of God came to dwell with us in this physical world. He began at Bethlehem. His ended up with a crucifixion in Jerusalem. And think about that. When you think about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, we realize that God the Father, who owns everything, gave up everything, His Son, so that we who are poverty-stricken spiritually, might become owners of all that the Father wants to give us through Jesus Christ. So again, I don't know. Maybe symbolically, maybe physically, take everything out of your drawers tonight. It means anything. Place it on the bed and kneel and maybe pray over it. God, I want to bring this under the acknowledgment of all that you've given.

And just revolutionize my heart and my mind in this way. Give me this understanding. The prime mover in our giving is the moving of our hearts before a sacrificed Savior. We're not redeemed by corruptible things. We are redeemed by God's grace. And that releases us into the grace of giving. Okay, number three. The third aspect to consider about the giving of the Macedonian brethren, number three is simply that they gave abundantly. That's number three. That they gave abundantly. And even, get this, gave beyond their ability. It's a very striking phrase. Look at this in verse three. Verse three. For I bear witness, Paul says, that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability. They were freely willing. Now, what are we supposed to do with this? There are some corrupt, evil people that would tell their members, their flock, you know, Oh, you need to go and borrow money. You need to go borrow. And they would use a verse like this to try to substantiate that. Go, big line of credit. Why don't you borrow against that? That's deceitful, evil, frankly. But the best I can do with understanding this, and I've mentioned this in an offertory message before, I believe that this is the notion that they were willing, they were willing to forego a legitimate want in order that they might be able to supply a legitimate need. Think about that for a moment. I wonder if that makes sense. Again, this notion that they were willing to forego a legitimate want in their life, a legitimate want, in order that they might be able to supply a legitimate need. And we're going to see in the fourth aspect in a moment what that need was. The need was there. So for me, for you, if we're solely or always given within the realm of comfort, maybe we've never experienced this kind of Macedonian giving here. That's why Jesus pointed to the...we don't have time to turn there, but he pointed to the lady. You remember the widow with two small mites? And Jesus Christ calls him over and He says, you see that lady over there? She actually has given more than those other guys that had a lot more. Why? Well, He says, they gave out of their abundance. You can look it up later. It's Mark 1244. It's a good study for at home. Mark 1244. He says, out of their abundance, they gave. Out of her poverty, she gave. So it reminds you of Christ and His poverty that He took on. So they simply dipped in and grabbed whatever, put it in. It didn't matter if they gave it. It didn't matter if they...maybe they didn't even notice if they had given it. You know? They gave out of their poverty. Out of their abundance. It says, she gave out of her poverty. She put in all that she had. She gave beyond her ability. And perhaps, we don't know her full story. We don't know what happened after she gave those two mites. But perhaps her only hope was that God would somehow take care of her the rest of that day. Perhaps the rest of the week. And that God saw her, the one who would provide for her needs, her Creator, her Redeemer, the one who sees a sparrow fall to the ground, the one who clothes the grass of the field, would certainly take care of her, she must have known. Take care of her, she gave from her poverty. So they gave even beyond their ability, freely willing, it says, no doubt moved to this level of generous giving by the relationship with God. This is not the Macedonian men and women. I think I can confidently say we're not motivated by a prodding of a man.

This is not what I'm trying to do. We try to expound the Bible. We're in this together. It's a heart thing. I don't know about your heart. I have enough problems with my heart.

This leads and flows into our fourth aspect. I wonder, you know, you wonder why they were able, why they were so motivated to give beyond their ability. Well, here it is, this fourth aspect. So fourthly, our last aspect of giving from the Macedonian church example. Number four is they considered it an urgent privilege to help minister to God's people. That's number four. They considered it an urgent privilege to help minister to God's people. That's actually found in verse four. So they gave this gift. And then verse four says, imploring us, Paul says, they implored us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. So they gave abundantly even more than they were able. And they then implored Paul and the others to receive it in the ministering to the saints. Who were the saints? God's people. So in other words, they were just pleading for the opportunity to be involved in the lives of those to whom God was calling, those to whom were receiving the word for the first time, those to whom were in that journey of accepting their relationship with God, but maybe going through trials. In their giving, they were supplying the needs of the saints in the needs of God's people. And that meant everything to them. That God would allow them to participate in this whole process of calling men and women to his riches. It's a wonderful privilege. And there was an urgency. I love that. An urgent privilege here. Now, you'll see this fourth aspect again in the next chapter, chapter 9. If you want to just turn there briefly. Let's go there for just a moment. So, one chapter forward, 2 Corinthians 9, verse 12. Again, throughout this letter, you see Paul speak of these things. Chapter 9, verse 12. Paul writes, For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God. Let's stop there. So, this service of giving that you perform, not only is providing to the needs of God's people, but what it does, it's a display. It's an overflowing of your expression of thanks to God, is what it really is. So, this is all God-centered. It always is. The Macedonian example here, it's amazing. Let's go back to chapter 8, verse 4 again. Chapter 8, verse 4. They implored us with urgency. It's an amazing phrase, really. They wanted us to receive the gift and then quickly turn it into the ministering of the saints. It was an urgent desire.

So, as we conclude, let's just take home a test on these matters, on these four aspects, and you can turn your answers in next Sabbath. No, I'm just kidding. But as we think about the Macedonian church aspects of giving, let's take a very important test because, again, you'll notice verse 8. Paul's not speaking by commandment, but he says, I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence, by holding your example up to the Macedonian example, the diligence of others. I want to test your sincerity of love. So, I'm providing you a very practical, personal, necessary, challenging test. But I'll have you know that the test is already in front of you. Because what we do is we turn these four examples of the Macedonian church into interrogative statements. Turn them around into questions. So, test question number one is, am I giving myself first to the Lord? Test question number one, am I giving myself first to the Lord? Can I come even where close to saying that God has all of me? That's test number one. Because eventually, we will stand before God without anything that represents security in the earthly links. One day, we will stand before Him with nothing other than the treasure we've laid up in heaven. That's what we're going to stand before Him in. Do I know Him? Do I need to reconsider He as my Creator? And do I need to ride across my possessions, if you will, and acknowledge that I'm a manager and He is owner? Test question number two. Test question number two, am I giving in response to God's grace? Am I truly giving in response to God's grace? Is that why I give? Is that why you give? Am I giving in response that I know Jesus Christ was rich, yet for my sake became poor through His poverty? I may become rich. That I may ultimately receive the riches of becoming a daughter, a son of our Father. Test your giving according to this. If your giving is flowing from that understanding of God's grace, you can't go wrong. You can't go wrong. Test question number three. Am I giving abundantly? Am I giving abundantly? Or am I solely giving out of what is manageable, comfortable? Am I giving from my poverty? It's a challenging question. It really is a personal question. You might want to, on this question, pray to the Father. And maybe pray, Father, give me the heart of that widow. You know, I want to have what was in her heart when she pulled into her purse and threw in those two minds. Gave all that she had. I want that to be in me. You know, I want to honor you in this way. And again, it really comes down to a heart thing. It's a heart thing. Test question number four. Like the Macedonians, do I give for the privilege of serving the saints? Do I have a deep desire to participate in God calling and God preparing future sons and daughters? I just want to be a part of that. I have a strong desire for that. Is that my drive? The work of God? The spreading of the Gospel? Does that drive us? Well, that's the test. And as we conclude, let me just acknowledge that our monetary giving, it is a sensitive matter. We're not wanting to put pressure on the flock. Of course, we simply want to put forth the Biblical encouragement that we receive. And that our encouragement on this matter comes from our love and gratitude from all that God has blessed us with. It's all God-centered. So, as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also.