Please turn with me to 2 Corinthians Chapter 9.
I hope you all had a good Thanksgiving Break! We are entering into the holiday season here, often called in our culture “a season of giving” - Advent is when we reflect on our need for, and Christmas later is a time when we celebrate receiving the greatest gift of all: the gift of Jesus to save the world from our sin.
I’m sure you are starting to receive all the emails and junk mail and text messages with opportunities to give to various causes. So I wanted to kick off this Advent season with some instruction from the Bible on generosity. So, #triggerwarning: pastor talking about money!
A Little Background
I’d like to mention at the outset, that the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is not actually about the regular offering for the church, but it is about a fundraiser project, mentioned in three other of Paul’s letters: famine relief for believers in Jerusalem. But in the passage, Paul does give principles surrounding Christian generosity that are applicable to all of us. So when we are talking about partnering together to fund the ministry we as a church family are doing here locally, these principles do apply.
Let’s read today’s passage. We’re going to see Paul lay out 3 ways to give, 4 reasons to give, and 5 results of giving.
2 Corinthians 9:6–15 (CSB)
6 The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. 9 As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.
10 Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.
14 And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
The word of our Lord. Let’s dive in to what’s here.
3 Ways to Give
First let's take at three pairs of ways you could give that Paul points out. Bad ways and the corresponding right ways.
1. Begrudging vs. Blessing
v5 “…arrange in advance the generous gift you promised, so that it will be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.”
I have to jump back to verse five to pick up the first pair. Paul is helping the Corinthian believers be prepared for the arrival of the fundraising team, and he’s helping the Corinthians avoid an awkward situation by being ready for them. Different translations render these words slightly differently. The CSB has “as a gift and not as an extortion”, ESV says “as a willing gift, not as an exaction” - the word “gift” here is the word “generous” in the passage, and the word “extortion” means something like “grudgingly given”. The sense is whether you are giving grudgingly, or under compulsion as in verse 7, or whether you are giving with the sense that you are blessing the recipient.
2. Sparingly vs. Generously
v6. “…The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”
Is your motivation “sparing” as in trying to see how much you can keep for yourself? Or is it to see how much you can give away?Are you trying to figure out what is the minimum you are required to do. Just give me a number so I can check the box and move on with my life. Or is your motivation to give generously, bountifully: “what is the maximum I am capable of doing? I’ll do that!”
3. Reluctantly vs. Cheerfully
v7 “…not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.”
Is your giving characterized by glad eagerness? Cheerfulness? Excitement to give? The greek word for “cheerful" here is where we get our word “hilarious”. Hilarious giving. Or is your giving characterized by reluctance. A sense of obligation. Of forced duty. It doesn’t bug you too much to not give with the regularity that the bible indicates. “Maybe I’ll get around to it. Oops, I guess I missed this month. Maybe I’ll make it up next month, we’ll see.”
The motivations Paul says that we ought to have in giving are eagerness, cheerfulness, generosity, and a desire to abundantly bless the ones we are giving to. So that should be our motivation. But Paul doesn’t just say “here’s how you should feel about it…” he tells us why we should feel that way!
4 Reasons to Give
1. Out of self-interest! Reaping and sowing.
v6. “The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”
The first reason he gives is a rather surprising one. And its one he knows will hit home because its common to all of us. You should give out of self-interest. Shortly Paul is going to allude to benefits you receive when you give, and he is asking the question, do you want to receive those benefits abundantly, or sparingly?Do you want to reap a lot of reward from your giving? Or a little? Of course we all answer that we want a lot of reward!
We should sow generously so that we will reap generously!
2. Because God Loves It!
v7 “…not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.”
Why should we give cheerfully instead of reluctantly? Because God loves it! Do you want God to be pleased with your giving? It’s not about how much you give, it’s about the heart with which you give it!
3. Because God provides for your giving!
Paul continues with the basis for a motive of cheerful, eager, generosity:
v8 “And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.”
Paul is directly attacking the problem of our heart here, our grudging, reluctant, sparing, heart that wants to hang on to hang on to our money out of fear and self protection by saying “don’t worry: God will give you everything you need!”
Look a this verse. If you write in your bible, and I think you should, highlight it, circle it, and underline it twice. This is one of the most high-octane, power-packed promises in the Bible. God promises to give you everything you need so that you can do all the work he has for you to do!
“…EVERY grace, OVERFLOW to you so that in EVERY way, ALWAYS having EVERYTHING you need, you may EXCEL in EVERY good work!”
Isn’t our attitude usually just the opposite of that though? We’re not convinced of the “EVERY EVERY ALWAYS EVERYTHING EXCEL EVERY.”
We believe something closer to: “Some grace, trickle to you, so that in some ways, sometimes having, some of the things you need, you may do okay in some decent work.” Don’t we?
I am convinced that the reasons for the commands to give found throughout the Bible have mostly to do with proving the EVERY to us. The one time God says to his people “TEST ME IN THIS” is in the Old Testament.
Malachi 3:10 (CSB)
10 Bring the full tenth into the storehouse so that there may be food in my house. Test me in this way,” says the Lord of Armies. “See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.
God wants us to bank (trust) not on our bank account, but on his promise to provide.
We can give eagerly, cheerfully, and generously, because God promises to provide for us. How do we know we can trust God in his promise? Because he proved it to us:
4. Because God Gave First!
v10-11 “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way…”
Where does all our stuff come from in the first place? It was supplied to us by God! What is it for? For food, for sowing, and for generosity! God gives us everything we have in the first place. It all belongs to him. He gives us what we need to live, to invest, and to give away: (food, sowing, generosity…)
Paul is reminding us, or perhaps teaching us for the first time, what our stuff is for, and who it ultimately belongs to. All of it comes from God. He takes care of us with it, and asks us to be part of taking care of others.
When we realize that everything we have is God’s in the first place, it frees us to give eagerly, cheerfully, and generously.
But Paul doesn’t stop there. He keeps going and tells us what will result from our eager, cheerful, generous giving, and it is a very motivating picture!
5 Results of Giving
1. Increased capacity for generosity
v10-11 “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way…”
An amazing thing happens when we give: we realize that giving is possible. And not only is it possible, but it results in blessing that is difficult to quantify. Many of you have experienced blessing in your life both physically and spiritually as a result of your commitment to handling God’s stuff carefully and generously. The peace and joy that come from giving are hard to explain. “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)
Do you want to grow in eager, cheerful, generosity? Start giving.
2. Needs of the saints are supplied
v12 “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
A very practical thing happens when you give, needs are met! (By the way, this word “saints” has gotten some religious baggage over the years. Saints is simply a word used in the Bible to describe God’s people. Christians. You are saints!) When we team up and as a community give eagerly, cheerfully, and generously, The thing to which we are giving is accomplished: ministry work, relief efforts, needs being met. It happens when you participate in the ministry of giving!
3. God gets glory
11 “Generosity… produces thanksgiving to God through us.
12 “For the ministry of this service… is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.”
13 “Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God…”
4. Your faith is proven
v13 “Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.”
Paul is telling the Corinthians to put their money where their mouth is. He starts chapter 9 with the fact the Corinthian church has said it is eager to take part in the fundraiser. It’s easy to talk about the importance of generosity. It’s easy to talk about the benefit of financial giving, but Paul says your faith is proven when you actually do it. What happens when your faith is proven? Your confidence grows! Many of us struggle with our faith. A way to increase confidence is through this ministry of generous, cheerful, eager giving!
Notice too that he calls financial giving “ministry work” — it’s not just donating so that someone can do ministry, it is actually doing the ministry!
5. Affection, unity, community grows!
v14 “And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you.”
Perhaps the second best result next to God getting the glory he is due is that giving unifies the church. When we partner together to meet ministry needs, it increases unity and affection among the giver and the receiver. This also gives us a sense of the primary place we should exercising this ministry of generosity: our local church. Working together in coordination with our church family.
This is why we feature testimonies from our different ministries during our giving times, to have a chance to say thank you, and express gratitude for the way you all come together to provide for our different ministries so that they can do the work to which God has called them. Most of you in here are involved in some of those ministries. It's a really cool thing to be knit together to be both givers and receivers. Doesn’t it seem like, with the loaves and fishes, when we bring our resources to God to use, he amplifies their effect?
And this is why Paul finishes his thought with an exclamation of praise.
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
v15 “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!”
What an incredible reality God has created. As we give with eager, cheerful, and generous hearts, we get to watch the results of increased ability to keep giving, the needs of the saints being supplied, God getting glory, our confidence in the faith growing, and affection, unity, and community growing!
Notice that Paul says something amazing here: Giving, itself, is a gift! God gave us the gift of giving. Of benefit resulting from Generosity. Look at all the amazing things that result from cheerful generosity toward one another.
So how can you experience the blessing of this gift from God?
Well, what does the text say?
What Should You Give?
v7 Each person should [give] as he has decided in his heart…
How to “decide in your heart” what to give?
Paul’s command in the passage, and for us today is that each of us should give. And that you should give “as you have decided in your heart.
But how do you decide what to give? On what basis are you making the decision? Does it get to just be whatever you want to do or not do? We should decide in our heart according to the commands of scripture! And what does our passage here today say? As a blessing, generously, cheerfully. So what does that look like practically?
First, Start With Your Heart
In Paul’s exhortation about giving, you can see that he’s calling us to take a look inside and see what’s going on in our heart with regard to our money. Here’s where we have to deal with ourselves. What gets in the way of eagerness, cheerfulness, and generosity? Fear, greed, self-protection. Where do these come from? I think that’s why he says so much about God being a good giver. In our unbelief and rebellion, we tend to see him not as a generous giver, and an abundant provider, but as a taker, a demanding taskmaster.
The Ultimate Motivation for Giving
So how do we deal with ourselves? Well, Paul does give one more reason, and motivation for giving in chapter 8, which is the lead in to today’s passage.
2 Corinthians 8:9 (CSB)
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: Though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.
Paul roots his whole exhortation to generous giving in The Gospel itself. God promises to provide everything we need. On what basis does he prove that he will follow through on that promise? On the basis of Christ giving himself for us.
Romans 8:32 (CSB)
He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?
If we trust God with our eternal soul, certainly we can trust him with this month’s budget.
God has proven that he is willing to give us whatever we need by giving the most precious possible gift for our greatest need, his own son, sacrificed for us. This good news counters all our rebellious suspicions that God is a stingy God, that he won’t provide all our needs. It frees us to trust him with everything we have, all of which is a gift from him in the first place.
Do you want to increase your generosity? Start with your heart by remembering what Christ has done for you.
And if you don’t know him, no amount of generosity is going to matter in the long run. Keep your money. You can’t buy God’ favor with cash. The only thing he is after is your heart, that you trust his son Jesus with your life.
In a few weeks in Mark 10 we’re going to read the story of “the Rich Young Ruler” - a man who was moral & religious, basically a good person. He came to Jesus because he was curious about eternal life.
Mark 10:21 (CSB)
Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
Money can’t buy your way into heaven. But serving Jesus with all of your heart and all of your stuff will yield dividends in eternity. Its the only surefire investment in the world.
Live on Mission
As followers of Christ, our whole lives ought to be oriented around Jesus’s mission of spreading the good news of the kingdom. We are to see all of our possessions and resources as tools to that end, whether we keep them or whether we lend them for ministry use. Do you want to increase your generosity? Calibrate your heart to Jesus’s mission of getting the word out about him.
Practical Help.
There are so many how-tos I wanted to put in this message, but I’m out of time. How do you define generosity? How do you even begin giving, when you’re stretched as it is. There are many of us here who have found good answers to those questions. I’d be happy to talk with you, our finance team would be happy to talk to you, and there are a number of opportunities including seminars, studies, and classes, coming after the new year, so stay tuned.
Summary:
Financial generosity in the church is a wonderful gift from God that results in amazing things: God gets glory, the needs of the saints are supplied (ministry work gets done), your faith is proven and so it grows, affection and unity in the church increases, and your capacity for generosity increases, which goes back to God getting more glory, more needs being met, more unity and affection in the church, and on and on it grows! Giving is itself a gift from God that I hope you will experience.
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