Grace Giving

Grace Giving

 “Grace Giving”

(2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

Series: Mastering the Art of Re-Gifting (2/3)

Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD

First Baptist Church Henderson KY

2-18-07 (AM)

 

  • Take God’s Word and open to 2 Corinthians, chapter number 8.

 

Last week we began a very short series of messages, just three messages, on Christian giving.  You’ll remember the series title is “Mastering the Art of Re-Gifting.”

 

I remember the first time I was exposed to the concept of re-gifting.  I was a small child in California and had been invited to a birthday party at Scott Viscera’s house.  The day came for the party and my mother was just like so many of you young mothers.  She was busy with a thousand things and somehow the party just slipped up on her.  We didn’t have time to go to the store to get a birthday present for Scott Viscera.  So my very resourceful, quick-thinking mother took one of my G.I. Joes—any of you guys have those army action figure G.I. Joes when you were little?  I’m not talking about the new ones, I mean the old ones that were big and had peach fuzz for the hair and beards!—Well, she took one of G.I. Joes of mine that she had gotten me recently (she still had the box) and she wrapped up that old G.I. Joe and I found myself, involuntarily, re-gifting this G.I. Joe to my friend Scott.  She warned me about saying that I had it first.  I wasn’t supposed to say anything, you know.  So I didn’t.  At his birthday party Scott Viscera opened up that gift and got that G.I. Joe and I’m looking at it the whole time thinking, “I sure would like to play with that that thing!”  Re-gifting.

 

Now we learned last time that there is a kind of re-gifting that God both enjoys and expects.  He desires that we re-gift back to Him from what He has given to us.  He gives to us and He expects that we will give back to Him; re-gifting for God’s glory.  So last time we looked at a passage where the Bible teaches that God expects no less than a tithe, no less than 10% back from what He has given us.  We read about storehouse giving in Malachi, chapter 3.  God says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse—the equivalent being the local church—and see if I won’t pour out such blessing upon you that you won’t be able to contain it.  Try me in this,” says the Lord.

 

During the invitation last week several of you with heads bowed and eyes closed said in your spirit, “God, recognizing that tithing is just the place for me to begin in Christian giving, I will start giving back to you no less than 10%.  I will begin tithing for your glory.”

 

But tithing, giving 10%, is merely the place to begin in our Christian giving.  As we study Christian giving in the New Testament, we see that God expects not just “storehouse giving,” but “grace giving.”  In chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians, the word “grace” occurs no less than ten times, several of them in our text this morning.  Listen for them as we read the first few verses of the text.

 

  • Stand in honor of the reading of God’s Holy Word.

 

1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 

2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality. 

3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability, they were freely willing, 

4 imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 

5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 

6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 

7 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. 

8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 

9 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. 

 

  • Pray.

Last week we looked at “Storehouse Giving.”  This morning we are looking at “Grace Giving.”  Grace giving is the point of Christian growth where we are no longer caught-up with a fixed percentage of giving, but we are thinking beyond giving merely the tithe.

 

Do you remember the quote from John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota?  He said, “The question is not, ‘What percentage must I give?’ but, ‘How much dare I spend on myself?’”  When we move beyond thinking of merely tithing, we are entering into the area of grace giving.  So I want to share with you from verses 1-15 some points of action concerning grace giving.  Number one:

 

I. Remember the Method of Grace Giving [1-7]

 

First, we’re going to see the way in which we should practice grace giving, giving I am defining as “thinking beyond giving merely the tithe.”  Grace giving means we are not so much caught-up with marking-out 10% as though it were a bill to pay or as though it were a law, but we’re moving beyond the pedantic categorization of giving so that we find ourselves often thinking about and desiring to give beyond the tithe.  So we really don’t give because we feel we have to, but rather we give because we want to.  Grace giving is modeled here in our passage.  First,

 

1) We Give Generously (1-2)

 

Paul was on a missionary journey collecting money from various churches to help particularly impoverished Christians in Jerusalem.  So he’s “collecting the offering,” if you will.  And in this portion of his letter to the Corinthians, he makes his plea for the Christians at Corinth to give to this offering.

 

1 Moreover, brethren, we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia: 

2 that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.  

 

Paul is writing here about the grace giving that the Christians of Macedonia are doing.  Now the Christians of Macedonia are members of churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea.  And Paul is saying the grace of God has been bestowed upon these churches.  What is that grace of God?  Paul answers in verse 2, “that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality.”

 

Despite the fact that the Christians in these churches in Macedonia are going through trials of affliction and a poverty of their own, they nonetheless are giving generously.  They don’t reason, “Well, I need the money myself!”  No, they hear about others in need and they respond with grace giving.  The text suggests that they gave more than we might expect.  They gave generously.

 

I read where most Christians give only 3% of their income to charitable causes and, ironically, the more money people make, the less they actually give.  Imagine if every single member of First Baptist Henderson gave no less than a tithe, no less than 10%.  What would be able to accomplish for God’s glory?

 

Think of the work we could do!  I am so grateful for the ongoing discussions and dreaming of this church body in light of the presentation of our Vision Team last Sunday evening.  Wasn’t that an awesome presentation?  Our church body is talking openly now about what God will lead us to do in the days, months, and years ahead.  God may lead us to purchase property for the purpose of reaching more souls for His glory.  He may lead us to start new works, satellite church campuses or otherwise extending our gospel influence throughout Henderson for His glory.  I’m so glad to hear our church thinking beyond ourselves, thinking into the future.  During our forum meeting after the senior adult fellowship Friday I thought for a moment that we were going to start a new property fund right on the spot!  But grace giving means we think this way.  We think beyond our own needs and we give generously.  The second method of grace giving is that:

 

2) We Give Sacrificially (3a)

 

3 For I bear witness that according to their ability, yes, and beyond their ability . . . 

 

The Christians of these churches in Macedonia gave beyond their ability.  You see, they gave sacrificially.  Many of them no doubt gave beyond the usual 10% expectation.  Remember that we learned tithing is merely the place to begin in Christian giving.  We should always be open to God’s prompting to move us beyond the minimum, giving at times sacrificially for His glory.

 

R. G. LeTourneau, an inventor of big, earthmoving machines which represented 70% of earthmoving equipment used during World War II understood about grace giving.  He poured money into missionary causes in Africa and South America, funded a Christian University in Texas and reached a point in his life where, rather than giving 10% of his income and living on the remaining 90%, LeTourneau gave 90% of his income and lived on just 10%.  That’s grace giving.  LeTourneau said, “The question is not how much of my money I give to God, but rather how much of God’s money I keep for myself.”  Asked in an interview once how he was able to give so generously, LeTourneau said, “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back to me—but God has a bigger shovel.”

 

The method of grace giving is to give generously and sacrificially.  Thirdly:

 

3) We Give Voluntarily (3b-4)

 

3 . . . they were freely willing,

 

Grace giving is something we do voluntarily.  Remember, Christian giving is not a matter of law so much as it is a matter of grace.  We give not because we have to, but because we want to.

 

In that sense Christian giving is nothing like paying taxes, for example.  Does anyone here, especially this time of the year, like to pay taxes?  We don’t give to the I.R.S. voluntarily, do we?  We don’t give to the I.R.S. because we want to, we give because we have to!

 

You heard about the man who had listened to some hard preaching on God’s knowing our hidden secrets.  He fell under conviction and wrote to the I.R.S., “I have been unable to sleep, knowing that I have cheated on my income tax. I understated my taxable income, and have enclosed a check for $150.”  At the bottom of the letter he wrote: “P.S., If I still can’t sleep, I will send the rest.”

 

Unfortunately for many Christians giving to God is like giving to the I.R.S.  It isn’t something they want to do, it is something they feel they have to do.  Learn from these Macedonian Christians in verse 3.  We give voluntarily, “freely willing.”  That’s the method of grace giving.

 

4) We Give WholeHeartedly (5-7)

 

5 And not only as we had hoped, but they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God. 

6 So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. 

7 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. 

 

Titus is the collector Paul is sending.  He is the one who was at Corinth a year earlier.  So Paul says, “We’re sending him back to you so that he can receive your whole-hearted offering.”  Be like the Macedonians who “first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God.”  They availed themselves to us for the purpose of meeting this need.  Look again at verse 7:

 

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.

 

You see, God expects us to grow in the discipline of giving just as we grow in faith, knowledge, love, and so forth.

 

So remember the method of grace giving.  We give generously, sacrificially, voluntarily, and whole-heartedly.  Remember the words of Jesus in Luke 12:15 where He says, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

 

So remember the method of grace giving.  Number two:

 

II. Remember the Motivation of Grace Giving [8-9]

 

1) We Give because of our Love (8)

 

8 I speak not by commandment, but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. 

 

Do you hear the grace in Paul’s words?  I’m not forcing you to do this.  I’m not making you do this.  I am not speaking by commandment.  This is not “law giving,” but, “grace giving.”  I am testing, he says, the sincerity of your—what?—love.  I am testing the sincerity of you love by the diligence of others.  In other words, “I am merely saying to you, ‘Look at what love these Macedonians have for their brothers and sisters in need.  Now how about your love?’”  The motivation of grace giving is love.  We give because of our love.  If we love, we’ll give.

 

In 1 John 3:17, Jesus says, “Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

 

We give because of our love and, secondly:

 

2) We Give because of our Lord (9)

 

9 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. 

 

What a wonderful verse of Scripture!  We give because of our Lord.  Jesus Christ is the Supreme motivation for Christian giving.  Paul says look at what our Lord did for you.  He, who was rich in the glories of heaven, set aside His glory and came down here to this fallen world, living as a poor carpenter who borrowed nearly everything including the tomb in which He was laid to rest.  He became poor—why?—“for your sakes, that you through His poverty might become rich.”  Yes God came to us

 

So along with Isaac Watts, Paul says, “Just survey the wondrous cross.  Just look to Calvary and look at the cross.  Look there and you’ll see the supreme motivation for Christian giving.”

 

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

And pour contempt on all my pride.

 

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

Save in the death of Christ my God!

All the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to His blood.

 

See from His head, His hands, His feet,

Sorrow and love flow mingled down!

Did e’er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

 

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

That were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

Demands my soul, my life, my all.

 

Remember the method of grace giving.  Remember the motivation of grace giving.  Number three:

 

III. Remember the Ministry of Grace Giving [10-15]

 

Remember the ministry of grace giving.  We’ve touched on this before.  God ministers through our giving.  He reaches others through our re-gifting to Him.  As we remember the ministry of grace giving, two things, first:

 

1) We Give with the Right Attitude (10-12)

 

10 And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago; 

11 but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. 

 

Paul makes reference to the year earlier trip to Corinth by Titus.  Titus challenged the people to give and they made a commitment to give.  They desired to do so.  Now Paul says in verses 11, “Finish what you began.”  He says you had the right attitude about this.  You desired to give.  Now finish what you started.  He elaborates on this right attitude in verse 12:

 

12 For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 

 

That simply means that our attitude is more important than the amount.  Our attitude in grace giving is more important than the amount.  It’s a bit like Jesus taught when we watched the poor widow in Luke 21.  Remember this?

 

Luke 21:1-4:

 

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites.  So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.

 

That widow had the right attitude in giving.  She was not so much concerned with the amount.  By way of comparison, the rich people were putting more money into the offering.  She gave something that by today’s standards was less than a penny.  But she gave all she had.  She gave not just 10%.  In this case, she gave 100%.   But, truth is, we don’t really think in terms of percentages when we practice grace giving.  We believe that tithing is certainly the minimum that God expects, but there are occasions when we will feel led to give much more, perhaps 50% like Zacchaeus, or 90% like L.G. LeTourneu, or 100% like this poor widow.  The attitude is more important than the amount.

 

(Illus. Flat tire coming home from church the other day.  Woman offered to help.  No!  Man offered.  Yes!  Pride.  Could have received the blessing earlier had it not been for my prideful attitude.  Same with our giving.)  We give with the right attitude and:

 

2) We Give from our Rich Abundance (13-15)

 

13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened; 

14 but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack — that there may be equality. 

15 As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

 

Paul is not advocating socialism here.  He is simply saying, “Give from your rich abundance so that those who are less fortunate will benefit from your giving.  Then, in your time of need, when you are struggling financially, others will bless you from their rich abundance.”

 

Nearly every one of us is rich by global economic standards. Nearly every one of us listening to this message is in the upper 5% of the world economy.  We are rich.  And so we are wise to practice grace giving.

 

Conclusion:

 

I remember studying these things in Systematic Theology at Southern Seminary several years ago.  My professor, who would become a mentor to me in many ways, was Dr. Danny Akin, who is now the president of Southeastern Seminary.  We were talking about Christian giving, about how tithing is merely the place to begin in our giving, and attitude being more important than the amount.  Dr. Akin made a statement I have never forgotten.  When it comes to Christian giving and we wonder specifically we should give each week, here’s what he said: “Get on your knees, look at the cross at what Jesus did for you, and give based on that.”  Well spoken.  That’s my invitation for you today.

 

Invitation:

 

Last week several of you felt led to begin tithing, to begin re-gifting back to God no less than 10% of your earnings.  That’s the place to start.  And many of you are starting to tithe.  That’s a big enough challenge for you.  Still others of you are moving to the next level, growing in your giving.  You want to excel in giving by thinking beyond the tithe.  Whichever category you find yourself in, take a moment and talk to God.

 

If you’re listening to this message as one who has never trusted Jesus as your personal Savior, recall verse 9: “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.”

 

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.