At the Members’ Meeting last night, several folks suggested it might be good to have some teaching on giving. Obviously there’s a danger in pastors talking about giving; you might assume that’s all we care about or that the church is some “scheme”. Unfortunately some local churches do flirt with becoming a kingdom unto themselves. But I think a look at our annual budget will confirm for you that’s not what we’re about :o) And since I personally don’t see the records on who gives what, I hope you’ll not take any offense at a rare teaching on giving, offered here simply to ensure that our thinking around that topic is biblical.
In 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, the apostle Paul is bold in challenging the Corinthian church to follow through on an offering being gathered for the benefit of the church in Jerusalem. The brothers and sisters there, in the very origin city of the gospel, were suffering in the sort of paralyzing poverty that uniquely comes under a mixture of both political and religious persecution. The need for this offering was also discussed in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 as well as in Romans 15:25-27. In a sense, it’s shocking that Paul has to spend so much time following up with the Corinthian church about completing this offering; it seems that Corinth was easily the wealthiest of the first century churches. But that’s often the case, isn’t it? Wealth easily becomes a god in its own right, hence Jesus’ warnings in Matthew 6:19-24 and Luke 18:18-30. Hopefully those warnings aren’t lost on us as the American church, easily the wealthiest of the 21st century churches.
To motivate the Corinthians to give, Paul offers two examples. The first is the church at Macedonia. Actually throughout this passage, Paul uses the Macedonians to, in a sense, make the Corinthians ashamed of their sluggardly giving. He says, “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord then by the will of God to us.”
So the Macedonians, though nearly as destitute as the Christians at Jerusalem, insist on being allowed to give. From a worldly perspective, this would be nonsensical and to their own harm. From God’s perspective, this was a sure path to joy – in fact Paul attributes this choice on the part of the Macedonians to “the grace of God”; their desire to give sacrificially was actually God’s gift to them! Perhaps you’ve seen this in yourself at times. You weren’t planning to give, or to give so much, but something welled up in you and you went through with it. And then you weren’t sorry. It increased your joy!
The second example Paul gives the Corinthians to ponder is Christ Himself: “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 by his poverty might become rich.” If we imagine the riches, beauty, comfort of heaven that God the Son walked away from at the Incarnation, that sacrifice alone is staggering. This was all part of how He “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant…therefore God has highly exalted him” (Philippians 2:5-9). We have this same mind among ourselves in Christ Jesus – a commitment to God’s glory and our joy through this “down, then up” trajectory. We follow Christ on mission, in lives that gladly, when needed, sacrifice our own temporal pleasures to yield a harvest of eternal joy (for ourselves and others)! We are able to do this only because His grace has transformed us through the ultimate “down, then up”: His death and resurrection.
Paul also assures the Corinthians that giving generously never leads to lack: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work…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, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” This is by no means a promise of prosperity, health, and wealth. But it is a general principle at work in God’s world and specifically among His people. Look around at the most generous people you know. They may not be immune from hard times. But God certainly doesn’t leave them in the lurch. He honors their trust in Him. He provides for their needs. And He quite often does entrust them with more. If you were manager of the universe and ruler of the Church, wouldn’t you keep giving more resources of various kinds to those who were using them in ways that produce thanksgiving to God? Rightly understood, this is a call not to begrudge God our money, energy, or time, because we love to join our good Father in His work, and we know that “God loves a cheerful giver.”
In this inflationary economy, giving probably feels harder, not easier than in previous years. It requires more faith. Yet God’s promises to sustain you in your joyful, generous, and free giving are no less true. Whether within the local church or in your giving to other gospel-centered outreach, ask God for the gift of trusting Him more with your finances in 2023. It’s not a burden or requirement. It’s a whole-hearted response to God’s inexpressible gift: Christ crucified and risen for us.