As we enter into this final part of this series on “The Finances of a Christian,” I just want to share with you that I now see why God put this series of messages on my heart. I have had so many people come up to me this week expressing thanks to God for all that He has taught them. Many here seem to have been captured by the fact that God needs to be God of their money --- down to the very last penny. And for a pastor and preacher, seeing God’s people respond to His Word in such a way is a delight like no other.

A certain Christian once said to a friend, “Our church costs too much. They are always asking for money.” [Her friend replied in this fashion]: “Sometime ago a little boy was born in our home. He cost [us] a lot of money from the very beginning: he had a big appetite; he needed clothes, medicine, toys, and even a puppy. Then he went to school, and that cost a lot more; later he went to college; then he began dating, and that cost a small fortune! But in his senior year at college he died, and since the funeral he hasn’t cost [us] a penny. Now which situation do you think we would rather have?” After a significant pause, the friend continued, “As long as this church lives it will cost. When it dies for want of support it won’t cost us anything. A living church has the most vital message in all the world today; therefore I am going to give and pray with everything I have to keep our church alive” (Alan Redpath, The Royal Route to Heaven. Westwood, NJ: Revell, 1960, p. 27).

Some people believe it is unspiritual to talk about money. Some say not to worry about money but just let God provide. We should not worry about anything because God will provide, but as we’ve mentioned at various times, we must be good stewards with what God has given us in using the brains God has given us to do the work God has commissioned us to do.

And the fact of the matter is that the way to continue these operations from keeping our electricity and our phones to funding various ministries is monetarily. But we will see that if we realize all that God has given to us in Christ, then it will be no problem for us to give to God’s work. So how are we to give?

Give graciously (2 Corinthians 8:1, 5).

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1).

As Paul begins this wonderful passage on God-centered giving, we see that he begins by showing how God has given graciously to the churches in Macedonia (the province where Corinth was located). When the people of God focus upon, as 1 John 3:1 says, “… what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.

But when you consider that Paul was talking about the Macedonia churches, you are even more amazed about how God dispenses His grace. Macedonia was a province in northern Greece that had been decimated over the years by various wars in which Rome was engaged. The churches that Paul refers to were the churches in Berea, Thessolonica, and Philippi. These wars had left this area quite deprived and incredibly poor. So while the world may not have looked upon them with any favor, God did for these churches had a reputation of being quite faithful.

In fact, look a few verses down at 2 Corinthians 8:5. It reads, “…and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” Do you see the incredible truth given here? They had been given over to God, so they gave what they had to God. Before you can give your money and resources to the Lord, you first have to give of yourself to Him. Because when you give yourself to the Lord fully and completely, there will never be an issue concerning whether to give --- for you have been captured by His grace. This is the primary motivation for giving --- you have been given His grace. Now, be gracious to others!

Give generously (2 Corinthians 8:2-3a).

[2] 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. [3] For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means… .

A well-known philanthropist was asked, “How is it that you give away so much, and yet have so much left?” “I suppose it’s like this,” he replied. “I shovel out, and God shovels in, and he has a bigger shovel than I do!”

He had it figured out! Unfortunately, not everyone does. During a sermon, a country preacher said to his congregation, “Now let the church walk.” Deacon Jones said, “Amen, let it walk.” “Let the church run,” said the preacher. “Let it run,” echoed Deacons Jones. “Now it’s going to take money to let it fly, brother,” said the preacher. Deacon Jones replied, “Let it walk, preacher, let it walk.”

This deacon didn’t have it figured out. He and many people in the church want to be Christians, just so long as they do not have to sacrifice anything at all. But we need a soul adjustment to realize that anything worth doing, especially the Christian life, will involve sacrifice and responsibility. Look at Romans 12:1-2:

[1] I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2] Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Too often, the only time people are generous and ‘sacrificial’ with their giving is when they have a great deal of money. Yet, it seems that people only look at the amount they give and not the amount of sacrifice it takes when they give. In Luke 21:1-4, we see an illustration of this mindset and also see what Jesus is pleased with:

[1] Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, [2] and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. [3] And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. [4] For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

So it is not the amount of money, but the amount of sacrifice. Getting back to 2 Corinthians 8, we see that Paul says, “… for in a severe test of affliction” that 2+2 are put together but seem to come up with only 3 (at least as the world sees it). There is an ‘abundance of joy’ couple with ‘extreme poverty’ that produced a ‘wealth of generosity.’ These were people on the lower strata financially but their joy was in God not in things --- so they gave and gave generously.

Paul tears to shreds the excuse that many of us use. “Look, I cannot afford to give!” How can you afford not to give? God will always take care of His own! And Scripture tells us in Psalm 37:25:

I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.

And also in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully.” If we give graciously and generously to God in an act of worship, God will not let us do without. He will supply all our needs. So it involves sacrifice and trust that God will keep His promises even if we are sacrificially obedient.

Give genuinely.

“…of their own free will.” (2 Corinthians 8:3b).

In the Old Testament, we become acquainted with the ‘tithe.’ When Abraham won a significant battle, he encountered a King/Priest named Melchizedek. And in gratitude to God, he gave Melchizedek (and ultimately God) 10 percent of all the spoils. This ‘tenth’ that Abraham gave is what is known as the ‘tithe.’ Abraham gave this ‘tenth’ as a freewill love offering to God.

But when the word ‘tithe’ is used later in the Old Testament, it designated a required offering that was set aside to help support the Levites who operated the Temple worship times, plus other tithes were required by God in order to help provide for the poor at various times and ways. When you add these tithes up, they equaled approximately 25% of a person’s income. These were required in the Old Testament, which is why Malachi in 3:10 said that the people of Israel were robbing God because they did not give what was required. So when considering a ‘tithe,’ you have to be careful --- required giving in the Old Testament was quite steep!

Tithing is mentioned only a couple of times in the New Testament. When Jesus was confronting the Pharisees told them this condemnation:

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others (Matthew 23:23).

In fact, when Jesus taught, He seemed to take for granted that God’s people would give. In Matthew 6:2, Jesus uses an incredibly effective teaching method when delivering His Sermon on the Mount. He says,

Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.

He doesn’t say, “GIVE or else!” He simply says, “When you give.” He takes it for granted that you will do this. God is quite clear that we are to give and we are to give genuinely and without arm-twisting.

You see, so many today are like those Pharisees. We get a paycheck for $944.40, so our giving is exactly 10% of that, which is $94.44. That’s a bit like the Pharisees. They gave a certain set and prescribed amount, but never any more. But we look at what Paul tells the Corinthians in 2 Corinthians 9:7, which says, “Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” There must be a willingness, not a reluctance. We must give freely, not through arm-twisting.

And it works both ways. Sometimes, people give when they hear sermons on money and the fire is hot and they give. Then they look at the budget and see that things may be doing a bit better. Then, when the church or other endeavors to which one contributes begins to do better, then the giving tails off. I haven’t been here long enough to know if that’s the case here, but it is in other churches and it’s a shame.

We don’t give based upon guilt trips or only when the church is under budget, but we give freely because of our love and worship of the Lord Jesus. There’s no pretense about that. Just love for the Lord who has freely given to you --- which compels you to freely give to His work!

Give gravely.

“...begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints—“ (2 Corinthians 8:4)

I use this word to keep the alliteration, but we must realize that when we give, we must do so with gravity, with solemnity, with seriousness. How often do people who are Christians who have never been taught about giving. How much worse is the fact that Christians see God’s commands and God’s desire and the need all around them, yet their hearts are calloused to God’s will and man’s need.

These churches in Macedonia saw a need and saw the seriousness of the need of seeing fellow believers in need of relief. They were in extreme poverty but that abundant joy in Jesus won the day. We as the church of Jesus Christ have lost our seriousness and lost our sense of urgency when it comes to being on mission. That must be recovered in our hearts --- else what little influence we have in this world will fade away.

Give gladly

[11] “So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. [12] For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have (2 Cor. 8:11-12) .

Years ago, The Sunday School Times carried the account of a Christian school for the children of “untouchables” in India prior to World War II. Each year the children received Christmas presents from children in England. The girls got a doll, and the boys a toy. On one occasion, the doctor from a nearby mission hospital was asked to distribute the gifts. In the course of his visit, he told the youngsters about a village where the boys and girls had never even heard of Jesus. He suggested that maybe they would like to give them some of their old toys as presents. They liked the idea and readily agreed. A week later, the doctor returned to collect the gifts. The sight was unforgettable. One by one the children filed by and handed the doctor a doll or toy. To his great surprise, they all gave the new presents they had just received several days earlier. When he asked why, a girl spoke up, “Think what God did by giving us his only Son. Could we give him less than our best?”

These children demonstrated what the Apostle Paul was teaching to the Corinthian church. Be ready and willing to give until the need is met. He does not set a percentage, but he says, “Give willingly, gladly, cheerfully” for as 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “God loves a cheerful giver.”

Let me ask you: when you give, do you give generously? Do you give gladly, or do you give begrudgingly? Do you give genuinely and freely, or do you give as a result of arm-twisting? It is time for us to get off of ourselves when it comes to our role and our status in the Kingdom of God.

Copyright © 2004 by Matthew Perry, Treasuring the Word Publications. All rights reserved. You may reproduce up to 1000 copies of this sermon. All we ask is that you give proper credit to the author and the ministry/church he represents. The contact information should be included as follows:

Bro. Matthew Perry, Pastor
Boone’s Creek Baptist Church
185 N. Cleveland Rd.
Lexington, KY 40509-9499
Phone: (859) 263-5466
E-mail: matt @ matt-perry.com .

Website: http://www.matt-perry.com