2 Corinthians 8:1

Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia, how that in a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality... and this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord... Therefore, as you abound in everything, in faith, in utterance, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that you abound in this grace also.

Before we open 2 Corinthians 8, an extended preface on money, the heart, and the God who provides for His children.

A Stir Over an Offering

As we have studied through Acts, 1 Corinthians, and now 2 Corinthians, you may recall that there was something of a rebellion in the church at Corinth—a rejection of Paul's leadership and accusations against his character. It is my conviction that one of the bigger causes of that stir was the very issue we are about to discuss: Paul had requested a financial offering from the churches he planted.

It is important to note that this offering was not for Paul himself. He was not showing up saying, "You haven't taken good care of me, so give a little more." Although he does argue in 1 Corinthians 9 that churches should support their ministers, this offering was for the church in Jerusalem, which was under extreme poverty and distress. Paul went to the churches in Corinth, Berea, Thessalonica, Philippi, Lystra, and Derbe, asking them to give to brothers and sisters in Jerusalem they had never even met.

In the first century, just as in the twenty-first, any time the topic of giving, finances, or wealth comes up, it can make people act a little strange. That stir is itself an indication that Jesus' words in Matthew 6:21 are true: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Sometimes our hearts treasure our treasures, fixed on this temporal life and what we have.

The Carnal Mind and the God Who Provides

We carry into our walk as Christians a carnal mind, filled with the thinking of this world. Paul speaks of this in Ephesians 2—the whole world is under a certain cultural worldview. When we become Christians and step into a different world as citizens of heaven, we still drag along our old way of thinking. That old, carnal mind vainly imagines that we are our own providers and sustainers.

This is especially true for men, and it is almost a foundational principle of American culture—"I'm the captain of my own ship, the master of my own destiny. I pull myself up by my own bootstraps." But God is refining the way we think, transforming us by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12). One sign of spiritual maturity is coming to comprehend that God is our ultimate provider and sustainer—that He even gives us the ability to earn wages. "The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof."

God is training us to be convinced He will make good on His promises. Consider Philippians 4:19—a good memory verse: "But my God shall supply all of your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." And 2 Corinthians 9:8: "God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work."

The psalmist knew it too. Psalm 84:11: "For the Lord God is a sun and a shield... no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." And Jesus preached it in Matthew 6:30–32—"if God so clothes the grass of the field... shall he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" Can anyone identify with being little in faith? Your pastor confesses to it many times. Yet Jesus says, take no thought, do not be anxious; your heavenly Father knows you have need of these things.

The Witness of God's Provision

We not only have the word of God's promise; we also have the witness of His provision throughout Scripture. God took care of Abraham, the father of our faith, who set out at seventy-five years old leaving everything in Haran. But he was not perfect at trusting. In Genesis 12, when famine struck the land, Abraham went south toward Egypt and got into all kinds of trouble. God had allowed that famine to bring him to recognize that God is the one who meets his needs.

God provided for Elijah on the run from King Ahab, sending ravens to drop him food in the wilderness. He provided for the widow and her two sons in 2 Kings 4, when creditors were coming to take her sons as slaves. But the greatest picture is God's provision for Israel in the wilderness—forty years of manna from heaven, water from rocks, clothes that did not wear out, shoes that were not worn through. I'm lucky to get a pair of shoes to last eight months.

In Deuteronomy 8, just before Israel enters the Promised Land, God recounts His faithfulness. Notice He begins, "You shall remember"—because we are prone to forget. He humbled them and let them hunger, then fed them with manna, "that he might make you know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord."

Can anyone bear witness that you have experienced a lack right up to the edge, where you thought it would not happen, and then God showed up? And how many times have you forgotten what He has done and assumed He would not come through? God tests us, allowing times of famine to show us He is faithful. The lack many in our nation have felt since 2008—lost employment, no regular check—is God putting us in the pinch where we must trust Him.

Abraham's Ultimate Test

Abraham's greatest test came in Genesis 22, when God said, "Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love," and offer him as a burnt offering. You look at that and say there's no way God would do that—but He did. Abraham rose the next morning, saddled his donkey, took two servants and Isaac, and journeyed three days to Moriah. With his grown son on the altar, God provided a ram.

Hebrews 11 gives us insight into Abraham's mind: he believed God was able to raise his son from the dead—total, complete confidence in God's promise. When Abraham left that place he proclaimed the name of the Lord as Jehovah-Jireh, "God our provider." He recognized, "Lord, you have provided what is needed."

Audacious Teaching—and Two Errors to Avoid

I say all this as a preface, because what lies before us in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is challenging—what I would call audacious teaching. It was challenging to its first hearers, but the Corinthians did receive it, and if we receive it we will also receive a great blessing. The place of wealth and its proper use are keys to Christian maturity. Many churches gloss over passages like this, fearful of offending people. If you've been around our church, you know we only address it when the Scriptures bring us to it—and you know I have no problem causing a stir.

First, we are wholly against prosperity theology. It asserts that true Christians will be blessed materially and in abundance, treating material wealth as evidence of God's blessing and considering the rich more righteous than the poor. It grieves me that this is one of the biggest exports of modern American Christianity—Central Africa is on fire with it, even though they have next to nothing. Many in this camp teach "seed faith": sow a seed into this ministry and reap a hundredfold. If that's not greed, I don't know what is. It is a Ponzi scheme masqueraded in gospel truth. A Christian does not give to get. Jesus said in Matthew 6 that if you give only to be seen, you have your reward.

Second, we are equally against poverty theology, which teaches that true Christians show their spirituality in their poverty, honoring those who live in poverty as exceptionally devoted to God—what we call asceticism. To this we answer that there are not merely two kinds of people in relation to wealth, the rich and the poor. There are four: the wealthy righteous, the poor righteous, the wealthy unrighteous, and the poor unrighteous. All exist in the landscape of human wealth.

Money, the Heart, and Stewardship

Money in itself is not evil. First Timothy 6:10—the most-noted and most-misquoted verse on the subject—says, "the love of money is the root to all kinds of evil," not "money is the root of all evil." Money is a root to evil because it gives the truly evil thing, the wicked human heart, the opportunity to indulge its desires. Great wealth given to an unjust person will be used sinfully. The heart of the matter is the human heart.

A heart transformed by the gospel knows how to use what Jesus calls "unrighteous mammon" in a way that honors God. In Luke 16:10–11, Jesus says, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much... If therefore you have not been faithful in unrighteous mammon, who will commit to you the true riches?" Know that your faithful or unjust use of earthly wealth bears upon what God commits into your hands, both here and in the life to come. One of Jesus' parables shows that those faithful with what God gives here will be given greater responsibility there. The issue is faithfulness and good stewardship—using wealth to bring glory to God.

The Historical Context of the Offering

In Acts 15, Paul, Barnabas, and Titus went to Jerusalem for what became the Jerusalem Council, gathered to navigate the gospel's spread to Gentiles. As Paul and Barnabas prepared to leave, the leaders—James the brother of the Lord, Peter, and others—encouraged them to "remember the poor" (Galatians 2:10). Paul says this was the very thing he was already eager to do. Indeed, in Acts 11:29 the disciples had already sent relief to the brethren in Judea by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

So it was the practice of the early Christians to care for one another's practical needs. In Acts 2 they had all things in common and cared for those in need; in Acts 4 and 5, Barnabas sold a portion of his land and gave the proceeds to the church. The early church also supported its ministers. Time permits only three texts: "Even so has the Lord ordained that those that preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:14); "One who is taught the word must share all good things with the one who teaches" (Galatians 6:6, using koinoneo); and "Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor... the laborer is worthy of his reward" (1 Timothy 5:17). Both the ministry and the ministers are supported by the body of Christ.

During his third missionary journey, Paul began to solicit a special offering from the churches he had planted across Asia Minor and Europe, to carry back to the impoverished church in Jerusalem.

The Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of Giving

In 1 Corinthians 16:1–4, Paul answers the Corinthians' practical questions about this offering. "Now concerning the collection for the saints"—there is the what. "As I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do you"—there is the who: not just Galatia but all the churches; this is a general principle.

"Upon the first day of the week"—the when: the Lord's Day, Sunday. This does not mean offerings happen only then; it implies giving should be frequent and regular in the Christian's life. "Let every one of you"—no one is exempt: old, young, rich, poor, Jew, Gentile. "Lay up by him in store"—come prepared, having planned to give, not haphazardly. "As God hath prospered him"—give from your abundance; you can't give what you don't have, but give some portion you've elected. "That there be no gatherings when I come"—the why: that there be no lack.

After writing 2 Corinthians, Paul visited Corinth, then left for Jerusalem, and along the way wrote Romans. In Romans 15:24–26 he tells the church at Rome of his plans to visit them on his way to Spain, but first, "now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints," because Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor saints in Jerusalem. (Note: when we finish 2 Corinthians, we'll be in Acts about two weeks, and then in Romans for probably five years—it's a big book.)

Four Principles of Giving

Although we're out of time, here is what I would have told you. First, giving is a path to great blessing. In Acts 20:35 Paul quotes the Lord Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Second, giving is an acceptable sacrifice before God. Israel offered lambs and goats at the temple, but we have no temple today. Hebrews 13:15–16 names our sacrifices: "the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name"—which is why we give such priority to worship in our services—"but to do good and to communicate [to share, koinoneo] forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased."

Third, giving is an expression of the grace of God. God gave to us not because we earned it but of His grace; when we give, we do not give because people deserve it but as an expression of God's grace lived through us. Years ago, when there was a national push for volunteerism, Disneyland offered a ticket if you volunteered four hours. To me, that's not volunteering—that's a well-paying job, giving to get something. Giving is an expression of God's grace.

Fourth, giving is an expression of the love of God. The Bible has much to say about wealth—roughly 2,100 verses deal with treasure, wealth, and giving; one-tenth of the New Testament touches it; nearly half of Jesus' parables involve it. You might conclude God is obsessed with money. He's not—but He knows that we are. He speaks of these things not because He is trying to raise money but because He is trying to raise children to be like Him. And God is the greatest giver: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).

We go through this passage because it is where we are in 2 Corinthians, but also because I believe the American church today is in the exact same position as the Corinthian church 2,000 years ago—stirred up, upset that Paul would say "you need to give," while protesting, "But what about us? I lost my retirement, I lost my job." Corinth was in the very same predicament, and Paul's instruction to them is wonderfully relevant for us. We're going to see just how relevant God's word is on this issue, in our day. Amen?

Closing Prayer

Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you that you speak to the things we need to hear. God, you instruct us in the way we should live, in the way we should go. You teach us what is right in handling our lives, our wealth, our assets, Lord. God, work in us that we would shine greatly in a dark world. Make us like a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden, that people would see our good works and glorify you, our Father in heaven. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.