Give Generously (Part II: A Biblical Attitude of Giving)

The Apostle Paul continues:

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. [9] 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. [10] And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it (2 Corinthians 8:8-10, ESV).

Paul urges the Corinthian church to give genuinely. Don’t give with any pretenses. This is why he prefaces his comments here with, “I say this not as a command.” He is not saying that this is optional, for God does command us to give to help the people of God do their work. He could have made this command, but he did not want them to do this because they had to — that’s not genuine. He wanted them to do this genuinely to “prove by the earnestness of others that your love also was genuine.” What picture does he give to drive this home? None other than the Gospel.

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!” Christ out of his abundance became poor so that we might become rich! This echoes Philippians 2:5-8:

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, [6] who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, [7] but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, [8] he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The “poverty” that Christ experienced reflected in a greater way the “extreme poverty” or the empty vessel that was found among the other Macedonian churches. But Christ used the poverty of becoming a servant to all in order that we might become rich in Christ. Col. 1:27 says, “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” With this,When we see the sacrifice of Christ and how Christ is in us, we will see the joy that comes with sacrifice for the Kingdom as well.

Do we give genuinely? Do we give out of love for God and love for neighbor? In Matthew 23:23, Jesus condemns the Pharisees for keeping requirements for requirements’ sake in order to make themselves look better, but weren’t willing to sacrifice:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 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, ESV).

Some of us may be guilty of that. We give out of the bare requirements, but not out of genuine love. We may get a $944.40 paycheck, so when it comes giving time, what’s the check amount? That’s right: $99.44. This may be a reflection of our live before God. You see, God calls us to live out a genuine commitment to him that is full, authentic, and real.

Give Graciously (Part I: A Biblical Attitude Toward Giving)

(This sermon was preached on Sunday, May 18, 2008 at Boone’s Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY. To listen to the sermon in its entirety, click here. To read the Introduction to this blog series, click here.)

In 2 Cor. 8:1-7, we read:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, [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, of their own free will, [4] begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— [5] and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. [6] Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. [7] But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you— see that you excel in this act of grace also.

Paul rejoiced in the grace of God demonstrated among the churches at Macedonia, the province in which Corinth was located. How was it demonstrated? By circumstances? The Word says they were in a “severe test of affliction.” The affliction was a famine that had left the area in a hard grip. The economy was absolutely atrocious and affected everyone, even the Christians. But how did they react? External circumstances showed itself in “extreme poverty.” But what was going on internally? “An abundance of joy.” Why? Because of the grace of God.

Look with me at verse 4: “They gave themselves to the Lord first.” Now, let’s put all this together. Externally, a bad economy which led to a severe test of affliction resulting in extreme poverty. Internally, God’s grace took hold leading to an abundance of joy. They gave out of an overflow in a wealth of generosity! They gave. No one twisted their arm. God gave to them graciously, so they gave graciously out of their joy. In fact, notice that Paul calls this giving an “act of grace.”

What is the Spirit telling us? The Spirit informs us of the motive in which we are to give. We do not give primarily to keep up budgets. We do not give so our numbers are not embarrassing. We give because God has given so much to us. And the motive behind the gift we gift matches our view of the gloriousness of Christ’s act of grace toward us. We give based on the joy in our hearts.

We give not just with Christ in mind, but also his church — His body! Are we invested in God’s church as well? Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:23-24: “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, [24] leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” We will not give graciously if we fail to extend grace toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we are failing to give, we need to dig deep into our hearts to see if some unresolved relationship is blocking our fellowship with God and his church.

Consider the following:

1. Have we truly understood what that “act of grace” to which Paul refers really reflects? The gift we give and the motive behind it usually matches our view of the gloriousness of Christ’s act of grace toward us.

2. Is this “act of grace” also seen as an act of worship? Given all we have read in Matthew 5:23-24, we also see that the gifts we give will be received in direct proportion to the way we take care of our relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ? Keep short accounts!

Why Modern “Evangelism” Is Not Evangelism At All

Beginning a Conversation About Christ

Ed Stetzer recently posted on The Resurgence Website about “Beginning a Conversation about Christ. Well worth reading.

Small Church Research (EdStetzer.com)

An excerpt:

LifeWay Research recently completed a study of small churches. We have not released the data yet, but Brad Waggoner recently shared some early analysis from the study. He shared at Impact 2008 the biggest challenges reported by small churches:

To read this really eye-opening article, click here.

Interviewed by Western Recorder!

After a wonderful Comeback Churches conference in Bowling Green, KY, this past March 25th, I received a call at my house from a reporter from the Western Recorder, our state Baptist newspaper for a small interview gathering my impressions from the conference. Why they called, I don’t know. I was likely a name drawn out of a box. But here is the article. This conference was so very helpful, that I would recommend Ed Stetzer’s website, blog, and books.

From the parking lot of the First Baptist Church, Bowling Green, Kentucky!

Ed Stetzer

Me and Mark Combs, Pastor of Salem Baptist Church, Salem, KY!

Do Church Attendees Want to Blend In or Dig In?

Recently, we had a couple visiting our church who truly love the church and loved the people. They had even expressed interest in joining. They had left their former church because of some turmoil and felt God was calling them to move on. Over a two-hour lunch one Tuesday, I explained to them the vision of our church and the direction I felt God was calling us to go. They seemed very interested — but ended up not joining. I was told later by someone else that they wanted a place where they didn’t feel they were expected to actively contribute at this point.

Others have left our church in order to attend bigger churches that have a more “dynamic” worship time and more activities for the children. As a church, we are considered small (160-180, depending on the time of year) which means our budget is limited in certain areas and our workers are limited as well. The bigger churches offer more — in some aspects.

In a conversation with a Sunday School teacher this past Sunday, she mentioned that some go to these bigger ones because they just want to “blend in.” Bigger churches, for all their pluses, are places where people may be able to attend, but where there is more of an opportunity to “hide.”

In smaller churches that seek to be a true “family of God” guided by the New Testament distinctives and geared by the faithful proclamation of the Word of God; in smaller churches that seek to provide a greater amount of accountability because we are, like the theme song to that old show from the 1980’s, a place “where everybody knows your name.” Once we get too close and the biblical church starts getting to “personal” or even deemed “intrusive,” the temptation is to move on.

My question is “Do church attendees want to blend in or dig in?” Over the next few days, I will be posting on the temptations and trends of too many in evangelical church attendees. But do any of you smaller church pastors struggle with this? What are you doing to address this issue?

I look forward to hearing from you!