Presentation Transcript

1. Study in 2 Corinthians Presentation 12
2. Christian Giving [1] Chap 8v1-15 Presentation 12
3. Introduction There are some things we are embarrassed to talk about in the church. Sometimes the cause of our embarrassment is due to the fact that we may be misunderstood. Sometimes it is because the issue we are dealing with has been abused by others thus discrediting the gospel. A criticism often levelled at the church is, 'they are always looking for money'. Paul had no scruples about raising the issue of finance. He does not apologise for doing so. He does not see it as a taboo subject but as an integral part of Christian stewardship and so he raises it with confident expectation. Presentation 12
4. Introduction Paul was organising a charitable collection to which he expected Christians to contribute. It is not clear what the collection was for. It is assumed to be the same one mentioned in Rom.15v25ff … for the Christians in Jerusalem who had impoverished themselves for the sake of others on the first Pentecost and who in addition faced a severe famine which had gripped the land. The Corinthians’ initial response to his appeal had been encouraging but then interest seems to have waned. Paul's concern was that the much publicised Corinthian contribution might not materialise [9v2-3]. Therefore he lays out in chap. 8-9 the most comprehensive instruction on Christian giving in the N.T. Presentation 12
5. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Paul begins by reminding the Corinthians that the poorer Macedonian churches had been impressive in their response to his appeal. The implication is, 'you are surely not going to be outdone in giving by your poorer country cousins from up north, the churches like Philippi and Thessalonica’. You may think this borders upon emotional blackmail. But in actual fact if wealthy Corinth could not raise more funds than these northern congregations she deserved to be humiliated. Just as we deserve to be humiliated when we hear of the amazing generosity of many third world churches in Latin America, Africa and India. Presentation 12
6. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Paul cites the example of their poorer cousins to provide some moral leverage on the tight fistedness of some of the wealthy Corinthians. Look at what Paul says of the Macedonian churches in 8v2-3a. Many of these believers had suffered a great deal of persecution for their faith. Some were almost totally wiped out financially - we read that their poverty was extreme and yet strangely, their persecution had the effect of multiplying their liberality. Persecution has the effect of clarifying our sense of values, it causes us to focus, not on the material trappings of this life, but on the glory of the world to come. Presentation 12
7. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Prior to his burning at the stake an English Reformer was shut up in prison. At that time there was no prison canteen and prisoners were responsible for buying food in for themselves. The Reformer in question purchased two meals a day. But he could not bring himself to eat them himself, while others around him went hungry and so one of those meals was regularly given to someone else. You see, as Christians we can afford to be sacrificial in our giving if for no other reason than we recognise that this world is not our home for we await the world to come. Presentation 12
8. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship The giving of the Macedonians was enthusiastic. Some people groan over the sacrifices they make but not the Macedonians. They didn’t need their arms twisted. They spontaneously volunteered to give. The word Paul uses in v4 implies that they begged Paul to let them help. There is a marvellous irony here. They begged, not for money to relieve their own poverty but of the opportunity to bring relief to others. The word translated ‘opportunity’ is the Greek word 'caris' which means ‘grace’. They were pleading for the undeserved privilege of helping others. They believed that by giving they would be the beneficiaries. The Lord Jesus taught, 'it is more blessed to give than receive'. Presentation 12
9. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Their giving was not only marked by sacrifice and enthusiasm but also with spirituality cf. v5 ‘they gave themselves first to the Lord’. They weren't just giving to the needs of the Jerusalem church they were giving to the Lord. Theirs was not an automatic act of philanthropy for the warmth of a personal consecration was bound indissolubly to their gift. They were saying, 'I'm doing this for Jesus'. They were not behaving like accountants who budget to see what is left in the reserves, they behaved with all the irrational extravagance of a lover. They did not ask, 'Once we have bought all the things we want to buy, how much can we afford to give?' Presentation 12
10. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Corinth was a church with a reputation and one of which they were proud. In matters of faith, communication skills and gifts, a comprehensive knowledge, an earnestness and zeal they excelled. ‘Very well’ says Paul, ‘excel in the gift of giving too. Don't just talk about your commitment to God and his word, where is the material evidence of that. Put your money where your mouth is!’ If the Macedonian example was used to prod other congregations in the C1sthow much more should it prod the affluent C21stchurch member. We aspire to be good at so many things in our Christian life but do we aspire to be better givers? Presentation 12
11. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship I read recently of a cow and a lamb who were arguing about which was the more generous. The cow pointed to all the pints of milk which would be placed on the supermarket shelves during her life on the dairy farm. ‘Beat that!' she said. The lamb knowing it was destined for the butchers said,'Your milk represents a contribution but what I give represents a sacrifice!' Do we really miss what we give? When John Wesley was young he found that he could live on £28 per year. As he got older his salary grew in size and his writings brought him in thousands of pounds. He continued to live on £28 per year - the rest he gave away to those in need. He followed the Macedonian pattern, he gave sacrificially. What do we know of Macedonian generosity? Presentation 12
12. Giving: A Mark Of Christian Discipleship Do we give out of duty or see it as a privilege? Does resentment rather than enthusiasm characterise our response when the offering is uplifted? Some Christians give beyond their means others according to their meanness. How spiritual is our giving. When a humanist gives it is an act of charity, when a Christian gives, that is an act of worship. We are responding to what God has done for us. The hymn-writer says, ‘Were the whole realm of nature mine That were an offering far too small Love so amazing, so divine Demands my heart, my life, my all’. Presentation 12
13. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity All that Paul says to the Corinthian church about giving is without coercion. Indeed in v8 Paul makes it clear that he is not commanding them to give and again in v10 that what he is offering them is advice concerning the manner of their giving. However, it is also clear that Paul believed that giving to the wider work of the church is an expression of our Christian unity. Believers are not isolated individuals but have a mutual responsibility towards one another. The communion of the saints was for Paul a very practical doctrine. Presentation 12
14. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity Paul uses the word ‘koinonia’ [ 8v4; 9v13] which is translated in the NIV as 'sharing' but is regularly translated as 'fellowship' or 'communion' elsewhere. That is what the Christian church really is. We are a fellowship, a communion, a group of people who are bonded together in a common life, with something more powerful than superglue. Now it is clear form Paul's use of this term in chap 8 and 9 that Christian communion quite definitely has economic implications. Giving is not a private Christian virtue but an expression of our corporate Christian unity. cf v13-14. Presentation 12
15. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity ‘Equality’ is a word in prominent usage today. The Equal Opportunities Commission has mushroomed in size and influence in the UK. Employers can no longer advertise for male or female employees lest a member of the opposite sex is discriminated against! But what kind of equality Paul has in mind. Paul is not arguing for a redistribution of wealth so that the people in Corinth and Jerusalem would have precisely the same sum registered in their bank accounts. What he is asking for is a sharing of the Corinthians’ surplus in order to eliminate deprivation in Jerusalem. Basic human needs and not an equality of absolute standards is what is in view. Presentation 12
16. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity Paul is concerned with economic need rather than with economic diversity. There is all the difference in the world between telling the man who has two shirts to give one to the man who has none and telling the man who has ten shirts to give one of them away to the man who has only eight. Paul is not suggesting that it is immoral for the Corinthians to have a bigger bank balance than their brethren in Jerusalem. Marxist philosophy, which advocates a redistribution of wealth because it is immoral for one man to possess more that another, has no biblical basis, though some have tried to use passages such as this one to argue that case. Presentation 12
17. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity The burden of Paul's heart is that there should be such a burden of mutual concern for one another within the church that we should seek to meet one another's needs. Of course it works both ways. There could come a day when the Corinthian stock market collapsed, or the when Corinthians found themselves impoverished by invading armies plague or famine and then other churches, like the one in Jerusalem, would come to their aid. For to be a Christian is to be part of a world-wide family. Presentation 12
18. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity Paul reminds his readers of the provision of God for the OT church in the wilderness in v15 . God fed his people with manna from heaven. Some people collected frugally and others greedily of this provision but when they got home and weighed what they collected, each family discovered they had as much as they needed. That, argued Paul, should help shape the model for the church's enjoyment of her wealth. God gives enough for everyone but sometimes we have to do some mutual sharing to make sure no one goes hungry. We need to be sensitive to the economic hardship others may be experiencing. Some will find it hard to make ends meet, others have lost employment, some are one parent families and so on. Presentation 12
19. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity There is also the enormous challenge of the church overseas. There are missionaries who cannot engage in the mission because of a lack of resources. Some fellowships are unable to support pastors, erect a church building not to mention unable to afford food. Is our surplus wealth not something that can be put at their disposal? Is that why God has given it to us? Do we not owe it to those who belong to us in the international family of God's people to share God's good gifts with them so that together we may be a light to the world. cf 9v11-14.... Presentation 12
20. Giving: Expresses Our Christian Unity When we give in this way, people will thank God for us, they will be bound to you in prayer as never before because of real heart involvement. Many churches prepare a budget of anticipated expenditure for the coming year. A figure is set and giving is regulated accordingly. If we are in the black we have had a successful year. But we can become complacent when we see we are on budget and ask, why should we give more? The minister is paid, the bills are paid, all our targets are met, why should we give more? Oh not to make our worship environment even more palatial but as an expression of fellowship with those members of our world-wide church family who are in desperate need. Presentation 12
21. Conclusion Paul never makes an practical exhortation without providing the necessary motivation. His principle motivation is not found at the beginning of the passage where he says, do not be put to shame by poorer congregations but in the heart of our passage in v9we are called on to grasp the extraordinary generosity of Christ -‘he became poor that you might become rich’. Perhaps we should write these words on our purses and wallets. For it answers the question, ‘Why should I give sacrificially and enthusiastically and worshipfully?’ My giving says thank you to God for the inexpressible gift of his Son. And that, ‘Demands my heart my life my all’. Presentation 12