“BELIEFS THAT SHOULD SHAPE OUR LIVES: SINGLE-HEARTED DEVOTION”
2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-15
INTRO: Giving is an evidence of God’s grace operating in our lives. John Hall
said, “Give according to your means, or God will make your means
according to your giving.” (1) The believers in Macedonia were living
in poverty and persecution but gave generously, voluntarily, and joy-
fully and demonstrated for us the grace and love of God and became
examples of giving.
John Ashcroft testifies, “Though I cannot paint myself as being a great
giver, I have noticed an interesting dynamic: I have never been sorry
for anything I have ever given away (the same is not true concerning
everything I have kept or purchased). And some of my most meaning-
ful moments have resulted from giving.” (John Ashcroft, On My Honor,
p. 174).
I am persuaded that giving is the essence of Christian living. It began
with God. The Bible says of Him, “For God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son…” (John 3:16). God made the difference
by giving. It was exemplified by Jesus. The records that Jesus said of
Himself, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
Minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28).
And the giving exemplified by Jesus is to be our pattern also and it is
to continue in and through us. We discover this so clearly in Paul’s
writing to the Corinthians. He wrote to challenge them to complete
what they had set out to do about their giving. Also he encouraged
them with the example of the Christians in Macedonia (modern day
Greece). From what he told the Corinthians we have the answers to
some essential questions about giving. Let us look at these questions
as we think on this subject, “Single-Hearted Devotion.”
1. WHY DO WE GIVE? (MOTIVATION)
2 CORINTHIANS 8:5—“And this they did, not as we hoped, but
first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will
of God.”
- We All Need To Be Motivated From Time to Time. Someone has
said, “The most motivated person on earth is a five-foot, ten inch non-swimmer in six feet of water.” (2) Without motivation, we will never accomplish anything worthwhile for the cause of Christ.
ILLUS: John Ashcroft wrote of his personal experience in giving and
how we will be motivated to give as we should give. He wrote,
“Maybe as we learn to give, we will find something far more
valuable than the money we so vainly strive after and so
tenaciously cling to, we might find that the spirit of giving not
only helps sustain us, but it can outlive us.” (John Ashcroft,
On My Honor, p. 178).
- What Motivates Us to Give? There is a great motivator for Christians.
We give because we have received. The Christians of Macedonia gave out of Grace. Paul says in v1, “Moreover, brethren, we make know to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.” The grace they demonstrated was the grace they received. What is grace? “It is God giving us something we don’t deserve. It is God working in our lives to fulfill all we need to be complete.” The brethren at Macedonia were poor, but they wanted to help. This was truly sacrificial giving. The point of giving is not so much the amount we give, but how and why we give. God does not want us to give grudgingly (v12). But He desires that we give as these churches gave—out of dedication to Him, love for fellow believers, and the joy of helping those in need, and because it is the right thing to do so (3).
Because of the Grace of God the churches of Macedonia experienced some vital relationships. It was those relationships which made the difference in their lives.
- They had a relationship with the Lord Jesus (v5). They “first gave their own selves to the Lord.” Their preeminent concern was how to best serve Christ. They gave out of their poverty because of the sincerity of their commitment to Christ as Lord. So great was their desire to serve Christ that they would not allow their economic situation to keep them from being involved in the Lord’s work (4).
- They had a relationship with Paul (v5). They “gave their own selves …unto us..” This was only after they first gave themselves to the Lord. Christ was foremost in their lives. Even though they felt a kinship for Paul because of his preaching and influence which resulted in the establishment of these churches, their first allegiance was to Christ!
- They had a relationship with other believers (v4). Notice the word “Fellowship” it means “that which we hold in common or have a share in.” It denotes the close union and common faith that believers have because of our relationship with Christ. Giving is a natural response of love (5). One of the great evidences that we are born again is our love for fellow believers (John 13:35). When you love someone, you want to give your time and attention to them and help provide for their needs. If you refuse to help, your love proves not genuine.
- They had a relationship with the will of God (v5). They “gave their own selves…by the will of God.” To the Macedonian Churches the collection for the needy saints was a service (v4). It was not just some financial obligation, but it was a ministry opportunity to the saints.
*Their lives has been enriched by what God had done in and for them.
Paul had responded to a vision from God to go to Macedonia and help the
people there. He did and their lives were changed by the Lord. The result
of their changed lives was an attitude of gratitude. They were expressing
the grace of God in their lives through their giving.
ILLUS: All of us want to know why we are asked to do things. We need
motivation. For believers one of the greatest motivations we have
is the Grace of God operating in our lives. We see God at work
and we want to respond to HIM. He has given and we give in
return for His giving to us.
*We give because we have been given a relationship with God, a relationship with ministers of God, a relationship with the family of God, and relationship to the purpose of God. That is why we give, but….
(2) HOW DO WE GIVE (METHOD)
2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-4
*Many times when a preacher begins to preach on giving people tend to
grow defensive or shut their ears up to God’s messenger. But giving is a
Biblical principle which must be addressed and we need to follow as God’s
people. Notice how the Macedonian Churches gave. It is an example for
us. How are we to give?:
- We are to give Joyfully (v2). The word Joy here means “to rejoice, to
be of good cheer, gladness of heart, exuberant.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, nor of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
ILLUS: Where your pleasure is, there is your treasure; where your
treasure is, there is your heart; where your heart is, there is
your happiness (Augustine).
We are joyful doing whatever makes our hearts glad. When our hearts are set on the Lord and what He is about, then we give to those things joyfully. Look at these Christians in ancient Greece. The Macedonians were people facing great persecution. They were “in a great trial of affliction..”. This severe persecution was almost a way of life for these Churches (Phils. 1:29-30; 1 Thess. 1:6, 2:14; 3:3-4; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10) (6). This severe trial had left them in “deep poverty.” They were at “rock bottom” poverty. But even though they were facing all this severe persecution, they were not defeated people. Why? They had given themselves to the Lord. When we give ourselves to the Lord and His will for our lives, we too can overcome and give joyfully. The Macedonian’s pleasures, treasures and hearts were in the Lord. And the result was they were people of abounding joy, “In a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy..” They gave.
- We are to give Generously (vv. 2b-3). The Macedonians gave out of
their poverty and persecution. But they gave generously. They were under persecution but that did not deter them. They gave with generosity because of their relationship with the Lord and the Grace of God operating in their lives and the love of Jesus in their hearts. Just as persecution did not take away from their joyfulness, neither did poverty diminish their ability to be generous (7). Too often, sadly, it is those who have the least, rather than those who have the most, who are the most generous givers.
ILLUS: Charles Spurgeon tells of receiving a wealthy man’s invitation
to come and preach at his rural church to help the members
raise funds to pay off a debt. The man also told Spurgeon that
he was free to use his country house, his town house, or his
seaside home. Spurgeon wrote back, “Sell one of the places,
and pay the debt yourself.” (8)
The Macedonians gave not only as much as they were able (literally “according to their ability) but above and beyond that. The sense is that they determined what they could comfortably contribute and then went beyond this figure. How often do we give like that?
We are to give Joyfully and Generously. And…
- We are to give Voluntarily (vv. 4). It is in this point that the Macedonians excelled. Begging goes on here. But it wasn’t Paul begging the Macedonians to give. It was poor believers begging Paul to be allowed to give generously. “Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift..”Apparently Paul had been reluctant to press the Macedonians because of their manifest poverty. They demanded the right to have a share in it (Robertson’s Word Pictures). They considered involvement in the relief effort a privilege. Wow! They begged Paul to let them give joyfully and generously! Paul never implored them. They implored him. Notice v12.
How should we give? Willingly! Generously! And Joyfully!
3. WHAT SHOULD WE GIVE?
2 CORINTHIANS 8:5
*The Psalmist David asked a similar question in Psalm 116:12, “What shall I
render unto the Lord for all His benefits unto me?” What should we give?:
A. Our Self (v5a). Translate, "And not as we hoped (that is, far beyond
our hopes), but their own selves gave they first to the Lord." "First," not
indicating priority of time, but first of all, above all in importance. The
giving of themselves takes precedency of their other gifts, as being the
motive which led them to the latter (Rom_15:16). This is where we must
begin.
ILLUS: Lyle Worley of Springfield, Missouri gave of himself when he
gave 5,000 hours of volunteer effort. At the time he was only 48
years old. He gave the time because he gave himself.
In our giving to the Lord, we first give ourselves to HIM. We first must
be sure we have a right relationship with HIM. Is He our Savior? Have
we by faith realized that we are a sinner, repented of our sins, and
received HIM by faith? It is only after that He is our Savior that He can
be our Lord! When He is our Lord, we will be moved to give.
B. Our Loyalty (v5b). Paul was God’s minister. He was a leader to the
Macedonians. God called him there through a vision and he served the
Lord by serving and leading the people. As he led they gave. We have
Been given leaders to follow. We are to give ourselves to them and follow
them as they follow the Lord (Hebrews 13:7).
C. Our Substance (v5c). We are to give ourselves to the Will of God. This
is what the Macedonians did. Proverbs 3:9—“Honor the LORDwith thy
substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase.” V4—“..ministering
to the saints.” It is God’s will that we care for one another in our times of
need. The Macedonians were eager channels of God’s blessings because
they lived in accordance with His will (9). Their actions revealed their
love for God and others. This is exactly what we must be doing so we can
be channel of God’s blessings to others.
CLOSING: Jesus talked about money. One-sixth of the Gospels, and one-third
of the parables address thesubject of stewardship. Jesus was no
fund-raiser. He dealt with money matter, however, because money
matters. It’s a surprise to many people, Christians included, that
the Bible has so much to say about this subject. God has given us
three ways on this earth to invest in eternity. Two of them are up
for discussion and we approach them with open-mindedness, we
can never seem to hear enough about them, but thethird seems to
be nobody’s else business.
The preacher who fails to address time and how we spend it is
considered derelict in his duty. For time is one of those irretriev-
able values in life you can only spend once and never capture
again. The pastor who overlooks teaching on talents and gifts that
help the Church body function smoothly and well and even
efficiently is not doing his job. The congregation has a right to feel
slighted because the subject is not mentioned. But let the man
address the subject of treasure and he’s back on that age-old
subject and just trying to get our money. I find that not only
amazing but ridiculous (10).
Why do we give? Because of God’s grace that was given to us
motivates us to give. How do we give? Joyfully, Generously, and
Voluntarily. What should we give? Our SELF, our Loyalty, and
our Substance. Who should give? All of us!
NOTES: 1. Albert M. Wells, Jr. Inspiring Quotations-Contemporary &
Classical. P. 178.
2. Charles R. Swindoll. The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1,501 Other
Stories. P. 401.
- Living Letters from the Life Application Bible. P. 91.
- Linda L. Belleville. IVP New Testament Commentary Series, 2
Corinthians. P. 213.
- Living Letters. P. 92.
- Belleville. P. 212.
- Belleville. P. 212.
- Belleville. P. 212,
- John F. Walvoord & Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge
Commentary of the New Testament. P. 573.
- Swindoll. P. 231.