And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given
the Macedonian churches. 2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing
joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify
that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.
Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of
sharing in this service to the saints. 5 And they did not do as we expected,
but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s
will. 6 So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring
also to completion this act of grace on your part. 7 But just as you excel
in everything — in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and
in your love for us — see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
8 I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by
comparing it with the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became
poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
- 2 Corinthians 8:1-9, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.
In the name of the one who made himself poor so that we might become rich, dear friends:
I can remember the encounter as if it had happened yesterday. It was during my sophomore year at Northwestern College. Three of my classmates and I decided to give up our spring break in order to participate in our synod’s Travel-Canvass-Witness program (TCW). I should mention that this tremendous sacrifice on our part included free roundtrip travel and a week of free room and board in Fort Myers, Florida.
Under the program, students are assigned to assist congregations in mission work all over the country. The average TCW experience includes neighborhood surveys, door-to-door canvassing, and sometimes, participation in worship on Sunday.
This was my first real hands-on evangelism experience, so I was a little nervous. I went out with my clipboard shaking in my hand, but it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. Generally people were friendly and polite, even if they had no interest in the church. Until I came to that house...
An older gentleman answered the door. The agitated look on his face made it clear that this was not going to be a pleasant experience. I introduced myself and told him that I was from the Lutheran church down the street. Before I could say another word, he thundered: "All the church wants is your money," and then proceeded to slam the door in my face.
All the church wants is your money. What this man was not at all afraid to say out loud is probably what many others, even Christians, sometimes think. We do our fair share, and that should be enough. We give and give and give, but God always wants more. The church talks about stewardship only when it wants something from us.
Where do those ideas come from? They come from many sources, but they do NOT come from the Bible. God doesn’t need our money. He wants us to give because we want to give. He encourages us to give as an expression of our love for him.
The text for today contains this kind of encouragement. In this letter, the apostle Paul talks openly with the Christians at Corinth about giving. These inspired words are timeless. They are positive. They are personal. They are practical.
Today we look to God’s Word for direction in the area of stewardship. We count the blessings we have been given. We look for ways to use those blessings to God’s glory. Paul not only encourages us to give. Using words straight out of the text, Paul challenges Christians to...
EXCEL IN THE GRACE OF GIVING
I. Modeled by the Macedonians
II. Motivated by the Messiah
When Paul wrote this letter, he was making his way west toward Corinth on his third missionary journey. As always, Paul’s primary objective was to preach the gospel. But on this particular trip, Paul had a secondary purpose in mind. He visited the churches scattered across Asia and Europe to gather an offering for their needy brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
When Paul came to the church at Corinth with this initial request for help, they were eager to get involved. In fact, the Corinthians were the first to support the offering. But after that initial burst of excitement, the congregation was sidetracked by a number of different problems (detailed in I Corinthians): sexual immorality, divisions within the congregation, abuses of the Lord’s Supper, lawsuits among Christians, even a denial of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead.
In the meantime, Paul with these problems, and God’s Word did its work. Conditions in the congregation improved. They improved so much that Paul was ready to talk about the collection again. He encouraged the Corinthians to finish what they started. And he gave them a model to follow, their Christian brothers and sisters in Macedonia (modern day northern Greece).
"And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability" (1-3). Obviously, Paul was impressed by what he had seen in Macedonia. So much so that he held those congregations up as a shining example. When it came to giving, the Macedonians gave generously.
It should be noted that these congregations were not without problems. On his second journey, Paul had been beaten and thrown into prison in Philippi (Acts 16). He had to leave Thessalonica during the middle of the night to avoid persecution (Acts 17). The Macedonian congregations were not exactly rich either. Paul described their financial situation as one of "extreme poverty."
Even though the Macedonian churches had plenty to deal with at home, there was no mumbling, no complaining, no one saying: "Paul, we can understand the needs of the people in Jerusalem, but things aren’t perfect here either. Why doesn’t someone take up a collection for us?"
Instead they responded to Paul’s challenge with overflowing joy, and their love for the Lord welled up in "rich generosity." The most basic meaning of the word translated "generosity" is "single mindedness." The Macedonians had no ulterior motives. When they gave, they weren’t looking to get anything in return. They simply recognized a need and worked together to fill it.
The generosity of the Macedonians was matched by their willingness. "Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints" (3,4).
These Christians didn’t give because they felt pressured by Paul. He wasn’t twisting their arms. He wasn’t burdening them with guilt. Paul didn’t push them at all. Instead, they came to Paul.
Why were they pleading with him to participate in this offering? Maybe Paul was trying to talk them out of it. Maybe they were committing so many of their resources that they were putting themselves at great personal risk. It didn’t matter because they wouldn’t take "No" for an answer.
The Macedonians gave generously. They gave willingly. But perhaps what was most impressive about them was their attitude. When they gave, they gave whole-heartedly. "And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will" (5). Paul was the one who set up the Macedonians as a model of Christian giving. Paul was the one who encouraged the Corinthians to follow their example. But nowhere in the text does Paul even mention how much they gave. Why not? Because the size of the gift was not what was really important.
The Macedonians gave "themselves" to the Lord. Really what more can a person give? According to God’s will, they put the Lord first in their lives. According to God’s will, they put their lives into the Lord’s hands. From these verses it is easy to see why Paul chose them as a model of stewardship.
Now imagine for a moment that you are no longer a member of St. John’s, Wauwatosa. You belong to St. John’s, Macedonia. And it is not the twenty-first century. You are living in the first century A.D. And Paul is sitting down at his desk to write to the Corinthians. Would he write the same letter?
Would Paul be praising this congregation for its rich generosity? Could he say that its members gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability? Would he say that they serve the Lord gladly and willingly? Would he be able to boast that when it comes to doing the Lord’s work, these Christians simply won’t take "No" for an answer? Would Paul be willing to hold up this congregation as a model for others to follow? Or would Paul have to change a few things? Or would he be forced to look elsewhere to find a better example?
The best answer to all of those questions is: It depends. The New Man in each of us desires to give to the Lord generously, but the Old Adam inside of us is fighting him every step of the way. The heart of faith wants to serve the Lord willingly, but the heart stained by sin doesn’t want to have anything to do with God. The Lord wants us to serve him with our whole heart. Unfortunately, the devil’s desire is the same. And the battle lines are drawn up: for our time, for our talents, for our treasures, for our very souls.
By God’s grace, the Macedonians were winning that battle. As a result, Paul proudly held them up as a model. But Paul also understood that the Corinthians needed more than an good example if they themselves were going to excel in the grace of giving. Genuine Christian stewardship finds its motivation in the Messiah.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich " (9). What has been said so far about the Macedonians is equally true of Jesus. He gave generously of himself.
He obeyed his Father willingly. He came to this earth with a single purpose and he never wavered. But this is where the similarities end.
The Macedonians were poor. Jesus was rich. King David tells us just how rich Jesus was: "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Ps 24:1). Jesus is God. Jesus owns everything, but his wealth is not limited to physical possessions. As true God, Jesus also commands divine power and honor and glory.
This same Jesus...became poor. The word here is the same word Paul used to describe the Macedonians. It was applied to beggars, to people who depended completely on others for their existence. Jesus, the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-powerful, all everything in one God set it all aside. He traded his royal robes for human flesh. As a man, he felt pain. As a human being, he knew sorrow. Even though he was the sinless Son of God, he became the object of scorn and hate...and even death.
Why did he do it? Why did the one who had everything make himself nothing? I am not an advocate of polytheism. I firmly believe that the Triune God is the only true God. But pretend that you are in the heavens with all of the gods and goddesses of Paul’s day.
While Jesus is making final preparations to come down to earth, Zeus hears of Jesus’ plans and says to him: "Why are you going down there? Human beings exist to serve us. We don’t exist to serve them. We allow them to live for our amusement, just so we can look down on them and laugh. They are there for our pleasure, and nothing more."
Later, Apollo hears what Jesus is about to do and he tries to change his mind: "What are you doing, Jesus? What could possibly make you want to leave this place? We have it all. Besides, those people down there aren’t worth the effort. They are selfish. They are ungrateful. They are rebellious. And if history has proven anything, there is nothing that you can do to change them."
Can you imagine how Jesus would have responded? Maybe it would have gone something like this: "You just don’t get it, do you? I know that those people down there are sinful. I know that they don’t deserve my love. But I love them anyway, and that is why I am going down to save them." And that is exactly what Jesus did. He came down to earth to live with us so that we might go to heaven to live with him He became poor so that we might become rich. He took our poverty, our sin and guilt and shame, and gave us the riches of his grace.
That conversation in the clouds never really happened, but there are similar conversations held down here everyday. People may ask Christians why they act the way they do. "Why do you give money to your church when you have all those other bills to pay? Why do you go to church every Sunday when you could be doing so many other things with your time? Why do you volunteer so much of your time when you could be getting paid for it?"
When those kinds of questions are posed to us, we might never say it out loud, but we may think to ourselves: "You just don’t get it, do you?" We don’t have to horde our precious time or hold tightly onto every hard earned dollar because we have everything and more. We have a God who loves us. We have a Savior who gave his life for us. The love of God provides powerful motivation. It motivates us to give generously. It motivates us to serve willingly.
May that love of God move us to serve him with our whole lives. May the Word of God work powerfully in our hearts to make us modern day Macedonians. May the grace of God in Christ lead us not only to give, but to excel in the grace of giving. Amen.