I want you to turn back to 2
Corinthians chapter 8. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes,
became poor, that you, through his poverty, might be rich. I've entitled this message, The
Best Reason for Generosity. The Best Reason for Generosity. Paul, in this passage of scripture,
is exhorting the church at Corinth to be generous in their giving. Surely, somebody saved by the
grace of God ought to be a generous person. Surely. We ought to be generous in forgiveness. Quick to forgive. Ready to forgive. Desirous to forgive. We ought to be generous in our
sympathy. And generous in our empathy. We should be generous in our
encouragement toward others. We should be generous with our
time in service toward others. And we should be generous with
the money that God has entrusted to us. Now, giving generously
is not a loss. It's a gain. Look in chapter
9, verse 6. Remember, he's speaking of giving. And he says in verse 6 of chapter
9, But this I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly,
and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully."
Now that is His promise. Our Lord said, it is more blessed
to give than to receive. Now look in verse 7 of our text. Evidently, this large and wealthy
church was not abounding in this grace of giving. He says in verse
seven, therefore, as you abound in everything in faith and utterance
or word is what the word means doctrine. Knowledge. And in all diligence and in your
love to us, see that you abound in this grace. Also. Now, let's go to the first of
this chapter, verse one. Moreover, brethren, we do you
to wit, we want you to know of the grace of God bestowed, given
to the churches at Macedonia, how that in a great trial of
affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty
abounded to the riches of their liberality. Now, the grace of
God bestowed upon these churches was seen in their liberality,
their generosity in giving. But notice this. What is the
emphasis here? Their giving or the grace of
God? What's being emphasized? He didn't
say, I want to let you know about how generous they were in order
to shame you. He said, no, I want you to know
about the grace of God that was showered upon them, that caused
them and enabled them to be generous in their giving. If you're a generous person,
it's because God has been generous to you. Don't you want to be
a generous person? That's something I want to be.
By the grace of God, I want to be a truly generous person. That's an indication of grace
in every respect. Now, look what he says about
these people in verse three. For to their power, I bear record,
yea, and beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. I didn't have to prompt them.
And they gave beyond what they were able to give. Paul is saying,
what they gave seemed wrong to me. I mean, here they are in
poverty, and they had so much need, and yet they gave so much
that I feel guilty taking it. I didn't feel comfortable. I
hesitated to take their gift. You shouldn't be giving this
much. I mean, look at your condition. I mean, the economy is getting
ready to go down, and everything is bad in our country, and you
don't have much, and you ought not to be giving like this. He
felt hesitant to take what they were going to give. He says,
for to their power, I bear record, yea, beyond their power, they
were willing of themselves. I didn't have to guilt them.
I didn't have to shame them. This came spontaneously and freely. God loves a cheerful giver, praying
us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift. Paul
said, I didn't want to take it and take upon us the fellowship
with them of the ministering of the saints. And if they did,
not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord
and to us by the will of God. Verse six, insomuch that we desired
Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you
the same grace also. Now, Titus had come to the church
at Corinth the year before, and he got them started in this direction
of helping the poor saints in Jerusalem. Look in verse 10.
And herein I give my advice, for this is expedient for you
who have begun before not only to do, but also to be willing
a year ago, now therefore perform the doing of it, that as there
was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out
of that which you have. Titus had come to court a year
ago and told him about the poor saints and said, give to them. And they said, we're going to
do that. They thought about these poor saints in this need, and
they felt sympathy. We want to help them. We want
to do whatever we can to help them. Now, some people. If they judge themselves by their
feelings, They're very compassionate, merciful, generous people. Oh, they felt such sympathy toward
the needs of these poor saints in Jerusalem. But if the judgment
was made by their actions, the opposite would be true because
they didn't get anything. They did not seek to help the
poor saints in Jerusalem. They expressed a desire to. Oh,
we want to help. But they didn't do anything that
begins with a desire and a desire is good. But what good is it
if there are no actions? We looked in. Bible study this
morning, James, Chapter two. Of the man who comes up to the
door of somebody's house, Cole, and hungry and knocks on the
door and somebody opens it up and sees this great need and
he's moved to sympathy and he says, oh, depart in peace, be
warmed, be filled. I want the best for you. I love
you. And he stands back and closes
the door. And there he stands. What profit,
what good, what benefit is there in that? Now, the desire is good,
but it's what I do that counts. What if that person said, it's
the thought that counts. I want you to be warm. I want
you to be fed. It's the thought that counts. I don't know how many times I've
come home. And I felt sometime during that
day, I'm going to get Lynn flowers. And I forget. And I come home
and I say, Lynn, I intended to get you flowers today. It's the
thought that counts. And I did that numerous times. And finally,
one day she said, no, it's not the thought that counts. It's not the thought that counts.
It's what you do. It's what you do. Verse seven. Therefore. Verse six, he says, you desired
Titus, even so as we desired Titus, that he begun, so he'd
also finishing you this same grace also imitating the Macedonians,
therefore, as you abound in everything in faith. An utterance or word
is the word. That's talking about your doctrine,
your knowledge, your understanding and your diligence in your love
to us. You abound in these things. He's
commending them. But he says, see that you abound
in this grace also. What if I said. I'm a good husband
to Lynn. I provide well for her. We have good communication. We
have communication skills. We can talk and we can have a
good time together. We're good friends. I'm quick
to compliment her. And I appreciate everything she
does for me. We have a good marriage. And
I'm a good husband in every area but one area. I have a problem
with this thing of faithfulness. Am I a good husband? If I'm good
in every area but that one area, Am I a good husband? No. Oh, my goodness is a sham, isn't
it? It's not real. It's just talk. Now, he says, I commend you for
these things, but you make sure you abound in every grace. And
if you don't abound in this grace, it's not real. See that you abound
in this grace also. Verse 8. He says, I speak not
by commandment. I'm not giving you a command
concerning giving. I've been asked many times by
different people, does the Bible teach tithing in the New Testament?
Are we supposed to tithe? Are we supposed to give 10 percent? You can't get that from the Bible.
You can't do it. You give as you're led. You give
whatever you feel impressed to give. That's how much you're
to give. However much you feel impressed
to give. Look in verse 7 of chapter 9.
Here's how much you should give. Every man according as he purposeth
in his heart. So let him give. Not grudgingly
or necessity for God loveth a cheerful giver. 10% is a paying a bill. That's
what it is. It's paying a bill. There's no
love in that. I never feel a lot of love when
I pay a bill. I feel resentment. I feel irritation. I feel like it's something being
pressed on me. Giving is not paying a bill. It's not tithing. It's not 10%. Now, somebody says,
see, we don't have to give 10%. We can only give 1% or 2%. It's
okay. What do I demonstrate by that?
The littleness and the narrowness of my heart. Now, listen to me.
I'm going to give more than 10%. I'm going to give more than 10%. You see,
I want to give more under grace than I would under the law. I
want to show the glories of his grace. Now, he says in verse
eight, I'm not giving you a commandment, but I'm speaking by occasion
of the forwardness of others. I'm using the example of the
Macedonians to prove the sincerity of your love. Boy, that's a strong
statement. I'm doing this to prove the sincerity
of your love. Now there are some people, listen
to this real carefully, I've said this before but I'm going
to say it again. There are some people, if you judge their love
by what they said, man they love a lot. I love Jesus, I love the
Lord, I love the gospel, I love grace. If you judge their love
by what they said, they had much love. But if you gauge their
love by what they gave, they love very little. Now you tell me which barometer
is accurate? What they say or what they give? You see, love gives. But remember what I titled this
message, the best argument for generosity. Paul had been using
the example of the Macedonians. And I imagine when he was using
the example of the Macedonians, Corinth was a wealthy place with
wealthy members. I bet they were starting to feel
guilty and starting to feel ashamed of themselves. That's not the
way to do this. That's not the right attitude
to try to shame people. So now he gives the best argument. Not the Macedonians. Let's just
forget the Macedonians. Let's think of this. You know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, you know, there's some
things that believers just know. I don't have to talk them into
this. I don't have to demonstrate. Some things the believers just
know. For instance, Paul said, we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
call according to his purpose. We know that. Some of us say,
well, I don't know that. You may not, but I do. Some believers
know. Peter said, you know See, you
were not redeemed by corruptible things like silver and gold received
from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your
fathers. You know that. You know you were
redeemed with the precious blood of Christ. You know that, don't
you? Paul said in Romans 7, 18, I know that in me that is in
my flesh dwelleth no good thing. I mean, there's some things we
just know. And he says, you know, the grace, you know, the saving
favor, you know, the freeness of the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Now. The grace of Christ. is not seen
in what he said. Well, it is seen in what he said,
but what would it be without what he did? What did he do? Verse nine. For you know, the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich. He was rich in possessions. You know, he said, if I were
hungry, I wouldn't tell you about it. The cattle on a thousand
hills is mine. The earth is the Lord's and the
fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein. He's rich in possessions. He
owns the universe. He owns the stars, the galaxies. He's rich in possessions. He's rich in power. He has the
power to create. If there's something He didn't
have, He'd create it. Because He's rich in power. Oh, the riches
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich in glory. Oh, the glory of our Lord when
He dwelled with the Father. He was rich in love. He had the
love of His Father. He had the love of the angels.
He was rich in praise. The angels bowing before His
feet, praising Him. Oh, the riches of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He was rich in righteousness. He was rich in communion with
His Father. He said, daily I was His delight
as one that dwelled before Him. You think of the Lord Jesus Christ
and His riches. rich. Who can describe the unsearchable
riches of the Lord Jesus Christ? Though he was rich, yet for your
sakes he became poor. Now he became materially poor. He said the son of man hath nowhere
to lay his head. He wasn't born in a palace, he
was born in a barn with the smell of manure in the air. There was
no room for him at the inn. He worked in a carpenter shop,
manual labor, back-breaking labor, didn't have any money. You know,
even during his earthly ministry, I think it's so powerful in John
chapter 7, the last verse, every man went to his own home and
then the Lord went to a garden. He was a street person. He didn't
have a home like you and I do. He'd have to go sleep outside
somewhere. The son of man had nowhere to lay his head. He became
poor materially. He was dependent on a bunch of
women who followed him around to provide him for his material
needs. He was poor materially. He who was rich in praise and
honor became despised, rejected, and not esteemed. He who was
rich in communion with his Father, all of a sudden was cut off,
so there was no smile from heaven, no communion with his Father,
to where he was made to cry, My God, my God, why hast thou
forsaken me? He who was rich in power, omnipotent,
became so weak that he fell beneath the load of his cross. Weak in
pain, his beard ripped out, his back lacerated, carrying that
cross in weakness. The Scripture says he was crucified
through weakness. He who was rich in power made
this statement about himself from the cross. I'm a worm, not
even fit to be called a man. He who was rich in righteousness
became poor. He became sin on Calvary Street. My sin. became his sin. He became guilty of it. He became
poor in righteousness, so his father could not accept him. The justice of God demanded him
to be punished when my sin became his sin. Oh, how poor he became
in righteousness. You know the grace. Oh, what
favor our Lord demonstrated. You know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, all the riches of Christ,
yet for your sakes, for your sakes, he became poor. There wasn't anything generic
about this. Listen, when our Lord was on the cross, He wasn't
simply making salvation available if we do our part. He had the
names of His elect written on His heart. When He was hanging
on that cross My name, the names of every believer was on his
heart. He did this for your sake. He
did this for your sake. And you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know of anything that
is more damnable. And I mean, I'm using that word.
I don't know of anything that's more damnable. and hideous than
saying that Jesus Christ was denied dying generically, making
salvation available for somebody if they'll just do their part.
That's a denial of him. He did this for your sakes. He
said in John 17 9, I pray not for the world, but for them what
you've given me, for they are thine for your sakes. He became
poor. Now, is there anything about
you that deserves this? Is there anything about you that
could merit this? That would make the Son of God
leave His riches and come down here and become poor in every
sense of the word? Is there anything about you that
could merit this? Is there anything in you that
could enrich him? Is there anything you could do
for him or do you have the potential to do anything that would merit
him coming down and doing this for you? No. No. Yet he did this for your sake. For my sake. that you through
his poverty might be rich. Rich. And you're looking at a
rich man. I got a whole lot more than Bill
Gates ever thought about having. You take the wealthiest man on
earth. I got more than he has. You see, if I've got Christ,
I've got all. And this is my Father's world. I'm a joint heir
with Christ. Whatever Christ has is mine.
I'm rich. Oh, how rich I am because of
His poverty. I'm rich in this sense. All the
promises of God in Him are yea and amen. All of God's promises.
They're sure and certain. Yea and amen. I've got God for
me. If God be for us, who can be
against us? Is that rich? If God be for us,
The living God of his force, who can be against us? He that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall
he not also with him freely give us all things? I've got all things. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? God justified them. Who is he
that condemneth? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
than that's risen again. Who's even at the right hand
of God who also makes intercession for us? Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Now, is that riches? Is that
true riches? Because of his poverty, I'm rich
in love. Because he was cut off, I have
the love of God. I have the love of his people.
I have the love of angels there for me. I'm rich in love. I'm rich in righteousness through
his poverty. I am rich in righteousness. I
have the very righteousness of God. That's how righteous I am.
I have a righteous God is. That's how righteous I am. Because
every believer has the righteousness of God. Their righteousness is
of me. And that's why I can stand before
God in boldness and confidence because I have the very righteousness
of God. I'm rich in righteousness. I'm
rich in praise. You know, God praises me. God,
what about the ones who have the circumcised heart, speaking
of every believer whose praise is not of men? I'm not talking
about man's praise, but God praises every believer. Every believer
is going to hear him say, well done. Thou good and faithful
servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. Can you imagine having God say
to you, you've done a good job? Well done. And someone says,
I just can't see the Lord saying that to me. I understand that. I understand that. But here's
how real the union of Christ and the believer is. Whatever
he did, I did. Would he say well done to his
son? Then beloved, he'll say well done to me. Rich in acceptance. Because he
was rejected, I am accepted. Ephesians 1, 6 says, He hath
made us accepted in the Beloved. I'm rich in access. I'm welcome
to come into the Father's presence right now because he was cut
off. Because he was cut off and had no communication from his
Father. Had nothing but his awful frown. No, just cut off because
he was cut off. I now have boldness at all times
to enter in. and to know he hears me and embraces
me for Christ's sake. Now you know the grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ, do you? Do you? You know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor. that you through
his poverty might be rich. Now, in light of him. Can I be anything but generous? In light of him. You see, this
thing of generosity, first of all, it's a trust issue. It's
a faith issue. You see, if you've given yourself
to Him, you know what that means? Like these Macedonians did? That
means everything you have already belongs to Him. And He's the
one who takes care of you. And if you give everything, He'll
take care of you. It's all His anyway, isn't it?
Every bit of it. And it's a love issue. What does love do? Love gives. I'm not just talking
about money. I'm talking about everything.
You give yourself. If you give yourself, your pocketbook will
be opened up. Your wall will be opened up if
you give yourself. That's where we've got to begin. You give
yourself. Love so amazing, so divine, demands
my soul, my life, my all. Now you know the grace. Do you? Now he's speaking to every believer.
And I love this appeal. He's not trying to... He says,
you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. And though He was
rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor. Oh, how poor He
became on the cross. He became poor of everything
that you through his poverty might be rich. Now isn't that the greatest argument
for generosity? The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray together.