The Giving Grace

Good morning,

Do you remember as a child being forced to say "I'm sorry" to your sibling, and not meaning it at all? I do!  Saying "I'm sorry" through clenched teeth, with squinty eyes is (hello!) not genuine, is it?  We know that, because of our personal experience and also because of dealing with children, if you have had that experience.  Usually, the misbehavior that prompted the "I'm sorry" soon recurs.  Why does this happen?  It happens because the repentance was not genuine!

We are moving on to 2 Cor. 8, giving just a love pat to the rest of chapter 7.  The remainder of that chapter dealt with a mysterious, lost letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians.  I've mentioned it in previous blog posts.  All we know about it comes from Paul's references to it in 2 Corinthians. The letter was very strong in its corrective language and intended to deal with a particular situation in that local church.  I reckon God did not intend for us to be privy to it.  The letter was hand-delivered by Titus, who worked with that local church to not only deliver its contents, but to exhort the Corinthians to repentance and restoration.  Paul rejoices in 7:8-16 that all of this was accomplished.

 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.

2 Cor. 7:10  (NKJV)

The Corinthians had "godly sorrow", which is true regret for their individual and corporate sins; and then, they repented.  Paul points out that godly sorrow always leads to repentance, a change of heart and behavior.  Without both, there is no salvation.  Just praying a little prayer and walking the aisle....unh-uh.  No. There has to be a genuine desire from the heart for Christ, a true belief in Him. Only then does He save.

In chapter 8, where we are digging in this morning, Paul goes on to say that Titus had another assignment for his visit to the Corinthians.  It was to teach them about the grace of giving.  Look at 8:1-9.

Now we make known to you, brothers and sisters, the grace of God given to the churches of Macedonia, 2 that during a severe ordeal of suffering, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in the wealth of their generosity. 3 For I testify, they gave according to their means and beyond their means. They did so voluntarily, 4 begging us with great earnestness for the blessing and fellowship of helping the saints. 5 And they did this not just as we had hoped, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and to us by the will of God. 6 Thus we urged Titus that, just as he had previously begun this work, so also he should complete this act of kindness for you. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, and in all eagerness and in the love from us that is in you—make sure that you excel in this act of kindness too. 8 I am not saying this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love by comparison with the eagerness of others.9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that although he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that you by his poverty could become rich. 

(NET)

There's a reason Paul segues into giving here.  Giving flows from joy, and joy is the result of repentance, confession, restoration.  Have you ever thought of Christian "charity" (giving) as a grace? The Bible declares that it is!  It is a grace much disparaged and maligned.  Satan uses greed as one of his best offensive weapons in the Church.  Greed creeps in and soils the beauty of genuine Christian giving.

When I was on mission in Peru recently, I heard our pastor ask the leader of a local Peruvian ministry if he had taught his people about the grace of giving.  I was sort of shocked by that, at the time.  Of all the things I expected him to emphasize teaching, giving would have been on down that list a ways, not at the top.  Yet, his admonition followed the New Testament model Paul builds here.  Let's break it down:

• In verse 5 we see that the grace of giving overflows from a heart devoted to the Lord and to the carrying out of His will.  
• Paul cites as an example of this heart attitude the churches of Macedonia who, in spite of their suffering and poverty had also overflowed with generosity and acts of kindness. (vs. 1-5)
• More than that, Paul references the ultimate Giver, Jesus Christ (vs. 9), whose grace compelled Him to leave Heaven's glory, wrap Himself in flesh and ultimately pour His physical, human life out for us so that we might receive salvation, with all its riches and benefits.

We can parse and debate and argue about how much to give to the Lord, but why?  I believe that the Old Testament model of 10% is a good start.  But, I don't think we should be restricted to that.  After all, we are no longer under law, but are under grace!  (Romans 6:14) If the Lord's Spirit prompts us to give more, we should.  We should be known as people who give generously.

Now, I know that you think this is talking about your money, and in this context of 2 Cor. 8, it is. But, God does not only want our money; it all belongs to Him anyway.  More than that, He wants our hearts.  Truly, if He has our hearts, he will have our money too.  This is why Jesus said, 

"Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."   But, wait, look at that larger passage, Luke 12:32-34 - - -

32 “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.33 Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Beautiful, isn't it?  And, oh so true.  We already have in our possession, Christian, all of the spiritual possessions of God's kingdom!  Our true treasure is in Heaven, not here on earth.  All of our earthly possessions are designed to further the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ - - - nothing more, nothing less.  When we really "get" this, it transforms our lives and the lives of others.  It's pretty radical living, honestly.

Lord God, King of the Universe, Creator and Giver of all good things, teach us the grace of giving. May we be known as people who give as generously as Christ gave.  It is in His name I pray, amen.

Since We Have This Ministry

Good morning,

I'm just now sitting down to have devotions and blog, here at 10:00 a.m., because I had an early morning "rise and shine" (5:30).  Our church had the privilege of ministering to a wonderful group of middle school teachers today.  They are having a teacher workday; so, some of our members brought them breakfast.  What a privilege to love on those who give so much to our community.

Today's text is 2 Corinthians 4:1-6 (NET):

Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy, we do not become discouraged. 2 But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in the face of Christ.

Last night, Hubster and I had the privilege of hosting some college-age students from church in our home for Bible study.  We were talking about, in part, how God will often give us a task to do that seems impossible to us.  Our pastor has said before that, "if the task is not God-sized, if it doesn't force you to depend on Him to do it, then it probably is not from God."  Yet, even so, it is easy for us to get discouraged in our ministries, isn't it?

First of all, things "rarely go according to plan"....our plan, that is.  When that happens, we question whether or not we are really doing what God called to do, or even if He called us to it at all!  Sure, there are times when we can have "misheard" the Lord, that is, Satan has deceived us.  Usually though, it is simply that Satan is opposing our efforts because God is using us and wanting to use us even more for the advancement of His kingdom.  Setbacks should not surprise us or dissuade us.

Paul also said here that it is the mercy of God that motivated him in ministry.  Because God showed mercy to him, he got past his temporary discouragement to go on and show God's mercy to others. He did this by proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He stated that he was a  "slave" to this ministry, this life-calling of shining the light of Jesus Christ into a dark, fallen world.  Jesus shined brilliant light into Paul's life on the road to Damascus.  Because of this Paul gained the glorious truth about God, the truth embodied in Jesus.

In the college Bible study, we just began a book study of David Platt's book, Radical.  It has already been such a blessing, and we are just into the first chapters!  You can't truly encounter Jesus Christ, as Paul did, as I have, as many others have, and come away unchanged.  Those who claim to have done so have never really met Him.  Instead they have met some pale imitation or some distortion.  The gospel of Jesus Christ changes hearts, changes lives.  It is the ONLY solution to man's many problems.  David Platt asks us, "So, how do we respond to this gospel?"1  How can we keep this to ourselves?  Paul couldn't; and neither should we.

It is this knowledge, this treasure we possess, which lifts us out of our periodic discouragements. Because we have been utterly transformed, we cannot be silent.  Although our message is often ridiculed as "nonsense", "foolishness", and even the sign of a low IQ, we have experienced the power of The One and Only.  We have tasted of Jesus Christ.  We have drunk from the well of salvation to become His Beloved.  We know that nothing is greater, or higher, or better or more satisfying.  And, that radicalizes us to share this incomparable Light, which shines out of the darkness of mistakes, willful sin, self-centeredness, pride - - - the slime pit of the world in which people find themselves mired.  We extend the hand of faith to them and say, "Brother, let me lead you to the Savior, because He is sufficient for every need, the source of all good things.  All else is, ultimately, unsatisfying."

So, Christian, don't be discouraged.  Every day presents a new opportunity to share the life-changing truth of Jesus with someone in desperate need.  Take those opportunities God puts before you.  Don't let the enemy "talk you down".  None of us is immune, as this is one of Satan's most potent weapons. Don't play right into his hand.  He's defeated before he even starts, and it's okay to remind him of that.  Shine your light today, for the glory of The Incomparable One.

Father, you are a good, good Father, in spite of "circumstances".  Help us to center our thoughts on You, to keep our eyes on our Savior, in order to fight off discouragement.  You have given each one of us a special skill-set, to use in the advancement of Your kingdom.  Empower us to do what You have called each of us to do, for Your praise and for Your glory alone.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1  Platt, David. Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Multnomah, 2010. p. 36. Print.