Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
June 14, 1987
The Grace of Generosity
2 Corinthians 8:1-15 (NIV)
Christian giving is the big topic in the news now. Jim and Tammy Bakker beg for money, while they have millions in the bank. Oral Roberts implores us that God will kill him if big bucks don't come in for his Christian university. Rev. Bellville from our own church's past would raise money for new carpets by passing the plate till everyone was broke.
The church has always needed money and always will. But big differences in how we approach it. In this passage, Apostle Paul is raising money for poor Christians in Jerusalem. This may not be explicit here but can be deduced from passages in Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians and Galatians. Jerusalem Christians needed help because they were persecuted for their faith. Others would not buy or sell with them. About a year previously Paul had promoted the gift on his travels. There were two responses:
The Macedonians (churches in northern Greece) were also poor and were under severe pressure because of their faith, but concerning this offering their offering ended up being more than could be reasonably expected. They were self-motivated - they did not need manipulation or high pressure. They were insistent - they couldn't be swayed from it. Their priorities were good too because first they gave themselves to the Lord (5:15). If God is really our Lord, he owns us and all we possess. Their generosity was so remarkable, Paul says it must be a "gift" from God; this is the meaning of "grace" in verse 1.
The second kind of response is shown by the Corinthians Christians - they were more like us. They started out with a bang. Verse 10 says they were the first to want to give, and even took up a small offering for starters, but they failed to carry through.
Apparently the Corinthians were concerned about appearances (v. 7) because Paul notes that they gloried in excelling in everything else. They were also concerned about their rights (v. 13) and were thinking the offering was not fair: we'll be hard-pressed, they'll be rolling in the dough.
It is easy to think big and talk big. The real test of sincerity is the actions that follow. Paul is trying to motivate the Corinthians to give more. You know those television preachers who always beg for money? I think Paul was a lot like them. To him this was a test of their genuineness. So in verse 8 he compares them to the Macedonians. Maybe wound their pride a little.
If this doesn't motivate them in verse 9 he pulls out the heavy artillery:
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor...."
In what sense was Jesus poor? Was it his lowly life, like Mother Teresa in India? Not quite. Jesus was humble but not a hermit like John the Baptist. What about the crucifixion? Friends deserted him, he was naked. Jesus was genuinely poor then but his poverty didn't really begin at the cross - it began in heaven. Turn to Philippians 2:5-7:
"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing...."
It was in giving up his glory and rights as God that Jesus became poor. Anything on earth was second best. Jesus did not just become poor. According to 2 Corinthians 8:9, he became poor for our sakes, so that we might become rich. Some take this very literally - the infamous Rev. Ike continuously implores, Send us a donation and you'll get miracle. We laugh but that's the kind of wealth most of us aim for. We judge wealth by bank accounts. By our possessions. It's called "Keeping up with the Joneses." Lot's of luck because the Joneses just put in an Olympic-sized pool.
Jesus looked at wealth differently. He asked:
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)
You may be able to trade up to a bigger house someday but will it compare to the mansion he has prepared for us in his Father's house? There's a paradox here - Jesus became poor so we could be rich. Once we became rich in him, we have to adopt his attitude. In other words, we should be willing to become poor for others.
Paul doesn't come right out and say Christians should be poor. The reference to Jesus may imply it and lots of people today think real Christians must live in poverty but Paul doesn't get that extreme. According to verse 13, our ultimate goal is not poverty but equality.
It's a stirring theme these days "All men are created equal." Civil rights (South Africa). Women's rights (ERA). Parts of this attitude are good, parts try to change human nature. Communist governments make equality their cornerstone. Karl Marx called for a classless society in which no one was poor, no one rich, and all are equal. But as Orwell put it, some people always end up a little more equal than others.
Social equality is a nice goal but the results have been meager. Vietnam is reviving capitalism because under its communist economy the average person earns only $200 per year, among the lowest in the world. Even the Soviet Union is tinkering with capitalism and especially China.
Governments are discovering that equality is a wonderful goal but laws alone cannot achieve it. The Christian view looks beyond laws. It says to change society, you must change people. To have equality in a society, we have to know it in our souls. Every religion in the world, except one, is based on works. They say you keep your nose clean, do good, and go to heaven. The more you do, the more saved you are.
Christianity is the only religion that teaches spiritual equality (grace). By God's grace - his free gift - he saves us. Once we are saved, we are no better than anyone else in God's sight. This is the point of Jesus' parable about the workers in the vineyard. Some worked all day and some only an hour. All received the same wage, enough to feed their families. Jesus is saying that some will live for God their whole lives, and some only a short time but all of them will receive their heavenly reward. It's not fair - but shows how much God loves us.
Once we have received the inner equality that is represented by salvation, it should be evident in the way we live. The early Christians believed racial and sexual differences didn't matter in our relationship with God. Everyone is equal in God's eyes. If something is not equal, it should be straightened out. That's just what Paul is trying to do in 2 Corinthians 8. He doesn't want to help one group at the other's expense. He wants to even things out. This principle is shown in the Old Testament with the manna in the wilderness. All the Israelites ended up with same amount, no matter how much they gathered - God leveled it out. What God did miraculously, Christians should do voluntarily, not because a law says we must but because we know it is right.
The "Christian generosity" talked about in this chapter is not really about how we should give to the church. It has more to do with our attitudes toward welfare. How do we feel about welfare? You may think all the people on welfare are ripping off the system and living high on the hog. There are many abuses but it's usually a meager existence. I believe Jesus would support the general idea of our system. He said much about helping the poor. In the Old Testament, part of the tithe went to the poor. And our concern should not just be for fellow-Christians. Paul says in Galatians 6:10:
"Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people."
Should we bring lazy people up to our level? Not exactly. Elsewhere Paul says:
"For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat." (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
Fact - most people don't need assistance their whole lives. Many become self-supportive and the day may come when we are disabled or need assistance. Then 2 Corinthians 8:14 will be fulfilled -
"Their plenty will supply what you need."
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Typed on July 10, 2006, by Sharon Lesko of Ledgewood Baptist Church, New Jersey
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