Paul was continuing his discussion in Second Corinthians 7:12 about the man who had repented of his fornication and been accepted back into the congregation. Of course, the congregation had to repent also because at first they were unwilling to forgive the one who had repented. Paul said to them in Second Corinthians 7:12, “Wherefore though I wrote unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you.” The point that Paul is making about the whole matter is that what he said to them even though they benefited from it, their benefit was not the primary reason that he said the things he said. The primary reason that Paul said what he said was because he was trying to please God. Anyone who preaches to a congregation had better have this same thing as their primary motivation also: thus saith the Lord. That is what matters. What does God want me to say? Don’t ever let anyone tell you what to preach. You cannot please God and man. Find out what God wants you to preach and let that be your message and the reason that you say what you say. It is the only way to be true. If you do not do that, you will compromise and your motivation will be to be politically correct, and then you will fail both God and man. Paul wrote in second Corinthians 7:13-14, “Therefore we were comforted in your comfort: yea, and exceedingly the more joyed we for the joy of Titus, because his spirit was refreshed by you all. For if I have boasted any thing to him of you, I am not ashamed; but as we spake all things to you in truth, even so our boasting, which I made before Titus, is found a truth.” The thing that is noticeable about these verses is that twice Paul reminded the Corinthians that what he told them was the truth. In the previous verse Paul said that his desire was to say what God wanted him to say. Very similar to that is this idea of speaking the truth. The way to make sure that you speak the truth is to speak forth the Word of God. “If any man speak, let him speak as of the oracles of God.” If you want to speak the truth the way that Paul did, do not give your own ideas, do not give the traditions of man, and do not give out a system of theology. “Preach the Word.” If a congregation is fortunate enough to have someone tell them the truth because they preach the Word for the purpose of pleasing God, then the next thing that is important is that those who hear the truth react properly to it. The Corinthians had the proper reaction to the words that they heard from Paul. There is a word in the next two verses that shows how the Corinthians reacted. See if you can pick that word out. Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 7:15-16, “And his inward affection is more abundant toward you, while he remembers the obedience of you all, how with fear and trembling you received him. I rejoice therefore that I have confidence in you in all things.” Obedience is the key. It’s getting harder and harder to find a good Bible teacher, but once you have one, do you obey the Word. “Don’t be hearers only, but doers of the Word.” It will not do you much good to hear the truth, even if you enjoy hearing it, if you do not go forth and remember it and put it into practice. One way in which the Apostle Paul was going to encourage the Corinthians to practice their faith was in the area of giving to those who were less fortunate. But Paul will not be talking about giving to any poor: he will be talking about giving to Christians that are poor. It is what Paul called in the next verse “ministering to the saints.” Christians should help other Christians first of all. In all of Second Corinthians chapter eight and part of chapter nine the Bible will be telling us important principles about giving. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 8:1-6, “Moreover, brethren, we want you to know of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 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. Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.” Notice that this giving of money to others Paul called “grace.” That’s what grace is: a free gift. Salvation is a free gift from God through Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that those who have received that free gift from God would be willing to freely give monetary gifts to the poor Christian brethren. Notice also that the Christians of Macedonia, who had already given to Paul’s project, were described as having “a great trial of affliction.” But in spite of their great trial of affliction, Paul said that they had an “abundance” of joy. That’s one of the values of giving. The gift blesses the giver sometimes even more than the one who receives. One of the reasons that we do not have the joy that we should is because we think too much of our own troubles. And one of the best ways to stop doing that is to think of the troubles of others and what we can do to help them. The Christians in Macedonia gave even though they were described as being in “deep poverty.” It’s not the amount that you give: it’s the percentage. You might give a very small amount, but in God’s eyes it is a great amount. Remember the story that Jesus told of the widow’s mite. Another important principle about giving is found in verse 5 where it says, “First gave they their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.” Make sure you have your priorities right. Whatever money you have given, you have given in vain if you have not first of all given yourself to the Lord. Jesus said something very similar. He said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.” Jesus also said, “Seek and ye shall find.” If you seek God first of all, you will find Him; and no matter what else happens to you, you will have a successful life. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 8:7, “Therefore as you abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that you abound in this grace also.” Someone who had all of these things would certainly be quite a Christian: faith, utterance, knowledge, diligence, and love. These are all tremendous spiritual accomplishments. But you must remember that being practical is also being spiritual. If you do not do the practical things, then you are not near as spiritual as you think you are. One of the practical things that you must do if you are going to serve God in every way possible is to give some of your substance to help other believers. First John 3:17 says, “But whoso has this world’s goods, and sees his brother have need and shuts up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwells the love of God in him?” Even though you would expect that a spiritually minded believer would want to help another believer in need, you still cannot give a commandment about it. Every believer has the right to do with their substance as they choose, not as you or I choose. That is why Paul wrote in Second Corinthians 8:8, “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.” Notice the first thing that Paul says in this verse and remember that we are on the subject of giving. He said, “not by commandment.” If you hear someone teach on the subject of giving and they do not teach it the way that Paul did, then you will want to reject their teaching. The basis for Christian giving and the reason for Christian giving is not based upon a commandment. What it’s based upon is given in Second Corinthians 8:9 that says, “For 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.” Think of what Jesus gave up for us. He gave up the throne in glory. “Out of the ivory palaces and into a world of woe.” And then He went to the cross. He lost, but we gained. This Bible verse says that we became rich because of Christ. The riches that we gained are not the riches of this world, but are far greater riches. There are people who have acquired the riches of this world, but the day is soon coming when they will be proved to be spiritually poor. No wonder that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Blessed are the poor, for they shall be made rich.” Because we know that we gained so much spiritually through Christ, surely we will want to give up some material possessions for others in order to be just a little bit like Christ, and to have the same attitude about this life compared to the next that He had. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 8:10-12, “And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward 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. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” What was happening with the Corinthians has happened to many people. It’s a part of human nature. They hear a message and they hear of a real need, and their hearts are touched, and they say that they will do something with good intentions; but when the time comes for them to actually do what they said, they lose their enthusiasm and fail to follow through. This problem will be solved if you make sure that you are a person of your word. Your word should be as good as gold if you are a Christian. If there is some good thing that you say you will do, make sure that there is a “performance” of that thing. The Bible says in Second Corinthians 8:13-15, “For I mean not that other men be eased, and you burdened. But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality: As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.” This is the way that the Bible meant it to be among Christians. It is one more thing that shows us how far we are from the way things ought to be. To some God gives abundance in order that they might use their abundance of substance to make a difference for Christians who are in need. What is the right thing to do with you material abundance? With some you must take care of your own needs, and that includes saving for a rainy day or for retirement. But with other parts of your abundance you should be asking God and your own conscience what you should do with it. If you keep it all for yourself, you may just prove that you are a miser. You might find yourself in the condition of those to whom James wrote in James 5:2-3 that says, “Your riches are corrupted and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.” There is plenty on the earth to go around for everyone. No one should grab and hoard an excessive amount of this world’s goods. The day will come will everyone will give an answer for the substance that God has put into our hands. Native American Indians often understood that the bounty of the earth was to be shared. This passage of the Bible was written to remind Christians to do the same. As Paul was collecting all of this money to be given to the poor saints, he wanted to make sure that there was no suspicion or appearance of improperly handling the funds. That’s what he was talking about in the rest of the verses of this chapter. Second Corinthians 8:16-21 says, “But thanks be to God, who put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you. And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches; And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind; Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us; Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” Many people will think the worst when given an occasion to do so. Paul understood human nature, and we should also. It’s not only how things actually are, but also how they appear to be to reasonable people. That’s why Paul was careful to pick someone with a spotless reputation and who was in high regard to handle all of the money that was given. Too bad more people who claim to be ministers of the gospel do not have this same care with finances that Paul had. Mishandling money and even the appearance of mishandling money has done much damage to the gospel of Christ over the years.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 19:56:31 +0000