Sermon Tone Analysis

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*What Makes A Great Offering?*
/2 Corinthians 8 /
One of the major ministries of Paul’s third missionary journey was the taking up of a special “relief offering” for the poor Christians in Judea.
Once before Paul had assisted in this way (Acts 11:27–30), and he was happy to do it again.
It is significant that it was Paul who remembered the “forgotten beatitude” of our Lord: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).
But Paul had other blessings in mind besides the material assisting of the poor.
He wanted this offering to strengthen the unity of the church as the Gentile churches shared with the Jewish congregations across the sea.
Paul saw the Gentiles as “debtors” to the Jews (Rom.
15:25–28), and the special collection was one way to pay that debt.
This offering was also evidence to the Jewish believers (some of whom were still zealous for the Law) that Paul was not the enemy of the Jews or of Moses (Acts 20:17ff ).
Early in his ministry, Paul had promised to remember the poor (Gal.
2:6–10), and he labored to keep that promise; but at the same time, he hoped that the generosity of the Gentiles would silence the jealousy of the Jews.
Unfortunately, the Corinthians were not doing their part.
Like many people, they had made promises, but they failed to keep them.
In fact, an entire year had been wasted (2 Cor.
8:10).
What was the cause of this serious delay?
The low spiritual level of the church.
When a church is not spiritual, it is not generous.
Another factor was the invasion of the Judaizers, who probably siphoned off as much money as they could (2 Cor.
11:7–12, 20; 12:14).
Paul knew that it would be difficult to get the Corinthians to participate, so he lifted his appeal to the highest spiritual level possible: he taught them that giving was an act of grace.
Paul used nine different words to refer to the offering, but the one he used the most was /grace./
Giving is truly a /ministry/ and /fellowship /(2 Cor.
8:4) that helps others, but the motivation must be from the grace of God in the heart.
Paul knew that this collection was a /debt/ owed by the Gentiles (Rom.
15:27) and /fruit/ from their Christian lives (Rom.
15:28); but it was even more: it was the working of the grace of God in human hearts.
It is a wonderful thing when Christians enter into the grace of giving, when they really believe that giving is more blessed than receiving.
How can we tell when we are practicing “grace giving”?
Paul indicated that there were a number of evidences that appear when our giving is motivated by grace.
*1.
**When We Give in Spite of Circumstances (2 Cor.
8:1–2)*
a.
The Macedonian churches that Paul was using as an example had experienced severe difficulties, and yet they had given generously.
They had not simply gone through “affliction”; they had experienced a “great trial of affliction” (2 Cor.
8:2).
They were in /deep poverty,/which means “rock-bottom destitution.”
The word describes a beggar who has absolutely nothing and has no hope of getting anything.
Their difficult situation may have been caused in part by their Christian faith, for they may have lost their jobs or been excluded from the trade guilds because they refused to have anything to do with idolatry.
But their circumstances did not hinder them from giving.
In fact, they gave joyfully and liberally!
b.
No computer could analyze this amazing formula: *great affliction and deep poverty /plus grace/ = abundant joy and abounding liberality!*
It reminds us of the paradox in Paul’s ministry: “as poor, yet making many rich” (2 Cor.
6:10).
It also reminds us of the generous offerings that were taken at the building of the tabernacle (Ex.
35:5–6) and the temple (1 Chron.
29:6–9).
c.
When you have experienced the grace of God in your life, you will not use difficult circumstances as an excuse for not giving.
For that matter, are circumstances /ever/ an encouragement to giving?
ILLUSTRATE   Grace giving means giving in spite of circumstances.
*2.      **When We Give Enthusiastically (2 Cor.
8:3–4)*
a.
It is possible to give generously but not give enthusiastically.
/“The preacher says I should give until it hurts,”/ said a miserly church member, /“but for me, it hurts just to think about giving!”/
The Macedonian churches needed no prompting or reminding, as did the church at Corinth.
They were more than willing to share in the collection.
In fact, /they begged to be included!
/(2 Cor.
8:4) */How many times have you heard a Christian beg for somebody to take an offering?/*
b.
Their giving was voluntary and spontaneous.
It was of grace, not pressure.
They gave because they wanted to give and because they had experienced the grace of God.
Grace not only frees us from our sins, but it frees us from ourselves.
*The grace of God will open your heart /and your hand./*
Your giving is not the result of cold calculation, but of warmhearted jubilation!
*3.      **When We Give as Jesus Gave (2 Cor.
8:5–9)*
a.       Jesus Christ is always the preeminent example for the believer to follow, whether in service, suffering, or sacrifice.
Like Jesus Christ, the Macedonian Christians */gave themselves to God and to others/*/ /(2 Cor.
8:5).
*If we give ourselves to God, we will have little problem giving our substance to God.*
If we give ourselves to God, we will also give of ourselves for others.
*It is impossible to love God and ignore the needs of your neighbor.*
Jesus Christ gave Himself for us (Gal.
1:4; 2:20).
Should we not give ourselves to Him?
He died so that we might not live for ourselves, but for Him and for others (2 Cor.
5:15).
b.
The Macedonians’ giving was, like Christ’s, */motivated by love/* (2 Cor.
8:7–8).
What a rebuke to the Corinthians who were so enriched with spiritual blessings (1 Cor.
1:4–5).
*They were so wrapped up in the /gifts/ of the Spirit that they had neglected the /graces/ of the Spirit, including the grace of giving.*
The Macedonian churches had an */“abundance of deep poverty”/* (2 Cor.
8:2), and yet they abounded in their liberality.
The Corinthians had an abundance of spiritual gifts, yet they were lax in keeping their promise and sharing in the collection.
i.
We must never argue that the ministry of our spiritual gifts is a substitute for generous giving.
“I teach a Sunday School class, so I don’t have to give!” is not an explanation—it’s an excuse.
The Christian who remembers that his gifts are /gifts/ will be motivated to give to others and not “hide” behind his ministry for the Lord.
I have met pastors and missionaries who have argued that, since they devote their whole time in serving the Lord, they are not obligated to give.
Paul argued just the opposite: since you are wonderfully gifted from God, you ought to want to give even more!
ii.
Paul was careful that they understood that he was not /ordering/ them to give.
Actually, he was contrasting the attitude of the Macedonians with that of the Corinthians.
He was pointing out that the Macedonians were following the example of the Lord: they were poor, yet they gave.
The Corinthians said that they loved Paul; now he asked them to prove that love by sharing in the offering.
Grace giving is an evidence of love—love for Christ, love for God’s servants who have ministered to us, and love for those who have special needs that we are able to help meet.
c.       Finally, */their giving was sacrificial/* (2 Cor.
8:9).
In what ways was Jesus rich?
Certainly He was rich in His person, for He is eternal God.
He is rich in His possessions and in His position as King of kings and Lord of lords.
He is rich in His power, for He can do anything.
Yet, in spite of the fact that He had all these riches—and more—/He became poor./
i.
The tense of the verb indicates that it is His incarnation, His birth at Bethlehem, that is meant here.
He united Himself to mankind and took on Himself a human body.
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