Sermon Tone Analysis

“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”

[1]

We want to worship in a manner acceptable to God.

We want to glorify His Name and honour Him.

Nowhere is this more important than when we administer the goods of this earth.

Endeavouring to instruct the congregation in this neglected facet of worship, I initiated a series of expositions through the eighth and ninth chapters of Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.

Those studies addressed the misunderstood and frequently ignored aspect of worship that we know as giving.

In order to ensure that we share a common foundation in worship through giving, I invite you to join me in reviewing the components of grace giving we have already discovered from previous messages covering these chapters.

Grace giving is first of all worship.

Underscore in your mind that the act of giving is an act of worship which transforms mere duty to the highest act expected of any mere mortal.

Grace giving is the expected outflow of the heart which has been set free by the love of God in Christ and which recognises the loving sacrifice of Jesus our Lord.

As to the components defining grace giving, we have seen that grace giving is voluntary giving akin to providing a firstfruit offering.

Before the harvest is complete, before the result of the harvest is known, in faith the one making the offering gives the first portion of the harvest to God as an act of faith.

Before we make any payments, before making any purchase, our gift ought to be set aside to present before the Lord.

Grace giving is sacrificial giving, revealing a heart which is not overly attached to possessions.

Grace giving is always generous.

Grace giving reveals a heart in love with Christ because the one giving has received the gracious gift of life.

How can one in love with Christ be anything other than generous?

Grace giving is giving which is thoughtful and responsive.

In grace giving, we are to think about the amount we will give and determine how we will give.

We are responsible to know that those receiving the donations administer the funds wisely and in accordance with the will of God.

This is the reason I encourage members to study the budget of the church and to voice their desires.

The budget is in reality a spiritual document providing guidance for the growth and the progress of the congregation.

We are also responsible to respond to needs as they develop.

Grace giving is to be systematic, proportionate and faithful.

We are to give regularly and consistently, as often as we receive income and in such a manner that those dependent upon the gifts can know that needs will be cared for.

We realise that the more Christ entrusts to us the greater our responsibility to give generously.

I do not expect an individual on a fixed income to give the same percentage of an individual with a growing income.

I do not expect an individual with income barely sufficient for daily survival to give the same percentage of one who has more than sufficient income.

I do expect all who know Christ and who seek His glory to give!

Thus, grace giving reflects spiritual maturation.

The spiritually mature understand that how we handle money speaks volumes about our relationships.

We are stewards over all that God has given into our care and we are responsible to answer to Him for our administration of those goods.

Reviewing what has been presented, we know that grace giving is an act of worship.

Such giving is voluntary, sacrificial and generous.

It is giving that is thoughtful and responsive; and it is systematic, proportionate and faithful.

Grace giving reflects spiritual maturity.

The concept of grace is essentially foreign to the human mind—not that we do not long to receive grace from others.

Though we may attempt to practise a pale imitation of mercy and though we each wish to receive grace from others, our fallen condition conspires to ensure that the consistent practise of grace is difficult if not impossible.

Nevertheless, not a single Christian can deny that she has received grace from the Lord God.

Most any child of God can define grace and most are able to give a standard definition of sorts in an effort to explain this divine characteristic.

Most of the people of God expect to grow in grace, to progress toward fuller understanding of grace and to reveal a richer expression of the grace of God through life; however, the concept of grace is more easily experienced then it is explained.

One area in which grace is experienced regularly within the Body of Christ is through the act of giving.

In past messages I have introduced the concept of grace giving, attempting to demonstrate that through implementing such a concept to control our giving we worship the God of grace and at the same time step toward fuller expression of His grace as we so act.

Of course, outsiders expect Christians to practise grace giving, although they could not articulate why they expect such practise.

It is fascinating to me to discover that unbelievers turn almost naturally to the church for assistance when in need, whether financial or physical, anticipating that they will receive help.

Usually, these individuals seeking help have no intention to either become Christians or to participate in the life of the particular assembly from which they receive aid.

They hold such expectations because they are convinced that Christians are grace givers, that Christians reflect the grace of God through giving.

Food banks and clothing warehouses and homeless shelters are often associated in people’s minds with churches, governments being but latecomers to the provision and support of such facilities.

Churches are traditionally easy marks for financial assistance when welfare fails to meet expectations.

One interesting aspect concerning this issue of expectation of outsiders is that while they believe that Christians should practise grace giving, Christians themselves are unclear on the concept of grace giving.

Frequently, believers have failed to understand that grace giving begins in the service of the church, and more particularly that such practise should be seen routinely in the act of worship through giving.

The foundation for grace giving is, unsurprisingly, Christ Himself.

Of His grace we have each received abundantly.

From His grace we are each enabled to give abundantly.

Focus with me now on the grace of our Lord Jesus, exploring three aspects which reveal His grace according to Paul’s assessment.

*THE GRACE OF OUR LORD JESUS IS SEEN IN HIS GLORIOUS WEALTH*.

The grace of Christ is seen first in His wealth.

Paul says of Christ the Lord, “He was rich.”

When we speak of material wealth, we tend to think of possessions—of real property, of commodities and goods.

Unconsciously, we equate possessions with power.

The one with great possessions has power, or ability to make things happen.

We imagine that needs evaporate in the presence of wealth.

Want and penury are unknown to the one with wealth.

Power to control the actions of others is associated, either consciously or unconsciously, with wealth.

From an earthly viewpoint, it would be quite correct to speak of Christ’s richness as being revealed in His possessions.

In the Word we are told that “the cattle on a thousand hills” belong to the Lord God of Heaven [PSALM 50:10].

Likewise, in PSALM 24:1 we discover that:

“The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein.”

Throughout the Old Covenant are found statements related to God’s wealth.

One such statement is recorded in the Chronicles of Judah.

At the time he was transferring the Kingdom to Solomon, David praised God and spoke of God’s wealth.

“David blessed the LORD in the presence of all the assembly.

And David said: ‘Blessed are you, O LORD, the God of Israel our father, forever and ever.

Yours, O LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the victory and the majesty, for all that is in the heavens and in the earth is yours.

Yours is the kingdom, O LORD, and you are exalted as head above all.

Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all.

In your hand are power and might, and in your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all.

And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name’ [1 CHRONICLES 29:10-13].

David teaches in this passage that God possesses wealth, and he acknowledges that God is the source of all human wealth and goods.

God is generous toward mankind.

This is the basis for James’ statement, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” [JAMES 1:17].

Think about that when you consider your personal holdings!

Paul asks, “What do you have that you did not receive” [1 CORINTHIANS 4:17]?

And the appropriate answer to the questions is, “Nothing.”

God gave us all in the final accounting.

This theme of divine wealth shared with mankind is repeated in DEUTERONOMY 8:17, 18. There, God has warned His people, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’

You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

In these verses God promised to bless His people with earthly riches; and then He cautioned those same people against succumbing to the lure of imagining that they had secured this wealth through their own strength.

God gives wealth since it is His to give.

This same truth is witnessed when Solomon writes, “Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot.

Everyone also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and rejoice in his toil—this is the gift of God” [ECCLESIASTES 5:18, 19].

Then, the Preacher appends this caution, “There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy on mankind: a man to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that he lacks nothing of all that he desires, yet God does not give him power to enjoy them, but a stranger enjoys them.

This is vanity; it is a grievous evil” [ECCLESIASTES 6:1, 2].

God gives wealth because wealth is God’s to give.

Note this truth: God possesses all—including what we commonly call wealth.

We may accumulate wealth or goods; but having gathered wealth we are responsible to administer what God has permitted us to gather.

God is the source of all wealth, whether the wealthy recognise the fact or not; wealth is given as a stewardship for which those holding wealth are responsible.

Consider two other statements which speak of God’s wealth and of His generosity.

We’ve already seen James’ statement: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” [JAMES 1:17].