Encounter the Truth

Jonathan Griffiths: In giving to the work of the gospel, we are truly only giving to the Lord that which is already his. And being entrusted with resources and then gladly rendering those unto the Lord for his work, that is our privilege.

And when we exercise our responsibilities properly and we show good stewardship, it increases our heart commitment and it reminds us of what truly matters.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths. I'm Steve Hiller, glad that you've joined us today.

And Jonathan, I know many of us may think of things like prayer and Bible study and time with the Lord as being an important part of our Christian maturity. But I hear you saying here that as we're growing in Christian maturity, actually giving should be one of those things that we see growth in.

Jonathan Griffiths: Absolutely, it's a part of the Christian life and it's essential to the Christian life I think for a few reasons. One of the things we learn as we grow in relationship with the Lord is the fact that everything we have has come from him. All the gifts, all the opportunities, and all the financial resources.

And as we learn that lesson, we realize that we have a stewardship responsibility to use those resources in a way that honors him. And that includes of course taking care of our families and our responsibilities, but it includes giving to the work of the gospel.

But as we grow as Christians as well, our passion for the work of the gospel grows as well. So we want to give because we want more people to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ and the hope of the gospel. We want the message to get out and we want the work of ministry to be done. So we say, how can I get involved? How can I steward my resources in such a way that the kingdom of God advances? And that becomes a joy to us and we sense that it's a privilege.

Steve Hiller: Well, it is a privilege and we're going to continue to look at that today from the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 8. So grab your Bible, meet us there as we continue the message, The Grace of Giving. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: The world is understandably impressed by those who are rich and who give away their riches. One of the most generous philanthropists in the modern world today is Bill Gates of Microsoft. He has given away vast fortunes of personal wealth and it's been impressive, I think.

But despite giving away billions, he is still a billionaire. And he was able recently, according to reports, to commission a $645 million superyacht. The first hydrogen-powered superyacht I gather, complete with gym, offices, hospital, library, elevator, cinema, pool, steam room, and the specs actually continue. Bill Gates has been very, very generous, but his generosity has not made him poor.

But the Lord Jesus Christ's immense riches were of a totally different order and the poverty he chose was of a totally different depth. And Paul reminds us that he did this for us so that we might benefit in a profound way, so that you and I by his poverty might become rich.

As Jesus poured himself out in the incarnation and then through his death on Calvary's tree, he made us rich. Not materially rich, that's not what this is about. Not rich in the sense that our bank accounts are now full and our stock portfolios soaring. Not in the sense that we have immense material wealth, but he made us spiritually rich.

In our sin and in our rebellion, you and I are spiritually bankrupt in our natural state. I don't know if any among us in this gathering has ever been bankrupt, I suspect some have, and I have no doubt that it's a very painful and awful situation. To know that you have no resources available to put against your financial obligations, to know that you are financially helpless.

Well, that was our spiritual situation, each and every one of us. We were deeply in debt because of the wrong we had done. In the courtroom of God, we had a huge obligation to pay for our transgression and rebellion and we had no resources available to us to pay the debt. The only option available to us was to pay with our very lives, to suffer the judgment of death to pay the price of our sin.

But the Lord Jesus Christ, whose account of goodness and righteousness before the Father was full and beyond full, he paid our debt and he transferred to us the wealth of his good standing before the Father. From his matchless account of righteousness, he transferred over to us his balance so that our balance became full and more than full. At the cross, he died my death and he died your death. He became the poorest of the poor in spiritual terms that he might make us spiritually very rich indeed.

Now that's the essence of the gospel. That's the basis, that's the foundation of everything. That's the foundation of our very lives as Christians. And remember what Paul is doing here, he is calling us to exercise the grace of giving. He is challenging us toward gospel generosity. He reminds us of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, his immense, unmatched, and unmatchable grace.

Paul reminds us that Jesus gave everything for us so that you and I might be spiritually enriched. And so when it comes to using our financial resources for the good of the saints and for the work of the gospel, he, Paul, is showing us and reminding us that the nature of that request is immeasurably smaller when compared to the grace that we have been shown.

The grace of our God, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is the engine of gospel generosity in every respect. We would not live out generosity and we could not live it out as gospel people had we not first received the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we were not first empowered by the grace of God at work in us by the Spirit. We have been shown grace and we are given daily grace and that grace is the engine of true Christian generosity. That's the engine.

Now we turn to the marks of gospel generosity. And here is the first mark. Gospel generosity is sacrificial. It's sacrificial. Notice that again, the nature of this generosity at work in the churches of Macedonia, opening verse. "We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that's been given among the churches of Macedonia. For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor."

The churches of Macedonia were not wealthy churches. That much is clear from what Paul shares with us here. We don't know the full nature of their hardship, but it's clear they were indeed facing true hardship. And it's interesting to see what that hardship has produced in them. Paul speaks of a severe test of affliction and of extreme poverty, verse 2. That's not a pretty picture by the way when you think about that language. These believers were facing real suffering of an intense kind. Perhaps political, perhaps social, perhaps purely economic, but whatever the roots of their difficulties, they were living in poverty, extreme poverty.

I wonder if you've ever seen extreme poverty. I wonder if you've ever experienced it. Here in North America, we don't often see extreme poverty, although if we look, I think we can find it. But this speaks of people lacking not only luxuries but necessities and suffering as a result.

Now, severe affliction mixed with extreme poverty, that might overflow in all kinds of ways in the lives of any given people. It might overflow, I mean think about it, in bitterness and in anger and in resentment and in grumbling. It might lead to behavior such as theft and to a life of crime.

But how have these experiences overflowed in the lives of these believers in Macedonia? Well, Paul tells us to our surprise that these experiences have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I mean, isn't that wonderful? And isn't that surprising? Isn't that a thing of beauty? Isn't that something that only God could do and that only the gospel could produce? Isn't this the grace of God at work? These poor and suffering people have decided to give to other believers because they recognized there was a true need and because they were called upon to do so.

The check may not have been very big in absolute terms. To the wealthy, the check may have looked really quite small, the offering insignificant. But for these Macedonians of limited means, the gift, it really cost them something. It was, verse 3, according to their means. So it was in line with their resources. It wasn't a gift of the size that wealthy Christians might have given, but it was actually beyond their means. More than they could in any reasonable way afford.

If the Macedonians had gone to their accountant or their wealth advisor and asked whether it made good sense this month, this year to give this gift, what do you think the answer would have been? Absolutely not. This is risky. This is reckless. Don't be crazy. You haven't got enough put away. You're living day to day hand to mouth as it is. You can't go making a gift like this in your situation and in your circumstances.

You see, this gift involved sacrifice. They had to give something up in order to do this. And friends, giving to serve and support the Lord's people, to support the work of the gospel, it's going to involve sacrifice if you and I are going to be serious about it. If we're going to give a tithe, 10% of our income, which was a kind of Old Testament baseline—it's not a regulation in the New Testament, it's a good guideline, starting point. If we're going to do that and if we're going to give above and beyond that too, if we're going to be serious about our giving, it's going to involve sacrifice.

Everyone's situation is different and we don't judge each other in these things. It's going to mean different things for each one of us. But sacrificial giving will mean that there are going to be some things that we would likely otherwise buy, some things that we would like to do in an ideal world. There are going to be some things that we choose not to do and not to buy, some things we take off the menu for ourselves, some things that we are going to choose actively to forgo. And if our giving never ever involves any element of sacrifice, never ever involves a hard decision, never involves saying no to ourselves about anything, we have to say that we have not yet caught the vision that the Macedonians caught, that we haven't learned what they learned, we haven't seen what they saw of the grace of God.

For some among us, sacrificial giving quite honestly is going to look like a gift of five dollars. And for others to be truthful, it's going to look like a gift of five million dollars. That's just the reality within the wider body of Christ and both are of equal meaning and of equal worth if the sacrifice is of the same nature.

A pastor friend said to me the other day in a church where they've seen some remarkable generosity, a pastor friend said to me the other day that the slogan they used in their church was "different gift, equal sacrifice." And I have to say I liked that. I found that quite helpful when I heard it.

See, we've all got totally different circumstances and can give different amounts to the work of the Lord, but there should be some sense of equivalence at the level of sacrifice in some way. That is, we're each feeling it, we're each making some life adjustments, we're each making sacrifices.

So let me ask you, let me ask the uncomfortable question to all of us. Has our giving to the work of the gospel involved sacrifice of late? Now, we're not talking here about making ourselves miserable and poor and undermining the well-being of the family and never doing anything nice. No, that's not it. But have we felt it in any way? Has gospel generosity required you or your family to make any changes, to curtail any choices? Or has your participation in the work of the gospel and in meeting the needs of the saints, has that simply flowed from excess?

What would it look like in this next season to give not only according to our means, but even beyond that in some measure following the pattern of the Macedonians? You see gospel generosity is sacrificial by nature.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Encounter the Truth with Jonathan Griffiths, and a message called "The Grace of Giving." Now we have to pause here, but we'll get back to the message in just a moment. If you ever miss a program in our series, you can always come and listen online. Our website is encounterthetruth.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen if you have the Encounter the Truth app. You'll find that for free at your App Store. That's a great way to stay connected with Jonathan's teaching when you're on the go. So again, look for the Encounter the Truth app at your App Store or come and listen online at encounterthetruth.org. Back to the message. Here is Jonathan.

Jonathan Griffiths: Next, gospel giving is sacred as well. It's sacred. Just a brief point here but I want to highlight it. Gospel generosity is sacred in the sense that it is first of all done before the Lord and for the Lord. It's not before people or for people in the first instance. It is unto the Lord.

Notice this with me, verse 3. "For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints. And this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us."

That ordering in verse 5 is very important. What the Macedonians did by way of sacrificial giving, they did first of all unto the Lord. That was who they were seeking to serve. That was who they were seeking to honor. That was the purpose of their generosity.

Now, to serve the Lord in their generosity, they needed to entrust themselves to Paul and his ministry associates. They needed to hand the check to someone. But what they were doing was giving unto the Lord. It's a simple reminder on one level, but it is crucial. We do not act in generosity ever to please or impress anyone but the Lord. It's a reminder that our generosity is actually part of our worship of the Lord, part of our service to the Lord, part of our obedience to the Lord. We give unto the Lord, and in practical terms, that means giving to his servants and to the work entrusted to them.

It's just a reminder for you and for me as we consider our giving. It is sacred. Unto the Lord, for him first and foremost and as a response to his grace to us. It's sacred.

Here's the next reminder, the next observation. Gospel generosity is self-benefiting. That is, we benefit ourselves when we give. That may be a little bit of a surprise, but have a look with me at verse 10. Paul writes this, "And in this matter I give my judgment. This benefits you."

Isn't that interesting? Paul's judgment is that for the Corinthians, in completing the gift that has been discussed, in exercising gospel generosity, they themselves will benefit. It is to their benefit to give. You know, we've heard it said that it is more blessed to give than to receive, and Paul is saying that is true when it comes to money. The greater privilege is for the giver than for the one who receives.

You see, when we make what has been entrusted to us available to others for the sake of the kingdom, when we hand back to the Lord that which is already his, we are privileged and we benefit. We are of course only giving the Lord that which is his already, and that's important to remember. We are of course only making available his resources for his people and for his work.

I remember singing as a child—and this one won't be familiar to so many, but these words come to mind as crystallizing the truth we're talking about. Maybe you remember this:

"We give thee but thine own,

Whate'er the gift may be.

All that we have is thine alone,

A trust, O Lord, from thee."

And then a prayer: "May we thy bounties thus,

As stewards true, receive,

And gladly, as thou blessest us,

To thee our firstfruits give."

You see, in giving to the work of the gospel, we are truly only giving to the Lord that which is already his. And being entrusted with resources and then gladly rendering those unto the Lord for his work, that is our privilege. That is exercising a trust and a responsibility that the Lord has given to us and for which we will answer before him on a day that is to come.

And when we exercise our responsibilities properly and we show good stewardship, it is to our benefit. It is to our spiritual good. It increases our heart commitment to the work of the gospel. It increases our joy in the Lord. It loosens up our grip on the idols of this world and it reminds us of what truly matters. See, it does us immense spiritual good to give. And Paul says, it is to your benefit and to mine.

So let me ask you, if you're not engaged in Christian giving or if your giving is only nominal and not significant, have you considered the fact that you are missing out on joy and growth and blessing in your life? Have you ever given thought to that? And if you are missing out on those things today, what are you going to do about it?

Gospel generosity is self-benefiting and finally as we close, gospel generosity is shared. It's shared. We're not in this alone. When there is work to be done and when there are needs among the saints, when there are kingdom projects to undertake, the Lord calls us to work together and to share the opportunity and to share the responsibility.

Notice this with me, verse 12. "For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, 'Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.'"

It's a simple point with which we conclude, but it's so important. The work of the gospel, the support of the saints, the funding of projects for the sake of the kingdom, it's something we share. It's not down to one person. It's for all of us. And the determination of my contribution is based upon my ability to give and yours is too.

The point is never that one person over here should be killing themselves to give away their grocery money while another believer is lounging on their yacht. No, we carry these things together and that takes us back to the fact that each of us has our own prayerful choices to make before the Lord when it comes to gospel generosity.

And the practicalities of this are going to vary hugely from person to person. Some are really going to struggle, genuinely struggle to tithe 10%. It's a matter of getting through the week and making rent and finding enough for groceries, and it's all a strain.

Others are in a totally different place. I think of the Christian industrialist Robert LeTourneau, who made his fortune a century ago designing and building heavy equipment. And as he grew richer and richer, he came to the place where he recognized it was right for him as a believer in his situation to practice the reverse tithe. To live on 10% and to give away 90%. That was appropriate for him and maybe it is for you, I have no idea.

But the responsibility is shared. Equal sacrifice we trust. Different gifts, different amounts. But it all flows from grace. Paul reminds us of that, and as we close, let me remind us. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor.