Faithful Stewardship, Disciplined Giving

Please turn to 2 Corinthians 8. Our sermon text will begin with verse 16 and will continue through chapter 9 verse 5. You can find that on page 1150.

I think, of all the passages we’ve studied so far in 2 Corinthians, this one has the most context. It has a lot of specifics about the churches and people. Multiple associates of the apostle Paul’s are referenced. Some are named and others are not.

The big picture is that Paul is sending 3 delegates to Corinth. That includes Titus. They are being sent to collect the offering that the Corinthians had promised. By the way, Paul calls this delegation his “brothers.” They are not literal brothers. Rather, they are spiritual brothers in the faith.

Even though this is a narrative, we learn important things about (1) integrity in financial stewardship and (2) obedience in giving. As I read, listen for those examples.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 8:16-9:5

Prayer

As you may know, our philosophy of preaching involves working through books of the Bible. One of the benefits of doing that is that we are forced to deal with difficult or uncomfortable subjects as they come up in the Scriptures. That’s a good thing.

Well, starting last Sunday, we’ve come to one of those sensitive topics. Giving. I think this is the first time we’ve had a sermon (or sermons), that focuses on giving or stewardship.

I mention that because if you are visiting or have been visiting, these chapters on giving are part of the message of 2 Corinthians. In other words, we didn’t pick these two chapter so we could focus on giving. Rather they picked us. They are just part of the message of 2 Corinthians. And even though it is sensitive, it is important for us.

Truly, matters of giving are matters of the heart. As we learned last week, God’s grace is the foundation to these 2 chapters. Giving is called an “act of God’s grace.” It is God who gives his grace to the giver… He turns his or her heart to give. Furthermore, it is God who blesses the receiver. He likewise bestows his mercy and grace on them. And at the very heart of God’s grace is the grace of God in Christ.

Remember, chapter 8 verse 9 is key to it all. “For 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.”

Jesus Christ, God the son, became a man for us. He, in humility, bore our sin on the cross. Jesus endured the shame. You see, he became poor in that way… And through that amazing grace, he has given us riches. Not earthly riches, but riches of his mercy and kindness. In Christ, we have been given peace with God. We have been given the righteousness of Christ. We are now honored not because of any goodness of our own, but only because of the goodness of God in Christ.

The grace of God in Christ is what’s it’s all about. That is why these 2 chapters over and over emphasis the heart. It is about God’s transforming grace in us. And an outworking of that grace is a heart desire to give.

If you don’t remember anything else about last week and this week, remember this. The act of grace in giving is God’s act of grace in Christ.

Now, if you are still evaluating Christianity, I want you to know that giving will not put you in the good graces of God. You will not merit his favor by donating. Not at all. God does not want or need your money. Rather, he wants you to give something far more difficult to give. He wants you to give your life to him.

Jesus said, “if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” To put it in terms of 2 Corinthians 8. God’s grace is what enables us to recognize our spiritual poverty and recognize our need for the riches of God’s mercy. If you are not a believer in Christ, don’t give your resources, give your heart.

Let me make one final opening comment.

There’s an really underlying theme that spans both of these chapters, but it is not explicit. And that theme is the unity of the visible church. You see, part of the message of chapter 8 and 9 is that those in the church around the world are united to one another. The Macedonians are brothers and sisters in Christ with the Corinthians. And both the Macedonians and the Corinthians are united together with the poor Christians in Jerusalem.

Paul is calling on the church to support the needs of one another no matter the tribe, tongue, or nation. We share something far more important than our culture or language or ethnicity. We share in Christ.

To be sure, I’m not diminishing the importance of culture or ethnicity, rather I’m saying that the thing that unites all believers together (all around the world) is Jesus.

There are many Christians and churches around the world that have many needs – some are enduring the consequence of war like Christians in Gaza or Ukraine. Others like in Africa or Southeast Asia are in environments of extreme poverty.

I don’t know what burdens God has placed upon each of you to give… or how we as a church can best support those brothers and sisters in Christ. But God has called us to do so in some way. Perhaps we can find ways to give and support those in deep need.

Ok, with that background in mind, let’s now shift our attention to these specific verses.

We’ll consider two main things this morning.

#1. The Stewardship of Giving

#2. The Discipline of Giving

Stewardship… meaning that the resources of the church are God’s resources. His kingdom resources – we are stewards and therefore we have the responsibility to administer them with integrity.

And discipline… meaning spiritual discipline. we have the responsibility to follow through on the call to give. Giving is a discipline just like other areas of the Christian life.

#1 - The Stewardship of Giving

And both of these points are exemplified in our passage this morning. In other words, stewardship and discipline are principles modelled for us in these verses.

Remember, the apostle Paul is in Macedonia. He’s in the northern part of ancient Greece. He’s experienced their generosity. In the beginning of chapter 8, he uses the Macedonians as an example for the Corinthians to follow.

And now Paul turns his attention to the Corinthians. And one of the things we learn is that the Corinthians had promised to give to the church in Jerusalem. Their promise happened before the false teachers had stirred up dissent. But, nonetheless, they had promised to contribute.

Now, Paul recognized the sensitivity of everything that had happened. And because of that, he wanted to ensure the utmost integrity in giving. In other words, he doesn’t want anyone to question the legitimacy of the giving. He doesn’t want the Corinthians to think that he is taking any of the contributions. He doesn’t want his presence to coerce the Corinthians or make them think that this is just his own personal agenda.

And so, to address that, here’s what he does: he sends this delegation of three men to collect their gifts.

Titus is one of them. He was well known by the Corinthians. In fact, Titus had just returned to Paul after visiting with them.

And then two other brothers are mentioned.

Look at verse 18 – “With him [with Titus] we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel.” This brother, whoever he is, had a reputation of faithfulness among the churches. And he was a great preacher of the Gospel. We don’t know who he was. Some scholars and pastors have made educated guesses. I have my thoughts. But he is not named because it does not matter to us.

Ok, then there’s a third guy mentioned in verse 22. It says, “And with them [you know, with Titus and the other brother] we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters...” We get the sense from the end of verse 22 that he was also known by the Corinthians.

So, this delegation was sent… But why did they go? Well, look at verses 20. It captures their purpose. It says, “We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us.”

They wanted to be blameless. Do you see that? They wanted to be above reproach. They were overseeing financial gifts and wanted all to be assured of their integrity in handling the donations.

And why did they want to be so careful? Verse 21 answers that: “…for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord's sight but also in the sight of man.” Integrity all around. First, to honor God because they recognized they were stewards of the gifts. And second so that the Corinthians knew of their care in the administration of the gifts.

Do you see it now? How this is an example of Godly stewardship and integrity.

Stewardship and integrity is just as critical today as it was 2000 years ago.

In 2020, a study estimated that 6.5% of donations given by Christians globally is lost to fraud and embezzlement. 6.5%.

The study was referring to Christians around the world giving to churches, to charities, and to other non-profits. 6.5% translates to about 52 billion dollars annually. It’s just an estimate, but it gives us an order of magnitude of the severity of the problem.

That is sad to hear. I suspect some of you know believers who have gotten caught up in fraud of some kind. Or you know of churches that have gone through financial scandals.

When I moved to Atlanta in the mid-1990s, I worked for a Christian ministry. That ministry was duped by a so-called Christian philanthropist. He promised that if they invested in his financial firm, he would double or triple their investment in one year. Churches, ministries, and Christian universities were all fleeced by this guy. It turned out to be a Ponzi scheme. And these organizations, like the one I worked for, lost a combined 135 million dollars in the scam – about 300 million in todays dollars.

Poor handling of money by Christians or worse theft or even worse scandals, like that one, tarnish the name of Christ. It fosters mistrust inside the church. And its hypocrisy turns people away from Christ and the Gospel. It’s tragic.

We are called as the church to faithfully steward the resources entrusted to us. Let me highlight 4 principles from this text:

1. Those who handle money need to love the Lord and love his church. In this chapter, the word “earnest” is used 7 times. It testifies to a heart-motivated love for the people of God, or the church of God or an earnestness to faithfully fulfill the responsibility. The word earnest is only second to the word grace in chapter 8. Those who handle money need to have an earnestness that comes from a heart transformed by God’s grace.

2. Those given this responsibility need to be tested. They need to be trustworthy. They need to have credibility and experience testified by others. In the case of the delegates, each one of them fulfilled this principle in different ways. Titus was known and proven faithful. The second brother was appointed by the churches (plural) – he had that proven credibility. And the third delegate was “tested.” That’s the word used right there in verse 22. He was tested and found earnest.

3. Finances should never be handled by one person. No, there needs to be a team and there needs to be governance. In this example, there were 4 people – the three delegates and Paul from a distance. Just so you know, here at Tucker Pres, we have a finance team, we have a bookkeeper, and we have a third-party accountant. Multiple people involved.

4. And last, #4, transparency. Isn’t that what Paul was modelling? He was being transparent so that there would be no questions about their integrity as they oversaw the gifts.

So, a love of the Lord… a tested and proven faithfulness… multiple financial overseers… and transparency

And every single aspect of this faithful stewardship is to give honor to Christ. As verse 19 puts it, “for the glory of the Lord” and as verse 23 says, “the glory of Christ.”

We seek integrity as stewards to honor God because of his grace given to us.

#2. The Discipline of Giving

Which now brings us to main point number 2. The discipline of giving.

Here’s the thing. We are called not only to desire to give, but we are called to actually give. Earlier in chapter 8, Paul called the Corinthians to “complete the work.” He says in verse 11, “finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it.” And really, the beginning of chapter 9 emphasizes that.

I think you would agree, it’s much easier to have the desire to give sacrificially, than to actually give sacrificially.

I read a story once of farmer who one day came home with great excitement. He reported with great joy to his wife and family… that their best cow had given birth to twins.

He said to his family, “you know when these twin calves were born… I had a sudden urge that we should dedicate one of these calves to the Lord. We will bring them up together, and when the time comes, we will sell one and give the proceeds to the Lord’s work.”

His wife and children thought that was tremendous idea. But she asked him, “which calf will you dedicate to the Lord?”

He replied, “Oh, there is no need to bother about that now…. we will care for both of them well, feed them well, and when the time comes we will offer one to the Lord.”

Well, after a few months, the farmer came home one day and he was dejected. His wife asked, “honey, what is troubling you?” He answered, “I have bad news to give you. One of the calves has died…” and then he said, “It was the Lord’s calf.”

You see, he had the desire to give, but that was not matched with following through.

Giving is one of the disciplines of the Christian life. It is an outworking of the grace of God’s work in us. It’s similar to seeking discipline in our call to purity of thought and word and deeds… or discipline to pursue peace with others. Or discipline in being faithful to serve others or take a sabbath rest and worship. Or pursuing discipline to follow through on the call to pray and read the Word. As we mature in our faith, God matures us in those disciplines.

Let me put it this way: giving testifies that the grace of God is at work in your life.

Look at chapter 8 verse 24. Paul says, “Give proof before the churches of your love.”

“Give proof.” He was exhorting them to follow through and give to the needs of the saints. It would be a demonstration of their love and their faith.

I mentioned last week that I do not have access to see who gives what offerings to the church. I do not want access. But I had a very interesting conversation with another pastor a few years ago. He would purposefully look at membership giving. Now, not all the time, but he would occasionally ask for a summarized list of members and their annual giving. That kind of shocked me.

But he gave a couple of reasons. He mentioned that little to no giving indicated either a need for spiritual growth or it indicated a need for financial help. In other words, he would give attention to these people. It’s like the opposite of showing partiality to someone with more means. This pastor experienced that a lack of giving often indicated a struggle in the Christian life or a struggle in faith or as I mentioned, an unknown need. To be sure, his purpose in coming alongside people was not so that they would give and therefore help the church finances… that was not the reason… rather it was so he could pastor and care for his flock well.

I’m not suggesting that the elders or I will do that here at TPC. No. But it is true that our money often redirects us away from loving God. Giving or not giving can be a good indication of where our heart is. Jesus said, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

To say it again, when we are faithful to give generously and sacrificially, according to our means, it testifies to God’s work of grace in us.

And when we give it has the effect of encouraging others to also support the needs and work of the church

Look at chapter 9 verse 2. Paul writes, “for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia [by the way, Corinth is in the region of Achaia] …that Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.”

There was a mutual stirring up of generosity. The Macedonians gave joyfully. We learned that last week. And they were encouraged by the desire of the Corinthians to give. That is why Paul wants to see the Corinthians fulfill their desire. That’s the reason the delegation was sent! It was not, as verse 5 mentions, to “exact” a gift. Paul does mention that not giving would cause humiliation. But that is because they had promised to give. It was not coercion. He is clear about that. Rather, he wants them to honor their promise. And by doing that, it would encourage the Macedonians and bless the Christians in Jerusalem.

So really, the Macedonians were an encouragement to the Corinthians to give, and the Corinthians were an encouragement to the Macedonians to give. And all of that would be an encouragement to the believers in Jerusalem, who would themselves give back to the Macedonians and Corinthians… and encourage them. We learned that last week. All of it accomplished the building up of one another in good works and godliness… And all of it was because of the grace of God in Christ, who is glorified in it all.

Conclusion

To summarize, faithful stewardship and disciplined giving are both expressions of God’s grace in Christ.

Stewardship is managing the resources that God has entrusted to his church and doing that with the utmost of integrity. When we fulfill that responsibility, as Paul and the delegates modelled for us, Christ is exalted and his bride, the church, reflects his righteousness.

Likewise, disciplined giving honors Christ in our lives. It testifies to God’s work in us who is transforming us into the image of his son.

And to say it one more time, it’s all motivated by the grace of God in Christ… who gave up the riches of heaven and became poor to take us out of our poverty and make us rich in his mercy.

So, in matters of giving in and to the church, may we seek integrity and faithfulness, all to give honor to God in Christ for his grace. Amen.