 Our sermon title this morning is Giving from the Riches of His Grace. Giving from the Riches of His Grace. This is part 4 of this sermon series that we've been working through as we look at 2 Corinthians 8 beginning in verse 1 and then running down through now verse 15. And each Lord's Day, we are working verse by verse through Paul's second canonical letter to the church at Corinth. And again, this morning we come to chapter 8 now and Paul's instruction to the church at Corinth regarding their part in a collection being taken for poor saints in Jerusalem. Now as we consider our text this morning, technically this is not a text about tithing, though Christians should certainly make a practice of tithing. This is not even a text about regularly giving to the needs of your local church, though you should give regularly to the needs of your local church. Technically in our text we're dealing with a single gift to meet the specific need of other believers in another place. However, what we see in this text is far more than a simple act of charity, far more than an act of generosity on the part of the Corinthians for poor saints in Jerusalem. There's far more going on here. Technically there are poor people in Jerusalem who need help here and the Corinthians have the means to help. But the instruction here, the teaching, the rich theology of this text transcends those circumstances and I want us to see that, transcends what's going on here between these two churches in the first century. Technically, if we want to think about it this way, Psalm 50 says that God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. God is sovereign. God is omnipotent. Deuteronomy 8 says that God is the one who gives power to make wealth. So if he wanted to, technically God could have provided for the saints in Jerusalem out of his own power and wealth. Amen. Without any involvement from the church in Corinth, whether the church is in Achaia or the church is in Galatia or the church is in Macedonia or the church in Orlando. But he doesn't do that. The Lord doesn't do that. Technically, it would be enough, wouldn't it? For the Lord to say, remember the poor, which he does all over the Bible. Wouldn't that be enough if the Lord just said that? He commands to give to the poor and those commands are all over Scripture. Deuteronomy 15 verse 7. The Lord says, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother. But you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be. Deuteronomy 15 verse 10. You shall give to him freely and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him. Proverbs 3 verse 9. Honor the Lord with your wealth. Proverbs 3 verse 27. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due when it is in your power to do it. In other words, the Bible is replete with commands to give. In addition to commands to give, the Lord also gives us warnings about not giving. Sodom, the city of Sodom, is known for the sin of Sodomy, the sin of homosexuality. But after God destroyed that wicked city with fire out of heaven, the prophet Ezekiel said in chapter 16 verse 49 that the guilt of Sodom was that her people were prideful, overindulged with food, had an abundance of leisure or idleness, and did not help the poor and needy. That sounds like our country today, doesn't it? Let it not be named among us in this room. Now for that reason, along with the abomination of homosexuality, God says, therefore, listen to the words of God. God says, therefore, I took them away as I saw fit. The means by which he saw fit to take them away is a small foretaste of what he will do to take away our modern-day Sodom at the end of the age, right? Fire out of heaven. But technically, that's enough, isn't it? Commands of God to give. Commands of God to remember the poor, to take care of the needy. Warnings from God to warn us about neglecting the needs of the poor and needy, right? Warning us of the dangers of not giving. Would that be enough? We have commands. We have warnings. What more do we need? Well, technically, it's not enough because the Lord gives us so much more. He doesn't just stop at imperatives. He gives us indicative. He gives us great theology. He gives us tremendous motivation. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. And we're to love our neighbor as ourselves. And we're to do that through our giving. Giving is an act of worship. Giving is an act of praise. Giving is an act of faith. And our purpose, the purpose of Paul in this text isn't simply practical, right? It's not just meeting the need of some group who's poor and needy in Jerusalem and meeting that need by means of another group in Corinth who has the means to give, to supply to that need. It's not merely practical. Of course, it is practical. They have a need. And the people in Corinth have a means by which they can supply that need. But it's far more than that. Your giving, my giving, is far more than just meeting a practical need. It's far more than meeting some pragmatic purpose. It's theological. It's worship. It's praise. It's faith. It's trust. It's the glory of God. God has determined for our good and God has determined for his glory that we should worship him through our giving. That we should serve him and praise him and put our faith and trust in him through this means of generosity. Giving. Christian giving. Distinctively Christian giving is grounded in the gospel. Christian giving is fueled by the grace of God in Christ. Christian giving is informed by the word of God. It's applied by the spirit of God. It's apprehended by faith based upon the inviolable promises of the word of God. It's an act of worship. It's motivated by the love of God in Christ, shown toward us according to his riches in his glory. Amen. The grace of God is at work when we give. The grace of God is at work when we consider how we give. The grace of God is at work when we worship God through our giving. Grace. Grace changes our perspective on our wealth, does it not? The grace of God should change the way that we think about our possessions. The grace of God should change the way that we think about what we say we own. It changes our understanding of this act and practice of giving. Paul says in Scripture to the Philippians, he says, I know how to be abased and I know how to abound. In other words, it's a process whereby Paul needs to learn, right? Paul has learned, he says, how to be abased and how to abound. He says, I know what it means to be humbled by need. Many of us in this room understand what that is, right? We understand what it means to be humbled by need, to depend upon God by faith for provision, where it seems like at times that's the only place it's coming from. It's directly from the hand of God because it's not coming from anywhere else, right? When we're humbled and we're dependent and we put our trust in him to provide everything that we need. We know what it means to partake of Christ's sufferings. And Paul says if we are partakers with him in his suffering, we will also partake with him in his consolation. And then Paul says, I know what it means to abound. I know what it means to have plenty. And I know what it means to give in faith, Paul says, to give sacrificially, willingly, cheerfully, trusting the Lord, abounding in grace, loving the brothers, with my treasure in heaven, with my eyes set on heavenly things, with my mind in the heavenlies. You know, it's one thing to say that it all belongs to him. It's another thing altogether to live like it does and to give like it does. It all comes back. It all comes back to this work of grace, grace in the heart of the believer. We give from the riches of his grace. Now Paul begins to unearth this treasure for us, right? I'll leave this up for us out of the mind, the gold mind that is scripture. Paul begins to unearth this treasure for us through the use of a simple but beautiful example of giving in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 1. Look there with me. Paul says, moreover, brethren, we draw your attention now to the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia that in a great trial of affliction in their suffering, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality, in the wealth of their generosity. And we saw displayed in verses 1 through 6 how the grace of God was at work at those believers from Macedonia, producing in them a wealth of generosity. That's the work of God's grace in their heart. Producing in them this desire, this will, this motivation to give, right? This wealth of generosity. Now these believers in Macedonia, as we've discussed, are poor believers. These are poor churches. So what distinguishes them this act of giving? What distinguishes them in their act of giving? What distinguishes this act of giving from the churches in Macedonia? Verse 1, it's the grace of God, the grace of God that was poured out on that. Now we see that example, the example of the grace of God poured out on a child of God, then impacting how that child of God gives. We see that example throughout Scripture. There are many places in the Bible which speak to this. Let me give you just a couple of examples. Turn with me to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. And again, what we're talking about here is we're talking about the transformative power of God in the Gospel, in Christ, by grace to transform our understanding of giving, to change our hearts about our possessions, our wealth, our giving. He's going to change our heart and mind about this, we pray. Luke chapter 18. And look there beginning at verse 9. Luke chapter 18, beginning in verse 9. Here you've got a Pharisee praying in the temple, a tax collector next to him. He says in verse 9. Also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Verse 10. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Chin up, right, thumbs under his overall straps. God, I thank you that I'm not like other men. I thank you that I'm not an extortioner, unjust, not an adulterer. I'm not even as this tax collector over here. Look at what I do, God. I fast twice a week in what verse 12? I give tithes of all that I possess. And then the Lord says, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. This proud Pharisee pridefully boasting in his tithing. Now the example of the Pharisee in Luke 18 is followed by the example of the rich young ruler. Look at verse 18. Now a certain ruler, this rich young ruler, asked him in verse 18 saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? As Jesus said to him, why do you call me good? No one is good, but one, and that is God. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness. Honor your father and your mother. So the rich young ruler in verse 21, chin up, thumbs under his overall straps, so to speak, said, all these things I have kept from my youth. Now when Jesus heard these things in verse 22, he said to him, you still lack one thing. Sell all that you have, distribute it to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. So how did the rich young ruler respond? Verse 23, when he heard this, he became very sorrowful for he was very rich. He went away sad at the news. Verse 24, when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, he said, How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God for it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Riches in and of themselves are not sinful. It's what we do with our wealth it is. It's our hearts taken up with those things. Our grip clutched around them. It's the problem. The example of the Pharisee now, the example of the rich young ruler followed by the example of Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19. Look at the page, Luke chapter 19. Look there at verse one. In verse one, Jesus entered, passed through Jericho. And now behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector and he was rich. Zacchaeus would have been like a Jericho mob boss. He would have extorted, skimmed the money off the top. He might have even muscled a little bit to get it. His riches came through dishonest gain. Now if you think about the context here, Zacchaeus is in Jericho near the Jordan. Well, not too long before this, John the Baptist had come preaching along the Jordan, would have certainly preached around this area. And John the Baptist was preaching that tax collectors should repent. When the tax collectors came and asked him what should they do to bear fruits befitting repentance, John the Baptist told them, only collect that which has been appointed for you to collect. Don't collect more, don't steal, don't extort. And so tax collectors were repenting. And here we have Zacchaeus and Jericho. John the Baptist was preaching the one who would baptize, who was coming after him, who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, one whose sandal strappy was not worthy to unloose. And so Zacchaeus already having heard, likely the word of God preached, was now prepared for the coming of the Messiah. Verse three. He saw it, Zacchaeus sought to see who Jesus was, but he could not see him because of the crowd for he was of short stature. He was vertically challenged. Verse four. So he ran ahead, and Zacchaeus climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was going to pass that way. And he had heard about Jesus, right? He had heard about likely from the preaching of John and others. So when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him and said to him, Zacchaeus, make haste and come down. For today I must stay at your house. So it's customary. And if someone were to come, they would have a meal together. He would stay the night there. He was going to spend a lot of time with Zacchaeus. So Zacchaeus in verse six made haste. He came down and received him joyfully. But when they sought, wicked Jewish leaders, they all complained saying he has gone to be a guest with a man who is a sinner. Now then, now that phrase, he's gone with a man who's a sinner, describes really how Zacchaeus up to this point had considered wealth and money and possessions. He was a thief, and he's been extorting money from the people, right? That's the way that he viewed his possessions, his money. But then Zacchaeus in verse eight stood and he said to the Lord, look, Lord, this is repentant, isn't it? I give half of my goods to the poor. And if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore it fourfold. Now, how do you explain that? That dramatic reversal, the dramatic transformation from one who was a thief, who extorted, who coveted another's wealth, so much so that he sinned again and now in dramatic transformation, in dramatic reversal, praising God, Lord, look what I'm going to do. I'm going to give him half of all that I own to the poor. And if I've taken anything by false accusation, I'm going to restore it fourfold. How do you explain that? That's explained by the grace of God in Christ. That's explained by grace. That's explained by the giving of God, having given his only begotten Son. And how much more, having delivered up his own Son, how much more will he also freely give us all things? Right? The giving of God. He essentially does what the rich young ruler refused to do. Freely, he does it. He wasn't told to do it. He wasn't strong-armed. He wasn't manipulated or coerced. And one thing that on that day was Zacchaeus walked through the eye of a needle. Jesus said to him in verse 9, today, Zacchaeus, salvation has come to this house. Salvation came because he gave? No. No, he gave because salvation came. His giving is a fruit of faith, do you see? He put this trust, his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He entrusts himself to the Lord, and so he gives. Essentially, giving half of all he owned to the poor, and then returning everything that he had extorted, returning that fourfold would have decimated any wealth that Zacchaeus would have had. He was essentially giving away everything that he had to follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in order to gain salvation as if his work merited favor with God, but in response to the salvation that God was offering in Christ, he put his faith and his trust in Christ, and so he gave. His giving is a fruit of his faith, his fourfold restoration a fruit of genuine repentance, and what's the difference? What is it? It's grace. It's the grace of God in Christ. The contrast speaks volumes, doesn't it? The contrast between Zacchaeus and that Pharisee in the temple. The contrast between Zacchaeus and the rich young ruler. Examples like this abound, don't they? John chapter 12. The Lord sitting reclining at a table at dinner at a house in Bethany. When Mary takes what was likely the most expensive thing that she owned, this alabaster flask of costly oil of spikenard at what she'd do, she goes to the Lord Jesus Christ and in this gesture that the Lord says prepares him for his own burial, she breaks that expensive flask of oil and she pours out the oil on the Lord's feet and she washes his feet with her hair, wipes his feet with her hair as she weeps. John says the house was filled with the fragrance of that oil. What's Judas doing? Judas is grumbling. He's complaining, griping. Why was not this fragrant oil sold for 300 in Ariae and given to the poor? The Bible says not because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief. What's the difference? Grace. The grace of God in Christ. What Mary had been given in Christ transformed the way that she saw giving and she gave with a transformed understanding of what giving means and what giving is and what had been given to her. It was an act of worship. It was an act of praise. It was an act of faith. Has your heart been transformed by grace in this way? Have you laid hold of the Lord Jesus Christ as your treasure? If he's your treasure, then what do you make of all this stuff that we say we own? What do you make of all the things that we've been given, that we've been blessed with? Does your giving, does your generosity, does it demonstrate that your understanding, that your heart, that your mind has been transformed? Does it evidence a work of God's grace in your heart? Back in 2 Corinthians 8, in the same way, in 2 Corinthians 8, in the same way that we see the grace of God operative in Zacchaeus, in the same way that the grace of God in the Gospel had so taken hold of Mary, we see the grace of God in the sacrificial giving of the Macedonians in 2 Corinthians 8. Paul says in verse 3, I bear witness that according to their ability, they were thus beyond their ability, they were freely willing. They were imploring us, begging us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And they're giving, according to verse 5, beyond what anyone had hoped, they first gave of themselves to the Lord and then to Paul. Now if you've truly given your life, then you have no problem giving your possessions. You freely give the part having already surrendered the whole. Now having placed this example before them, and Scripture having placed all these examples before us, Paul now turns to the Corinthians themselves. He moves from the example in verses 1 through 6, and now he moves to the exhortation on the basis of that example in verses 7 through 15. In fact, to provide you with an outline of our text, Paul leads with a primary exhortation in verse 7, see that you abound in this grace also. He calls them to an evaluation in verses 8 and 9. He calls them to action in verses 10 and 11, and he gives them explanation in verses 12 through 15. Exhortation, evaluation, action, and explanation. He begins with the exhortation in verse 7, and the exhortation now is in light of the example that we've already considered. As you have these examples in your heart and mind, as you consider this text, now we move to exhortation in verse 7. But the but that begins verse 7, not a contrasting but, it's more of a transitional, but it's like saying now then. Now then, as you abound in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, see that you abound in this grace also. See that you abound, peresuo, abound in everything. You are overflowing in all of these other graces. See that you abound now, to overflow or excel in this grace also. What grace is he referring to? It's the grace of giving, the grace of generosity. Now this statement, especially considering their past, what they had been through together, the conflict that they had had with Paul, their difficulties with sin in the church, Paul's repeated rebukes and corrections, this statement would have been encouraging to them, wouldn't it? This would be encouraging for us to hear from the Apostle Paul or from the Lord Jesus Christ. See that you abound in these things, in everything he says, in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us, right? They're abounding. This would have been encouraging. He said in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 5, they had been enriched by Christ in everything, in every spiritual grace. So the Corinthians were abounding. They were growing, they were maturing, they were abounding in these graces. Paul says they're abounding in their trust for the Lord. They're abounding in saving, sanctifying, persevering faith. They're abounding in faith. He says there in verse 7, they're abounding in speech, literally utterance, right? They're speech, and it's speaking here of truth. They're abounding in proclaiming the truth. What does that sound like? It sounds like evangelism, right? It sounds like preaching and teaching. They're abounding in evangelizing, they're abounding in preaching and declaring the truth, and they're abounding in knowledge and understanding that truth. They're growing in preaching, they're growing in their evangelism, declaring the truth, and they're growing in their knowledge of the truth as they grow in their faith, and they're growing in all diligence. In other words, they're growing in their whole-hearted commitment, their determined earnestness, their zeal, their growing in zeal, and Paul says they're growing in their love for us. Now, literally in the Greek, it says it's a love from us in you love. It's a from us in you love. Interesting the way that that's laid out. In other words, it's the love that was planted in you, Paul says, by a work of grace, by the preaching and teaching of Paul, the other brothers with him, by their example. In other words, their work, if they from us in you love, their work, their preaching, the gospel stirred up or motivated them to love, now in such a way that it has become evident. They are abounding in love. It's a love that came from us and now is in you and is evident in the way that you're conducting yourself. Paul, in other words, in all this is commending them in all these things. Grace had grown them in this way. If you're a genuine Christian, sanctification means that you're going to be growing in these graces. We've often used the example of a baby. A baby's born and when a baby's born, Lord willing, it's got all the parts. You've got 10 fingers and toes. You've got two ears, a couple of eyes and nose. All the parts. And then what happens to that baby, it begins to grow. It grows into adulthood. Then what happens to adulthood? It grows. It grows. The baby grows. It has all the parts and it is now growing. There's a problem if the baby's not growing. Right? And it's very unnatural looking when he grows in one way and not in another way. All of these things grow together. Baby's born with all the parts. And then all of those parts mature and grow. That's sanctification in the Christian life. Doesn't mean you're going to start out. You get saved and you're in adulthood. Now, you're maturing. You're growing. You're being sanctified. You're being conformed into the image of his son. And it's a lifelong process by which God works in you to do into will according to his good pleasure. Right? This is them growing in sanctification. Grace had grown them to this point. They're abounding in these things and then he says to them with an expectation. It's an expectation for you Greek guys it's in the subjunctive. It sounds like a command but it's this expectation. He says, see that you are also commendable or growing or maturing in this grace of giving as well. See that you're growing in this way also. In other words, match the wealth that you have in all of these graces. Match that wealth, that growth, that maturity with this wealth of generosity with wealth, with maturity, with growth in this area also. Abundantly giving to people. Abundantly giving. Now as encouraging as it would have been to hear Paul commend their gift in this in all these other areas the implication from this is they were deficient or lacking in this area of giving, the grace of giving or the grace of generosity. He says in verse 10 doesn't he you intended a year ago to do this work. Here we are a year later they've not completed the work yet and Paul is exhorting them to complete it. They've been lagging behind in this grace. Now consider that implication together with me for a moment. If you're going to grow as a Christian you cannot lag behind in this grace. If you're going to move onto maturity as a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ by God's grace you cannot lag behind in this grace of generosity, this grace of giving. You may say I am bought with a price I am not my own. You may profess that with your lips you may profess that but you can't truly say that you've given the whole unless you've surrendered that part like the Pharisee in the temple who tides of all that he possessed it's possible for someone to give their money without giving their heart that's exactly what the Pharisee did. The tides of all that he possessed God didn't possess his heart. He wasn't one of his. It's not possible to truly give your heart if he doesn't also have your money. Your wealth, the way that you think about possessions if you're not from the heart generous. How inconsistent would it have been to have seen Zacchaeus respond like the rich young ruler and for the Bible to say that Zacchaeus salvation today has come to this house entirely inconsistent wouldn't have happened. It's not the nature of Zacchaeus to behave like the rich young ruler. Why? Because his heart has been changed by grace. It would have been entirely inconsistent with the gospel for Mary to have conducted herself like Judas and entirely impossible for Judas to have conducted himself any other way but like Judas did to conduct himself like Mary entirely inconsistent. Why? Mary's heart had been changed by grace. Mary had been genuinely saved. Mary was a new creation in Christ. Paul describes all of this as a test of love. It's a test of love. Look at verse 8. It's a test of love. Paul says, I speak not by commandment but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. Now notice specifically here Paul says that his instruction doesn't come by way of command. In other words, you're going to tithe your church. Bible commands tithe. Bible commands a tithe. You're going to tithe your church but then I command above your tithe you're going to give 12% of your income to these believers and Paul doesn't do that. He doesn't give this by way of command. Everyone this week, everyone who gets a paycheck this week you're going to take your paycheck. I command you're going to give that to the four believers in Jerusalem. It's not what Paul does. No. Paul doesn't do that because there's a tendency isn't there towards obeying this mechanically or obeying it ritualistically or obeying it not from the heart but as a strict begrudging duty we can give as an act of obedience and not give in love and people are guilty of that all the time. Paul intends through this to emphasize the free, gracious, voluntary and specifically loving nature of distinctively Christian giving and so he appeals to them to search their hearts. Appeals to them to search their hearts. You might imagine someone right on the other side of one of Paul's commands. If he had commanded this you could have imagined a recipient of that gift in Jerusalem potentially saying, couldn't you? You gave this to us. Why? Because you had to. You were commanded to. It's like court-ordered affection. It doesn't work. The court ordered me to give you these flowers on our anniversary. It's not loving. That's court-ordered affection. Paul is not going to give court-ordered affection here. Paul wants to see us wrestle with this and to consider this and to consider love and what love would expect what love would demand. Paul's entreaty for Anesimus in Philemon 8 Paul said this in Philemon 8 though I might be very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you. Could Paul have commanded the believers in Corinth to give for this collection for the believers in Jerusalem? Yes. Apostolic authority. Paul could have said, you need to give and this is how much you need to give. Paul doesn't do that in the same way that he works with Philemon in this little letter to Philemon in verse 8. He said I might have been very bold in Christ to command you what is fitting what is proper, what is appropriate. I could have commanded that. Yet for love's sake I rather appeal to you for the sake that you would show love. Unfettered devotion. Christian generosity. Christian love. Love in Christ. Being such a one as Paul the agent and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ Paul says I appeal to you for my son Anethymus whom I have begotten while in my chains. Paul makes an appeal there for the sake of love. Here in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 8 he's doing the very same thing. He's making an appeal for the sake of love. He says in verse 8 I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. Now originally that word for sincerity gnazios is the word. It meant born in wedlock born to a couple who were married. The word was used to distinguish a legitimate heir or a legitimate son from an illegitimate son or an illegitimate heir, a claim. Came to be understood eventually figuratively for something that is genuine. Something that is real something that is true translated in your new king James something that is sincere. So Paul says essentially in verse 8 he says I'm testing the genuineness the sincerity the reality of your love. I'm going to prove your love through proof. What he's saying in verse 8 I'm going to prove the reality of your love through evidence. It doesn't mean here in verse 8 that Paul was uncertain about that. In fact in the grammar it's really pointing to the fact there's an expectation that their love is genuine and Paul is going to bring to light the genuineness of their love through this opportunity to give. Paul says here's an opportunity we've got poor saints in Jerusalem you need to give and I'm going to prove the reality prove the genuineness of your love by what you give to these poor saints in Jerusalem. We're going to see it. Paul says he's going to prove it. Now how does he do this? How does he do this? He's going to demonstrate that their love is genuine through the opportunity of this collection he's going to demonstrate that their giving is an evidence of a work of grace and how does he do this? He will see he will view, he will prove it in light of the generous giving of the Macedonians. That's the purpose for the example in verses 1 through 6 he raises this example of these generous Macedonians he says I'm going to test the genuineness of your love by the diligent, faithful, loving, sacrificial, gracious giving of these believers in Macedonia. In other words, your love will be seen to be true will be seen to be genuine and grace fueled when compared with their generosity. We have a benchmark we have a standard, right? So that's how this love is going to be proven to be sincere. The Macedonians had already given evidence of this now it's the turn of the Corinthians to do the same. It's not a contest mind you, right? It's not a contest. It's love through imitation. Doesn't Paul say that in Philippians chapter 3? Note those who walk as I walk, Paul says you have them for an example where to see how they love see how they minister see how they preach the gospel where to see how they follow Christ and where to follow, where to imitate it's love loving the Lord Jesus Christ loving our brothers and sisters it's love through imitation we get the same thing here in verse 8 it's love through imitation so this giving the giving of the Macedonians becomes our example to give as they gave the Corinthians are to consider their example and the Corinthians are to give as they gave it's their incentive, isn't it? Not only is it our example to give as they gave but it's our incentive we see how they're commended how they become a benchmark can you imagine, right? as the Corinthians are considering this gift, this collection and they're considering themselves individually like you and I must do they're considering how much they're going to give they want to give in light of this example that God through the apostle Paul is commending and the incentive they have to give, we want to give as they did in other words, the Macedonians become the standard by which we evaluate our giving verses 1 through 6 and by which we prove the genuineness of our love we're going to see the Lord Jesus Christ given as that example in verse 9 next week, here the Macedonians in verses 1 through 6 provide the fuel if you will, or the benchmark for our own consideration of what we give I think it bears saying that the true test of love here is not feelings I'm going to test the sincerity of your love by how you feel toward these poor believers in Jerusalem no the sincerity of your love will be proven to be genuinen by what you give what you do not how you feel of course, emotion, affection goes hand in hand with that the one who says okay, fine they gave a lot I get it, Paul, I give a lot here, take it, please just take it please just take it that's not loving that proves an unloving that proves the Pharisees heart the rich young rulers heart Judas' heart, not Mary's heart not the heart of Zacchaeus not the heart of the Macedonians true test of love is not feelings but affection feelings go hand in hand with that first John, chapter 3 verse 16 the Bible says by this we know love because, hand in hand with verse 9 he laid down his life for us Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren but whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him how does the love of God abide in that one? how does the love of God abide in him? it doesn't my little children, John says let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth and by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him, in other words our faith is proven to be genuine our faith, our love tested, documents and proven, accepted shown to be accepted, shown to be approved by our conduct given here specifically first John chapter 4 if someone says I love God and hates his brother and again not mere feelings if hate is acting towards your brother in hate, acting indifferent towards your brother neglecting your brother if someone says I love God and hates his brother well, he loves him in tongue maybe but not in action he loves him in word only in deed, that's how you show hate for your brother John says if someone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen how can he love God whom he has not seen that goes hand in hand with many examples doesn't it? if you're one who takes no part in the life and health of this church you sit back from afar you live your own life and you're never here amongst the brothers how can you say you love your brother I love my brother, where are you? in this case he's proving testing the sincerity of their love by what they do in deed and in truth to love their brother so think about with me think with me about this what Paul is saying to the church at Corinth we need to apply this to the church in Orlando we need to apply this to ourselves Paul is exhorting the Corinthians from this example of the Macedonians he's exhorting them don't lag behind in this grace you're doing so well in all of these areas by God's grace isn't that the case here is it just praise God how loving this church is the love that you have for the word of God your faithfulness to preach the gospel your faithfulness in all of these graces how diligent and how zealous you are but Paul is saying don't lag behind in this grace move on to maturity in your generosity move on to maturity abound in this grace of giving abound in the grace of God that produces in the heart generosity he would be saying that to us this morning he is saying that to us this morning don't lag behind brothers and sisters let us not lag behind in this grace abound in this grace also as you have abounded in all of these graces in faith in diligence in your love for us abound in this grace also how do we do this how do we do this we are going to see how we do this more as we work through the text for now I want you to consider with me a few points how is it that we abound in this grace one we consider the motivation that we have to abound in this grace in the same way that Paul has called the church at Corinth to consider the grace that we have to give the grace of God to us in Christ we have glorious motivation to give we need to consider that glorious motivation incidentally it's a reason to study theology to study theology the Lord could have given us a rule book like a list of do's and don'ts do this don't do that be careful over here watch that over there that's not what he does he gives us indicative and that is gracious of God that he reveals these things to us to babes to ignorant people like you and I he reveals these things to us so we study we learn of God we learn of the gospel we understand the wealth of the riches of his grace to us in Christ Jesus and what does that do it fuels our motivation to give it changes our heart it changes our mind changes the way that we think about these things and what do we do in response it's like Mary I just want to break it and pour it out for Christ it changes the way that we think about these things learn, meditate meditate on what we've been given and that should change our hearts and minds consider the glorious motivation that we have to give secondly I think we're compelled to examine our hearts and that is grace to us once you've considered what that is right in these glorious reasons and motivations that we have examine your own heart in light of that does my generosity speak to that truth does my generosity, does my giving communicate the riches that I have in Christ does it communicate a right view, a right perspective a right understanding of those things that you ask me with do I truly believe that my treasure is in heaven do I truly believe that he owns it all do I truly believe that I've been bought with a price and I am not my own do I truly believe that he will supply all my need according to his riches of his grace in Christ we're compelled to examine our hearts thirdly think we're compelled to determine as an act of our will, our determination to align our conduct with our profession in other words if I say that I believe these things then I need to line up my actions with what I say I believe my action, my conduct, my behavior needs to match my profession if it doesn't what is that that's called hypocrisy right your profession is a sham if those two things don't line up we consider the glorious motivation that we have we consider our hearts we examine our hearts in light of that motivation and then we determine as an act of our will that we are going to align our conduct with what we say we believe for we set our hearts to do what we have determined to do the Corinthians planned this a year ago verse 10 they planned it they intended to do it we set our heart to do it this is what I'm going to do this is what I'm going to do five we do it we give we give do you want to grow in this grace Paul is saying be sure be sure that you grow in this grace also what's the main way in which you grow in this grace you give you give you grow in this grace then think and meditate on that glorious theology and then give give how do we test this to know if it's true when you've considered these things you've sat down and you've determined in your heart and mind to align your conduct with what you say you believe you purpose in your heart to do it you said this is exactly what I'm going to do and how much I'm going to give and how I'm going to give and who I'm going to give to how do you test it to know if it's genuine how do you test the reality of our love it's interesting isn't it that all this is boils down to an act of love an act of love how do we know it is documental tested and approved found to be genuine we examine our giving against the beautiful sacrificial and loving giving of our brothers from Macedonia we look at our giving against the beautiful, glorious wondrous, indescribable matchless loving giving of the Lord Jesus Christ verse 9 we have you and I have our own context in which we give we serve the Lord Jesus Christ we serve the Lord's cause here from this church we prioritize preaching the word of God getting the gospel out we have a cause that we are giving to there are needs aren't there above the normal weekend and week out day in and day out needs of this church there are those needs but beyond that we have brothers and sisters in our church that have needs you have people in your own family that have needs there are those outside of our church that have needs there are many needs to give to we have our own context just like those in Macedonia just like those in Corinth we have our own context we have our own opportunity here in Orlando to do the same and we're not suffering from poverty and we're not suffering from persecution the way our brothers and sisters in Macedonia were we're not in that context so in light of that even now thinking ahead to the verses that are coming how are you doing how are you doing I pray for you that if your heart has not been overwhelmed with the love of God in Christ that is preeminently demonstrated in the gospel seen at the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ and you haven't been overtaken by the sincerity of that love that it would overwhelm you turn from your sin it's to live your life when that has been the display of love that has been the light of the world the light given to men the light of men the display of that love placed before you on the pages of Scripture and you can live your life unaffected unmoved by that like a Judas maybe you're going through the motions of external religiosity you show up once a week because you know that that's the right thing to do but you're like that Pharisee in the temple that's the condition of your heart or you're not willing to give to give it up I'm not willing to give my time I'm not willing to give of myself first to the Lord and then to us by the will of God you don't give, you're just going through external religious motions then you have the heart of the rich young ruler and I pray that you would be overwhelmed by the grace of God in Christ such that turning from your sin and at all for him because he is the pearl of great price he is the treasure that having found that treasure hidden in that field we would sell all that we have to go and buy that field and acquire the treasure turn from your sin if you're here and you've given your all like fear to that right look Lord look at us we've given everything to follow you we can say that then brother sister let's be sure that for the glory of God that we abound in this grace amen may our giving, may our generosity be to the glory, honor and praise of his grace let's take a few moments now and pray I want you to pray silently ask the Lord to search your heart in light of this text pray for the Lord's help when you're done praying you are dismissed let's pray