 is giving from the riches of His grace, giving from the riches of His grace, and that each Lord they now were working verse by verse through Paul's second canonical letter, fourth letter to the church at Corinth, the second canonical letter that we have in our Bibles to the church at Corinth. And as we work through this letter, we come again this morning to chapter 8, and Paul's instruction to the church at Corinth regarding their part in a collection that Paul is taking that he's organizing to meet the needs of poor saints in Jerusalem. Our particular concern this morning is this section of text comprising verses 1 through 15, where first Paul begins verses 1 through 15 with the example of the Macedonians verses 1 through 6. So first, Paul provides an example. Second, Paul gives an exhortation. The exhortation comes in verses 7 through 15. Now in verses 1 through 6, Paul draws our attention here to a great example of God glorifying generosity on the part of poor churches in Macedonia, of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. Their generous giving to this collection for poor saints in Jerusalem is an evident working of God's grace in verse 1, that in a severe affliction, in a severe, great trial in deep poverty, the Macedonians give joyfully, they give willingly, they give generously above and beyond their means, even above and beyond their ability to do so. And they viewed the collection, this collection for these saints in Jerusalem as a means of fellowship in the gospel, a partnership, if you will, or a sharing in the gospel in ministering with the saints to the saints, they saw it as a way to compel unity among the churches. And even though they themselves had so little, they begged with much urgency for the opportunity to give of what they had. Now having provided the Corinthian church now with the example of the churches in Macedonia verses 1 through 6, Paul then moves on to exhortation, exhorting the Corinthians in verses 7 through 15. The exhortation to be generous in their giving like the Macedonians begins in verse 7, where Paul exhorts 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. Abound, Paul says, right, excel, overflow in this grace of generous giving. Just as you abound or overflow or excel in all of these other graces, see to it that you abound in this grace also. Don't lag behind in this grace, don't lag behind in generosity. Paul continues this exhortation in verse 8. He says, I speak not by commandment. I'm asking you to love. This is an appeal for love's sake. I'm not giving you a command. I'm appealing to you for love's sake. Paul continues, I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others. Now with that statement in verse 8, Paul moves from exhortation now to evaluation, where the sincerity or the authenticity, the genuineness of their own love will be revealed by their generous giving. You say you love, give, and let's see your love displayed, right? He's going to test the sincerity of their love by the diligence of others. Paul intends to show their love approved through the opportunity of this collection approved before the saints in Jerusalem, approved before other churches that were asked to give to the collection, and certainly approved before the world who is watching didn't the Lord Jesus say, right? See how they love one another. See how they love one another. This church is going to give and before the world that is watching, it will be evidence of their love for one another, giving evidence of their love for the Lord. And it's going to be approved in the sight of the Corinthians themselves. Peter would say, if these graces are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. It's a way Peter says that we assure our hearts before him, isn't it? When we abound in the fruits of the Spirit, when we abound in the grace of the Lord has given us, when we don't take the grace of the Lord in vain, but we bear fruit in light of it, bear fruit in the power of it, then we, as Peter would say, assure our hearts before him. How can we say, John would say, how can we say that we love God whom we have not seen, when we do not love our brother whom we have seen? Paul is going to test the sincerity of their love by the diligence of others. The Paul expresses great confidence in the result of this test, expresses great confidence in the outcome. Paul essentially says, I have great confidence in your love. I have confidence in your generous giving because you've experienced the outpouring of God's love to you in Christ. Verse nine, four, you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich. The eternal riches of his grace in the gospel secured for me and you through the voluntary sacrificial self-imposed impoverishment of the one who owns it all. And if we are the beneficiaries of such boundless, matchless riches, spiritual riches, then how can we fail to freely give, as you and I have freely received? We must freely give. If we believe the gospel that we preach, then our giving will be joyful and will be abundantly generous. All praise, honor, and glory to the one who became poor, that for our sakes through his poverty, we might have spiritual riches in the heavenly places in him. Now then, having laid out the example that we're to imitate in verses one through six, having given us his exhortation in verse seven and calling us to an evaluation in verses eight and nine, Paul then delivers a call to action in verses 10 and 11, a call to action in verses 10 and 11, verse 10. Paul says, and in this, I give advice. It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago, but now you also must complete the doing of it that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. And here's our call to action. If I was going to summarize verses 10 and 11 into a simple call to action, it would be give from devotion to completion, be generous from devotion to completion, right? And I want to trace Paul's argument in verses 10 and 11 specifically and show you that, right? We should give our giving, our generosity should be from devotion to completion. Now notice in verse eight. In verse eight, Paul makes no intention, has no intention of giving an apostolic command to the Corinthians or to us when it comes to this grace of Christian giving. He's not intending to give us a command. Instead, Paul is making an appeal for the sake of love. And so in verse 10, he repeats his intention there and says, I give my advice. In this verse 10, I give advice. That word for advice means opinion, means Paul's opinion or Paul's judgment in the matter. Paul says, listen, I'm not going to command you, but I'm going to tell you what I think. I'm not going to command you. I'm going to tell you what I think. Literally in the Greek, he says that this is to their advantage or to their profit. It's to their profit that he does that. Now there's two possible interpretations versus 10 and 11, specifically verse 10, two possible interpretations here. I realize this is a little difficult to hang in there with me. One commentator called this a torturous piece of Greek. And it's not easy. The two possible interpretations here. One, Paul advises them to give to this collection because giving to the poor is to your advantage. I think with me, right? He advises them rather than commands them. And he says, it's advantageous to you or profitable to you to give to this collection of the poor. The second interpretation would be this. I am advising you to give rather than commanding you to give. And this way of interacting with you is to your advantage. Do you see the difference between the two? If you are reading the New King James or an NIV, that which is to your advantage is continuing to do what you began to do a year ago, which is continuing the collection for the saints. It's to your advantage to give to this collection. If you're reading an NASB or an ESV, you see there more the openness for the interpretation that this thing which is advantageous to them is the way that Paul is interacting with them. We have to ask the question, what is it that is to their advantage or to their profit? Is it to their advantage or to their profit that they continue to do what they began to do and give to the collection? Or is it to their advantage that Paul is interacting with them in this way by advising them and not commanding them? So if you look at verse 10, that's what we're dealing with, those two possible interpretations. So let's take the first. If you're reading the New King James or if you're reading an NIV, they made some interpretive decisions there for you and it reads that it is to your advantage to continue to do what you began to do a year ago, meaning you should give, finish the collection for the saints. Now let me ask you the question. Considering that interpretation of verse 10, is that true? Yes, it is true. They began to give. They had a desire in their heart to give. And so Paul is saying, finish the work that you started to do. And is that advantageous? Is that profitable for them to finish the work that they started? Yes, it is. Absolutely, that's true. And this is certainly in line with what the text is clearly teaching. Luke chapter 6, verse 38, Luke says, Give and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Is it to your advantage to give to the poor? Yes, it is. Absolutely, it is. So the New King James, the NIV have made some interpretive decisions for you and to give you a clear statement. It is to your advantage to not only be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago, but now you also must complete the doing of it. However, listen to how the NASB translates this text. Paul says in verse 10, I give my opinion in this matter for this is to your advantage. What does this refer to? It refers to Paul giving his opinion. I give my opinion in this matter and me giving my opinion rather than commanding you, this is to your advantage. You who were the first to begin a year ago, not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. Now the translation of the NASB and this little technical, the translation more closely fits the Greek. It seems to have this sense. If I was to paraphrase verse 10, it would have this sense on this matter of giving to the saints in Jerusalem. I'm not giving you a command, but only my opinion and advice because it's more profitable for you if I interact with you in this way. You see what he's saying? After all, it was you who led the way last year, not only by taking action and giving, but by wanting to do so or desiring to give. All right. So the first question then, if we look at the verse 10 thought of in that way, the first question would be this. Why is it more profitable for them if Paul advises them rather than commands them? As we think through that question now, you have to apply this to yourself also. It's not just to the Corinthians that Paul is speaking. He speaks to us by implication. Amen. So think about verse 10. Why is it more profitable for them if Paul advises them rather than commanding them? Now, one reason is this, because if Paul leaves it up to them, the Corinthians will give from the heart, just like the Macedonians, right? If Paul leaves it up to them, then giving is an act of love. Giving is an act from the heart. They give freely. They give willingly. They give sacrificially. They give joyfully. They give out of love rather than giving out of obligation. Right? And what does Paul say in chapter nine? He says, if they so bountifully, what happens? They reap bountifully multiple ways, right? It becomes to their profit or to their advantage for Paul to interact with them in this way. After all, Paul says, right after all, they were the first. They were the first to give. Not only were they the first to give, but they were the first with the zealous desire to give. They were the ones who originally stirred up the Macedonians. And it's this example of the Macedonians that Paul now raises as an evidence or as a testimony of love. Look at chapter nine and look at verse one. Look at verse one. Now concerning the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you, for I know your willingness about which I boast of you to the Macedonians. So if you remember the chronology, right? Paul is in Corinth. Paul writes 1 Corinthians. And in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, Paul tells the Corinthian church, listen, when you gather together on the Lord's Day, take up a collection. And when I come, I'm going to take your collection to the poor saints in Jerusalem. We're going to minister to these poor saints in Jerusalem. So he instructs them with respect to the collection in 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Well, the Corinthians jump on board with that. They not only began to take up the collection, but there was a desire, a zeal in their heart to see it done. Why? Love. They love their brothers and sisters. They love brothers and sisters they had never met before in Jerusalem. But they wanted to give to needy brothers and sisters. They wanted to give to help. They did it out of love. They did it freely, willingly, sacrificially, joyfully. And it was the giving, that heart desire on the part of the church at Corinth that then stirred up the Macedonians. And the Macedonians take that baton, take that torch, and they run with it, right? And before now, the Corinthians can even come back down and finish the collection that they started. The Macedonians have already given and have already given to such a degree that they become the benchmark. They become the standard, right? They become the torchbearers for what it looks like to give lovingly, joyfully, sacrificially. So the Corinthian church stirred up those in Macedonia. He says in verse two there that Achaia was ready a year ago, Achaia, this church in Corinth. And your zeal has stirred up the majority. Now in chapter eight, verse 10, it's going to be that zeal in that zeal that they will respond here to Paul's loving and treating. Paul is back now. These problems in Corinth have been resolved. So Paul comes back to the church at Corinth and essentially says, listen, don't lag behind in your generosity. What you began a year ago and desired in your heart to do, now be sure that you complete the doing of it, right? Don't lag behind. And Paul is assured that that desire, that zeal that they began with will be the desire, will be the zeal that now motivates generous giving. If Paul leaves it up to them, rather than commanding them a specific amount, right? Or rather than commanding them to give, if Paul leaves it up to them, then the Corinthians will give from the heart in love, not as a response to obligation, not just merely out of a sense of duty, but they will give from the heart just like the Macedonians. Why is that to their profit? Because it will be an evidence of their love, right? He's testing the sincerity of their love by the diligence of others, and it will be to them a proof or an evidence that they are in Christ. So he says then in verse 11, he says, listen, finish the work, finish the work. As there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. So the first question, in what way is it advantageous to them, right? The second question we would ask would be this, what profit is that to the Corinthians? What profit is it to the Corinthians? I think the answer in part is given to us in chapter 9, verse 6. What profit is this, this way of interacting with them? Why is that profitable to the Corinthians? I think the part, the answer in part, is given to us in chapter 9, verse 6. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Now listen to what Paul says there. So then, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not how, not grudgingly, not of necessity, why? Because God loves a cheerful giver. What profit is it to the Corinthians? Profitable in every way, right? God loves a cheerful giver. Don't give grudgingly, don't give merely out of a sense of duty or obligation. God loves a cheerful giver. Listen to verse 8. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you always having all sufficiency in all things may have an abundance for every good work. But notice now with me the emphasis here on the condition of your heart when you give. It's on the condition of your heart. God gives us instruction here to give as you purpose in your heart. I'm not going to command you in this, but we have a command with respect to the tithe. In this act of Christian giving, God says, listen, I'm not going to command you in this. I'm not going to command you with respect to this act of giving because God loves a cheerful giver, right? Paul is drawing, if you think about it this way, Paul is drawing a connection between the act of giving and the heart of giving. I know I'm not the only one that can sometimes disconnect acts of obedience or acts of devotion from the heart of obedience or a heart of devotion, right? We can disconnect those things in our Christian lives. What Paul is doing is he's putting those things together. The act married to the heart, right? Drawing a connection between the two. Listen again, listen again to what he says in verse 10 from the NASB. Paul says, I give my opinion in this matter for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago, not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. That's interesting, isn't it? Ordinarily, I think we would be expecting to hear that in reverse order, wouldn't we? That you not only desire to do it, but you did it. That'd be the sort of the way that we would think about that. What does Paul do? He flips the script on that and puts what is, that was the most important, he puts first and what certainly flows from it. You did this, but not only did you do this, you had this passionate zealous desire in your heart to see it done and your action flowed from a heart of love and devotion for God and a love for your brother. This is the heart of giving. Now this is certainly true of a bounding in this grace of generous Christian giving. It's certainly true in this, but it's also true in all matters of Christian obedience or devotion. This heart is to be present in all matters of Christian obedience or devotion, not just in this matter of giving. Paul commends them for beginning to do what they should. He commends them for responding to his call for an offering in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 verses one through four, but even more, even more he commends them for the zeal and desire in their heart to do so. He is connecting acts with heart. In other words, you not only gave as I asked, you desired it from the heart. This is giving that flows from a sincere love. This is giving that flows from true devotion. Giving that flows from a desire to bless, a zeal for generosity. Giving like that is far more profitable than that giving, which does not. We ask ourselves the question, in what way, Paul, in what way is it profitable for us that you deal with us or interact with us in this way and give your opinion in this matter rather than giving us a command? It's in this way. We then give from the heart out of sincere love. There's a little story of a little boy on his way to church one day with his dad. Dad, on the way to church, gives a little boy two quarters and he holds them in his hand, two quarters. As the dad gives him these two quarters, he says, one quarter is for the lord. You give that quarter to the lord when you get to church. The other quarter is for you to buy an ice cream cone after church. I find myself wanting to know where I can get an ice cream cone for a quarter. Besides the point, that's another issue altogether. Two quarters, one you're going to give to the lord, the other one you're going to use to buy an ice cream cone after church. The boy's walking along the road. As the boy's walking, he trips over a storm drain and he drops one of the quarters. As the quarter is disappearing through this feel great that lies over the storm drain, the little boy cries out, Lord, there goes your quarter. Right? His heart wasn't in it. Do you see? His heart's not in it. That's true of any act of Christian obedience. The heart, our heart is to prefer him above all, to prefer or esteem others more highly than ourselves. Our heart is to be in it. The way that we live, the way that we act as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ should flow from devotion to him, right? Should flow from unquestioning devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. My heart all in, all in. He is first, right? Devotion. That is far more profitable for you than mere duty, mere duty. Is it right that people obey God? Yes, it is. Is it right for a lost person to obey God? Yes, it is. Right? It's right to obey God. God says, do this, then do that. Whether you're lost or saved, it's right to obey God. Is it right that people should marry rather than live together outside of marriage and commit sexual immorality? Yes, lost or saved, it's right to get married. Is it right that people should give to help others in need? Yes, lost or saved, that's right because the Lord has commanded it. It's right to obey. It's right to obey God. But far more profitable when someone obeys from a new heart, from someone who's been born again in Christ, right? Someone who has a new heart in Jesus Christ and dwelt by the spirit of God and now because of love, because of gratefulness for all that God has done for them in Christ, out of the forgiveness of sins, out of gratitude they desire to give, far more profitable. There's no question that there is duty associated with the Christian life. No question. Far better when that duty is at the same time our delight. Your sanctification isn't merely conforming your conduct to some external standard. It's not merely that. It is the renewing of your mind. It is the transformation of your heart. It is the changing of your affections. It is the sanctifying of your imagination. It is the sanctifying of your desires. It is a hatred for the things of this world, a hatred of your sin, and a love for the Lord Jesus Christ, right? It is not merely law. It is gospel. God at work in the heart of man to sanctify our affections, to sanctify our desires, to fuel our love, to drive our devotion, to cause us to love not the things of this world where John says for all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world is what? It's passing away. It's passing away in the lust of it. But he who does the will of God abides forever. It is to your prophet. How does God view? How does God view heartless religion? What does God think about external formalism or heartless ritualism? What does God think about that? In Matthew 15, the Lord Jesus Christ called them hypocrites. He says, hypocrites, well, did Isaiah prophesy about you saying, these people draw near to me with their mouth, and they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. That one worships the Lord Jesus Christ in vain. So Paul says, Paul says, let each one gives as he purposes in his heart. Is that somehow lessen our responsibility? No, it magnifies it, doesn't it? It magnifies what you do as you purpose in your heart what you're going to give. It doesn't diminish our responsibility. It magnifies it. If I'm going to think about these things when I give, it magnifies the import, the importance, the significance of my gift. It magnifies the significance of my worship because it's coming from an informed heart. Each one is to give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity. Why? Because God loves a cheerful giver. It's to your advantage, Paul says, that I give my opinion in this matter, rather than simply commanding you. You didn't only begin the work a year ago, but you have the desire in your heart for it. Now, Paul says then, now finish what you started, finish what you started. Christian generosity, Christian giving, this grace should be, as we talked about at the onset, from devotion to completion, from devotion to completion. We, to our shame, often start things that we don't finish, don't we? We often have intentions that we don't bring to completion. Look what Paul says in verse 11. Paul says in verse 11, but now you also must complete the doing of it, that as there was a readiness to desire it, as there was this free, willing attitude in your heart to do it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have. So holy desire, holy zeal, holy delight are certainly necessary for obedience from the heart. We are to delight in his commands. His commands are not burdensome. They are our delight. Desires, zeal, delight are fuel for obedience from the heart, but they are not sufficient for obedience from the heart. In other words, if all you have is zeal, all you have is desire, all you have is the wanting to, and you don't have the action. You don't have full heart obedience. Amen. We can't sit back, rest on our laurels and say, well, I have a desire in my heart. You can't justify yourself based upon a desire in your heart. Listen, I know I'm a Christian because I desire these things. So if there is a readiness of mine, a willingness of heart to do these things, there will then be the doing of them. Do you see? Faith without works is dead, dead. And if your faith is merely a desire faith with no action behind it, no works behind it, that lack of works proves your faith to be dead. You can't rest on a desire. Paul says in this example, he says that it's going to be from devotion to completion. Affection must lead to action. You desire it, now do it. Don't merely comfort yourself with a desire to do something. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. That's the colloquial sand for a reason. This is in verse 11. This is the only imperative in this section of text. Second Corinthians chapter eight and chapter nine, the only imperative, the only command here given, not commanding you how much to give is commanding you now to finish what you started, finish what you started. Okay. With respect to giving, the apostle John again here is helpful. First John chapter three, verse 16, John says, by this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought then to lay down our lives for the brethren. Whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need, but then sucks up his heart from him, how is it that the love of God abides in him? That's a rhetorical question. It doesn't, right? It doesn't. John says, my little children, 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. When you, when you go to Haiti, as our team recently did at the end of last year, you see these little makeshift block houses all over the place that are sitting there unfinished. I mean, they're everywhere. You saw the video that Ron took from our trip with the drone, you know, and you see these houses everywhere with the other just empty shelves, right? They don't finish out the inside of them. There's no roof. It's sitting there abandoned. A lot of times the brush, the growth is just overtaking that thing. These little makeshift block houses lying empty abandoned, many of them for years, obviously, years and years and years. And now abandoned due to lack of money, lack of funds to finish the work that had begun, right? Don't allow your Christian life to be a series of unfinished beginnings because you don't have the heart or the will, the zeal or the desire to see it through. If there is a readiness of mind, then see to it that you complete the work, unfulfilled intentions, a hollow abandoned profession. If you delight in the Lord, then out of a heart of delight in Him, devotion to Him, then complete what it is that you set out to do. Don't wallow in a lack of progress. Don't wallow or stand still and, in effect, move backwards, right? Go on, move on to maturity, make progress, continue the work. See to it that you abound in these graces and in this grace of generous giving. Move on to maturity, conquer that sin, mortify your flesh, learn His word, grow in Christ, evangelize the lost, preach the gospel, study His truth, learn doctrine, move on to maturity and complete the work that He's given you to do, your sanctification. The will of God for you is this, your sanctification. Now pursue it, right? And see to it that it's done. Don't find yourself an empty, abandoned, hollow, unfinished shell, staying in the same sins, staying in the same place year after year after year. Move on to maturity, move on to maturity. The Lord uses ordinary means to accomplish that work in us, amen? Right? He, in addition to you both desiring that work and delighting in that work, the Lord is in you working according to His own good pleasure, right? Doesn't Philippians say He's at work in you both the will and to do according to His good pleasure. So you now work, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. In this grace of giving, in this grace of giving, engage your heart, but don't stop there. Don't stop with just engaging your heart. Don't stop and say to yourself, I was very edified by the sermon today and thinking about giving. And then you come in next week and I was very edified. No, right? Give generously and don't do that heartlessly. Give. Determine what is it that I'm going to do and then you set forth to complete the doing of it. Desire the work, fuel your devotion, and then move on to completion, move on to consummation, right? That's what Paul is calling us here to in verse 11. Complete the doing of it. So then, having given an exhortation in verse 7, calling us to evaluation in verses 8 and 9, then calling us to action verses 10 through 11, Paul concludes this section of text with explanation in verses 12 through 15. Explanation in verses 12 through 15, right? So now, working through the text and Paul has given us exhortation. Paul is giving us great and rich theology and there are many ways in which listening to that theology that we can become confused. Many ways in which we can misunderstand. So Paul wants to give us an explanation, give us some guidelines, some principles with respect to giving in verses 12 through 15. He's going to put some bumper guards, if you will, around what we're talking about and then we're going to flesh those out further as we move into chapter 9, okay? So Paul gives us some principles behind this theology of Christian giving. Here's two of them. One, giving is proportionate. When you give, your giving is to be proportionate. We'll talk about what that means. Secondly, giving is reciprocal. It's reciprocal. There is a principle of equality at work. Paul brings that out beginning in verse 12 through 15, okay? Giving is proportionate. Giving is reciprocal. Look at verse 12 with me. Paul says in verse 12, for if there is first a willing mind, if the desire is there, right? If the will to give is there, it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. All right? Now think with me. Paul spoke of the Macedonians as giving according to their ability, in verse 3, yes, and even beyond their ability, okay? So the Macedonians gave according to what they had. Yes, they were even sacrificial in their giving, giving beyond what was their ability to give. Now, I think it's been coming upon us as we think about giving. If you want to give sacrificially to think about ways in which we give beyond our ability, right? Ways in which we give that way. But now in verse 12 then, he gives the Corinthians and he gives to us this standard, right? He told them in 1 Corinthians chapter 16 to give as each one may prosper. That's how much they're to give. Give as each one has been prospered. In other words, they're not to go into debt. They're not to go into debt. They're not to give trying to keep up with someone far wealthier and their giving. They don't need to feel shamed or diminished in any way by not giving as that one gives. They are to give according to what they have, right? Give as each one may prosper. It is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have. In other words, their giving is in accord with the resources that they have by the providence of God. So we all have resources that have been given to us by God's providence. In God's providence, one person has this amount of resources and in God's providence, another one has this amount of resources. In God's providence, maybe someone else has this amount of resources. We're to give proportionately or in proportion to what we have. We're not to give according to resources that Lord has not given us. In other words, I don't have these resources. My brother is in need. I'm going to put it on my credit card. No, that's not what we're being called to do here, right? That's not sacrificial. That's foolish. We're not being called to give that way. The Lord can take care and listen, the Lord intends to take care of us according to the resources that he's provided for us, right? He intends for my abundance to supply someone else's lack or for someone else's abundance to supply my lack so that in everything there is reciprocity and there's proportionality, right? There's a proportionate giving here that's being spoken of. Now, the principle of proportionate giving means that no one is excluded. If you think about it that way, if you have little or if you have much, no one is excluded from being able to participate or to share in this blessing, in this ministering, right? So even if you have little, just like the Macedonians, we can beg with much urgency for the gifts, for the blessing, for the grace of participating in ministering to the saints, okay? No one's excluded from their ability to give. No one should be ashamed that they're not able to give very much. If the willingness is there, if the heart is there, then your gifts, no matter how small, no matter how insignificant, no matter how feeble, you may, they may seem to you or you may think them to be, they are acceptable in the sight of God, right? Acceptable in the sight of God. It's not according to what one has and not according, accepted according to what one has, it's not according to what he does not have, right? God doesn't require you to give more than your resources allow. This all points back, it all points back to the giving of the widow in Luke 21, right? Back to this idea, this concept again. In Luke 21, verse one, the Lord looked up and he saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, rich, the rich putting gifts into the treasury, and he saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So he said, truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all or all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had. It was only two mites, but it was far more than any of the others had put, right? Far more than any of the others had given. And this comparatively small gift that this poor widow gave, far more acceptable in God's sight than all that was given by those who gave out of their abundance, right? It was sacrificial. I think with me, it was sacrificial, but it was huge by proportion, right? Huge in proportion to what she had. Giving is proportionate. We see the principle at work. Back to the issue of the heart. It's not the size then of the gift. It's not the size of the gift. Calvin said in this way, none are excused. If you have more, then you should give more. If you have less, then you should not be ashamed that you must give less. A very real notion we see in the Old Testament, that it was considered a judgment of God when the Old Testament Israelites were not able to offer to God of the first fruits of their field or flock, right? So the mindset of the Old Testament Israelites would have been, we must bring our offerings to God. We're going to worship God by giving. We're going to worship God by giving, but they were dependent upon God to give them what they gave in worship. You see that? In other words, God had to provide for their flocks, had to provide food on their table. God had to provide them the harvest. And in God providing them, it rejoiced. The Israelites rejoiced to give, that's a piece of tabernacles, right? God thanking God for the harvest, all that God had given them, and then giving to God of all that God had given to them. So it was a judgment of God. It was a judgment of God when they didn't have anything to give. Be grateful for all that the Lord has given you. The Lord has blessed you. The people in this room, blessed, blessed from those who think they have very little, maybe even harboring anything at all, to those who have much, the Lord has blessed us. We are a blessed people here. So out of gratefulness, give, right? Give, whether small or great, in proportionate to what you have, it is accepted according to what one has, not according to what he does not have. But if we become stingy, if we close off our heart and mind to our brother, our sister in need, if we close off our heart and mind to this generous giving to the work of the gospel, if we close off our heart and mind, then it's God who can easily take that away. You know, and you put your weekly paycheck as it were into a bag with holes in it, and God just blows it, blows it away. We're to give generously. We're to give proportionately. So we see in our text a principle of proportionality, but they're also here as a principle of reciprocity, a principle of reciprocity. Look at verse 13 where Paul says, I do not mean that others should be ease and you burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack so that there may be equality. As it is written, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Someone in Corinth might be concerned about all of this, this instruction, and say to themselves, I don't have a lot to begin with. And if I'm going to give in this way, I'm going to give and give and give so that the church at Jerusalem can become wealthy, and I'm out here in Corinth now poor because I've given all this away. Right? Not the right heart attitude, but the concern is one here that Paul addresses. Okay? Paul addresses this concern. I don't mean that others should be ease and you burden. Paul is not trying to make the Jerusalem church wealthy on the backs of Gentile churches. There were accusations against Paul at this time that Paul was skimming off the top of this collection for his own needs and that Paul's intention was to pad the coffers or the wallets of his buddies back in Jerusalem, Jews, fellow Jews, at the expense of the Gentile churches. These false teachers that had infiltrated the church at Corinth were infiltrating the churches in Galatia were making this accusation that Paul was stealing money out of the treasury, so to speak, stealing money out of the collection. Paul is saying, I don't mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but there is an equality here. There's a principle of reciprocity. This is not communism. This is not, we're going to take from everyone who has a little more and we're going to give it to everyone who has a little bit less so that everyone in here has exactly the same amount. That's not what this is talking about. It's not communism. It's not socialism. There's no validity in redistributing wealth for the sake of some equality so that we are trying to reach some equal state as if it's wrong for some people to have a little more and some people to have a little bit less or as if the equality were the thing that we were striving for. It's not communism. It's not socialism. It's not force redistribution of wealth or income inequality. We're not trying to fix income inequality. It's not for the sake of removing a distinction. Jesus Christ said to me, you'll have to pour with you always. It's not for the point of removing a distinction, for the sake of removing the distinction or to correct some perceived unfairness. It's not unfair that one has more and one has a little. In fact, the scripture speaks often of the reward given to the diligent one. It also speaks with warnings for the one who will not work. If he doesn't work, this is 1 Thessalonians chapter 3, right? If he doesn't work, neither shall he eat. So we're not speaking about removing or correcting some perceived unfairness as if the distinction between rich and poor was the primary issue. The equality spoken of here comes through reciprocity, comes through reciprocity. Equal relief, if you will, from genuine need. Equal relief from genuine need. Verse 14, but by an equality that now at this time, your abundance may supply their lack that their abundance also may supply your lack that there may be equality. In other words, when someone has a need, God purposes and intends to care for that need or to fulfill that need through another's supply, through another's abundance. Why would the Lord do that? It's interesting to think about it, isn't it? God could provide for that need. God could provide for that person, such that that person doesn't have a need. But sometimes it benefits us, doesn't it, to be in need? Don't we learn much from need? It also benefits us when we have a surplus that we can give. Paul says it's profitable for you, right? So God supplies and God supplies some providentially with more, some providentially with less, and He supplies and He intends to care. We're to care for our brothers and sisters through that principle of reciprocity. When someone has need, others in their abundance supply for that need. When they maybe at some point in the future come into need, someone else has abundance and they meet their lack with their supply. As it is written, verse 15, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. John Calvin says this, There is not enjoined upon us an equality of such a kind as to make it unlawful for the rich to live in any degree of greater elegance than the poor. You know, I don't want to still understand what he's saying, okay? Think with me, listen. There is not enjoined upon us an equality of such a kind as to make it unlawful for the rich to live in any degree of greater elegance than the poor. So if you have more here, you have nice things. There's no shame in that. There is not enjoined upon us this equality that means that you should divest yourself of all of that to make someone else equal to you in living according to the resources that God has given you. The equality that's being spoken of, Calvin says this, but an equality is to be observed thus far, that no one is to be allowed to starve and no one is to hoard his abundance at the expense of defrauding others. There is a, if you prefer to say it this way, a utilitarian purpose for our supply, for that which God has given us. And that purpose for what God has given us is to supply another's lack, to give in time of need, to see to it that we further the work of the gospel, further the work of the church, further the work of the kingdom. We're not to lay up treasure for ourselves here on earth, whereas our treasure, our treasure is in heaven. And so we're to prioritize heavenly things and our resources given to us here are given with the utilitarian purpose, you could say, to supply another's lack and to supply for the work of the gospel, for the furtherance of the cause of Christ. We're not to hoard and no one should be allowed, no one should be allowed to suffer need, to starve. This principle given to us from Exodus 16, turn there with me quickly to Exodus chapter 16. We want to look at this in context. It's the principle that Paul's giving us here. Exodus chapter 16 and look at verse 16, okay? This is the Israelites are in the wilderness. The Lord is taking them by the hand and he's showing them how to work, when to rest. He's giving them the pattern of the Sabbath and the Lord is providing them manna out of heaven. Lord is giving them their food out of heaven. Now, let me make this application for us. It is no less true that God provides your food in the same way. He provides your food just as if he were to drop it out of heaven on your plate, right? Everything you have comes from him. So there's no difference here just because they walked out. God had miraculously dropped that out of heaven. They pick it up off the ground, right? This coriander, like coriander seed, this pastry. The food that you have, the resources you have all come from him. He has given them to you. What you have has been given you by God, okay? But he has a principle here that he's teaching them. Look at verse 16. He says, this is the thing which the Lord has commanded. Let every man gather it according to each one's need, one omer for each person according to the number of persons. Let every man take for those who are in his tent. He proportionality there, don't you? Verse 17. Then the children of Israel did so and gathered some more, some less. So when they measured it by omers, he who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack. Every man had gathered according to each one's need. And there it is, right? We gather for our need. There are going to be some who are given in the providence of God, given less. And God intends in his care for them, in his providence through his people to care for their lack by the giving of others. There are going to be some of you, some of us who have been given more. And it's our responsibility, God, having enjoined this command upon us to care for the needs of others through our supply given to us by his providence. James chapter 2 verse 15, James says this. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, let me make this statement also in light of what James is saying here. Paul says to Timothy, right, with food and with clothing, with these we shall be content. He does not say with food and with clothing and a nice car with leather seats and air conditioning. Right? If we have those things, we are blessed. Thank you, Lord. The Bible doesn't say that, right? Paul says with food and with clothing, with these we shall be content. So James says, listen, if a brother or a sister is naked and destitute of daily food, it's got no food or clothing, right? And one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and be filled praying for you, brother, right? But you do not give them the things which are needed for the body. What does it profit? It's not profiting them, but listen, it's not profiting you. Right? Paul says it is to your advantage that we do things this way, right? To your profit. James goes on to say, thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead, is dead. We've got to be concerned, brothers and sisters, with how we view those possessions that the Lord has given us and how we relate to, relate with the possessions that the Lord has given us. That must be from the heart and we must abound in this grace of generous giving from the heart. The story of a Scottish church, a worship service was going on at this Scottish church and it came time for the offering. So a man boxed in the front of the church and a man comes down to give his offering at the front of the church where people put their gifts, their offerings in a box. And so a man came forward to give his offering, to put his offering in the box. It's interesting because they do this in Haiti, at the church there in Haiti. There's a box up front, there's a time for giving and people go forward in the time of worship to give. So this man of the Scottish church goes forward and he goes up to the box and he's going to drop his coin in the box, but he drops in the box, what's called a crown piece when he intended to drop a penny. I'm not sure the value of a crown piece but it is substantially more apparently than the value of a penny because as soon as the man dropped the crown piece into the slot in the top of the box he realized to himself, I've dropped a crown piece in the box and not a penny. So he cries out a crown piece and he tries to get it back, wants to get it back. There's an usher standing next to an old Scottish usher standing next to the box and the usher cries out to the man, in once, in forever. In other words, you're not getting it back. You're not getting it back. Praise the Lord for old Scottish ushers. So the man said, having made his mistake and put in the crown piece instead of the penny, he said, I'll get credit for it in heaven. I'll get credit for it in heaven. The old Scottish usher said, no, you'll only get credit for a penny. Now, think about that. There's a smart old Scottish usher. Think about that for a moment. That's true, isn't it? It's true. Let each one give as he purposes in his heart. As the Lord may prosper, not grudgingly, but willingly, joyfully, freely, sacrificially, lovingly, remember the Scottish usher. And let's consider, God looks upon the heart. God looks upon the heart of our giving and the heart is where we start. From devotion to completion, brothers and sisters, let's complete the work that God has given us to do and let's abound in this grace of generous giving. Amen. Amen. Let's take a few moments and pray. I want you to pray silently. And with a clear conscience before God, earnestly consider your heart with respect to this matter of generous giving. Where are you? And how do you view those resources that the Lord has given you? And how can you further use them to help another in need or to further the gospel who has only begotten the Son of the Lord Jesus Christ? When you're done praying, you're a dismissed.