This exposition of 2 Corinthians 9:1-15 by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, September 9, 2018.
Intro:
I realize that what I’m about to do this evening will feed a common misconception. I’m going to talk about money – specifically about giving to the church.
[sections collapse="always"][section title="Read More"]
Many believe preachers never talk about anything else. Of course any number of high profile television preachers have fed that notion with endless appeals and the hawking of holy trinkets. They offer you a $20 Bible absolutely free for a gift of $100. It’s no wonder the average person believes that every preacher takes a course in seminary entitled Fleecing the Flock 101. The course being designed to separate the good folks of the congregation from their hard-earned cash. When the preacher talks about money the cry from the pew is often – “What I do with my money is my business.” But I would suggest to the child of God – what you do with God’s money is His business!
As a child of God you must recognize that everything you have and everything you are, you owe to the grace of God. By his grace your eyes were opened to the truth. By his grace you were granted life eternal and life abundant. By his grace you were made part of the church. By his grace you are entrusted with the work of the Gospel here and around the world. And that work is financed through the regular faithful giving of believers like you and me. This evening I want to talk with you about your need to support financially the work of the church more importantly your responsibility as a faithful steward. Stewardship, that’s what we are talking about when we talk about money. A steward is a person who acts as the surrogate of another person, especially by managing property, financial affairs or an estate. A steward doesn’t own anything, he manages someone else’s money or property. Biblically when we come to Christ we declare him Lord, boss, sovereign over our lives. We come to him in total and unconditional surrender declaring ourselves his servants, his bond slaves. Thus we see ourselves as stewards of all that he has entrusted to us. In 2 Corinthians 9 Paul lays out some principles of biblical stewardship.
Text: 2 Corinthians 9:1-15
Chapters 8 and 9 are focused on an offering for the struggling church in Jerusalem. The church at Corinth had already committed to give to this offering. Their commitment inspired the church in Macedonia to give. In fact the church in Macedonia had given a tremendous offering toward Jerusalem relief. Out of their poverty they gave in abundance. Paul says they were eager to give and begged for an opportunity to be a part. As we work through the 9th chapter we are reminded that…
Thesis: The love and grace of God inspire biblical stewardship.
As in all things, we are inspired and driven along in our service to Christ and his kingdom by the God’s grace and compelled by our love and devotion to him. I want to quickly note three principles of biblical stewardship drawn from our text.
- Biblical stewardship demands we hold one another accountable when it comes to giving to the church and the work of the Kingdom. (9:1-5)
- Biblical stewardship is marked by a bountiful generosity and a cheerful willingness. (9:6-7)
- Biblical stewardship benefits both the individual giver and the church as a whole. (9:8-15)
Conclusion:
As Paul reaches the end of his lengthy appeal for the Jerusalem offering he can no longer contain himself - Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
This is the first time the word “inexpressible” appears anywhere in Greek literature. Paul made up a word. In effect he is thanking God for a gift he can’t begin to describe. This of course is Christ and the gospel. God’s great, indescribable gift is the basis and motivation for our giving. As such he is not calling on believers to look deep down within themselves and come up with the very best they can give. Rather to recognize the grace of God given and then out of God’s gracious gift to us, we give the best his grace can provide!
We are stewards.
As such we are to be ready, willing and generous in our giving.
We are to hold one another accountable.
We are to give bountifully with great joy.
We are in turn blessed so that we can bless even more.
[/section][/sections]