The test for many Christians becomes evident in the reaction they display when the topic turns from being Christ-like with our morals to being Christ-like with our money. Living in a society that is saturated with a materialistic mentality definitely does not help matters. Our culture portrays the idea that our main goal should be to accumulate more money and more things that money can provide. When confronted with the Biblical view of stewardship those cultural values are challenged. The idea of giving away those things that we have worked so hard to accumulate for the benefit of another person places a great obstacle in the way of achieving the goals promoted by our culture. To give money in a significant way is to threaten our identity, security, success, status, and sense of worth. However God’s economy operates completely opposite from the economy of our culture. In God’s view the more you give the richer you become. The truth is that our willingness to be generous is significant to the life of the church in many ways. If this is true, why do we become so defensive when the subject of giving is approached? Why does this subject have the ability to breed such conflict? The apostle Paul was not afraid of conflict or controversy. He dealt with such hot button issues as immorality, false teaching and division. He even dared to tackle the most controversial subject of all, money. In our text Paul commends the Macedonian Christians for their generosity and holds them up as an example for the Corinthian church to challenge them to be generous. Generosity is truly a fine art. Let’s take some time to see the insights Paul has to give on this subject.
I. The source of generosity.
A. The ability to give is a gift of God’s grace.
1. Motivating Christians and congregations not only to give but also to be fiscally responsible in their giving is a difficult enterprise even in the best of circumstances.
2. Paul begins with an example, not a plea. Although they were then facing a severe ordeal involving persecution, the Macedonian churches, such as those at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, had contributed generously.
3. “Grace” is a key word that appears ten times throughout these two chapters with differing nuances. Here it refers to human generosity, which Paul understands to be something given by God.
4. Grace is God’s unconditional benevolence toward us. When people are spontaneously generous toward others, Paul takes it as clear evidence that God’s grace is working in and through them.
5. The Macedonian Christians were far from being blessed materially in fact they were extremely poor as a result of the persecution they endured from the non-Christians.
B. The motivation to give is a gift of God’s grace.
1. The means by which the Macedonians’ Christian joyfulness has been manifested to Paul is in the size of their collection. The phrase, “in rich generosity,” more literally, “in the richness of their generosity,” refers specifically to the large amount of money they have laid aside in their offerings for the Jerusalem Christians.
2. Paul understands that God’s grace does not lighten the Macedonians’ afflictions nor remove their deep poverty. Instead, it opens their hearts and their purse strings to others.
3. Paul asserts, however, that the Macedonians can take no credit for this joyful, willing attitude. It all comes from God’s grace given to them. Paul therefore bases his appeal to the Corinthians on the grace of God that continues to be richly poured out in the lives of Christians.
4. Paul’s approach to fund-raising is grounded in solid theological principles, and it should lead the Corinthians to ask themselves, Where is the evidence of the grace of God that has been given to us?
C. We have the perfect example of generosity in Jesus Christ.
1. Paul does not leave the bar set where the Macedonians put it. Rather, he raises it to a height beyond compare, to the incalculable level set by Jesus Christ himself.
2. Jesus’ love for humankind is expressed in his gracious act of giving himself for our salvation.
3. Paul does not expect believers to leap to the heights of Jesus’ love. However, he does expect Jesus’ love to energize them to unparalleled expressions of love well beyond what they could have imagined for themselves.
4. The self-emptying of Christ for Christians should lead them to empty their pocketbooks for others, if only in proportion to what they have.
II. The sacrifice of generosity.
A. Sacrifice by giving even when times are tough.
1. The Macedonians also suffered from extreme poverty that Paul vividly expresses as “down to depths of poverty.” Persecution and social ostracism probably caused this rock bottom poverty.
2. The Macedonian Christians were enduring trials that had the ability to totally crush their spirits.
3. The poverty of the Macedonian churches matches that of the saints in Jerusalem that was also caused by persecution and may have generated their empathy with them.
4. In spite of persecution and poverty, they experienced an abundance of joy, which resulted in a wealth of generosity.
5. Sometimes the primary test to determine our priorities and commitment as Christians is the test of the use of our money.
B. Give even when it means a personal sacrifice on our part.
1. Paul reiterates his delight at what the Macedonians have done with regard to the collection. The size of their collection was beyond anything he could have dreamed of.
2. The reason they could amass such an incredible amount of money Paul recognizes to be spiritually rooted. These churches are committed to the Lord, meaning Christ. This has taken precedence over everything else in their lives, including their money.
3. Paul emphasizes the extent of the Macedonians’ poverty with the phrase rendered “extreme” (hē kata bathos) by the NIV. It refers to the depth of their poverty as at the very bottom, one commentary aptly calling it “rock bottom poverty.
4. We can see the attitude the Macedonian Christians had toward their possessions. “What is mine is the Lord’s, and I will share it with others whenever there is a need.”
III. The spirit of generosity.
A. We must give voluntarily.
1. Paul’s primary reason for emphasizing that the Macedonians responded voluntarily is to make clear to the Corinthians that he did not constrain them in any way. They volunteered, either to give sacrificially, or to participate.
2. Paul’s knowledge of the Macedonian’s situation seems to have kept him from asking them to participate in the offering.
3. They did not plead poverty to evade any obligation; they pled with Paul instead to allow them to join in this service.
4. By contrast, Paul has to plead with the more affluent Corinthians to follow through on their first pledge.
B. We must give joyfully.
1. The poverty of the Macedonians did not limit their generosity any more than their trials and circumstances limited their joy.
2. The Macedonian Christians teach us a great lesson. True joy is not dependent upon external activities or situations; it is dependent upon the internal attitude of the heart.
3. In the New Testament the Christian’s experience of joy has no correlation to his or her outward circumstances. Christians can experience joy in the midst of great persecution and personal suffering.
4. The Macedonians found joy in their giving because they viewed it as a ministry. As a token of their livelihood, it is a giving of their life to the ministry of the church.
IV. The secret of generosity.
A. The secret is in the commitment of our lives to the will of God.
1. Whenever a person gives themselves to Lord fully it will require a personal sacrifice.
2. When we consider the generous grace that God has extended to us, our gratitude should dictate that we share our blessings for the benefit of others and the Lord.
3. The Macedonians view their situation from God’s perspective rather than that of their culture. Faith showed that the blessings of God would be far greater than their sacrifice.
4. They realized the simple fact that you cannot out give God.
B. The secret is in the commitment of our lives to the fellowship of believers.
1. The Macedonians know their collection unites them, not only with the Jerusalem Christians but also with the other Gentile congregations who are gathering money for the same cause.
2. When we become open to the Lord’s will we will also become open to the Lord’s people.
3. As a Christian we can never say, “Well I am willing to give myself to the Lord, but I am not willing to give myself to you.”
4. As Christians we need to realize that when we put our faith into action we reach up and reach out.
5. This is exactly the commitment Christ made to us.
Jack Buras worked his way through Bible College and a got a job as the music minister at a little church in Prattsville, Arkansas. Then the Supreme Court made a decision regarding some oil land in Louisiana and Jack, his brother and sister found themselves on the receiving end of 87 million dollars. The minister of the church said, “We’ve been kidding Jack unmercifully about all this money. But no one around here feels the money will change Jack. Jack will continue to be Jack, I’m sure.” Jack says that he will give at least 10% of his fortune, and just as he has done in the past continue tithing his salary. He also intends to buy a bigger, more comfortable bus for choir transportation, and he is going to establish an educational endowment fund. Jack said, “I’ve got to make myself live as I’ve lived before. There will not be a boat in the Bahamas or a house in Rome. It will be a test to see what I’m made of. One of these days I’ll be sitting in a rocking chair, an old man. And I’ll tell myself you proved you were a Christian. You served the church well. You used your money to educate people. You had a fruitful life. The Lord has smiled on me.” While we may never receive a million dollars, every dollar we have is a test to see what we are made of.
