Dennis Tuuri

# Sermon Transcript – Reformation Covenant Church

A whole Bible approach toward the subject of tithes and offerings. Last week we spoke to tithes. This week we’ll speak to offerings and we find in 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9 an extended discussion of this. And for our sermon text we’ll read 2 Corinthians chapter 9. Please stand for the reading of God’s command word.

2 Corinthians chapter 9:

For as touching and ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them at Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago, and your zeal hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf, that as I said, ye may be ready. Lest happily, if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you unprepared, we that we say not ye should be ashamed in the same confident boasting.

Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty whereof you had noticed before that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty and not of covetousness. But this I say he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart so let him give not grudgingly or of necessity.

For God loveth a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that ye always having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work. As it is written, he hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth forever. Now he that ministereth seed to the sewer, both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, being enriched in everything to all bountifulness.

Which causeth through us thanksgiving to God. For the administration of this service not only supplieth the want of the saints, but is abundant also by many thanksgivings unto God. Whilst by the experiment of this ministration, they glorify God for your professed subjection unto the gospel of Christ and for your liberal dispensation unto them and unto all men. And by their prayer for you, which long after you, for the exceeding grace of God, in you.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.

Let us pray. Father, we thank you for your unspeakable gift of salvation to us and the grace that you shed abroad in our hearts. We thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us on the basis not of our works nor as some kind of second blessing, but rather Lord God on the basis of what our Savior has accomplished once and for all. We pray Lord God that your Holy Spirit may be in the midst of us corporately and individually.

That he may stir up our hearts to understand these scriptures and respond in obedience and so reform our lives with the life of everything that we touch and may we then provide a downstream blessing to this culture as well. In Jesus’ name we ask for the illumination of your Spirit we might understand and apply your word. In his name we pray and for the sake of his kingdom. Amen.

Please be seated.

New year 1995 looking at the midpoint of this final decade of the 20th century as we point toward the next millennia. We are considering the state of the church in so many words, I suppose the Reformation Covenant Church, the application to other churches as well. We’ve looked at the past five years. We look ahead at the future what God has in his providence ordained for us. And so we’ve kind of departed from the book of Acts for roughly a month or so while we consider how God is perfecting that which concerns us individually and corporately.

Last week we began a two-part or perhaps a three-part series. I may want to return to this one more Sunday and catch whatever I couldn’t have caught in these last two sermons to tie up everything that I’ve tried to put across here. We’re considering tithes and offerings. And last week we talked about tithes in the scriptures.

It’s interesting to me that as most of us are newcomers to covenantal theology and the Reformed denominations, you’ve heard me talk about how you can look at there are two basic sets of Reformed churches. Those that are Presbyterian and those that are more the word “Reformed” specifically typically applies to them as a group—Christian Reformed Church, the Dutch and the German Reformed groups are in this Reformed tradition. Then you have the Presbyterian tradition from the islands, Scotland, England, etc.

It’s interesting to me that these two groups of churches out there have two different ways of providing for the churches, the local churches. The Presbyterians have stressed tithing and the Reformed churches have not just tithing as much but rather offerings and also allotments. In the older Reformed churches particularly Dutch and German there would be an allotment per family for expenses for the church and each church would have an allotment for the denomination as well. I think we’ll see today as we get to all the texts—I hope we get to that—a whole Bible approach really teaches both these things and we’ll see how those come together but certainly the tithe is an important aspect of God’s word to us. We talked about that last week.

I had a few questions this last week about some things that I had said and I guess it’s sort of like you know if a senator gets a letter he thinks if he gets a letter and there must be a thousand it represents a thousand people and if I get a question sometimes I think well there may be a few more people with that same question. So I did just want to touch on a couple of points of application from last week before we get into the offering and I want to do this very quickly because you can see through our outlines we have a lot of material.

I mentioned last week that the tithe is on the increase. The very simplest way to think of that in your mind is that in terms of livestock at the end of the year the new calves would be taken through a counting device or through a little path and they would mark every tenth one and that tenth calf or that tenth newborn sheep that would be the tithe and given to God’s ministers the Levites. I stress that the tithe is a personal tax so to speak that God places upon his people.

And it’s like a flat tax. You’ve heard about the flat tax proposals at the federal government. The tax is a flat tax. No matter if you make little or if you make much, it’s 10%. The word tithe means tenth. So it has to be 10%. Every tenth animal was tied to the Lord and given specifically to Levitical ministers so that they might, as their proper role is to do, teach the people the word of God both individually and corporately, house to house, as Paul says later on in the book of Acts, as well as on the day of the Lord, when the Lord comes in judgment upon his people in evaluation, he does so through means of his word.

The Levitical ministers also led in prayer which the scriptures use prayer as a summation of what worship is. And so those expenses also went to the Levites to provide for their personnel needs as they minister to the people in terms of the word of God and prayer.

The tithe is on the increase. And one thing I said last week that caused some questions is well you know if you’re starting a business out and you want to put the profits back into the business so your business can grow, how does that relate to this? And what I said last week—what I believe the scriptures teach—is that every tenth increase of the herd, every tenth of the increase of the herd is tithed. That’s before you put money back into building the business.

So what I tried to say is the tithe comes before expansion. It doesn’t say you take the cows out. If you had a hundred cows that were born this year, you could take fifty of them to grow your herd and build your business and then just tithe on the other fifty that you take out for yourself. No. The increase is tithed prior to investing back into the business. So on one hand, you could make a mistake in tithing—a disastrous mistake—by thinking that somehow it’s only what you take out for personal income out of a home business that should be tithed. No, the increase should be tithed. That one mistake would be to tithe too little.

Another mistake could be to tithe too much. Certainly there are expenses that occur during the year to the farmer and those expenses mean that the increase is not simply how much money you take in as a home business. You’ve got to deduct legitimate business expenses for that year. It’s before you can get to the increase of what your actual number of newborn calves, so to speak, coming out of your herd, your home business are. And so, if you just simply tithe on your gross without deducting expenses, you’re tithing too much.

Now, you can do that in the providence of God, but you’re not required. You’re not tithing then. You’re giving an offering above and beyond 10% of the increase. So, I want to help you understand it’s the increase that is tithed on—actual increase after expenses—but expenses do not include expansion. For the next year that comes after the tithe dollars is used for that.

I mentioned as well the idea of if you’re working for wages that some people—Reverend Jordan, Dr. Bahnsen—both think it’s legitimate since the civil government is stealing money from you in essence by extorting money by taking more than the legitimate biblical maximum which is 10%. Beyond that they speak as God. It’s interesting the flat tax in Washington DC being proposed by representative Amy—a conservative man—is 17%. Let’s say he did that and let’s say next year we have a flat tax of 17% for the federal government.

There are those who would say that the 7% that is over and above what they should be doing represents tyranny and theft—is not really increase to you. That’s part of your expense of doing business if they’re going to demand those kind of fees from you. And so you would take your wages and now you have to—there’s a legitimate function for the civil government to take up to 10% according to the scriptures. But beyond that, that 7% you wouldn’t tithe on what that is taken at.

Let’s say you make a $100 and let’s say they’re taking 20% of that. So you got $80 left. You tithe on $90 is what I’m suggesting because they have a legitimate right to the 10%. Okay, so you don’t tithe on just the 80 after everything they’ve taken out, but rather they’ve taken 10% too much and so you tithe on the $90. Okay, so that’s another practical example.

Again, I point you to Mr. Jordan’s articles for more explicit explanations and certainly feel free to ask me questions about application. It’s very important that you think through this and that we become obedient to these truths. Because as we’ve read last week—that the scripture at the beginning of this two-message or three-message series from the book of Malachi—that if we fail to honor God in tithes and offerings then there is a direct effect from it.

The tithe is a response to God’s grace of blessing us. How do we get increase? It’s God’s grace that gives us increase because we’re walking dead men in ourselves. Everything we touch does not turn to gold. Everything we touch turns to lead because that’s who we are, fallen creatures. God saves us and the tithe acknowledges the grace of God. And so it’s a response to his blessing us. It’s not done to merit favor.

You know that we got to repeat that over and over because our sinfulness wants to merit favor with God somehow. We’ll see that again in the offering for the tabernacle that’s taken up. God puts a restriction on how much people can give to the tabernacle because we’re all tempted to think that our own hands can gain us blessing. No. The tithe is an acknowledgement that we can’t do that. That it’s God’s blessing upon us.

And if we don’t properly tithe, then it indicates an extreme lack of faith and confidence in God. And it really is a rejection of his grace and it puts us then under works and law righteousness. Odd thing people would say, well, if you’re keeping the tithe, that’s law righteousness. But no, if you reject God’s tax, it’s an acknowledgement that you think that you can get the increase yourself and you don’t owe God that money.

And as a result, you think you’re working your way to some kind of blessing which is anathema to God. It’s the worst kind of sin we can engage in is thinking that we can merit favor with God somehow.

Okay, enough on the tithe. We’ll get back to offerings now. And what I want to do here—and I don’t know probably won’t be able to do this all today but let me just give you an overview of what I want to do here.

I want to take again—you know we talked about the reason why we’re talking on these subjects right now primarily is because for the last year God has laid it on the heart of several different groups of people here at RCC to consider the possibility of starting a fund of money so that we can buy land, purchase a building, build whatever it is so that we can stabilize and have an external visible symbolic structure for the permanence of the theology and the faith that exists at Reformation Covenant Church.

And so what we want to do is we want to approach that from an explicitly biblical position. We want to root out sinful ideas of this stuff and we want to pour in biblical content. And we want to do that looking at a whole Bible approach. You know, I think that’s probably the biggest thing that we can do to reform our lives is to look at a whole Bible approach instead of saying the scriptures don’t have answers for a lot of situations that we find ourselves in.

Maybe the scriptures do and we simply haven’t read them enough. We’ve read the wrong portions or not in context. So, we want to take a whole Bible approach, all the Bible for all of life. And so what I’ve done here is I’ve given you several sets of scriptures.

The first is from 2 Corinthians chapters 8 and 9. And 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is about a voluntary offering. It’s about offerings. It’s specifically about an offering that Paul is collecting amongst all the churches that he was going around at that particular point in time to assist the people that were starving and had a lack of food in Jerusalem.

The church remember there was a famine in the area. Agabus the prophet had predicted it. Paul had energized in the churches to contribute to the needs of the saints, the material, physical food needs of the saints at Jerusalem. And he had taken an offering from all the churches and brought it back. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 follows up 1 Corinthians when Paul told them to start to lay up provision bounty for the church of Jerusalem.

And in these two chapters, Paul addresses specifically how he’s going to come to them and take that offering to Jerusalem. And so 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is about an offering. Now, it’s about a particular kind of offering. It’s about an offering relative to helping another church in a time of specific financial need.

Corollary to us would be if we all heard that there was a great famine up in Seattle—Christ the Sovereign Covenant Church had people in it who couldn’t eat and had no food—we want to take up an offering for them. Maybe a better example would be if there was a large church, an important church that had spawned other churches—those other churches all to combine together to help that large church and it falls into financial difficulty. That’s what’s going on here. Jerusalem is the mother church and so all these other churches that have been spawned from it contribute together for the well-being of the church at Jerusalem.

It’s an offering. It’s a specific art, but we can get truths from it that we can apply to other offerings. That’s the point of using it that offerings can be applied in different ways, different needs.

As I prepared for this in the providence of God, Chris W. gave me a book by Donald Jensen, pastor out at Village Baptist Church where he takes 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 and writes this book—Your Church Can Excel in Global Giving. And these are the passages of scripture that people have focused upon as they try to encourage churches to give to global missions and the correlation they make is there’s a famine for the word of God out there and so churches in America particularly can give globally and assist the needs of the churches that have not yet been discovered and developed in missionary areas.

And you know I think that—I don’t know about a direct one-for-one correlation but certainly the truths about offerings found in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9—let me retract that—the truth of the offerings found in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. I’m trying to replace in my way of thinking and speech “principles” with “truth.” We have a truth giver—God—and truth directly comes from him. His truth about offerings that he tells in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 can certainly be applied to missionary giving.

And at some point in this church’s life, we may well want to take offerings and have a specific designated offering set up on a regular basis for missionaries that we might want to send out or support who have already been sent out. When Mr. Jensen makes an application, what I’m suggesting is that these same truths that we find in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 can also be applied and should be applied to a—if we decide to corporately together decide to have an offering for an extended period of time relative to the construction of real property at Reformation Covenant Church.

So we want to look at 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. A lot of good truths there.

Then I want us to look at specifically the offering for the real property—tabernacle and temple of the Old Testament. We’ll look at Exodus chapters 25 and 35 and we’ll look at the offering for the temple that is related there or for the tabernacle rather that is related there. You’ll see in your outlines that after we deal with these truths, we then have the offering for the tabernacle in Exodus 25 and 35 and some truths about that.

And related text to that are 1 Chronicles 29 that describes the offering for the temple in David’s period of time. And then Haggai 1 and Malachi 3, warnings against not building the temple when it was required to be built and warnings against stealing from God by not giving him offerings for specific things.

What I’m going to suggest is that these texts tell us—I’ll tell you where we’re going beforehand—that the real property of the church should be funded by free will offerings by the congregation and actually seen as a completely different entity than the tithe. That’s what I’m going to suggest when we get to that portion of the outline.

And then finally, we’re going to look today or maybe next week or whenever about the offerings, the atonement offering of Exodus 30. And what we’re going to do is look at some related texts. And I think these texts taken together, a whole Bible approach shows us that the maintenance certainly of the temple and maybe the tabernacle as well was based upon again not tithe, but the offerings of the people and specifically there is some relationship to the offering of atonement in Exodus 30 and it’s a little bit complicated but I think that there is a relationship there.

Exodus 30 is a troublesome text. R.J. Rushdoony has posited that Exodus 30 tells us that the way to finance civil government on a regular basis is a poll tax or a head tax. Not a percentage, a specific amount. And it is maybe shocking to you but it shouldn’t that there are men in England who’ve been greatly influenced by Reverend Rushdoony’s work and the Thatcher government actually began to institute a head tax.

I’m sure in part due to the advisers that she had who are influenced by Reverend Rushdoony. There are those who think, as I say now, that Exodus 30 tells us that civil government should be financed by a head tax or poll tax. They tried it in England and there were riots because we live in a day and age that talks about graduated taxes, sees the government as a vehicle for taking from one group and giving to another.

And in any event, that is one interpretation. There are others who think that’s completely wrong. But in any event, I think if we look at the extended text when we get to that point of the outline, we’ll see that indeed the upkeep of the real property of the church, the assembly of the congregation—tabernacle and temple originally built from the offerings of the people—that upkeep and repair of the temple and tabernacle is done with using money that is collected not by means of the tithe but rather through offerings.

And 2 Chronicles 24 and 1 Kings 12:4 will give us three different sources of money specifically that were used at that particular period of time to repair the temple. And one of them seems to be Exodus 30. So that’s where we’re going. We’re looking at truths of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. They look at specific application to this idea of what should we do? Should we collect a special offering for real property of Reformation Covenant Church?

And how is that regulated by the scriptures? All of us want to avoid the sins of so many churches we’ve seen that have gone into debt etc. and applied the building of real property from a completely erroneous perspective. So as we talk now about 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 let us as we think through this particular offering for the poor think realize too that these same truths can be applied to mission offerings—can be applied to offerings for the tabernacle or temple or real property of the church as well as other things that special offerings may be taken for as well.

Perhaps medical expenses of someone or something. In any event, these are the truths that are found.

Okay, so that’s where we’re going. And now let’s look specifically at 2 Corinthians chapter 8 and 9 and go through these truths.

2 Corinthians 8 and 9 gives us the overview of an offering that is first a voluntary offering and secondly for the poor in Jerusalem. That should be fairly obvious, but as I said, this really builds upon 1 Corinthians 16.

Let me just read 1 Corinthians 16:1-4. Paul wrote in the first epistle to the Corinthians: “Now about the collection for God’s people—for God’s people in Jerusalem, that is, do what I told the Galatian churches to do. On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up so that when I come, no collections will have to be made. Then when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable for me to go, also they will accompany me.”

So he’s telling them in the first epistle of the Corinthians, there’s going to be this offering taken—just like the churches in Galatia. We want you to take up offering for the brothers, God’s people in Jerusalem. There was a famine at that time and so that was necessary. This as well tells us—these particularly 2 Corinthians 8 and 9—he says, “I don’t give this by way of commandment. You can decide how much you’re going to give.” He tells them in 1 Corinthians 16. He repeats that here—that it was really up to each person what God put upon, laid upon their heart, how much they were going to give for the poor in Jerusalem.

So we see that this is a voluntary offering. It is not the tithe. The tithe is required and Paul makes quite clear throughout these two chapters that this is voluntary. Each believer had to decide personally whether or not to be involved. That’s what Reverend Jensen says in his book and he’s correct. He also said that each participated according to his or her ability. Paul said there, you know, depending on how much you have resources that’s compensate with what you should give as well and they followed through and did it.

So this is a voluntary offering for the poor in Jerusalem.

On this aspect of the volunteerism, I want to read a quote from John Calvin and there’s a lot of truth in this you can apply to lots of areas of your lives but if you want this from you can get it from me later. Calvin said this first and he talked about now motivation for our actions—how we’re motivated to do things.

He said first: “We may sometimes act against our wills under the compulsion of shame or fear.” So someone can shame us or guilt us or cause us to be fearful and so we can do something.

Second he said: “We may act willingly but under the compulsion of influences originating outside of ourselves.” We may essentially say okay I’ll do it but the primary motivation is influences outside of ourselves.

But third Calvin wrote: “We may act at the promptings of our own mind, at to act at the promptings of our own mind when we freely set ourselves to do what we ought.”

And of course, it is that third way of giving in the context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. It’s that third way of obedience that when we mature, we mature into. And you think of your child growing up. Your child is little, fear of the rod will cause them to do things that they should do. Well, that’s not what we want ultimately. They’re motivated by that. Secondly, as they grow up, they can say, “Well, I guess I’ll do it because you know mom and dad want me to da da da da da da da da da da da da da da da and that’s a good motivation. That’s an improvement.

And then the third way that Calvin speaks of—the voluntary giving of God’s people in connection with 2 Corinthians 8 and 9—is when they freely do what they ought to do. The Spirit of God now has brought us to maturation and we do things because the Spirit teaches us through the word and our hearts delight to do those things.

Now that’s the grace of God and that’s what we’ll talk about next—is that this demonstrates the grace of God in and of ourselves. In our fallen estate, we don’t want to do the right thing. But glory to God, all glory to God and thanks to him, he sheds abroad his grace in our hearts and causes us to move beyond rebellion against doing what we ought, move past the slavish obedience based on fear, move past external influences to being influenced by the Holy Spirit and loving to do what we ought to do.

And you’ll read in verses 1-7 of 2 Corinthians chapter 8—this Paul says, and we’re now in the third point of the outline—it demonstrates the grace of God.

“Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. What Paul’s doing here is he’s telling the church at Corinth about the churches of Macedonia. Paul has no problem making a comparison from Corinthian church to Macedonian church to stir up the Corinthian church. You’ll see throughout this, we’ll get to this point a little bit later in the outline, that Paul is stirring up the grace of God in the Corinthian church through various means.

And one means is to tell them of the grace of God at Macedonia.

In these seven verses, he says, “Look what these guys are doing here. How that a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded under the riches of their liberality. They had problems in Macedonia. They had problems with tribulation and affliction. They had deep poverty. And yet all this abounded unto the riches of their liberality.” See, often times it’s the poorest people who give the most because they know that they’ve got to trust and believe in God.

“For to their power, I bear record. Yay. And beyond their power, they were willing of themselves. Not only were they able to give based upon what they were able to give, but beyond their ability, they were willing of themselves, praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

About him so much that we desired Titus that as he had begun so that he would also find in you the same grace also. Therefore, as you abound in everything in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all diligence and in your love to us, see that you abound in this grace also.”

Three times in this text, grace is mentioned. The text begins and ends this particular section of 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 with grace. Offerings are a result of the grace of God. It’s not what we want to do. Calvin over and over in his comments talk about how stingy we are, you know, because we don’t have faith that God’s going to provide for us. We hold on to everything we got real tight. It’s the grace of God that is demonstrated through the gifts and the offerings to the church at Jerusalem.

And Paul begins that by talking about the grace of God at Macedonia and prays that just as in all these other things the grace of God is manifest that this grace of giving would be manifest as well as you abound in faith, speaking, knowledge, diligence, love. Do you have those attributes in your life? Faith, ability to speak to others about the things of the Lord, a knowledge of God’s word, diligence to do what’s right, love. These are all Paul says very explicitly, the grace of God.

No, giving of money is no different. It’s the grace of God. Hey, again, this point cannot be overstressed because our hearts seek to make some kind of way for us to be good to God in and of ourselves. We want to earn that favor of God, but no, God’s grace is what causes us to abound in these gifts.

So, this offering is based upon the grace of God. And I want to read several quotes here from Calvin—three specifically. They’re fairly short.

First, speaking about how this is the work of God again. He says, “Both of these are, as Paul rightly affirms, the work of the Lord. For men quickly fail when they are not sustained by the Spirit of the Lord. Who is the author of all comfort and deeprooted lack of confident faith clings to us, holds us back from all the duties of love till it is overcome by the grace of the same Spirit.”

Understand that’s true. Understand that when you do a good thing it is the overcoming of your sinful evil desires by the grace of the Holy Spirit and God then causes us to delight in his law, moves us from that rebellion to obedience but that movement is accomplished with the grace of the Spirit in us we can do nothing.

It’s the grace of God. Be all glory be to him. Recognize that he does indeed exhibit grace in your life. Don’t deny the grace. Don’t deny that he’s moved you from rebellion and from not doing what you should to what you ought. Recognize that transition itself is what you’re to thank God for the grace that has been accomplished.

Paul writes of the afflict—or rather Calvin writes of the affliction of the Macedonians. He says that they wanted of course to help their brethren who had obviously had been hardpressed. By joy that Paul speaks there of the joy that they had even in spite of the afflictions in that section from 2 Corinthians. By joy he means that spiritual comfort by which believers sustain themselves in afflictions.

The ungodly either delude themselves at empty comforts by avoiding the thought of evil and diverting their minds to vague meditations or else they completely give way to grief and let themselves be overwhelmed by it. But believers look at their very afflictions and there’s an occasion for rejoicing as we may see in Romans 8. We know the truth. We have that unction of the Holy Spirit by which we know all things. And so we can rejoice in our afflictions knowing that they come from the hand of God and knowing that somehow they’re intended by him and his providence and his sovereignty for our good.

And so the Macedonians were brought to a position of joy even in the context of afflictions and of liberality and giving even in the context of their own initial poverty.

Calvin speaks about liberality as well in his commentary. He says this: “The thing that makes us more closefisted than we should be with our money is that we’re too careful and look too far forward at possible dangers that might come upon us and so become too cautious and anxious and work out too fear during our whole life and how much we lose when the smallest part is taken away. But the man who depends on the Lord’s blessing as his mind set free from these vexatious cares and at the same time his hands set free for beneficence.”

That’s a beautiful text as well. Isn’t that who we are? We’re always worried about the future. We got to save every penny. This might happen. I might end up—I don’t know how many old people I’ve talked to who are afraid that they’re going to get some illness. They’re going to get into the hospital and all their wealth is going to be eaten up. And as a result, they guard that so preciously they keep it all locked up and they don’t want to be beneficent or liberal to giving to missions or whatever Christian causes may be or just for the joy of sharing what they have with others.

Calvin says that’s true of all of us. We all hold on too tight. We look too far forward. We’re too afraid that we might need that money in the future. And so our hand is closed from beneficence and our goods are guarded by our own fear. And really that’s what it is. A lack of belief that God won’t take care of us.

Now I’m not advocating a foolish gift. Certainly that is talked about. We’ll see that as we get through the rest of this text. But on the other hand, we do want to see that our normal tendency, our normal besetting sin is a stinginess based upon fear.

Okay? So this offering that’s talked about in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 was voluntary. It was specifically for the administration of the poor in Jerusalem and it was a demonstration of the grace of God.

And then fourth, it continued for a period of time. We read in verse 10 of chapter 8:

“Herein I give my advice for it is expedient for you have begun before not only to do but also to be forward a year ago. Now therefore perform the doing of it. That is there was a readiness of will so there may be a permanence also out of that a performance rather also out of that which he have. For if there be first a willing mind that is accepted according to that a man hath and not according to that he hath not. For I mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened.”

Verse 24 of 2 Corinthians 8: “Wherefore show ye to them and before the churches the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.”

And then 2 Corinthians 9:5: “Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren that they would go before unto you and make up beforehand your bounty, whether you had noticed before that the same might be ready as a matter of bounty and not as of covetousness.”

What Paul is saying here is that the Corinthians had said a year or so prior that they were going to do thus and such. They were going to be able to provide x amount of dollars for the relief of the poor in Jerusalem. And they had decided this a year ago. And now the second epistle comes and now he tells them, “Now I want you to follow through with what you promised or stated you could do a year ago. You put your hand to the task. Then you gave some commitments and now I’m praying to God that you follow through.”

And he says, “I’m a little worried about this.” From the text we read from 2 Corinthians 9. I’m worried not for your reputation but for my reputation. Understand? He says, that I have boasted of you to other churches. The Corinthians are going to do thus and such relative to the poor at Jerusalem. I boasted of you and if you fall short somehow, it’s going to serve for my reputation being harmed.

And now he’s not concerned about his personal reputation, but he is concerned about his reputation as an apostle. We’ll see that later in terms of administration of the funds as well. So Paul says, “I’m a little worried about this. I’m sending some men to you and they’re going to go around and check out how well you’re doing in terms of meeting the commitment you made roughly a year before because I want to make sure when I get there that what you said you’re going to give is there.

So the Corinthians had apparently committed to a particular—maybe I don’t know how specific or general a particular amount rough or general—I don’t or specific. I don’t know a year or so prior. A year ago he says. A year before. Now they’re following through on that commitment.

Now this—you know this is the great text. You know, I’ll this book by Donald Jensen and other books that take these same texts, what they really like to stress is this idea of faith, promise, offering. And while I don’t believe that everything that they’re saying is correct, I think they are correct here that there was a commitment based upon what people thought they could do. And there was some form of covenant that’s in place here then between the Corinthians and Paul.

And so I think it is appropriate for people to make covenants—trying to pledged themselves to do particular things the Lord willing. And of course, that’s always important to understand that the basis for all of this is the grace of God given to us. You know, we’re told not to say I’m going to go here or there, but “Lord willing, I will do this thing. God being my helper.” I think that’s a phrase that is very important to add to our covenants. God being our helper.

And you’ll find it in all the for instance the membership affirmations and the Episcopal churches, other churches as well, you’ll see that the responses are positive. “God being our helper.” These Corinthians had apparently made such a promise. They committed to it for a period of time. It wasn’t just a one-shot sort of a deal. And this means it’s legitimate. It’s legitimate to take offerings that extend over a period of time. It’s legitimate to ask people to covenant in some way to perform a particular activity for the particular offering.

Next, this was spurred on by written and personal exertations. This is true. This point is from Mr. Jensen’s book as well. He’s absolutely correct. Paul here is not—he just doesn’t leave him alone for a year and say, “Well, you know, it’s been a year and I’m going to come pick it up and that’s that.” No, he writes to them about the churches of Macedonia. He writes letter an epistle to the Corinthians.

And in that epistle, he tries to stir them up in terms of their giving for this particular project and he actually sends people to them as well a delegation to stir them up to action. So it’s not wrong for churches to do that—to remind people of their commitments, to remind people both through written instruction and through personal exhortation. That’s what these two chapters are all about. Paul is trying to stir them on and exhort them, stimulate them with written and then with the personal involvement as well.

Sixth, this offering is not intended to decapitalize. He says in verse 13, “I mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened, but by an equality that now at this time your abundance may be supply—may be a supply for their want that their abundance also may be a supply for your want that there be equality.”

So he’s saying he is not—he is not saying we want you to give so much that you’re going to be capitalized yourself. We’re going to give so much that you’re going to be found wanting. Then he says, “No, that’s not the idea here.”

Calvin comments, well, I’ll go to the next point first. So, he says, “You’re not intended to be capitalized, but yet to be generous.” That’s point number seven, I guess it is. Should have been used numbers.

Point G: Yet to be generous, relying upon God’s gracious provision. Verses six and the following where he read about the sower and who sows sparingly will reap sparingly etc.

A Calvin commenting on these two truths together says that “God does not wish us to be reduced to straits in order that others may be at ease for our liberality just rewarding what we just read about how he doesn’t want them to be hurt but Kelvin went on to say at the same time it is for us to stir ourselves up from time to time to liberality since we should not be too afraid of going to excess the danger is rather that we shall do too little.

But this teaching is needed to refute fancies or fanatics rather who think that you have done nothing unless you strip yourself completely and put everything in a common fund.”

So there are those radicals. And so you know Paul says I don’t want you to get rid of everything you have. I’m not trying to decapitalize you. But yet also he spurs them on to be generous in their giving. Talking about the sewer and the seed and it’s God’s grace that will provide for them etc.

And so he goes both ways. And Calvin says and this is certainly the experience of us all I think is that most people are too grudging. And so while we do want to be careful that we avoid the fanatics who say you got to give everything to these causes, at the same time we do want to stir each other up to liberality and giving at these particular times.

Calvin goes on to comment about the agricultural sewing of the seed motif that Paul relates to here in this portion of the scripture. And he says Calvin says this: “He says this teaching should be firmly fixed in our mind. So that whenever fleshly prudence holds us back from doing good—doing good out of fear for what we shall lose—we may immediately resist its prompings by remembering how the Lord declares that in doing good we are sowing seed. This harvest should be understood both in terms of the spiritual reward of eternal life and also as referring to the earthly blessings with which God honors the beneficent.

Not only in heaven does God reveal the reward the well-doing of the godly but in this world as well. And as if he—it is, if he it is as if he had said the more liberal you are to your neighbors the more liberal you shall find the blessing that God pours forth on you.”

And so God wants us to hold that model in front of our minds.

Paul quotes in verse 9: “As it is written, he hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, his righteousness remaineth forever.”

That’s a quote from Psalm 112:9. And again to quote from Calvin’s commentary: “Where among the other virtues of a godly man are listed, the prophet mentions that he will not be found wanting in beneficence, but just as a water always flows from an unfailing fountain, so the flow of his liberality will never cease.”

Paul also refers to manna in the context of all of this. In Deuteronomy 8:16-18, we read that “God fed thee with manna which thy fathers knew not. Lest perhaps when you come into the land that I shall give thee, thou shalt say, my hand and my strength have given me this well because it is the Lord that gives me power to get wealth.”

So Paul in exhorting them here not to decapitalize themselves and yet to be generous in giving reminds them indeed that they can free up their hand and that after all it is God who gives us wealth not our own efforts.

And then finally—well not finally—the next to last point: It is entrusted to designated messengers for administration and financial accountability.

2 Corinthians 8:19-21: “And not that only, but that we but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord and declaration of your ready mind avoiding this that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us providing for honest things not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.”

Here’s where I said that Paul was concerned about his reputation the sight of men as well. And so he knew that this Corinthian church and these other churches were providing a large amount of money. And Paul had made arrangements for particular representatives and messengers to accompany this pool of money so that it wasn’t just Paul so that men could not speak about him and slander him. Well, they could, but he was taking whatever means was proper in the sight of God to avoid the slander that might come upon him.

So this teaches us that when we do deal with large sums of money and predicting the context of offerings. That’s what we have here. Financial accountability and means for administering that offering. Paul gives us an example here—are proper and appropriate. And so we have here that truth laid out for that truth rather—again that God wants us to avoid even the hint of suspicion relative to the use of financial funds, offerings for others.

And so those funds particularly are to be administered and provided for—over side of with a group of men, a group of trusted men whose reputations are good. And so a special arrangement is made for that particular offering. And if we decide as a church to come up with a period of time over which we provide offerings for the establishment of real property, this will be an important part of that truth—a specific accountability structure that makes it obvious to all so that we might also, as Paul did, provide what was honest not just to the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.

And then finally, all this was motivated by the love of God.

2 Corinthians 8:15, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”

The basis for all of this is Jesus. Earlier in 2 Corinthians 8, Paul spoke that Jesus who was rich in all things became poor for our sakes, laid down his life. And this is God’s unspeakable gift to us of salvation and the response of helping the brothers—helping the extended body of Jesus Christ—is motivated by a deep and sincere love of God.

So these truths from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 tell us that it is proper to have a voluntary offering for—in this particular case ministration to the poor of particular church but by way of application and we’ll see from next week specifically relative to real property—we see that it is proper to have a voluntary offering where people come together for particular causes and when they do that.

They should understand that what they’re doing is not meriting favor from God, but rather they’re demonstrating the grace of God in their giving for whatever cause is proper and fit. It is proper to have an offering that is committed to over a period of time and that is particularly required of course and when you’re trying to raise a large amount of money to help a large number of people in Jerusalem as Paul was doing here—in other ways as well.

This offering was spurred on by written and personal exhortations. We have a tendency not to want—I have a tendency not to want to talk about money much. I haven’t talked about tithes or offerings in this church, as far as I know, for quite a long time. But yet, that’s a sinful reticence. A Spurgeon, as I said before several times now, said that men needed two conversions, one for their soul and one for their pocketbook.

He was very plain spoken about money. And he should be because our Savior was. Our Savior spoke about it a lot. And it’s important for all of us to speak to each other, to stir ourselves up to liberality in giving, the liberality relative to the assisting of each other and of other causes as well. We need to encourage each other through personal exhortations. Paul found no problem doing that. He did it and it’s proper in the context of an offering for missions, for the poor, for a building project or whatever to try to exhort and encourage and stimulate liberality through both written and personal means.

This offering is not intended nor are any to be…