WWUTT 1696 Whoever Sows Sparingly Will Reap Sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:1-6)

Giving as a Cheerful Response to God’s Grace

When it comes to giving, the Lord loves a cheerful giver. It says in 2 Corinthians 9, 7, we don't give out of obligation or under compulsion. We give as we desire to give. When we understand the text.

Many of the Bible stories and verses we think we know, we don't. When we understand the text is committed to teaching sound doctrine and rebuking those who contradict it. Visit our website at www .wutt .com.

Here once again is Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. We come back to our study of 2 Corinthians up to chapter 9 this week. If you want to open up your Bible and join with me there, a little bit shorter chapter, just 15 verses. So, I'm going to go ahead and read the whole thing here at the start.

This is out of the Legacy Standard Bible. The Word of the Lord through the Apostle Paul writing to the church in Corinth. For it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints.

For I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the Macedonians, that Achaia has been prepared since last year, and your zeal stirred up most of them. But I have sent the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case, so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared, lest if any Macedonians come with me and find you unprepared, we, not to speak of you, be put to shame in this certainty of ours.

So, I regarded it necessary to encourage the brothers that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised blessing, so that the same would be ready as a blessing and not as a begrudging obligation.

Now I say this, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to make every grace abound to you, so that in everything, at every time, having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed. As it is written, he scattered abroad, he gave to the needy, his righteousness stands forever.

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed, and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in everything for all generosity, which through us is bringing about thanksgiving to God.

For the ministry of this service is not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also abounding through many thanksgivings to God. Because of the proven character given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the generosity of your fellowship toward them and toward all, while they also, by prayer on your behalf, long for you because of the surpassing grace of God on you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. And we'll be considering the things that we've read here in this chapter between today and tomorrow. So to recap here briefly, Paul has instructed the Corinthians to take up an offering that will be given to the saints in Jerusalem who are suffering persecution and a famine that is taking place there.

So remember that the distance that we're talking about here, Corinth is in Achaia, which is right there on the Greek peninsula. Jerusalem is way down to the Southeast on the Eastern side of the Mediterranean Sea.

So this is an offering that's been taken up by several different churches, those that are in Achaia and Macedonia and Galatia, those three territories. And as Paul is collecting that offering, he's then going to make his way back to Jerusalem to give relief to the saints who are there.

So we're coming back to that again. And in the midst of talking about this collection that they need to be taking, we also have these great instructions here about how we should regard giving unto the Lord.

Like this gift that's being taken, it's given to the church in Jerusalem, but it's giving to God. Right. Just like we're taking up an offering in church or you consider your tithes to the church or something like that.

All of that is money that is given unto the Lord. Believe it or not, it takes money to operate and run a church. If you've got a building, you've got to pay money to keep the lights on. But that money that you give, even though it might be for a practical purpose, like paying bills, not to mention money that might go to missions causes and things like that.

But we're just talking about money that would go to pay the bills. That's still money that's being given unto the Lord for the work of ministry that is being done in that church. May we handle those things as good stewards, being entrusted with that which ultimately belongs to God.

It all belongs to God. And Paul kind of makes mention of that, especially when you consider the last verse here. He says, thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. So because of so much that God has given to us, it's in light of that, we need to be generous with what we have because it all belongs to God.

So be generous with it to others that we may benefit brothers and sisters in the Lord who are in need. We come back to verse one here. We've got a verse, a word in this verse that we don't use very often.

At least I don't. I don't know if you've ever used the word superfluous before, but rarely. I don't know that I've ever used that in conversation. So verse one, for it is superfluous for me to write to you about this ministry to the saints.

In other words, Paul is saying, I don't need to tell you this. You already know about this. And the Corinthians have already been gathering that offering faithfully since Paul had encouraged them to do this a year before.

So he goes on in verse two to say, for I know your readiness of which I boast about you to the Macedonians that Achaia has been prepared since last year and your zeal stirred up most of them. So it was in the previous letter, at least the previous letter we have in Canon, First Corinthians, chapter 16, where Paul tells the Corinthians to be taking up an offering on the first day of the week.

And that offering needed to be taken regularly as they gather as the church, not taking up not taking it up when Paul comes to them, because if they wait until Paul comes, then they're just taking up an offering because Paul said so.

And they're also not taking up as much money because it hasn't been a little bit given over a period of time. It's been OK, whatever you've got now, give in to it now so we can give this money to Paul that he may take it to Jerusalem.

They've been collecting this particular offering for a year now as the offering plates have been passed in the church in Corinth. They've been collecting this offering longer than the Galatians have been and the Achaeans have been, for it was in the previous chapter that Paul said this collection began with you.

You were the first that were told and started taking up the collection to benefit the Christians in Jerusalem. So once again, because the Corinthians have been taking this up for that long, this stirred up the Macedonians to also want to be involved.

Remember that we read last week in chapter eight that the churches in Macedonia begged. They wanted to be part of this. Hey, let us be part of this collection as well. We've heard about what the Corinthians are doing, what they're taking up.

You've mentioned it to the Galatians. We want to be able to do it also. So they begged Paul that they might be partakers in this grace that was going to be extended to the church there at Jerusalem. So Paul says, I have boasted about you to the Macedonians, the Achaeans, which that's Corinth, because that's right there in Achaea.

They've been prepared since last year. And your zeal, your enthusiasm for this offering, your faithfulness and diligence to collect it has stirred up most of them that they would be encouraged to want to participate in this as well.

So then verse three, but I have sent the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not be made empty in this case so that, as I was saying, you may be prepared. So the brothers that Paul is mentioning here, that would have been Titus.

So this was that closing section of chapter eight, verses 16 to 24. It's Titus, the famous brother. And then there's another brother, a tested brother that's been mentioned as well. The famous brother and the tested brother, their names aren't given.

Only Titus's name is given. But these three men are the ones who are being sent ahead to Corinth to take up the offering. And so they're coming to gather it up so that the Corinthians would not be embarrassed.

Should the Macedonians show up or somebody from Macedonia come with Paul and then they find out, OK, so the Corinthians have not been collecting this offering like we thought they were. So the so Titus and these other two guys, they're coming ahead of Paul and anybody else to make sure the Corinthians indeed have this offering.

So it would not be an embarrassment to the Corinthians and it wouldn't be an embarrassment to Paul, who had been boasting about the Corinthians. We go on to verse four, lest if any Macedonians come with me to find you unprepared, we, not to speak of you, be put to shame in this certainty of ours, because Paul has been boasting about the Corinthians.

I am certain they have been faithful in this. They have been collecting this offering. They're ready for us to come and get it so that we can take it to the Christians in Jerusalem. So then, verse five, so I regarded it necessary to encourage the brothers that they would go on ahead to you and arrange beforehand your previously promised blessing.

You have promised to give this money, so they're going to come in and help you with it so that the same would be ready as a blessing and not as a begrudging obligation. So you've been collecting this money that it might be a blessing to the church and also that it would be a blessing to you.

Like we are we are blessed to give. We might be blessed to receive, but you've heard the old saying, the old proverb is better to give than to receive. So we might receive more blessing and giving and not just in receiving.

So this is that blessing that Paul is talking about with the Corinthians. You likewise would be blessed, not not out of a begrudging obligation. So if you wait to the last minute when somebody shows up now, you're like, oh, well, we've committed this offering.

So now we've got to start taking it up. Now it's not out of genuineness of heart. Now it's a an obligation and you're kind of, you know, grumpy about it. We got to do this. We didn't do this. Now we have to do it.

So it's a begrudging obligation. You didn't want to have to do it. You weren't really diligent or faithful in doing it. And so now that you're having to do it at the last minute, you're you don't have any joy, any zeal in it, because your zeal has not been there since I have talked to you about this offering a year ago.

Now, Paul is going to continue to talk about our our willingness to give not under compulsion, not out of obligation, but we do so out of our love and our desire for one another. So we go on to verse six to read.

Sowing Generously and Reaping Generously

Now, this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. And he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. Once again, it is better to give than to receive. Right. You want to be a blessing to others.

You will be blessed in this matter as well. And if you if you sow generously like and this is talking to the Corinthians as if they have been collecting since last year. This is not just a matter of telling the Corinthians, hey, give a lot of money when you give.

That's often the way this verse is taken. Right. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. So if you give a whole lot of money in the offering plate this coming Sunday, then you will reap a whole lot in the end.

This isn't necessarily talking about a big amount at a moment of giving, but rather that the giving has been genuine and it's been going on for a long period of time. So there is going to be a big offering that the men are coming to Corinth to collect, but it's not big because they're rich and they're just dumping a bunch of money on them right when they arrive.

Like, hey, guys, let's take a love offering real quick. Right. It's going to be a big offering because they've been collecting it since last year. So they've not been sparing in this offering that will benefit the Christians at Jerusalem.

They have been sowing generously. Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly and who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. Remember back to chapter eight, Paul said that this was chapter eight, verse twelve.

If the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not not according to what a person does not have. So many of us will think of like if I just had a lot of money, then I would be really, really generous with what God blesses me with.

But because I don't have a lot of money, I cannot be as generous. That's not the measure of our genuineness. The measure of our genuineness is going to be what are we faithful with right now? You can you can think that you would give a whole lot of money if you were given a whole lot of money.

But that that doesn't really amount to anything. I'm not even trying to be punny. Quite literally, it doesn't amount to anything. If you if you just desire to give money that you do not have, what are you doing with what you have?

So, so generously, that makes sense. OK, I don't want to explain my joke anyway. So whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. What do you have?

What can you give? Give it. And as the Corinthians have been collecting it over this long period of time, then it is going to be a generous gift that will be given to the Christians that are there at Jerusalem.

We go on from verse six to verse seven. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart. Again, not with what you don't have, but what you do have. Paul goes on to say, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Now I'm going to finish right here today and we're going to pick up with the same two verses tomorrow and then finish up the chapter verses six and seven. So let me read those again without interruption so that you hear the principle, the concept that Paul is laying out.

Now, this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

So when we give, it is not out of an obligation. It is not out of a set amount. You have to give this set amount in order to be a faithful giver. Nothing like that is said in the New Testament anywhere, that there's this percentage that you must give of your income in order to be a faithful giver unto the Lord.

And somebody might argue, well, yeah, but it's in the Old Testament to give the tithe. Different sort of a circumstance. That was a Levitical tithe. And then there were a couple of other tithes as well that ultimately amounted up to what was probably twenty three, twenty four percent of a person's income went to the Lord.

So it wasn't just a tenth. It was more than that. And in the theocratic system that Israel was under, that was more like taxes than it was like the offering that we give to the church. We're going to talk about this a little bit more tomorrow.

I'll share with you the what video that I did on tithing, and we'll we'll apply that to this principle that Paul is laying out here. But basically, the principle on giving is give with a genuine, generous heart.

Not under compulsion, but because you desire to do it and you have joy in doing it, not dragging your feet in doing it, but desiring to give unto the Lord. For the benefit of his church, for the advancement of the ministry, for the blessing of the saints, for God loves a cheerful giver.

God’s Indescribable Gift and the Blessing of Generosity

And we go on in verse eight to read, and God is able to make every grace abound to you so that in everything, at every time, having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed. Now, that abundance may not be monetarily.

Indeed, the Lord will give to us that we may give to others, but that abundance is not monetarily. It's an abundance of love and charity and generosity that we have for others because of the love of God that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

Let's finish there and we'll pick up tomorrow. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this indescribable gift you have given to us, the Lord Jesus Christ, the greatest treasure that we could have, the gift of the Son himself who lived a perfect life, who died on the cross for our sins, who rose again from the dead so that all who believe in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.

And by faith in Jesus, we are made fellow heirs of the kingdom of God. It's because of this generosity that you have shown to us. May we be generous in our giving unto the Lord and unto others. And we ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thank you for listening to When We Understand the Text with Pastor Gabe Hughes. If you'd like to support this ministry, visit our website www .wutt .com and click on the Give tab in the top right corner of the page.

Join us again tomorrow as we continue our Bible study when we understand the text.