Series: 2
Corinthians
Title:
The Acceptance of Giving
Text: 2
Cor 8: 11-12
Date:
October 22, 2017
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
What does
God accept? That is a question that every believer is interested in. It should
be a question that everyone is interested in.
Our text
tells us what God accepts when it comes to giving. But the principle applies to the matter of
salvation as well.
The
Corinthian church had been willing a year ago to take up an offering to give to
the needy saints at Jerusalem. The apostle Paul says,
2 Corinthians 8: 11: Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there
was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of
that which ye have. 12: For if
there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man
hath, and not according to that he hath not.
Our subject: The Acceptance of Giving
Proposition: God accepts that which is willingly given according to
what a man has, not according to what he does not have.
One, God
only accepts that which is actually given—first to God and secondly to those in
need. Two, God only accepts that which
is given from a willing heart. Three, God
does not expect or require us to give what we do not possess, only that which
we do possess—If there be first a willing
mind, it is accepted according
to that a man hath, and not
according to that he hath not.
PERFORMED
2 Corinthians 8: 11: Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there
was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance…
God only
accepts that which is actually performed. Christ was willing from eternity to
be Surety for those God chose and entrusted to him to save. Our suretyship means we agree to pay if a
person cannot pay. Christ’s Suretyship
was agreeing to pay while already knowing his people would fall into sin and
could not pay. Christ is God. God knows
the end from the beginning. God knows the expected end which he has for his
people. So Christ knew the end from the beginning. He knew we would not be able
to pay that which we owed.
Yet, not
only was Christ willing, when the predestinated hour came, Christ willing
performed the doing of it.
2 Corinthians 8: 9: For ye know the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that
ye through his poverty might be rich.
Galatians 4: 4:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a
woman, made under the law, 5: To
redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of
sons.
WILLING MIND
2 Corinthians 8: 12: For if
there be first a willing mind, it is accepted…
Not only
does God accept only the performance, God only accepts the performance from a
willing mind. Did Christ perform the work of redeeming his people willingly? He
said,
Psalm 40:8 I
delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
John 4: 34: Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the
will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.
Luke 22: 42: Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove
this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.
It was by
Christ’s willingness that all his people are perfected forever:
Hebrews 10: 10: By the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
From whom
does a willing mind in a believer originate? A willing mind comes from Christ
and his power.
Psalm 110: 3: Thy people shall be willing in the
day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the mornaing:
thou hast the dew of thy youth.
Christ
makes us willing to come to him in faith. But Christ also makes us willing to
do every good work that God foreordained we shall do.
Hebrews 13:21: Make you perfect in every good work to do
his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 2:13: For it is God which worketh in you both
to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So if we
have this willing mind, we thank God for giving it:
2 Corinthians 8:16: But thanks be to God, which put the
same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
So first,
God only accepts the performance and secondly God only accepts the performance
from a willing mind.
ACCORDING TO THAT A MAN HATH
2 Corinthians 8: 12: For if there be first a
willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to
that he hath not.
This
principle applies not only to giving but also to salvation. When we have very little we tend to think
along these lines, “The amount I have to
give is so insignificant, I will wait to give until I have more—until I can
give a substantial amount.” Consider that thought in terms of salvation.
What if I say, “Well, I believe on Christ
but my faith is so small, I will wait until I have more faith then I will
confess Christ publicly.” That is making the quality of faith to be
the touchstone of my acceptance with God rather than Christ. That is works.
So it is
if I make the amount of my gift to be the test of acceptance with God.
God will
not accept us if we bring before him that which we do not possess. In our natural state, we did not possess
anything acceptable to God: no righteousness before his law, no holiness of
heart, no liberty to approach him, only bondage in sin. All we were and all we could produce was sin.
If we try to bring a righteousness or holiness to God which we do not possess,
God will not accept it—it is accepted
according to what a man hath, not according to that he hath not.
What did
Christ have when he presented himself to be offered up in place of his people? He
had perfect faith. He had perfect sinless perfection. He had all fitness to
take the place of his people.
What did
Christ have after he cried it is finished? He had accomplished perfect satisfaction
for God’s justice. He had brought in everlasting righteousness for God’s people.
He had put an end to sin for his people. He had glorified God, honored God’s
law, and honored God himself. Therefore,
according to what he had, God accepted him!
He raised him from the dead as he promised and gave him glory as the
GodMan Mediator to call out his people—It
is accepted according to what a man hath, not according to that he hath not.
So by
Christ, after a sinner is drawn to cast all our care on Christ, God freely
makes us possess somethings so that we have them. What do we have by God’s
grace through Christ—scriptrue says “All
things are yours.” Through faith in
Christ we have righteousness by Christ establishing the law for us. We have holiness by Christ dwelling in us. We are redeemed, set free and have liberty to
approach unto God by Christ our Redeemer! We have the mind of Christ by Christ
our Wisdom! We have all things in Christ our All! Before God, his elect have always been
accepted in the beloved Christ Jesus. But now, in our own conscious, we know we
are accepted of God.
But what
if we say, “Well, I will come to God when
I am able to gain a little more righteousness? Or when I am just a little more
holy?” We easily recognize that as
making our works to be the deciding factor in our salvation rather than Christ.
God will not accept it. Understand, the same is true when it comes to our
giving. If I determine to wait until I have more before I give then I am making
my ability to be the reason I give. God will not accept it.
God only
accepts a gift out of what we have. By
Christ’s works we have righteousness—God accepts us in Christ. By Christ’s
holiness we have holiness—God accepts us in Christ. We do not need to add to
what we already have to find acceptance with God—It is accepted according to what a man hath.
The same
is true concerning our giving. The amount may be small because it is all that
we have. But God does not measure our
giving by the total amount we give but according to what we have to give. God measures not by quantity but by sacrifice
from a willing heart. Again, I give the
illustration of the poor widow.
Luke 21: 1:
[Christ] looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.
2: And he saw also a certain
poor widow casting in thither two mites. 3: And he said, Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow
hath cast in more than they all: 4:
For all these have of their abundance cast in unto the offerings of God: but
she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.
So brethren when it comes to salvation, never expect
that God will accept you coming to him with something you do not possess—It is accepted according to a man hath, not
what according to that he hath not. Apart
from Christ we have not. Therefore God
will not accept us outside of Christ. But
through faith in Christ, we have all and God accepts us.
The same principle is true in giving. If I do not willingly
perform the act of giving until I have that which I do not currently have, God
will not accept it. But if I perform the
giving from a willing mind out of what little I have then God accepts it and is
well-pleased.
Why does God accept such a gift? The same reason he
accepts us savingly. He gave it all and by giving we acknowledge in everything
he has prospered us, not anything we possess by our own works.
1Corinthians 16:2: Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him,…
God is
who the widow acknowledged as prospering her and by giving her entire living of
two mites. She manifest her life was by God’s prosperity, not by those two
mites.
When we
come to Christ, having given up all our works, faith acknowledges Christ alone
is our prosperity, not anything in us. God accepts us.
So it is
when we come before God with a willing heart of faith, having given out of what
we have to the point we have to trust God. By that act we are acknowledging
that God alone is our prosperity, not our worldly possessions. And God accepts it in Christ for his sake!
Amen!