Christian Basics Bible - Flipbook - Page 41
page 1331 • 2 Corinthians 9
to go and see you. We are also sending
another brother with Titus. All the churches
praise him as a preacher of the Good News.
19
He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jeru
salem*—a service that glorifies the Lord and
shows our eagerness to help.
20
We are traveling together to guard
against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. 21We are careful to be
honorable before the Lord, but we also want
everyone else to see that we are honorable.
22
We are also sending with them another
of our brothers who has proven himself
many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even
more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. 23 If anyone asks about Titus,
say that he is my partner who works with
me to help you. And the brothers with him
have been sent by the churches,* and they
bring honor to Christ. 24 So show them your
love, and prove to all the churches that our
boasting about you is justified.
18
The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
I really don’t need to write to you about
this ministry of giving for the believers
in Jerusalem.* 2 For I know how eager you
are to help, and I have been boasting to the
churches in Macedonia that you in Greece*
were ready to send an offering a year ago. In
fact, it was your enthusiasm that stirred up
9
many of the Maced
onian believers to begin
giving.
3
But I am sending these brothers to be sure
you really are ready, as I have been telling
them, and that your money is all collected.
I don’t want to be wrong in my boasting
about you. 4 We would be embarrassed—not
to mention your own embarrassment—if
some Maced
onian believers came with me
and found that you weren’t ready after all I
had told them! 5 So I thought I should send
these brothers ahead of me to make sure the
gift you promised is ready. But I want it to be
a willing gift, not one given grudgingly.
6
Remember this—a farmer who plants
only a few seeds will get a small crop. But
the one who plants generously will get a
generous crop. 7 You must each decide in
your heart how much to give. And don’t give
reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For
God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”*
8
And God will generously provide all you
need. Then you will always have everything
you need and plenty left over to share with
others. 9 As the Scriptures say,
“They share freely and give generously
to the poor.
7:13 Greek his spirit.
8:1 Greek brothers.
8:4 Greek for
God’s holy people.
8:7 Some manuscripts read your love for
us.
8:15 Exod 16:18. 8:19 See 1 Cor 16:3-4. 8:23 Greek are
apostles of the churches.
9:1 Greek about the offering for God’s
holy people.
9:2 Greek in Achaia, the southern region of the
Greek peninsula. Macedonia was in the northern region of Greece.
9:7 See footnote on Prov 22:8.
Giving
Paul urges the Corinthians to show the genuineness of their repentance for the
breakdown of relationship with him by giving—not to him, but to the poor and
suffering Jerusalem church. He holds up the generous Macedonians as both
example and provocation (2 Corinthians 8:1-5).
Four principles undergird Paul’s encouragements about giving. First, God
loves a giver, for when we give, we reflect our giving God who gave us his Son
(8:9). Second, God loves a generous giver, and when we sow generously with
our resources we always reap a harvest (9:6-11). Third, God loves a willing giver
(9:7), for giving out of a sense of duty is not true giving. Fourth, God loves a
cheerful giver (9:7)—though cheerfulness alone can be a false indicator, for it
is easy to be cheerful if our giving costs us nothing. Of course, we should never
give in order to receive, as some preachers encourage. But if we give as God
prompts us, he will meet our needs in the way he knows is best.
Paul does not give guidelines about how much the Corinthians should give—
that is between the giver and God. But his Jewish traditions would certainly have
led him to tithe as a starting point (see Should Christians still tithe?, page 1052).
