Grace Giving-Part I

Grace Giving: Part I

Motivation for Giving

2 Corinthians 8:1-15

Introduction

For the next couple of weeks, we will be talking about giving…Never before have I been a part of a church where the people have said, “we not only want to hear about the church’s finances, but we want to hear about what the Bible says about our own finances and our financial responsibility from the pulpit”.  

The truth is that in most churches, people do not want to hear about giving; they do not want to have a “guilt trip” laid on them.

But there’s the rub—we are not to give to the Lord’s work out of guilt.  No, there is a greater motivation to give and we will talk about that this morning.

God opened my eyes to “grace giving” a very long time ago and it has made a great difference in my life.  No longer under the Law as manifested by the “tithe”, grace giving is freeing, it is joyous, it allows us to really be generous.  I know this view may be new for a number of you—but don’t call me a heretic until you’ve heard me out. 

While 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 addresses giving to relieve the needs of the Jerusalem church, it is also the most extensive treatment of giving to the Lord’s work in the NT.  It is not being ripped from it’s context this morning, but provides us with the guidance we need from God when it comes to giving to the Lord’s work.  Before we dive in there, we need to lay a little foundational background…

Stewardship

Now, we often hear the word “stewardship” used in church—it does not mean “giving” or “tithing”.  The word stewardship conveys the idea that we are responsible for the proper use of what God has given to us.  After all, it all belongs to him—time, treasure and talent.  None of it—no matter how much we try to convince ourselves of it—belongs to us.  Psalm 24:1 tells us, “¹ The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein…”  That includes you and me!  Paul echoed the same sentiment in 1 Corinthians 10:26. 

So what we have belongs to God, who we are belongs to God—he lets us use the things we have, and we have the responsibility to manage those resources, to manage our very lives for his glory.   Get this:  despite the fact that so many people tie their identity to what material possessions they have, our money is not ours, and our money is not us!  It does not define us!

SOME ROADBLOCKS TO GOSPEL RENEWAL (#1 to #3)

 What are the Roadblocks to Gospel Renewal?

There are a number of roadblocks to gospel renewal, too many to cover here.  However, there are a few that seem to pop up quite frequently.  They are:

1.    The false assumption or belief that we have anything to do with our salvation

2.      A false understanding of just what saving faith really is

3.      Uncertainty regarding our relationship with God

1.     The false assumption or belief that we have

anything to do with our salvation

Many folks today believe that they had something to do with their salvation, or that someone else had something to do with their salvation.  That is a typical man-centered observation.  After all, like I mentioned before, most of us were raised to believe that we make our way in the world, we accomplish the things we go after, we are responsible for all that takes place in our lives.  Therefore, it follows that we made a decision for Christ, we are the ones that chose him, and we are the ones that maintain our relationship with him; further, that continuing to keep his approval is all up to us.

Without getting into the whole discussion of “man’s responsibility”—which is an important doctrine to understand—it is important to see that the fact of the matter is, there are no human fingerprints on our salvation—our salvation is all of God.  Yes, God uses people in the same way he used Paul and Apollos to plant and water, but remember, it was God who caused the growth [1 Corinthians 3].  It is God who:

·   Chose us  [Ephesians 1, Romans 9]

·   Who paid the penalty for our sin [Galatians 2, 1 Peter 3]

·   It is God who calls us  [John 6, Philippians 3]

·   It is God who brings us to life spiritually [John 3, 1 Peter 1]

·   It is God who gives us faith to exercise [Ephesians 2]

·   It is God who causes us to exercise that gift of faith [Ephesians 2]

·   It is God who justifies, sanctifies, and ultimately will glorify us. [Romans 8, Galatians 2]

Again, salvation is all of God.  We do absolutely nothing to earn it, and we do absolutely nothing to bring it about and we do absolutely nothing to maintain it.

2.     Uncertainty regarding our relationship with God

Being uncertain about our relationship with God is another roadblock to gospel renewal.  Many things can cause this uncertainty:

·   Questioning whether or not we really believe

·   An ever-increasing awareness of our own sin

·   Dependence on our own good works (more so than an awareness of a lack of good works)…wondering if our good works are “enough”

As far as questioning whether or not we believe goes, know this: 

THE GOSPEL AND SOME ROADBLOCKS TO GOSPEL RENEWAL

¹¹In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.  (Ephesians 1:11-14, ESV)

         

       Gospel renewal is a work of the Spirit of God in the lives of his people.  It is all about the Holy Spirit continually renewing the spiritual remembrance of our salvation.

The temptation from the outset would be for those who have theological training, and/or have been believers for a long time, to zone out.  Understand, we are not merely looking at “the basics” here. The gospel is way more than “Jesus loves me” and “Jesus paid the penalty for my sin so I can go to heaven”.  Refuse to be satisfied with that!  There is so much more!

So, what IS the gospel?

A number of different people have coined great phrases to help us remember, including:

“The heart of the Christian faith is Good News (gospel), not good advice,

good technique, or good behavior.” Tullian Tchividjian

Religion: I obey therefore I am accepted.

Gospel: I'm accepted therefore I obey.

The gospel is that when we believe in Christ, there is now“no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

“…the good news that God has accomplished our salvation for us through Christ in order to bring us into a right relationship with him and

eventually to destroy all the results of sin in the world.”[1]

The Fall

Because of what happened in Genesis 3—The Fall—Adam and Eve deciding they wanted to be like God, man was separated from God, man was placed at odds with God.  Try as he might, man could not regain God’s favor in and of himself. 

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel—Part IV: Confessing With Our Mouth…

Much has been discussed and written about “belief”—and what belief really is all about.  For the true Christian, belief is much more than merely acknowledging something.  What matters is “saving faith”.  What do we mean when we talk about “saving faith”?

Well, when Jesus was dining at the home of one of the Pharisees named Simon [Luke 7], a “woman of the city”—a prostitute—ministered to him by washing his feet with her tears, drying them with her hair, and anointing him with very expensive oil.  Of course, Simon and the others were freaked out because Jesus allowed such a woman to touch him.  Jesus took it a step further, and, after teaching Simon and the others with a parable:

And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48-50, ESV)

Yikes!  This really blew their minds!  They were thinking, “Who does this guy think he is, forgiving sin?”

Preserving the Truth of the Gospel, Part III: A Question to Consider...

I've been reading The Gospel Driven Life: Being Good News People in a Bad News World by Michael Horton.

As I have been reading, a question came to mind:

If one claims to believe in Jesus--but at the same time, knowingly holds that they must contribute to their own salvation--does that belief negate saving faith?  That is, does holding to a works righteousness cancel out a claim to have been saved?

Paul's letter to the Romans (Chapter 4) and the entire letter to the churches in Galatia seem to answer the question.  I've had conversations with various friends, mostly coming to the conclusion that adding to the gospel is a false gospel that Paul so vehemently addressed in Galatians.

More later...

PRESERVING THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL—PART II

…so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. (Galatians 2:5, ESV)

The preservation of the truth of the gospel is something that clearly occupied the thoughts and concerns of the Apostle Paul.  He had heard that those he addressed in this letter had basically abandoned the faith they had received in favor of “a different gospel” (1:6-7), a “gospel” that caused them to desert Jesus (1:6).  Of course, Paul argued that there was no other gospel, other than the gospel of grace that had been preached to them, and which they had believed.  What was that gospel of grace, what was that truth?

Paul told them:

¹⁶yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.  (2:16, emphasis added)

Paul later wrote in the same letter:

¹⁰For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them’.  ¹¹Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith’.  (3:10-11)

Why would Paul make this such an issue?  It is because the concern Paul was dealing with had to do with certain people Paul referred to as “those who unsettle you” (5:12), who had infiltrated the church (not unlike what Paul talked about in 2:4) telling the Gentile believers that in order for them to be truly saved, they had to become Jews first, and be circumcised.  These people, Jewish Christians who more than likely came from Jerusalem, came to be known as “Judaizers”.  Paul clearly condemned this heresy, going so far as to say,

If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed (Gr.: anathema).  (1:9)

Paul was preserving the truth of the gospel. 

It is so sad that even today, nearly two thousand years later, there are those who “claim” Christianity, those who “claim” to believe in Jesus, who add to the gospel for salvation.  Even more disconcerting, these folks have no Biblical basis for the works they claim are necessary for salvation.  This particular belief system will be addressed in a later article.

Then there are those who make the gospel into something it is not, by claiming all one has to do is “believe in Jesus”.  James addressed this view, saying:

You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!  (James 2:19)

This view will also be addressed in a future article.

Of course, because of the centrality of the truth that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, having the Judaizers come in telling these new Gentile believers they had to be circumcised only heaped a burden upon them.  Instead of experiencing freedom in Christ (5:1), these new believers were being subjected to the law, the law the Judaizers themselves could not keep.  The Judaizers added to the gospel (circumcision), making what the people did as important as what Christ had already done.

Why in the world would the Judaizers trouble these Galatians in this way?  Paul gives us the answer toward the end of the letter when he wrote:

¹²It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.  ¹³For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. (6:12-13)

Really?  Yes, the Judaizers were worried about what other Jews might think of them.  As a result, they reinstituted the law, made the law a requirement for salvation, which completely flew in the face of the true gospel. 

One can readily see the importance of preserving the truth of the gospel.  Failure to do so can and does result in people taking the curse upon themselves, rendering what Christ has accomplished to “be of no advantage to you” (5:2), thereby severing themselves “from Christ” (5:4).

Future articles will address the concerns in the church today with more specificity. 

SDG

SUFFERING

Suffering cannot be avoided if we are really to know Christ…(Hebrews 4:15; 5:2)…”I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10)…

But what is the nature of Christ’s suffering that we must share, in order fully to know his fellowship?  His suffering included poverty and humiliation, pain and death.  All of these he endured for us.  We must not forget this altruistic dimension of his afflictions.  He suffered to take on himself the guilt and consequences of the sins of others.  Thus, if we are to know him through like suffering, we will not merely have to experience the difficulty of nameless forces and circumstances; we must also experience what it means to suffer for the sins of others.  We must be willing to endure and love the damaged and damaging personalities who make us suffer.  This is Luther’s theology of the cross—the understanding that our deepest knowing of the One who bore the cross for us in some measure depends on our own cross-bearing of the miseries of this world and even of the miserableness of others.

…Whether we suffer under the weight of circumstances or under the weightiness of bearing the consequences of the sins of others—these disciplines teach us more of what Christ endured for us. As a result, we know him to a degree and depth not available through any other means of study or contemplation.

The discipline of suffering shows us how tender and tenacious was Christ’s care for us.  The body blows that come, the accusations, the deprivations, the betrayals—in each we can say, “Ah, Lord Jesus, now I understand more deeply who you are and how much you loved me, for you endured this when you could have escaped it all.  You suffered for my sake and that of countless others who caused you pain.  Ah, Jesus, now I know you.”

Bryan Chapell in

Holiness by Grace: Delighting in the Joy That is Our Strength,

pp.170-172  (Emphasis added)

So, just what does this mean for us?  It means we can look trials, difficulties and suffering brought to our lives by the sin of others—yes, even by other believers—and we can stare it down!  We can smile to ourselves when someone sins against us, knowing “it ain’t about us!”  It is all about God conforming us to the image of Christ, it is about “knowing Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings”!

I shared this with a friend a few weeks ago, and told him that this core truth has made a huge difference in my life, particularly in the case of extreme hurt brought about by a family member in the distant past.  Not only did I wrestle with the whole concept of God’s providence at that time, but I also struggled with forgiveness.  God worked in the intervening years, and brought me to a point where forgiveness truly took place.  Yes, it “should not” have taken as long as it did, but he did bring it about.  My view of the impact of the sin of others on my life and on the lives of those I love is completely different now.  Now I can say, “Bring it on!”  Why?  Because of what Christ did on the cross, because of the gospel.

ON GOD'S GRACE

Affirming that God doesn’t love us on the basis of our keeping within his paths does not require us to act as though he has left us without good direction.  In church circles where the beauties of grace are passionately proclaimed, some people inevitably will worry whether a gospel emphasis opens the door to  licentiousness.  However, others will begin to wonder if it is any longer appropriate to challenge one another to be holy, or to correct anyone who does not follow Scripture’s mandates.  Grace does not forbid giving directions, promises, corrections, and warnings.  Only cruelty would forbid such help.

Bryan Chapell in Holiness by Grace, p.126

FARLEY PART IX: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Summary and Conclusion

One must have sympathy toward, and show mercy toward another who has lived under a legalistic religious system as Andrew Farley has done in the past.  It truly is a burdensome way of moving through this life as a believer, and one that can be very frustrating.  However, having had that experience does not excuse moving completely to the other side of the spectrum.  Rebellion against “religion” does not excuse taking up a position that reinterprets—tweaks—the truth of the gospel.

It is rather ironic that Farley quotes heavily from Galatians, in that the Apostle Paul wrote to that church to chastise them for buying into the ritualism of the Judaizers (circumcision), and casting aside the one true gospel of Jesus Christ.  The church at Galatia had deserted “him who called (them) in the grace of Christ” and turned to a different gospel, preached by those who troubled them and wanted to distort the gospel of Christ (Galatians 1:6-7).

By tweaking, misinterpreting, and coming up with premises that are not supported with Scripture, Farley has inched dangerously close to distorting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 Soli Deo Gloria!

Further Reading

Bridges, Jerry, The Discipline of Grace: God’s Role and Our Role in the Pursuit of Holiness, Colorado Springs, CO: NavPress, 1994, 2006

Chester, Tim, You CAN Change: God’s Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions, Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010

FARLEY PART VIII: “WE DON’T MARRY DEAD PEOPLE” OR “DO NOT LIVE LIKE JESUS” AND “SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE IS NOT FOR THE BELIEVER” AND “EVIDENCE IS NOT NECESSARY”

We ARE To Walk As Jesus Walked

Farley argues in this section that believers are not to live like Jesus lived.  He wrote, “Hence, we’re not being asked to imitate the recorded actions of Jesus of Nazareth.  Instead, we’re invited to allow Jesus to do what he has always done—be himself.  The risen Christ wants to do this through our unique personalities in every moment of every day” (p. 178).  One of the problems with this statement is that Farley fails to describe what that looks like.  Farley also rejected living like Christ when he wrote, “Some Christians mistakenly obsess over everything that the historical Jesus did in the four gospels.  We memorize his words and actions and try to imitate them the best we can” (p. 180).  Farley discarded living like Christ when he wrote, “The motivation for daily living within the New Testament centers around acting like the person you truly are and benefiting from Christ’s life in the here and now…We’re urged to grasp an important spiritual truth: when we come to Jesus Christ, we receive his life.  Through our expression of him, we find fulfillment” (p. 182).  Again, Farley fails to describe what this looks like,

FARLEY PART VI: “BURNING MATRYOSHKAS” OR “BELIEVERS BATTLE WITH AN ‘ENTITY’”

Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are at war.  Paul made it clear that we do not battle in the physical realm, but in the spiritual realm—powerful spiritual beings, evil days, darkness, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, flaming darts of the evil one, this present darkness, and spiritual forces of evil were all terms he used to describe that war.

¹²For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. [Ephesians 6:12 ESV]

Believers Do Not Battle an “Entity”, but an Enemy

Discussing sin, Farley wrote, “There’s a power called sin, and its desire is to overtake us.  Again, we’re not speaking of sins or sinning but of an entity called sin” (p. 116, emphasis in original).  He then asked the question,

So It's Been Awhile...

I have been away for a while due to the demands from my retirement job, but that is no more!  I resigned a couple of months ago, and now I am getting "caught up".


One of the joys of retirement is having the time to increase my reading.


I just finished reading You CAN Change by Tim Chester, and no, it is not a moralistic/legalistic approach to change in the Christian life.  Chester approaches the change a true believer will desire from the perspective of God's sanctifying grace.  Beginning to re-read to soak up the truth of God's wonderful grace!

More later...just wanted to get this out!

WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER AS A CHURCH

INTRODUCTION

The primary gathering of the church each week is specifically intended for (1) the worship of God and (2) for the edification of believers—the primary gathering of the church each week is not intended to evangelize the lost.

This discussion must be had not only because of misconceptions that have infiltrated the church over the centuries, but also because of practices and traditions that have crept in among the ecclesia, the “called out ones”, the church. Among the misconceptions, practices and traditions are:

• Preaching to the “Margins”

• Abandonment of Theology/Doctrine 

• Man-centered view of evangelism/salvation 

• “Crusades” held in large venues 

• The “altar call” 

• “Revivalism”

Each of these will be addressed very briefly, in order to illustrate why many have come to believe that the primary gathering of the church is for the purpose of evangelism, and why such a view is Biblically indefensible.

PREACHING TO THE MARGINS

In most evangelical churches today, the preaching is “to the margins”, that is, the man in the pulpit will preach the truth only to the point that he thinks will not offend the “marginal” Christian or the possible unbelieving visitor in the pew. The goal is to make sure nothing offends, so the marginal believer or the unbeliever will possibly return the next week. This watering down of the Scriptures, in order to not offend an unbeliever or a supposed believer at the edge, is a serious misstep by the preacher, and is undertaken with the misguided belief that the goal of the primary meeting of the church is evangelism.

It was not always this way. Charles Spurgeon, for example, preached expository messages from the Word of God in a profound, intentional manner, without worrying about offending anyone.

George Whitefield did the same in the fields of colonial America. God used both men mightily to further his kingdom.

Nowhere in Scripture do we see an example of preaching to the margins; instead, we see preaching to believers for their edification, for their building up, to equip them for the work of ministry.

ABANDONMENT OF THEOLOGY/DOCTRINE IN THE PULPIT

Again, men in the pulpits of most evangelical churches today are preaching “how to...” messages, “when you feel...” messages, “what to do when...” messages, as well as messages from Bible study guides, messages revolving around psychology, “felt needs”, or even “messages” that are made up of stories and jokes, rather than expositing the Word of God for the benefit God’s church. They will talk about what movies or books their people should avoid.  Coming across certain accounts in Scripture, they will inject legalism into the discussion, addressing issues such as tattoos, piercings, the use of alcohol, or mode of dress in church, rather than expositing the doctrine and/or theology that begs to be addressed. These men in the pulpits, as well as the congregations in their care, seem to view theology and doctrine as something for the academics, and not useful to the church body. They could not be any further from the truth. How is the preacher in the pulpit going to fulfill the mandate to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” without teaching theology and doctrine? Failure to do so will result in anemic believers who become stagnant. Failure to do so is to send the flock out into the field unprepared and ill equipped to declare to others the good news of Jesus Christ.

This writer can recall attending a “revival”, where a guest preacher was brought in. This man, a leader in a large denomination in California, spent the time in front of the church telling stories, and making people laugh. Even children in attendance recognized he was not teaching the Word of God. The sad thing is that at the State Convention a few months later, where he had the opportunity to expound on theology and doctrine to that gathering of believers, he chose to tell the same silly stories.

The exposition of Scripture naturally includes theology—the “study of God”—and doctrine—“the study of the Scripture for the sake of instruction”—both of which Paul not only did, but also exhorted other pastors to do. Failure to do so is to fail—period.

MAN-CENTERED VIEW OF EVANGELISM/SALVATION

James Arminius—whose theology is taught in the majority of evangelical churches—held that salvation is accomplished through the combined efforts of God, who takes the initiative, and man, who must respond, with man's response being the determining factor in salvation. Further, that God has provided salvation for everyone, but His provision becomes effective only for those who, of their own free will, "choose" to cooperate with Him and accept His offer of grace. At the crucial point, man's will plays a decisive role; thus, according to this body of teaching, man, not God, determines who will be recipients of the gift of salvation. Such teaching cannot be supported Biblically.

As a result of this teaching, many people in churches in America today believe that they must get their friends to church with them so they will “get saved”. They believe that if their friend hears the word preached, they will come under conviction and will be saved. The all-important altar call will be the time that they “surrender to Christ”. This is a man centered belief system as opposed to being God centered. The fact of the matter is, God is the author of salvation, not man. What takes place in a man’s heart is the work of God, not of man. Man is utterly unable to rescue or save himself. (See Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, Romans 9)

God has charged the church to go out and evangelize, but he never charged the church anywhere in Scripture to stay within its doors and evangelize. Every time God charged the church with respect to preaching, he did it in such a way as to give the charge to preach to believers. For example, in 2 Timothy 4:2, Paul instructs Timothy to “Preach the word, be ready in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. One does not reprove, rebuke and exhort, and teach unregenerate people, but those covered by the blood of the Lamb.

THE ALTAR CALL

Under Charles Finney, a Pelagian1 heretic, the “altar call” came into use in the church. In order to get people to “make a decision”, Charles Finney and those who followed him in his thinking used what they called “techniques” or “new methods” to accomplish that end. Finney’s “new methods” included emotional tactics that resulted in fainting and crying, and other "excitements," as Finney and his followers called them, as well as the “Anxious Seat”.

In approximately 1835, Finney instituted the use of the “Anxious Seat”. Finney held that the Anxious Seat took the place of baptism in the days of the apostles “as a public manifestation of their (new converts) determination to be Christians". The Anxious Seat was not rooted in Scripture and was not rooted in the early church.

The Anxious Seat evolved into what it is today—the walking of an aisle, the raising of a hand, or the praying of a prayer, which, it is believed, is the public manifestation of one’s belief in Christ. It is typically referred to as an “invitation” or “altar call”.

Finney—and altar calls—misconstrue the actual Ordo Salutis, the Order of Salvation and make salvation something that man accomplishes for God rather that what God accomplishes in the hearts of men.