Does God Reward Your Works?

[From a sermon preached by Edward Veal in 1675 on Psalm 62:12. You can read the entire sermon at this link.]

Learn to admire the grace of God in rewarding your works, It is much that he accepts them and what is it then, that he rewards them? It is much that he doth not damn you for them, seeing they are all defiled, and have something of sin cleaving to them; and what is it, then, that he crowns them? You would admire the bounty and munificence of a man that should give you a kingdom for taking up a straw at his toot, or give you a hundred thousand pounds for paying him a penny rent you owed him: how, then, should you adore the rich grace and transcendent bounty of God in so largely recompensing such mean services, in setting a crown of glory upon your heads, as the reward of those works which you can scarcely find in your hearts to call good ones! You will even blush one day to see yourselves so much honoured for what you are ashamed of, and are conscious to yourselves that you have deserved nothing by. You will wonder then to see God recompensing you for doing what was your duty to do, and what was his work in you; giving you grace, and crowning that grace; enabling you to do things acceptable to him, and then rewarding you as having done them.

Take heed therefore now of rivalling God’s grace, or Christ’s merits; of inverting his praises, and ascribing anything to yourselves which belongs only to him. Set the crown upon the right head; let him have the honour of the work that hath done it, the glory of your reward that hath purchased it. Say with yourselves, “What am I, and what are my services, that ever God should thus plentifully reward them? I never prayed but I sinned; never confessed sin, never begged pardon of it, [strove] against it, but I did at the same time commit it. I never heard a sermon, received a sacrament, did any good duty, but with some mixture of coldness, deadness, distractedness. I never had any grace but what God gave me, nor acted any but what he stirred up in me. All the good I ever had or did I received from him; and therefore I owe all to him. I am a thousand ways his debtor: — for my life and being, for the good things of this life, for the means and offer of eternal life, for the knowledge of his will, conviction of sin, restraint from sin, the change of my heart, the reformation of my ways, the graces of his Spirit, the privileges of his children conferred upon me. I am his debtor for all the evils he hath delivered me from, all the good he hath offered me, wrought in me, done by me. And doth God take so much notice of such poor things? Will he indeed reward such weak endeavours, such lame performances? Must I live in heaven, that never deserved to live on earth? Must I wear the crown of righteousness, who never deserved anything but the punishment of mine iniquities? Must eternal glory and honour be my portion, who have deserved nothing better than ‘shame’ and ‘everlasting contempt?’ (Dan. xii. 2.) I have nothing to boast of, nothing to glory in. I must cry, ‘ Grace, grace.’ (Zech. iv. 7.) All I have, and to eternity am to have, is grace. The foundation of my salvation was laid in grace; and so will the top-stone too. It was grace [that] sent Christ to redeem me and grace will send him at last fully to save me. I have received all from God; and therefore desire to return the praise of all to him: it is but just that all should be ascribed to him from whom all came.”

Generosity and Sincere Concern

When you hear the word “generous” what comes to mind?

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 and 9:10-15, “generous” and “generosity” appear three times. What did the Apostle Paul mean by those terms?

Suppose you are returning to Charlotte by air, and to your surprise are upgraded to first class. You sit next to a well-dressed man, and strike up a conversation. Eventually you share your story of what God has done in your life; you share Jesus’ story, the Gospel; you tell him of your growing in Christ while at DGCC.

Your seatmate is cordial, and asks good questions. But he makes clear that he is not interested in following Jesus. But after the announcement that you’ll be on the ground in fifteen minutes, he says, “I’ve enjoyed our conversation. I admire you for what you’ve said. I think churches play an important role in our community, and yours sounds like a good one. Would you please accept this check made out to your church for $100,000?”

Would that be generous?

One dictionary defines “generous” as “showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected.” On that definition, your seatmate’s action is certainly generous.

But as you know, the New Testament was written in Greek. The Greek word translated “generous” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 would not apply to that act.

Paul is talking about a different form of generosity – a form so different from the normal meaning of the English word that the word “generous” can be misleading. Seeing this distinction is key for understanding the inner attitude Scripture commends toward others. That is: What should be going on inside us as we encounter people who have needs?

Background of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9

When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, the church in Jerusalem was hurting. They were persecuted both by the religious leaders and by their families – often being disowned and disinherited once they came to faith in Jesus. Furthermore, the entirety of Judea had suffered a famine in recent years, and in the aftermath there was still considerable poverty. So in general, the new, Gentile believers scattered around the Roman Empire were better off financially than believers in Jerusalem.

So Paul arranges for a collection from the churches in Greece, Macedonia, and Galatia (now central Turkey) to the church in Jerusalem. He refers to this collection in a number of his letters:

  • In Galatians 2, Peter, John, and James (Jesus’ half brother) ask Paul and Barnabas, as ministers to the Gentiles, to remember the poor in Jerusalem. Paul says that was “the very thing I was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10).
  • In 1 Corinthians 16 he instructs the church to set aside money for this collection on the first day of every week. Evidently the church had made an encouraging beginning in raising funds, but then not much happened.
  • Here in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 he encourages them to complete this grace that they have begun.
  • In Romans 15, he writes that the collection is now complete, and he will be taking it to Jerusalem.

What Does “Generous” Mean

We’ve seen the normal definition of the English word “generous.” But we know that Paul does not mean “showing a readiness to give more of something than is strictly necessary or expected” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. We see this by looking at his first letter to the same church:

If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:3)

To give away all I have certainly would be generous in the English sense of the word. That would be showing readiness to give more than is expected. But if that generous act is done apart from love, Paul says it is of no value.

That should prompt our curiosity about what Paul means by “generous” in this passage. So let’s briefly turn our attention to the Greek word he uses.

The word is used nine times in the New Testament, and three of those occurrences are in today’s text. The lexicon of New Testament Greek widely regarded as most authoritative defines this word generally as “personal integrity expressed in word or action ([as in] our colloq[uial expression] ‘what you see is what you get’) simplicity, sincerity, uprightness, frankness. Then when referring directly to today’s passage, the lexicon says the word concerns

“simple goodness, which gives itself without reserve, ‘without strings attached’, ‘without hidden agendas’ . . . ingenuousness” (Danker and Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd Edition, University of Chicago Press, 2001).

That doesn’t much sound like giving a $100,000 check.

The lexicon acknowledges that some want to use the English word “generosity” for the meaning of the word in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, but that usage “is in dispute, and it is probable that [the meaning] sincere concern, simple goodness is sufficient for all these pass[ages].”

So we have a word with a disputed meaning.

These different understandings of the meaning of the word come out in the translation of Romans 12:8. Compare the ESV and the NET (including the beginning of the sentence from verse 6):

ESV: Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: . . 8 the one who contributes, in generosity.

NET: And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. . . 8 if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity.

The two translations sound very different to our English ears – it sounds as if there is no overlap in the command. The ESV seems to say, “If by God’s grace you have the gift of giving, give a lot!” The NET, however, seems to say, “If by God’s grace you have the gift of giving, give out of genuine concern, with no ulterior motive.”

Now, Paul may intend to make both of these statements: “Give a lot, and give it out of sincere concern.” But he does not mean only “give a lot.”

So as we read “generous” and “generosity” in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, we must broaden the meaning of the English word. We need to examine the context closely, seeing what information that gives us, and consider that the word may mean “sincere concern.”

In examining the context, we’ll particularly focus on where Paul says generosity comes from, and what, according to Paul, it leads to.

Where Does This “Generosity” Come From?

The chapter begins in this way:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1)

Notice first that this generosity is a free gift of God. It is a grace of God. It is not earned. It is not self-generated. It is not the result of an emotional appeal, or a leader’s manipulation. Nor is it the result of someone begging for money. It is a gift of grace.

Now verse 2:

for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

The Macedonians gave out of joy. They did not give out of an abundance of material goods they had owned for a long time (as in the airplane example). Nor did they give the excess out of a short term windfall. Quite the contrary. They are afflicted. They live in extreme poverty. But because they have joy, they gave. Out of the overflow of their joy, they gave.

So we begin to see the link between this passage and the earlier sermons in this series: We can have a biblical attitude towards possessions if and only if we find our identity, security, and joy in God.

Verses 3 to 5 tell us more about this joy:

For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord,begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints –and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Verse 3 says that they did give generously in the English sense – given their poverty, they gave much more than Paul expected. But then the Apostle goes on to explain more about the joy they had that overflowed in this gift.

Look at verse 5 first: This monetary giving results from them first giving themselves (emphatic in the Greek) to the Lord. That is, their joy is joy in God. Their giving is first and foremost a giving of themselves to God. Their contribution to the saints in Jerusalem is an overflow of that joy. They have such joy in God – as His adopted children, as His heirs, as those protected and guarded by Him – that out of the overflow of that joy they give.

But Paul’s statement is even stronger. Note in verse 4 that they have such joy in God they beg to give. Paul didn’t beg them to give. Rather, they begged Paul for the “favor” – literally, the “grace” – of contributing to this effort.

Continuing in verse 4: “begging us earnestly for the favor/grace of taking part.” “Taking part” is a loose rendering of a Greek word many of you know: “Koinonia.” Often translated “fellowship,” it means “partnership in a common purpose.”

So the Macedonians are saying something like this:

“Please Paul – don’t exclude us from this contribution just because we are poor. God has changed us! We have full joy in Him. We know how to be content when we are lacking material goods. We want to live out the partnership in the Gospel we have with our brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. We want to display the gracious character of God that we have as His children. There is nothing we would rather do with this money. This is to our joy– so don’t leave us out!”

This type of generosity is a grace of God, a gift of God, that comes from the overflow of joy in God.

So, working from this passage and 1 Corinthians 13, John Piper defines Christian love as “the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others.”

What Does This “Generosity” Lead to?

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 helps us define this type of generosity by showing us what it leads to. Let’s begin in verse 10:

He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.

First, note that this generosity leads to thanksgiving to God. Why “to God” rather than “to you Corinthians”? Because those in Jerusalem know that the generosity is itself a grace of God, a gift of God! They know that joy in God prompted the giving. They know that those giving the support first gave themselves to God.

All true Christian giving results in thanksgiving primarily to God. If our giving results in thanksgiving primarily to us, that’s a problem. We’re not handling our giving correctly in that case.

Verse 13 tells us more about what this generosity leads to (we’ll quote the NET translation here):

Through the evidence of this service they will glorify God because of your obedience to your confession in the gospel of Christ and the generosity of your sharing with them and with everyone.

So, second, this generosity leads to those in Jerusalem to glorifying God. They praise Him. Why? By this generosity, God gives proof that the Corinthians are genuinely in Christ, are genuinely transformed by the Gospel. Through the “generosity of your sharing” they see evidence that these Gentiles are partners in the common purpose of the Kingdom of God. Their sincere concern as partners in the Gospel proves that God is at work among them, thereby showing that the Gentiles are joint heirs with their Jewish brethren, one family, with one common purpose. This leads those in Jerusalem to praise the God of the Gospel – the God who breaks down the “dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14).

We see the third result of this generosity in verse 14 (returning now to the English Standard Version):

while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.

This generosity leads to love for those giving! Prayers on their behalf! And thus a deeper partnership in the advance of the Gospel among their own people, as God’s church is united that much more across cultural differences.

So, yes, Paul is saying the Corinthians will benefit from giving. But the benefit is not a health, wealth, and prosperity gospel promise, “Give $1,000, and God will make sure that you receive $10,000.” Rather, they will receive love. They will receive prayers. They will deepen their fellowship, their partnership with the wider Church of Jesus Christ.

So now let’s step back and consider what we have seen:

  • This type of generosity comes from God; it is a gift.
  • This type of generosity is the overflow of joy in God.
  • This type of generosity leads to thanksgiving to God.
  • This type of generosity leads to praise of God.
  • This type of generosity results in love and prayers for those giving, and unity in the Gospel across the wider Church.

Note how all of this is God-centered, Gospel-centered. This generosity is prompted by God, and redounds to His glory and to the advance of His Gospel purposes. Man is not the center – either in receiving praise as the giver or in receiving support as the recipient.

Furthermore, note that money is secondary to all that is going on. Money is the vehicle used to display the overflow of joy in God. And to those receiving, money meets their material needs, but much more importantly unites them in heart in Christ with those giving.

  • Prior to Paul preaching the Gospel in Corinth and Macedonia, these Gentiles gave not a whit about the Jews in Jerusalem. Now by grace of God, they care. Because of their joy in God, they have sincere concern. They beg for the grace of giving.
  • Prior to Pentecost, the Jews in Jerusalem looked down on all those unclean Gentiles. They wouldn’t eat with them. They wouldn’t even enter their houses. Now, they long for them, they pray for them, they thank God for them, they praise the God who has welcomed into His family these, their former enemies.

That’s true, biblical generosity. It comes from God. It results in thanks and praise to God. It displays and deepens the impact of the Gospel.

How Then Can We Be “Generous”?

We want to be “generous” in this sense. We don’t want to be like those that Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 13:3, who give away all they have to no gain. We want to be like these Macedonian believers. We want to obey Paul’s injunctions to the believers in Corinth.

How do we do that?

Our inner attitudes are key: Our inner attitude toward God, and our inner attitude toward persons in need.

If we are to be truly generous,

  • we can’t give primarily to build up an institution.
  • We certainly can’t give to get recognition for ourselves, or to get influence for ourselves, or expecting more money for ourselves through giving.
  • We can’t give primarily out of gratefulness to God.
  • We can’t even give in order to accomplish some great work for God.

Instead, Paul tells us our main motive must be joy in God. Our genuine generosity, our sincere concern, must overflow from a deep joy in the One who saved as, who adopted us.

So if we are to be generous, we must seek this grace from Him. We must cultivate this joy in God daily.

We do this in part by meditating daily on the Gospel itself:

God created you, He created all of humanity to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever. He provided for our every need. Yet all of us have turned our backs on Him, have rejected Him, finding joy, fulfillment, and satisfaction elsewhere. We have arrogantly called into question His goodness, His love, His provision, His power, even His existence. Having rejected the very purpose of our creation, we deserve His rejection of us; we deserve to be cut off from the source of every good and perfect gift. And yet in His mercy and grace, God sent His Son into the world as Man to live the life each of us should have lived: To love Him with all His heart, soul, mind, and strength every minute of every day, to love each person He encountered as He loved Himself. Just as all of us reject God the Father, the authorities of His day rejected Him, and put Him to death, nailing Him to a cross. But God, through that evil act, placed on Him the iniquity of all who would trust in Him; Jesus took on Himself the punishment, the rejection, that you and I deserve. And on the third day, God raised Him from the dead, displaying that the penalty paid was more than sufficient. And He now calls all men everywhere to repent, to come to a restored relationship with Him by confessing their sin and believing and Jesus is their Savior, their Lord – indeed, the greatest treasure imaginable.

Remind yourself of these truths every morning, every afternoon, every evening. You are in Christ by grace! You are reconciled to the Father by His demonstrated love! You are being conformed to the image of Christ because of Jesus’ sacrifice.

Thus, cultivate joy in God through meditating on the Gospel, that you may be truly generous.

Furthermore, meditate on what the Gospel says about those in need.

  • If those in need are not believers in Jesus: We are to love them as we love ourselves. And as we help with their physical needs, we may well have the opportunity to speak to their yet greater spiritual needs.
  • If those in need are believers in Jesus: We can expect the results we’ve seen from 2 Corinthians 9: Thanks to God, praise of God, the progress of the Gospel, and love and prayers for ourselves.

So beg God that you may have such sincere concern in your heart. Beg God for the privilege of giving time, money, and your very self to those in need.

By God’s grace you can be truly generous, biblically generous. May He grant us that grace more and more.

But know: He has already granted us that grace in part.

  • Who has ministered the Gospel to you?
  • Who has counseled you, comforted you, and even upbraided you when necessary?
  • Who has brought you meals?
  • Who has cared for or taught your children?
  • Who has honored God through serving this church in the background, in roles which are often unseen?
  • Who has smiled at you when you were down and depressed and hurting?
  • Who has prayed for you ?
  • And, yes, who has supplied for your material needs when you experienced loss or poverty?

All these are expressions of sincere concern.

All these are expressions of this type of generosity.

All these are given by God, and the result of the overflow of joy in God.

So praise God, thank Him, and express your love and prayers for one another – even using the words of 2 Corinthians 9:14 “I love you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you.”

Paul closes 2 Corinthians 9 by saying, “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”

  • He is the ultimate giver.
  • He is the one truly showing sincere concern.
  • He is the source of all biblical generosity.

So, may we express love and prayers for one another – and may all praise, glory, and honor be unto Him.

 

 

 

 

Giving and Thanksgiving

I am not an auto mechanic. Indeed, that is an understatement. I know almost nothing about cars.

But I do know one thing about timing belts. That is: When the timing belt breaks, bad things happen.

So last week, when we decided to drive our 1999 Honda Odyssey to Michigan for my oldest son’s wedding this coming weekend, I checked in my records to see when we last changed the timing belt. Answer: 113,000 miles ago. Not wanting bad things to happen during this 1600 mile round trip, we took the van to C & S Auto.

This was a major expenditure by our standards. Now, we know that cars cost money to maintain, and had budgeted an amount for the year. This expenditure would have pushed us a few hundred dollars above budget through the end of May. We basically would have to spend money for car maintenance for June and July in May, and hope that we would not have to pay anything in this budget category for the next two months.

But it had to be done. We certainly were driving to the wedding, and taking the van made the most sense. So I dropped off the car at C & S.

Beth went to pick it up that evening. She gave the manager, Jeff, the credit card – using the card whose cycle had just ended, so the money wouldn’t actually have to come out of our checking account until mid-July.

Jeff said, “There’s no balance. It’s already been paid.”

“Oh! Did Coty pay this morning?”

“No. I can’t say who paid. But someone loves you very much.”

We do not know who paid this bill – Jeff kept his promise. But we thank you. This is “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). For this gift is ultimately both from God and to God. It is God Himself who provides for every need of ours, using others as His agents (Philippians 4:19); and He provides to the glory of His Name (Philippians 4:20).

So we thank our provider God, who “supplies seed to the sower and bread for food,” who we trust

will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be enriched in every way for every expression of sincere concern, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11, own translation)

What are we trusting God to do? That is: What do these verses mean?

The main form of economic production in ancient Israel was agriculture. So seed and bread represent the inputs and the outputs of the nation’s most important economic production process. So Paul is saying that God is the provider of both the inputs and the outputs of production. We could say today, God is the one who provides steel to General Motors and the cars for us to drive.

But the expression “seed to the sower and bread for food” is a quotation from Isaiah 55:10-11, where it refers to God’s Word going out and being productive. It is not referring to the provision of material blessings, but to the provision of spiritual blessings.

So, in 2 Corinthians 9, Paul’s argues in this way: If God provides both the inputs and the outputs even in secular production, surely He will give you the inputs and the outputs of spiritual production – He will give the inputs and outputs of your righteousness. He will give you what you need to become righteous, and He will ensure that they produce that righteousness. So Paul says in verse 11, “You will be enriched in every way for every expression of sincere concern.” That is: He will give you all you need to show sincere concern to others – that is, to love your neighbor as yourself.

So clearly, “you will be enriched in every way” refers in this context to much more than money. Indeed, “the harvest of your righteousness,” the output of your having the righteousness of Christ, refers primarily to spiritual riches – becoming like Christ.

Nevertheless, God can and often does provide us with material blessings. Why does He do this? So that we can produce thanksgiving to Him through exhibiting sincere concern to others materially.  Thus, Randy Alcorn says, “When God provides more money, we often think, This is a blessing. Well, yes, but it would be just as scriptural to think, This is a test.” God has enriched you so that you might show sincere concern to others. Is that how you will use your riches?

So in verses 10 and 11, Paul in effect is saying, “Remember, God is the one who provides both the means to create wealth and all wealth itself. So when you are acting out of obedience to Him, when you are giving yourself first to God, when you are resting on His righteousness, He will provide all you need to become what He intends you to be. He will give you an abundance of Himself – the harvest of your righteousness – so that you might show what He is like to others.”

This is what some of you have done through this gift of a new Odyssey timing belt. And this is what many others of you are doing regularly through offerings to DGCC, through assistance to the needy, through support for missions work, through pouring your lives into international students, and a thousand other ways.

May God continue to give us more of Himself as we give ourselves wholeheartedly to Him – and thus may His Name be magnified as we express His sincere concern for those around us.

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift.