Take your copy of God's Word and open to 2 Corinthians 9. I want to look this morning at the first five verses. Now it is superfluous, I have practiced that word over and over and over because the Alabama in me wants to say superfluous, but that is wrong. It is superfluous. Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry of the saints, for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. I'm sending the brothers so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready as I said you would be. Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident. So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift, not as an exaction." Verses 6-15 really are one thought. section, so we will, Lord willing, deal with that next week. But that does not mean that we are getting off scot-free here in this text. There is much here for us this morning. So, if you will recall, the Corinthians had reneged on their pledge to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. When we were studying through 1 Corinthians, you may remember Paul actually gave instructions for this collection in 1 Corinthians 16. This was how they were to collect this love offering. He said, on the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside, store it up as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. In other words, he wants it all done when he gets there. However, between the writing of Paul's two canonical letters to the church in Corinth, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, between those two writings, the relationship between the church and their own personal apostle, Paul, that relationship had become somewhat strained. false prophets had infiltrated the church and, shockingly enough, had been somewhat successful in turning many of the members of the church in Corinth against the apostle Paul of all people. This was the result of a number of accusations, including financial impropriety, saying that Paul may have been skimming off the top of this collection for these poor saints. Now just think about this for a moment. Paul was the instrument that God used to save these people's soul, to birth them into the family of God. He was the founder of the church. He was the de facto pastor for better than a year and a half. He had long since proven himself. There was no reason for these people to doubt Paul and every reason for them to trust him. Nevertheless, in our flesh, there's just this... natural tendency to oppose leadership. That may be on the football team, they may be at the job, that may be in the church, that may be in the home. But it is just a natural tendency and these weak saints had succumbed to that temptation. And one of the worst things about the entire thing is that while they're over here bickering about this love offering, there are saints in Jerusalem without food to eat. See, their bad attitudes had effect on everybody else. So Paul sat down and wrote a letter to the church in Corinth. Not this letter. Another letter. A scalding rebuke. And he sent it by the hand of Titus. That letter has not survived for us today, but we can surmise from what Paul says about it here in 2 Corinthians, we can assume it was sharp. Paul even wondered whether he should have sent the letter at all for a while, at least until Titus returned. But once Titus did return to Paul, he informed the Apostle that the saints were repentant of their attitude towards Paul and that this collection effort for the poor saints in Jerusalem had been sort of sparked again. So this is good news. The severe letter had done its job. Chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians address that collection effort all over again. It's been a few weeks since we began looking at this section. Perhaps you will recall that Paul began in chapter 8 with this example of these poorer churches in Macedonia, but most likely churches you're familiar with, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, This example of them giving what Paul says is beyond their means and of their own accord. Poor people helping other poor people. And he's saying that as a fluid church here in Corinth, you sure ought to be helping if these poor folks are helping. Then he offered the greatest example of sacrificial giving in the history of creation. that of the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 9 of chapter 8, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich. There's rich, rich theology there. I hope we delved into some of that a few weeks ago. The point Paul wishes to make though is that we as Christians are called to follow that example of Jesus. The remainder of chapter 8 spells out Paul's immediate plans for the future and the reason why. First he's going to send Titus back to them and along with him he's going to send two unnamed brothers to reignite this collection effort and get everything done. Second, the reason he planned to do it this way was to show that the charges against him by these false teachers was about merit. Paul is a man of integrity. He was not interested in anyone's money. He really had the right goals. If the saints of Corinth then completed their pledge, If they stayed true to their promise, verse 24 of chapter 8 says, that they would give proof before the churches of their love and of Paul's boasting about them. to all of these people, to these men. That's a bit of introductory work, I suppose, but it has been a few weeks since we've been in 2 Corinthians. That brings us then right up to this text we are looking at this morning. The name of the sermon this morning is Greed and Giving. Greed and Giving. In this text, Paul urges the members of the church at Corinth to complete their promised offering. rather than holding on tight to what they had. All right, let's jump into this. Verse 1. The exposition won't take terribly long, but I've got some points I want to make after. Verse 1, "'Now it is superfluous for me to write to you about the ministry of the saints. For I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them.'" Chapter breaks are Unfortunately, this is just another one of those chapter breaks that you have to wonder why it's there. The Greek word translated now here in the ESV is by and away most often translated for. There is a link to what we have just studied. In order for the saints in Corinth to give proof before the churches of their love, In order for them to do that, Paul pens the words here in chapter 9 before us this morning. You will see this as we go through this passage. You will see the link. Now Paul says, it is superfluous for me to write to you, which I'm rather proud of my pronunciation of that word repeatedly correctly. Paul says, now it is superfluous for me to write to you. Redundant, he means. I'm assuming that's not a word a lot of us use. He just means redundant or even unnecessary. It's unnecessary for him to write to them and inform them again about what's going on in Jerusalem. They know. They know. They were already informed about the situation in Jerusalem. They had already agreed to take part in the collection effort. Paul did not need to re-convince them of what's happening there. They just needed to complete what they had promised to do. By the way, even now, Titus has certainly returned to Paul expressing that the Corinthians were actually interested again in this matter. Paul's not going to make another pitch of why they need to help. In fact, he says, "'For I know of your readiness.'" Now I need to point this out. False teachers were still in the church. That will become abundantly clear in the next section of the letter. There's no way to possibly miss it. And perhaps a small yet vocal minority were still influenced by those false teachers and were suspect of Paul. But thank God the majority of the church seems to have repented and desired to make things right. For I know of your readiness, Paul says. He's speaking about the majority of the church. And then notice the end of verse 2, by the way. Very interesting. I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year, and your zeal has stirred up most of them. By the way, this actually places Paul in Macedonia as he writes this letter. You'll recall back in chapter 2, out of concern for Titus and his delivering of that severe letter to the saints in Corinth, Paul went to Troas. He could not find rest there. He left there and he went to Macedonia in search for Titus. He did not initially find Titus there, but finally Titus showed up and he gave Paul all the necessary information to write this letter. And it seems Paul wrote it from Macedonia. This seems to place Paul in Macedonia. So Paul here is writing about what he had told the saints in Macedonia about the saints in Achaia and their willingness to help in this offering. Corinth was actually the provincial capital of Achaia. So what Paul is saying is that he went into Macedonia bragging about Corinth and their zeal to help the poor saints in Jerusalem. And this zeal of the saints in Corinth had stirred up most of them, the Macedonians. The reason this is interesting is because Paul began in chapter 8 using these Macedonians as an example for why the Corinthians needed to fulfill their obligation. They had actually given by now. The tables had sort of turned. Paul went into Macedonia using the Corinthians as an example of a promised gift. However now, since the Corinthians had not followed through with their pledge, Paul is using the Macedonians as an example of giving back to the church he was using as an example before. You say, that's sort of confusing. It is what it is. These saints simply were not doing what they had promised to do. And now, rather than being the example, they were the ones having to be told of another example. Now while we're here, let me point out one thing about Greco-Roman society. I'm assuming most of you aren't read up on culture in the Greco-Roman world. But I think that it's important because it bears quite a similarity to our own culture. Notice Paul says, "...your zeal has stirred up most of them." Not all of them. Not all of them, but most of them. People gave sacrificially in the ancient world, but not for the right reason. Sacrificial giving in the ancient world was not done for the good of the recipient. It was always done for the bragging rights of the giver. In other words, if a person was able to give money to a needy individual, it proved to all the bystanders that the giver was a person of influence, a person of power, a person of means, that they were successful, that maybe they were even in the elite of society. Well, for Paul then to go into Achaia or Macedonia, and suggest the idea that they should give money to a faceless, nameless group over in Jerusalem some 1,800 to 2,000 miles away was just unthinkable. There's no way you can post that on Facebook, right? You can't brag about this. Nobody's going to see this. So they had to be stirred up. to do this. This was anti-cultural for them. Counter-cultural, we might say. So Paul is working with a group of tightwads, much like many in our society, perhaps like many of us. We're not so removed from this. More on that later. Let's move on. Paul says in verse 3, but I'm sending the brothers, so that our boasting about you may not prove empty in this matter, so that you may be ready as I said you would be." So Paul was coming, but he wasn't coming right now. He'd have some people accompanying him. We'll see that here in just a second in verse 4. But here, Paul explains that he is sending this envoy. We looked at who these people were in chapter 8. Titus, two unnamed brothers. Paul is sending them ahead so that they, the Corinthians, may be ready when he arrived. Now I said a moment ago, Paul had boasted, and the Greeks suggest that this is something he did on a regular basis. He continued to boast regularly of the promised pledge of the Corinthian saints. the rather large offering they had promised to give to the poor in Jerusalem. He had regularly boasted of them. These poor saints in Macedonia then, as they heard about that, had done the unexpected. They had given the relief effort, even though they needed relief effort, given to them. Right? They had given more than was expected. But as of now, The affluent Corinthians were still sitting on their money. They had not given. This is what we would call today a bad look. This is terrible at the very least. Paul says in verse 4, otherwise, if these brothers that I'm sending ahead don't get this job done before I get there, Otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated to say nothing of you for being so confident." Here's Paul's concern, or at least one of Paul's concerns. He's coming. He's not going with Titus and these two guys he's sending them before, but Paul is coming. And he expected, because he's riding for Macedonia, he expected most likely some Macedonians may very well accompany him to Corinth. Let's make sure we have this picture right. The poor Macedonians were convinced to help the poor saints in Jerusalem, at least partly because they had heard of the affluent Corinthians' desire to make a large donation. Now, a few of these raggedly dressed Macedonians were likely to visit Corinth, and they may very well find out that the Corinthians had not completed that very pledge that had encouraged them to give in the first place. Can you imagine the embarrassment that would cause the Apostle Paul who had continually bragged on the zeal of the Corinthian saints to give? He would be humiliated, he says here, to say nothing of the Corinthian saints themselves. Paul had spoken with great confidence about the saints in Corinth to other churches and for them not to fulfill their obligation, not to follow through with their promise would be quite embarrassing for Paul and may even make him look deceptive. Though he wasn't. He wasn't. Paul's trying to avoid this entire scenario of these Macedonians showing up in this collection having not been taken up yet. He's trying to avoid it by sending Titus and his associates along first with this letter we are studying here, 2 Corinthians. And he says as much in verse 5, notice, So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for the gift you have promised, so that it may be ready as a willing gift not as an exaction. By the way, the word gift here, used twice in this verse, is from the Greek word eulogia. You may hear our word eulogy there. It just means blessing, so it could be translated to arrange in advance for the blessing you have promised so that it may be ready as a willing blessing, not as an extraction. By sharing with these poor saints, they would be blessing them. They would, by God's grace, no doubt. But they would be blessing them. Now the meaning of this verse is actually rather clear. Paul explains the very reason Titus has shown up in Corinth along with these two unnamed brothers and this letter in his hand. This is why Titus is there. They were to go on ahead to Corinth. They were to arrange in advance for the gift they had promised. They are to get the collection finished. That way when Paul shows up with the brothers from Macedonia, all of the humiliation could be avoided. Now this is similar to what we read in 1 Corinthians 16. If you recall, Paul said he wanted them to go ahead and handle it so that there would be no collecting when Paul came, 1 Corinthians 16 2. But this here is not about efficiency. There it was. In 1 Corinthians 16, He wanted this to be handled in the most efficient way possible. Here, that's not what this is. This is a humiliation-saving arrangement. Otherwise, if this is not handled, the Corinthian saints would not give proof before the churches of their love. That's chapter 8 verse 24. That's why I said this is all linked together. If they rightly finish this collection they promised, they would give proof of their love to all the churches. If they don't, they would not prove their love. In fact, they may prove that rather than loving their brothers and sisters in Christ, as they should, They actually loved their own money more. Notice what Paul says. He desires that this be made ready as a willing gift and not as an exaction. This verse actually links to the next section. It actually introduces the next section that I plan to look at next time. But let's make certain that we know precisely what Paul is saying here. The Legacy Standard actually renders that final phrase, and not as a begrudging obligation. The New American Standard may have the most literal of the translations. It says, not affected by covetousness. I prefer that because the underlying Greek word there is generally rendered as covetous or covetousness. In fact, even in the ESV, in all other nine times that this word appears in the New Testament, the ESV translators render it either covet or greed, some form of those words. So it seems like Paul is saying something like this. If you don't have the relief money ready when we get there, it's going to reveal that you are more concerned about your own financial portfolio than you are about your own brothers and sisters in Christ starving. That's what Paul is saying. He's actually exposing sin here. The forgotten sin. Covetousness. It's literally in the text. Greed, we may call it. Studies have been done. If you ask people to list the Ten Commandments, rarely will everybody get all ten, and most likely the one that they are going to forget is, you shall not covet. It's the forgotten commandment. I mean, what is greed compared to murder, or stealing, or adultery, or certainly false worship? Well, remember what I said a few moments ago. In this Greco-Roman society, even supposed charity was nothing more than a rich person's way to flaunt what they had. It was never about the recipient. It was so the giver could show his own lavish riches off to those in the community. Greed then, as it were, was not merely normalized in Greco-Roman society, but celebrated. I don't think we've advanced very far in that today. We know greed or covetousness was a problem in the church at Corinth back in 1 Corinthians 5. You probably will recall Paul wrote to them saying, I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of a brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed. Do you normally remember those two words? Or greed? Probably not, because we think about the man who was having an affair, most likely with his stepmother. But Paul says, I'm writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of a brother if he's guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler, not even to eat with such a one. He goes on to say, Purge the evil person from among you. But greed is mentioned right alongside sexual immorality. idolatry, abusiveness, drunkenness, one who cheats people right alongside sins for which one is to be expelled from the church membership. Greed! Look, we have normalized greed in our society. We have cleaned it up. We've made it respectable. But I assure you, in the courtroom of heaven, it is sin. That is a fact. Jesus himself said, for from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a person. Did you catch that? Jesus named greed, or coveting as it's translated, as one of the evil things that come forth out of the heart of man. It is such an evil before God that it will defile a person. Covetousness. Greed. While our society celebrates greed, God declares it to be evil. Twice in Ephesians 5.5 and Colossians 3.5, Paul actually equates covetousness with idolatry. That should come as no surprise since our Lord Himself said, "'No servant can serve two masters, for he will either hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other.'" You cannot serve God and money. Guys, you cannot serve God and money on the authority of the words of the Savior Himself. This is why Paul calls greed, or covetousness, idolatry. Is that serious enough? Is it serious enough that we have glorified a sin that the inspired Scriptures equate with idolatry? Guys, listen. While the LGBTQ movement is trying to normalize an unbiblical model of marriage and sexuality, many in the conservative camps are trying to normalize covetousness as something respectable. You think I'm pushing that too far? Listen to what Paul says. Same author. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy." nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." I can't flesh all of that out here this morning, but within that list, Paul mentions both men who practice homosexuality and the greedy as people who will not inherit the kingdom of God. They're both in the list. They're both equally sins that need to be repented of. They are both sins for which Jesus had to die. Look, this warning Paul makes to these saints is very serious. If they followed through with their commitment to help the poor in Jerusalem, it would give proof before the churches of their love." Chapter 8 verse 24. Not only their love for the Lord Jesus Christ, but also for His people. But on the flip side, if they did not follow through, if they chose to hold on to their savings accounts while their brothers or sisters lack food, it may very well expose an unregenerate heart. You say, I don't know, that seems a bit far. James didn't think so. James 2, what good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, go in peace, be warmed and filled, without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So, faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. That's James' inspired example. Let me just put it bluntly. James is saying, in no uncertain terms, if we have the means to help a truly needy brother, I'm not talking about one who refuses to work. Paul says he shouldn't eat. But a truly needy brother or sister, we have the means, but we refuse. James says the likelihood is that we have little more than a dead faith, a faith that cannot save. John MacArthur writes, quote, "...few sins are as ugly as covetousness. Few sins manifest selfishness and pride so graphically as grasping for more at the expense of others." End quote. Amen. And that's precisely what's going on here in Corinth. They're holding on to what they have because they don't want to let it go. At least Paul seems to be concerned that that's what's going on. Paul's words hit them in the heart like a dagger. But we don't need to miss the fact that he takes direct aim at American Christianity right here, folks. Theologically, we reject the prosperity gospel, and rightly so. It is heresy. But it's just as important that we reject it practically. God has given to us, and oftentimes so that we can help others. Alright, let's see what we can glean from this text, if I haven't stomped on your feet enough. First, this is simple, keep your promises. That's what's going on here in Corinth, but they made a promise they weren't keeping. Keep your promise. Let your yes be yes and your no be no. Keep your promises. A Christian, or in their case, a group of Christians in a church, should be trustworthy. There is some hint, at least to some commentators, that Paul was concerned that if the Corinthians backed out of this large pledge that they had promised, the entire relief effort may fall apart at the seams. That seems justified. I mean, the Corinthian zeal had convinced many others to donate to the cause. Their apathy may very well have the opposite effect. If they didn't keep their promise, there may be widespread effects. I fear we often overlook just how impactful it is when we are not trustworthy. Guys, God is trustworthy and we're His children. We should be trustworthy too. Second, I haven't said enough about this probably. Ha-ha. Don't be greedy. Again, greed is a sin for which Jesus died. Greed is a sin for which people must repent. And it is a sin in which we should strive to change. And most certainly, contributing to the needs of others should be voluntary. Paul is not demanding here. However, the idea that it's voluntary doesn't give a believer an excuse to build up a castle worth of goods while his own brother or sister in Christ is evicted from his home. Now greediness should alarm us that we may not have the heart of Christ. What's the heart of Christ? Verse 8-9, For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that by His poverty you might become rich. That's the heart of the Lord. Greediness may be of such a nature that it proves one is not a believer at all. Do you remember the rich young ruler? who came to Jesus asking what he must do to inherit eternal life. I can't go through that entire conversation, but it finally came down to this man's love for his stuff more than he loved the Lord. Here's what Mark writes, And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, You lack one thing, go sell all that you have, and give to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven. Come follow Me." He's trying to separate this man from his love of his stuff. He's not telling him you can go to heaven by giving to the poor. That's not the point. He's trying to show this man that he's greedy. He's covetous. Sadly, Mark continues by saying, disheartened by the saying, he, the rich young ruler, went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. This man was greedy and that greed ultimately cost him his soul. His greatest love was his possessions. While his greatest possession, his soul, was not taken care of. Jesus went on to say how difficult it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. Guys, there is warning after warning after warning after warning in the Word of God about seeking the riches of the world. It's continual almost. I'm not running back through all those warnings I mentioned a second ago about covetousness. They speak for themselves. But if you have been blessed with an abundance, don't overlook your opportunity to serve your brother who is truly in need. That's the point of this text here. Now I want to close this sermon out with an important clarification due to a major doctrinal problem in churches today. Paul is not promoting some sort of social gospel in this text. This may be a text that they would use, but they would have to misuse it. Paul is not promoting a social gospel, and I am not either. I hope that we have been abundantly clear over the years that a social gospel is no gospel at all. It is a false gospel. Now, let me define that term, social gospel. You need to know what I mean. Those in our society today promoting a social gospel believe that a church should be hands-on in correcting all of the injustices of society, which means that the church, in effect, is more than a spiritual entity. It becomes a political one, at least in the sense of trying to right every wrong. Rather than preaching the true gospel to depraved sinners, those promoting a social gospel create class divisions where different segments of society are said to be victims while other people in society are said to be oppressors. None of this, by the way, is based on any actions of anybody. In other words, nobody is doubting that there truly are oppressors in our society. There truly are victims in our society. There's no doubt. That's why we have a police force. That's why we have a court system. That's not what's going on with the social gospel. Those preaching the social gospel say that Those in certain classes are victims simply by birth. And those who are oppressors are the same. They are oppressors by birth. They often use what is called critical race theory or CRT. The problem here is that certain people are giving a free pass on certain sins that they commit because of societal influence, not because it's their sinful nature. Listen, people sin because they're sinners, and that's the only reason. I'm not suggesting that a bad home life doesn't encourage people to sin or a bad neighborhood may not do that. That's why we try to get our families out of those places for sure. But guys, if we're telling people that they get a free pass because they are the oppressed They are the victim. Then the gospel is undermined because they are unaccountable for what they have done. That is a false gospel. That's the social gospel in a quick snippet. And that is not even closely related to what Paul is talking about here in this text. Paul is simply telling these affluent saints in Corinth who had been blessed financially that their own brothers and sisters in Christ in Jerusalem had not only come under persecution, but were right in the midst of a famine and they had needs. The Corinthian saints should do what Jesus would do. Love their brothers and sisters enough to help them out. That's it. This is not a social gospel. There's no victimhood here. He's not saying the saints in Jerusalem are victims and you're oppressors. That's not at all what's going on. This is just about Christian love. Self-denying love. Christ-like love. The very love that Jesus proved to have for us. That love should overflow from us to other people and specifically to those that are in the family of God. are our brothers and sisters in Christ. That is the point here in the text. Stand with me if you...