Let us pray together. Father, I pray for us that you would fill our hearts with gratitude to you for the greatness of your grace. Fill us with gratitude to you for the sufficiency of the work of the Lord Jesus, because of whom we are declared innocent, not guilty, forgiven, in your presence. And O Lord, with that great grace, filling our hearts, may we be moved by the expectation of tastes of greater and more abundant and fuller grace, may we be stirred up to obey you and follow you in all that you would call us to do. And would you seal to our hearts this your word, all of its truth and all of its promises by the power of your Holy Spirit. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Who may be seated. A couple of weeks ago, I told a story which is in Charles Spurgeon's little book, All of Grace. And the story is told of an older woman who was a widow and who was also a poor, lacking resources, lacking money. And Spurgeon tells the story of a minister who had heard of this woman's plight and knew that she was out of money and couldn't pay her rent. And so he collected some money from other people in the church and took this money to this woman's home. And when he knocked on the door to give her the money, nobody answered. Nobody came. And a little later this minister saw this woman at church and asked her where she was. I came to your house and this is what I had planned to do knowing your need. And she said, Well, when I heard the knock at the door, I assumed that it was the landlord. And I assumed that he was coming to collect the rent. And the minister said, No, I haven't come to collect the rent. I have come to provide what you need. And my point a couple of weeks ago was that when the Lord knocks at your door as a son or a daughter, a child of his, he isn't coming to collect the rent. He's not coming for a payment. He's not coming to exact something from you. He's coming to say to you what this minister said to this woman, I have what you need. I have all that you need. Now there are all kinds of layers of meaning to stories and all kinds of ways in which a story like that can be used to illustrate any number of points. But I want to say to you right out of the shoot here, right out of the blocks, that I'm not coming to collect the rent. And when we look at the eighth and ninth chapters of second Corinthians, be reminded that this is in the course of preaching through a book. And I'm not coming to collect the rent when we talk about giving and stewardship. And be reminded as well that that you are being addressed in the scriptures by a father who loves you and you are sons and you are daughters. And because you are sons and daughters and because the work of Christ is sufficient for all of your sin past, present, and future. Something which we had a glorious time talking about in my Sunday school class this morning. Because of the sufficiency of the work of Christ, you are safe. You are safe to be afraid. Did you hear what you sang? Did you pay attention to what you sang this morning? Listen to the fifth verse again from this great hymn by Charles Wesley, no condemnation now I dread Jesus. And all in him is mine. Alive in him my living head and clothed in righteousness divine. Bold, I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own. What audacity? What boldness that you as sinners should lay claim to anything in the presence of God. But Wesley is right because of the work of Christ and because of what you possess in Christ. Now by virtue of that finished work, by virtue of the fact that you are ruled in his righteousness, given to you, you may claim the crown. You are an heir. I virtue of your union with Jesus.
Folks, the gospel is great and glorious. Good news. And it is liberating and it is freeing and it means that you are safe. And so when you come to some chapters, like these chapters in second Corinthians, where the Apostle Paul has to stir up the Corinthians where he has to in fact rebuke the Corinthians, where he has to correct them, where they have gotten off track and he needs to get them back on track. He does that because he loves them. He does that as those who are redeemed by Christ, who are safe. He does that as those whom he wants to see move forward, move down the road. He's not coming to collect the rent. He's coming to move them ahead in their lives as Christians. What's going on here in the eighth and ninth chapters? And by the way, that great passage that we read from the gospel of Luke, got to inform our thinking about these things. What did Jesus require? What did he ask of anybody? Now when guy congratulated himself about the fact that he gave ties, that he was generous with his money, the other guy said, God have mercy upon me as sinner. Folks, that is the beginning and the middle and the end of the Christian faith. God have mercy upon me as sinner. And God who is gracious is pleased to have mercy upon those who know themselves to be sinners. That's the beginning, the middle and the end. It doesn't change. It doesn't get any different. So what's going on in these eighth and ninth chapters is the Apostle deals with these Corinthians as he seeks to move them forward in their Christian lives, in their obedience as believers. Well, the situation is this. The big picture is this. The Apostle is the Apostle to the Gentiles and the Apostle has been engaged in church planting and the Apostle in planting churches among the Gentiles is aware of what has transpired in Jerusalem among the Jews, the first converts to Christianity, the first believers and in every generation since those first believers there have been Jewish converts to the faith. There are people in this congregation of Jewish extraction. They are believers. They are converts to the faith. And what happened to those first generation converts, those first generation Jews who embraced Christ as the promised Messiah, what happened to them is that they were ostracized and they experienced displacement, dislocation. It touched them economically. It touched them relationally. We get hints of this in Acts chapter 6 that Diaconate was established because there were widows in need and those widows had to have those needs addressed and so the church marshaled its resources in order to meet those needs in order to care for the needs of these widows. We get hints of it as well from the first general assembly, the Jerusalem Council in Acts chapter 15, when elders and pastors came together to resolve some theological disputes, they resolved those disputes, they drafted a letter and Paul in the second chapter of Galatians, the 10th verse, when he reflects upon that council, is reminded that he was reminded by those elders at that time that while they were preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, they not forget the poor. They remember the poor, which very thing the Apostle says, I was glad to do what Paul is he referring to. He's referring to the poor in Jerusalem. The elders in Jerusalem are making an appeal to the Gentile Christians through the Apostle Paul because their situation is desperate. There is a great deal of destitution because these Christians have embraced Christ, they've been cut off by their family members, they've been left alone, there's no support system, there's no safety net to catch them when they fall. So the Apostle, when he comes to Corinth, preaches the gospel in court, sees the Lord work, sees people come to Christ, he stays there for a year and a half, he plants churches throughout this city, he reminds these Corinthian believers of the need that exists back in Jerusalem and appeals to them that out of their fullness, they might minister to the needs of their Jewish brothers and sisters. Back in Jerusalem. And as you look at the first five verses of chapter 9, it is clear that when the Apostle made that appeal to these Corinthian believers, it seems that they rushed, they rushed to meet this need. They expressed great enthusiasm for meeting this need, so great was their enthusiasm for meeting this need, that the Macedonian Christians, Paul says, looked upon the Corinthian Christians as models of liberality, the Apostle had held them up as examples. When he left Corinth and went other places throughout Macedonia, he preached the gospel there, told the same story, held the Corinthians up as models of liberality. Well, the Corinthians had gotten sidetracked in this regard, as they had in other regards, we've talked about some of the ways in which they got sidetracked doctrinally. We've talked about the importance of doctrine and its implications for the living of life and the Apostle understood that and he wanted to correct the theological errors in Corinth. We've talked about, looked at some of the immoralities which existed in Corinth, some of the practices that had to change in Corinth and the manner in which Paul the Apostle dealt with those matters. Here is another point at which the Corinthians had become untracked and the Apostle wanted to get them back on track. It was a year prior that the Corinthians had said they were going to raise this money, collect this money, have it ready for the Apostle Paul so that the Apostle could take it to Jerusalem so that those needs could be met but they had gotten sidetracked and now this letter in these chapters is Paul's encouragement so that they get back on track and do what they set out to do. So what are the Apostles' concerns? Well, it's evident throughout this letter but it is evident in this passage as well that the Apostle is concerned first and foremost with the Corinthians themselves. Look again at verse 16 of chapter 8, thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. What care does God put into the heart of Titus? The same care that God put into the heart of the Apostle Paul. Paul and Titus love these people. Paul and Titus have put their lives on the line for these people. Paul and Titus have made enormous sacrifices for these people, the Apostle in just a few chapters as we've mentioned on numerous occasions is going to lift the ways in which he put himself at risk for the sake of these Corinthian believers and all of the Gentiles. The Apostle cares for the well-being of these Corinthian believers. He is more concerned for them than he is for their money. He has a project. There is a need that has to be met and he is appealing to God's people that they might of their resources give those resources in order that that need be met but the project is not foremost in the Apostle's thinking. It is not first place in his thinking. What is first place in his thinking and in the thinking of Titus is these Corinthian believers themselves. He wants what is good for them. Folks, ministry has to do with people, not projects. Ministry has to do with people first. Ministry is never in the first place about budgets or about buildings or about 75-year mission plans which we do have and which we hope God will bless and which we want to see flourish but it is not first and foremost about these things. It is first and foremost about people. Individuals coming to know and love Jesus Christ coming to the place where they grow in the knowledge and love of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one thing in all of this universe who can satisfy the deepest longings of their hearts. That's what Paul cares about. He cares about their giving because it is an issue with respect to their growth. Folks, if we ever get to the place where we say something like this or ask this kind of question, how can we get more people at St. Paul's so that we can do more ministry? If you ever hear me ask a question like that. If you ever hear one of the elders ask a question like that. Stop us in our tracks because people are not a means to an end. People are not a means to be achieving of a goal. People are the goal. People are the end. And if we ever run around asking how can we get more people into this building so that we have more money, more manpower, more whatever in order to do something else? We have absolutely inverted everything. We've turned it upside down and that is a violation of the nature of the gospel and the nature of ministry. The apostle is committed to people. He begins this whole thing with reminding them and giving thanks to God for the earnest care which is expressed and found in the heart of Titus. People, people are first. Now let's be reminded that because people are first. The apostle knows a liberty and a freedom to be very, very strong at times in his encouragement. And he is strong with these folks. He is correcting them. He is rebuking them. He is seeking to get what has been derailed back on the tracks so that it might move forward so that those involved might know greater joy and greater blessedness in their lives as Christians. The apostle loves these people so much, in fact, that he can say extraordinarily strong things like the kind of thing he says in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 5, examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you unless indeed you are disqualified? What is the apostle saying to these Corinthian believers? He knows them. He loves them. He sees their practices. He is sought to correct them. And when he gets to the end of the letter, as he wraps the whole thing up and offers his final admonitions, there is this one admonition. It is offered indiscriminately to this whole congregation, examine yourselves. Don't take anything for granted. Test yourselves to see whether or not you are in the faith. That is not too hard to imagine that somebody reading or hearing what was read in the room where it was read might say, who does the apostle Paul think he is? I know I am a Christian. How dare he challenge me about my salvation? How dare he do that? Well, the reason that he dares do that is because he loves these people and he has seen some things in them which are inconsistent with their profession. And if they remain in that inconsistency, he has every right to question whether or not they are really Christians. See, but always he is doing it because he loves them because he wants for them to turn away from what will destroy them and embrace what will give them life, which is obedience. So the apostle can be hard and he can be forceful, but what is at the forefront always is people. And when he is hard and when he does say examine yourselves to see whether or not you are in the faith, he is not using guilt manipulation. He is not using terrorist tactics in order to extract from these people the monies that he wants to take back to Jerusalem. That isn't what drives the apostle Paul. What drives him is his love for these people. Folks, let me just say that always, always I would beg of you that you keep in mind in any sermon you hear from me in any Sunday school class you hear from me or Bob or any elder or anybody else always keep in mind that we are seeking to speak to you as sons and daughters of the living God. And when we rebuke, when we correct, if we should challenge as much as we know ourselves, which is imperfectly to be sure, but as best we know ourselves, we are saying and doing these things out of a sincere and deep affection for you and the longing for you that you may know life and joy and blessedness. And not death. That's what the apostle does here. His affection for them is what is in view. Now that's the first concern that the apostle has. His first concern is people. People ahead of programs, people ahead of buildings, people ahead of projects, whatever it might be, it is always people who are the concern, the central concern. They are not a means to an end, they are the end. That's number one. Second, the apostle is concerned for appearances. He is concerned for appearances. Remember that the apostle's integrity has been called into question. He has been accused of various things. He's been accused of being unreliable, undependable. He said he was going to come to current. He changed his mind. He changed his plans. He communicates the reasons for the change here that the Corinthians hadn't received this letter yet. And so because he didn't show up, his opponents in Corinth accused him of being vacillating, lacking character. You can't trust the man. And there were also raising questions about his honesty. Can he be entrusted with all of these minds? Can he be entrusted with all of these minds? And the apostle wants to avoid even the appearance of evil. He wants in verse 21 to do things honorably. That's what he wants with these Corinthians. He wants to do things honorably. So what does he do in order that the world first, but the church as well, might have confidence in him? And I say the world first because the world is always looking at the church. The world is always examining the church. The world is always wondering what it is that those Christians are doing and the world is always looking for points in our life at which they can point showing up our inconsistency. I have this family member who almost every time we get together reminds me that oral Roberts has 38 secretaries who do nothing but count money all day. Now what do you suppose this family member is getting at? He thinks something illegal is going on. He thinks that it's wrong that oral Roberts should be receiving money. He's certain that oral Roberts is skimming while the apostle was being accused of the same kind of thing. The world is always watching and the apostle wants to make sure that there is not the least hint, not even the appearance of any evil. So what does he do? He sends Titus back to them to collect and then he sends two other people as well. Verse 18, we have sent with Titus the brother whose praise is in the gospel. Who is this guy? We don't know. One of those mystery men who appears in the pages of scripture. One of those guys, it'll be fun to identify when we get to heaven. Probably wasn't one of the first people on your list when you get to heaven. Not one of the first on my list, but it'll be interesting to know who it was that the apostle was referring to here. We don't know. The early fathers conjecture that it may have been Luke. Luke was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke was a gentile. Luke was highly regarded. Whoever it was, this person is referred to as one whose praise is in the gospel. And that little phrase, while a bit enigmatic, simply refers to the integrity of this individual. This is a person whose reputation was known and his integrity was not questioned, not disputed. If I mention to you the name Billy Graham, what do you think? You probably think, if you've been around evangelical Christianity at all for any length of time, you probably think that maybe a bunch of things you think I don't know depends on how mean spirited you are. But if you think clearly you will think statesman. If you think clearly you will think integrity. If you think clearly you will think perseverance. When you hear the name Billy Graham, you think of a phrase like this, his praise is in the gospel. Here is one who not only preached it but who has lived it in the public eye for five decades, five decades. Long, long ago Billy Graham put in place the kinds of protections that many others octave have put in place so as to avoid even the slightest hint of any wrongdoing. And the apostle in order himself to avoid any hint of any wrongdoing sends one like that with Titus back to these folks to collect this money and then he sends another one as well. Verse 22, we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things but now much more diligent because of the great confidence which we have in you. Another brother unidentified and associate of Paul, maybe Barnabas, is sent with Titus and the first brother three of them going to these Corinthians to collect these monies that they had promised to give. And all three of them, known by the Corinthians, all three of them men of integrity. The apostle mentions one other thing about these two brothers. If anybody should inquire about them, he says in verse 23 at the end of that verse, remember that they are messengers of the churches, they are the glory of Christ, another reference to their integrity. So the apostle is concerned first and foremost for these Corinthians that they might get back on track and pursue the things that they said they were going to pursue but he is concerned for appearances. He doesn't want there to be any hint, any suggestion at all of any wrongdoing. Folks, let me just tell you very quickly that each year at the end of the year here at St. Paul's, you need to know this. Each year at the end of the year here at St. Paul's we have sought to account for every penny which you have given to this church. We've done that with a CPA and for the first time in the life of our church we will conduct an audit in the life of our church. Why? Because we want for there to be as Paul wanted for there to be confidence among the people in the ministry and we want for every penny to be accounted for just as the apostle did. We should be concerned about that. We are concerned about it because we don't want anybody here nor anybody from outside accusing us of any wrongdoing. It is important that those appearances be kept in mind. And then last, not least, the apostle is concerned for the glory of God. He says it in verse 19. The end of that verse in referring to the gift he refers to this gift which is which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself. The apostle is aware that he lives his life before the face of God, not only before the world, but before the face of God. And the apostle wants everything that he is and everything that he does to reflect positively upon the grace which God has showered upon him and upon God Himself. The apostle wants to live a life of integrity which will redound to the glory of the Father who has made him a son. See, all of this eventually gets background. Not to who we are, not to who what we have done but to who God is and what God has done. What is it that motivates Paul and his concern for these people? What is it that motivates Paul and his concern for appearances? It is one in the same thing. It is his concern for the glory of God and what drives his concern for the glory of God is the fact that he has tasted it. He has tasted this grace and he wants so very much for himself and for the Corinthians to do what is pleasing in the sight of his Father who is in heaven.
These are two preeminent concerns for the apostle Paul. The good and well-being of the people of God and the glory of God. Those things are not at odds. They complement one another because what is in the best interests of the people of God will bring glory to God and what glorifies God is good for the people of God. Let us pray together. Lord help us to live with our faces, lift it up in our eyes wide open to behold the kind of grace that Charles Wesley wrote about, that that tax collector experienced that each of us has tasted. It is a staggering thing, O God, that you have made us sons and daughters fellow heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ of all of the fullness of your glorious kingdom. That is who and what we are. And I pray that you would give us grace that we might be faithful to commitments we have made that we might live out the gospel together as a congregation whom you have called and set apart for yourself, that the world might see that there is a difference and be drawn to the Savior. Here our prayer, O Lord, we ask in Jesus name, Amen.
The Lord has preserved you and the Lord has blessed you abundantly, be encouraged to give of that abundance those tithes and offerings which are the lords, let us worship God with our giving.