2 Corinthians 9
by David Groendyk

Talk is cheap. The believers in Corinth had gotten quite the reputation for being ready to give financially to help other believers in need. They had even stirred up other believers in other parts of the world to do the same. But reputation is not enough. A reputation for doing something is not the same thing as actually doing that thing. Paul is building on the previous chapter where he encouraged the church to give generously. Now he’s putting the ball in their court, so to speak. He’s actually sending his co-workers to go collect the gift that the Corinthians had said they were ready to give.

It’s an important lesson for any believer to learn. It’s easy to say you’ll give financially, it’s easy to say you’ll help someone in need, it’s easy to say you have a compassionate heart and are zealous for justice, but what do you actually do? Actions speak much louder than words. Mere talk can get us in trouble. The Corinthians’ talk (if they weren’t able to back it up with action) would have humiliated Paul and ruined the reputation of the Corinthian church (v. 4). So Paul is asking them to give their offering, and to do so willingly, “not as an exaction” (v. 5). You may have a footnote in your Bible on that word ‘exaction’ like I do that explains that word. In the Greek, the word is “greediness”. What Paul means is that you shouldn’t give to others so that they’ll give back to you later. Give, but do not ever expect something in return. That’s a lot of the sacrificial Christian life summed up in one sentence. Give purely for the sake of giving, without ever expecting repayment.

Then (thankfully!) Paul tells us his point in verse 6! “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” When I was in college and just starting to grow in my faith, an older Christian friend challenged me to start tithing. I—being a “thrifty” Dutchman and working only a minimum wage job—asked him, “Do I tithe from the gross income or the net income on my paycheck?” His response was, “Well, how much do you want to be blessed?” His response was basically verse 6. God promises to bless us in accordance with our generosity. Now, there’s one thing we need to be clear about. This is NOT, I repeat: NOT, the idea of “sowing seeds” that many Word of Faith or Prosperity Gospel preachers talk about. Those kinds of preachers take advantage of hurting people by promising them healing or wealth or answered prayer if only you’ll donate such-and-such money to our church. Basically, they make God a vending machine—put money in, get blessing out. That’s not how God works, and that’s not what this chapter teaches. God works in much more mysterious ways than that.

In fact, Paul mentions some of the blessings you’ll reap in this chapter. One is contentment (v. 8). Another is good works (v. 8). Another is righteousness (v. 10). Another is learning to be even more generous (v. 11). Another is thanksgiving (v. 11). All of these things are God’s work of sanctification in you, to make you more holy. Do you see the connection between giving and sanctification? When we are willing to give as God himself did (v. 15) and as Christ did (8:9), God uses that to transform us into the image of God like we’re meant to be, and he uses that to make us learn to rely on him all the more, knowing that he’s the only one who can supply all of our needs. In essence, he makes us stronger spiritual Christians. Giving our tithes and offerings is about so much more than just keeping the lights of the church on and paying salaries. It really is an act of worship and an act of faith, and God uses it in big ways to transform you. Let’s pray that we all learn to be more generous.