To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Have you ever thought about the fact that it is possible to do exactly what the Bible says and yet do it in a sinful way?  That’s why the fastidious keeping of the Law of God is never the way to eternal life.  It can never save us because the Law of God is impossibly high as a standard for life, and if that’s all our “religion” consists of, the motive for “obedience” is always wrong.  One Scripture that makes this clear is Ephesians 2:8-9 which tells us that no one is ever saved by their works, for our human pride is so pervasive that we would only boast about it rather than glorify God in the process.  Another example is the verse above from 2 Corinthians 9.  While the Bible commands us in many places to give (Luke 6:38; Proverbs 3:9; 2 Corinthians 9:11; Proverbs 3:27; Malachi 3:10; Matthew 19:21; Psalm 37:21, etc.) it also tells us that giving can be from a motive that doesn’t honor God.  In the verse above God tells us that He isn’t honored when our giving is reluctant or under compulsion.  In Matthew 6:2 Jesus warns us of another way that giving can be from a sinful motive. There He said, “when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward.” What He means by this is that such giving does not glorify God.  It is designed only to bring glory to ourselves, and that’s the only “glory” we will ever achieve as a result. That will be our only reward, and it will be a worthless reward in the end.  And then this from 1 Corinthians 13, “the love chapter.”  Here we are told, “If I give away all I have . . . but have not love, I gain nothing.” Again, giving can seem like such a wonderful thing to do, but the “why” behind it can be less than virtuous.

In the words recorded in Matthew 6:3-4 Jesus said, “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” You see, it’s that kind of giving that pleases God.  It’s that kind of giving that comes from a motive of the love of our neighbor and a love of God.

True religion, a religion that pleases God, is not a matter of dos and don’ts, because the things we do or the things we don’t do can all be based on motives that are other than the glory of the God Who has told us through the apostle Paul that “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). 

But how does one ever do this? How can one be sure to do what they do (and don’t do what they don’t do) to the glory of God?   The key is in the first part of the verse above.  It tells us that giving is a matter of the heart.  In other words, for the giving to be right, the heart must be right first.  And how does that happen?  It is only by humbly bowing at Jesus’ feet, confessing our sin, asking for God’s forgiveness, and repenting. It’s in accepting the free gift of eternal life that comes to us on the basis of Jesus’ sacrificial death that paid the debt for our sins on the cross.  That’s the gospel, and it’s that and only that that can change a person’s essential nature.  It’s only in the gospel that one becomes “a new creation” in which all things, including the heart, are made new.  It’s in the realization of what God has done for us in the new birth that a person’s heart is filled with gratitude, and the commands of Scripture become those things we “get to do” to glorify God, rather than things we “have to do” in order to please Him.  It’s that heart that gives cheerfully and is motivated by a love of God and a desire to do all to His glory, and it’s that very thing that God loves.   

You see, the Bible tells us that “we love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  It also tells us that “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  It is when the reality of this incomprehensible truth dawns on our souls that we are motivated to do all to the glory of God. 

So, is that why you do what you do and don’t do what you don’t do?  Is that the reason that you give?