Tag Archives: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15

September 5, 2015 Bible Study

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 22:20-21

    The writer tells us his purpose in writing these proverbs: to teach us to be honest and to speak the truth. Reading Proverbs is a good way to come to the realization about how important those things are.

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Psalm 49

    If you trust in the Lord, and live your life accordingly, you have no need to fear those who trust in their wealth. No matter how wealthy someone is, no matter how powerful they are, no matter what connections they have, they will be unable to redeem themselves from death. There is no amount of money which will allow someone to avoid death and live forever. Ultimately, everyone will die, even the fabulously wealthy (special case for those who serve Christ and are still alive when He returns). Even if someone uses their wealth to build a great monument to themselves, eventually it will crumble and their name will be forgotten.
    Accumulating material wealth serves no eternal purpose. We cannot take it with us. The only wealth which will last into the next life is that which we have stored with God, and that is the rewards He gives us for serving Him.

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2 Corinthians 8:1-15

    We should eagerly give of what we have in order to help those who are struggling. The key is not how much we give, but that we give eagerly. Our giving should be in proportion to what we have. If we have more than others, we should eagerly give more than those others. If on the other hand, we have less than others we should not feel obligated to give as much as they do. We should seek to give so as to make others lives easier, but not so much as to make our lives hard. Paul quotes from Exodus to spell out what our goal should be:

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,
and those who gathered only a little had enough.”

My Dad often made a statement which I think reflects what Paul is teaching here, “There is nothing wrong with a Christian being on welfare, and there is nothing wrong with a Christian being a millionaire. However, there is something wrong if a congregation has both a millionaire and someone on welfare.” He was very clear that he was not willing to say from outside the situation which one of those two was in the wrong, just that as Christians we should both be willing to help our fellow believers and accept help from our fellow believers. In the Church, those who are well off financially should strive to help those who are struggling financially, and those who are struggling financially should accept the help of those who are well off. That help does not necessarily come in the form of financial assistance, although that should play a part in the assistance.

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Ecclesiastes 10-12

    Throughout this passage the writer gives a lot of good advice. However towards the end he gives us the key to meaning. He tells us that the young should enjoy every minute of their lives, but not allow that enjoyment to cause them to forget our Creator. On the other hand, he tells those who live to an old age to enjoy every day of life they receive as a gift from God, while remembering that dark days will come. Overall, let us remember the Lord while our bodies are healthy enough to do His work.

September 05, 2014 Bible Study — Give Joyously

For today, One Year Bible Online links here.

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Proverbs 22:20-21

    Those words which teach us to be honest and speak the truth are words of wisdom and we should listen to them carefully and hold them close to our hearts.

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Psalm 49:1-20

    We have no need to fear when trouble comes and we are surrounded by enemies who boast great wealth and power. For all of their wealth, the richest people in the world cannot ransom themselves from death. No matter how rich they are, they will not convince God to accept payment to deliver them from death. Fame and wealth will not last. None of us will take our wealth with us when we die. No matter how big the monument we build to ourselves, sooner or later we will be forgotten. The wicked may seem to thrive in this life, but they too will die and face God’s judgement.

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2 Corinthians 8:1-15

    If we sincerely love the Lord we will give to aid those in need. How much we give is a personal decision. Some will feel led to give more than others. In this letter Paul holds up as an example the believers in Macedonia. He reports that despite facing trials for their faith and being poor, they begged for the opportunity to give towards the needs of the believers in Jerusalem. We should give out of what we have in order to help those who are in need. He makes an important point here. He discourages them, and us, from giving so that others will live easily while we experience hardship. This runs directly counter to those occasional “Superstar” preachers who dress in designer suits while encouraging those who listen to their sermons to give until it hurts.
    Let us give joyously and even to the point of sacrifice, but let us give to help those who are genuinely in need, not to support those who are living more than well.

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Ecclesiastes 10-12:14

    Foolishness corrupts everything around it. You can act with care and wisdom only to have a single foolish decision destroy your carefully laid plans. You can easily identify a fool by casual observation, yet despite this, people often choose to emulate them. From time to time, we will see fools put into positions of authority and the wise put into a position where they can only watch things go wrong. This always ends badly.
    Any task with a potential reward has risks. The greater the reward for the task, the greater the risk. However, with some wise planning the risk and effort needed can be minimized. It is good to work hard, but not when a little thought and wisdom could make the job easier.

September 5, 2013 Bible Study — Give in Proportion to What You Have

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Ecclesiastes 10-12:14

     Today’s passage is a series of wise sayings that everyone should read from time to time. It starts by warning us that a single foolish act can ruin a lifetime of wisdom and honor. All constructive activity has inherent dangers, prepare for them. The wise person makes sure that their tools are properly prepared before starting a task. If you start with bad (foolish) assumptions, your conclusions will be bad(foolishly wicked), no matter how logical the thoughts that lead from the assumptions to the conclusions. No one can predict the future. Spread your investments out over multiple ventures so that a single disaster will not wipe you out. Watch what you say about others because your words might reach their ears unexpectedly. We cannot understand all of what God does, it is beyond our ability.
     The writer concludes all of his thoughts on wisdom and life by telling us to fear God and obey His commands. God will judge us for everything we do, including the things that we do in secret.

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2 Corinthians 8:1-15

     Paul tells the Church in Corinth that God has been working strongly in Macedonia. The members of the Macedonian churches were facing many troubles and had very little wealth. Nevertheless, they were determined to aid the believers in Jerusalem (a project which was started by the Church in Corinth). Paul tells the believers in Corinth that the believers in Macedonia were giving all they were able to afford and even more than they could afford. Their first action was to give themselves to God with all of their hearts.
     Paul then asks the Church in Corinth to follow through on their commitment to aiding the believers in Jerusalem. He makes it clear that he is not asking them to sacrifice themselves the way that the believers in Macedonia had done. He reminds them that not only were they the first to give but they were the first to have the idea to give in order to aid the believers in Jerusalem. Now he is urging them to follow through and see their idea through to the finish. Paul asks them to give according to their ability and to do so eagerly. He stresses that they are to give according to what they have, not according to what they do not have. He makes it clear that he does not want them to give to the point that they will suffer hardship from it.

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     This is a great passage about being charitable. First, Paul commends the Macedonian believers for being generous beyond their means, but he does not hold them up as an example to be emulated (although neither does he discourage us from emulating them). Then he emphasized the importance of giving eagerly. We should only give as much as we are able to do without regret. If we cannot give an amount without worrying how we will pay our bills, we should not give that much. On the other hand, if we have more than we need to meet our basic needs and another believer has less than they need, we should share with them. Our goal should be equality in the body of believers, Paul does not speak of it here, but elsewhere he instructs that those who do not do all that they can to care for themselves and their loved ones should not be given aid from the body of believers (except so as to show them how they can do more).
     Paul tells us that we are each to decide for ourselves how much we can and should give. Then we are to give that amount eagerly. This passage is both a challenge and a comfort to me. It is a challenge because I have not been giving as much as I feel that I should lately. On the other hand it is a comfort because I have suffered some financial hardships (a period of unemployment and unanticipated care troubles, among other things) over the last year that have made it difficult for me to cover all of my bills. This passage tells me that God does not expect me to give to the point where I experience hardship as a result of giving to others. However, it also tells me that I should eagerly give to those less fortunate than myself. I have made some poor decisions regarding my finances in the past that led the financial setbacks of the last year or so to be difficult. I have resolved to not make those mistakes going forward and this passage has strengthened my resolve to give God complete control over my finances.

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Psalm 49:1-20

     The psalmist tells us that we should all listen to his message, whether we are rich, or poor, politically powerful, or without power, socially influential, or not. He tells us that there is no reason to fear trouble from our enemies, no matter how wealthy or powerful they may be. Our enemies will all die in due time, no one has sufficient wealth or power to give a ransom to God to rescue themselves from death. No one can pay enough to live forever and never see the grave. There is only one way to have life eternal. That is if God redeems us from the grave and takes us to Himself. The wicked may grow rich, but they will die. And when they do, they will take none of that wealth with them.

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     I much prefer the NIV translation of verse 13 and 14.

This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.
They are like sheep and are destined to die;
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.

There are many people who are completely self-reliant, who think that they do not need God. They are destined to die and will end up rotting in the grave. In time they will be forgotten, no matter what they may think they accomplished in this life. I am not too proud to declare that I need God, for He can redeem me from that fate (and He has).

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Proverbs 22:20-21

     Once again I prefer the NIV translation. In the NIV the writer tells us that he has written sayings of counsel and wisdom which teach us to be honest and to speak the truth. There is more to being honest and speaking the truth than not saying things which you know to be untrue. Being honest and speaking the truth means that I will not say things which I expect others to interpret falsely.

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September 5, 2012 Bible Study

     I am using One Year Bible Online for my daily Bible study. For today, One Year Bible Online links here. I have found that by writing this daily blog of what I see when I read these scriptures, I get more out of them. I hope that by posting these ruminations others may get some benefit as well. If you have any thoughts or comments regarding these verses or what I have written about them, please post them.

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Ecclesiastes 10-12:14

     The writer continues with a series of proverbs. Here he points out that many worthwhile tasks have dangers involved in them. Additionally, he advises to properly prepare the tool for the task at hand before beginning. He goes on to advise us to diversify our investments because we do not know what risks might destroy some of them. Seek to follow the Lord while you are young, so that you will not have regrets when you get old. Finally the writer concludes that we should fear God and obey His commands. God will judge all of our actions, both good and bad, both public and secret.

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2 Corinthians 8:1-15

     Paul writes to the Corinthians that the Churches in Macedonia were giving eagerly to provide help to the Christians in Jerusalem who were suffering. He tells us that they did even more than he had hoped, giving more than they could truly afford. The Churches in Macedonia begged to be allowed to share with the believers in Jerusalem, without in any way shorting the local needs. Paul is writing this reminder to the Church in Corinth to encourage them, but also to keep them from looking foolish. The idea of raising money to aid the believers in Jerusalem was first suggested by the Corinthians. He tells them to give in proportion to what they have. Give what you can and do so eagerly. Do not short your self so that others can live a life of ease. Give from your plenty to those in need and when you are in need those who then have plenty will share with you. I had never noticed this before, but there is an element in what Paul writes here that is counter to “prosperity gospel”. Prosperity theology sometimes claims that you should give according to what you want to have. If you want to earn $100,000 a year than you should be donating to charity (usually the one run by the person preaching this message) $10,000 a year. According to them, if you do that you will receive that $100,000 a year you want. However, in this passage Paul says, “And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have.” That seems to me to run exactly counter to what those prosperity gospel preachers are preaching.

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Psalm 49:1-20

     This is an interesting psalm to be reading at the same time as Ecclesiastes, because it shares a similar message. The psalmist says that he will not fear when trouble comes and enemies surround him. He does not fear because his enemies put their trust in wealth and great riches. Yet they cannot pay enough to avoid death. Death comes eventually to everyone. No one can ransom themselves from the grave. The wise and the foolish will each die in their time. In all of this he seems very pessimistic. Then he tells us the gospel. God will redeem from the grave those who rely on Him. People who boast of their wealth as if that makes them better than others will die just as animals do. Wealth does not follow us into the grave.

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Proverbs 22:20-21

     The writer of proverbs has written many sayings that are filled with advice and knowledge. We should study them so that we can give good answers to those who question us about how to live. This verse reminds me of something I was moved to work on shortly after I started composing this blog. That is, memorizing Scripture. I made a good start. I immediately found a website that suggested what appeared to me to be a good selection of verses to memorize after rejecting several other websites with similar lists (I rejected the others because I did not think they suited my needs, not because they were flawed in any way). I even wrote the first verse in a book I carry and began working on it. I quickly memorized it, but that was as far as it went until recently, when I entered the second passage into the book and memorized it. Over the months since I began memorizing, I should have more than two passages memorized. This passage convicts me to work harder at my project of Scripture memorization.