Commitment To Community

Think about your commitment to the community of the gospel for a minute. We begin in the community of the gospel as consumers in need of the community of the gospel. Then we are transformed by the gospel into a community of contributors who continue to receive benefits in gospel community but also begin to give generously to one another as we mature in the gospel.

2 Corinthians 8:10 – 15…

10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

In these verses the apostle Paul is reminding the Corinthian church to give generously to a fund that had been set up for the purpose of bringing financial relief to other churches that were struggling financially. The Corinthian church had made a pledge to give generously to this fund and Paul was preparing to come and collect that offering so that the churches could continue making disciples through the preaching of the gospel. As we examine these verses we learn that we should be motivated to give generously because of our commitment to community…

Think about your commitment to the community of the gospel for a minute. We begin in the community of the gospel as consumers in need of the community of the gospel. Then we are transformed by the gospel into a community of contributors who continue to receive benefits in gospel community but also begin to give generously to one another as we mature in the gospel. Paul wants us to be motivated to give generously because of our commitment to the community of the gospel. Are you committed to being a generous contributor as well as a consumer?

Paul reminds the Corinthians of the commitment they made a year ago to giving generously to the community of the gospel and he reminds them that their commitment flowed out of their desire and their readiness to financially invest in the community of the gospel. And he encourages them to follow through by completing or finishing what they had committed to. We should be motivated to give generously because of our commitment to the community of the gospel so that our desires will be matched or proven by our readiness and our willingness to be accountable to our commitments. Are you committed to being ready and willing to give?

Paul is simply saying that the Corinthians needed to be ready to put their money where their mouths were in terms of what they were giving generously. He wasn’t expecting them to make large faith pledges based upon some fickle number from some pie in the sky feeling of guilt or sense of return on their investment like so many other faith teachers of their day and our day proposed. Paul expected the Corinthians to think hard about what the Lord was providing for them and then give accordingly. We should be motivated to give generously because of our commitment to the community of the gospel by putting our money where our mouths are in light of what God has provided for us. Are you committed to putting your money where your mouth is?

In closing, Paul shares a final aspect of giving generously because of our commitment to the community of the gospel when he reminds the Corinthians of how the Israelites in the Old Testament gathered Manna on a daily basis and then split it evenly among the community so that everyone could be fed regardless of how little or how much a person brought to the offering. He says, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

When we give generously because of our commitment to the community of the gospel we are effectively giving out of what we have so that the community of the gospel can be fed with the gospel. We should remember that Jesus said that he is the manna that came down from Heaven and that man cannot live upon bread alone but upon every Word that comes from the mouth of God. This is the main calling of the community of the gospel. This is what we are committed to. This is what commitment to the community of the gospel looks like. Our calling is to be a community that is committed to giving generously to the ministry of the gospel so that people are taught to feed upon Christ alone. Are you committed to teaching people to feed on God’s Word?