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November 12, 2006
Building Together Anniversary
2 Corinthians 8:1-11
Pastor Joel Zank

Finish the Work!

(2 Corinthians 8:1-11) And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. {2} Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. {3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, {4} they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. {5} And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will. {6} So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. {7} But just as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving. {8} I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. {9} For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. {10} And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. {11} Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.

In Christ Jesus, who became poor to make us rich, dear fellow redeemed,

What do the following have in common? The fence in my backyard, the dirt piled in front of it, my partially stained deck, and my half-raked lawn. These last couple of items offer you a pretty good clue. All of these things represent projects I've started, but have failed to finish. And if you talk to my wife, she'd be able to easily add another 30 items to this list without a moment's thought! I would guess that each of you also has a list of unfinished projects. This is true of us as individuals, and it's true of us as congregation.

Of course, because of its very nature, some of our work as a church won't be finished till our Savior returns like teaching the Scripture to our members and sharing the gospel with our world. But there are other projects that we can and should finish. The same was true of the congregation St. Paul served in Corinth. In this portion of his second letter to those Christians, he urges them to complete the offering they had planned to gather for the needy believers in Jerusalem. How fitting his encouragement is for us as we enter the third and final year of the project we've called "Building Together." Today St. Paul says to us: Finish the Work in thanks for the Lord's grace, inspired by fellow believers, and in keeping with God's blessings.

Finish the Work! Please understand that Paul is not speaking as Commander and Chief, but as our congregational cheerleader. He says in verse eight, "I am not commanding you..." Paul's not implementing a church tax or charging Christian dues. Nothing of the sort is needed, not where Christian love is at work. As a seasoned pastor, Paul knows so very well that souls touched by the love of Christ, are compelled to respond in kind. So he tells the Corinthians and us, "I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others" (2 Corinthians 8:8). Everywhere that Paul has preached the gospel, that good news about Jesus has empowered grateful Christians to do great and loving things. Why would it be any different at Corinth or, for that matter, Mount Olive? It won't be, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ..."

Yes, you know it now, a fact, which in and of itself is further testimony to what an amazing thing this grace really is! Because you haven't always known it, have you. The truth is, there was a time when you were completely ignorant of that grace, a time when you had no use for it, when you didn't think you needed it. That's how lost you were, or to put it in terms in keeping with Paul's word-picture, that's how spiritually bankrupt you were. You were born to hate God and destined to be hated by God forever in hell and there was nothing you could do about it. Heaven's currency is called righteousness, and you didn't have even a penny's worth of it in your spiritual bank account. In fact, you came into this world owing God a debt of sin so massive than not even eternity would be long enough for you to pay it off. And forget about trying to borrow on God's favor. You had no spiritual collateral, nothing that God wanted in trade for his kindness. There are no words to describe just how spiritually impoverished you and I were. Yes, I say "were," because with a splash of water and the power of his promise, God changed everything for you and me forever. How? He gave us faith to believe his powerful truth, the truth about Jesus, "...that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

What a beautiful way to describe the love of Jesus and all that it has accomplished-for you, for me, for everyone! Think of it! The eternal Son of God, the Owner and Ruler of all things, set it all aside-the glory, the majesty, the serenity, and comfort of heaven, all of it. Why? So that he could take on the flesh and blood of his creatures, live a perfect life in the world we ruined with our sin, and then, as our substitute, sacrifice that holy life to God's wrath. The Lord of all took on the full debt of humanity's sin and paid it off in the prison of hell. And he didn't stop there. He didn't simply cancel our debt; he made us rich by giving us credit for his holiness and by earning for us God's full pardon. Through Jesus' death, we've become the children of God. And by his resurrection from the dead, we're guaranteed a mansion in heaven. We've gone from rags to riches without lifting a finger. Jesus did it all.

Thanks to our Savior, Paul can say of you and me in verse seven, "...you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us --see that you also excel in this grace of giving." God's grace has given us faith to believe in Jesus, the courage to confess him as Savior, and the knowledge that nothing can separate us from his love. Grace doesn't stop there, it so fills us with the Savior's love that it actually makes us more like Jesus all the time. Grace makes us earnestly look for ways to love others as we ourselves are loved by God. How will this special love show itself? Jesus' grace is all about giving. He gave himself to us and for us. Grace makes us want to give ourselves, what we are and what we have to God and others. This is the "grace of giving" to which Paul refers in our text. But of course, because this grace dwells within sinners living in a selfish world, the impulse to give, the one sparked and fueled by God's grace, is constantly in danger of being snuffed out. How often each of us must confess this sin - "what I do is not the good I want to do" (Romans 7:19). "I wanted to give this gift to God; I wanted to do this nice thing for someone in need, but my selfishness stopped me dead in my tracks." You understand, wanting isn't enough. Good intentions don't get the job done. So today St. Paul offers us help by way of an example. He encourages us to finish the work, inspired by fellow believers.

Actually Paul holds two sets of believers before us today - the saints in Jerusalem and those in Macedonia. The saints in Jerusalem inspire us with their need for physical and spiritual help. Have you ever noticed how differently things look through the eyes of grace? To unbelievers, the needy are a nuisance, an unwanted distraction in the business of life. But for us who believe, we see in the needy the face of our Savior. They present us with a welcomed opportunity to serve Jesus who will one day say to us all, "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:40).

The needy among us are an inspiration. So are those who gladly and generously meet their need. Those were the kind of Christians whom Paul served in Macedonia. They too were in need. They were a people who were financially poor and spiritually persecuted, but that didn't stop them. They found out about the offering Paul was gathering for the Jerusalem congregation, and they wanted in. Paul says, "they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. {5} And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will" (2 Corinthians 8:4-5). When Paul says "they gave themselves first to the Lord," he is again describing an attitude born of God's grace. Before these Christians reached into their pockets, before they passed the collection plate, they acknowledged themselves to be the redeemed of God, precious blood-bought souls. Their hearts, their lives, their days, their skills, and yes, their pocket books all belonged to God. "We're yours, dear God" they prayed, "Fill us with your Spirit! Use us to your glory!" After giving themselves to God in this way, then, and only then, they offered their gifts to the Apostles, causing Paul to marvel, "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. {3} For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own..." (2 Corinthians 8:2-3).

All these centuries later we Christians are still inspired in this grace of giving by our fellow believers of the past, present and future. I think back to two years ago and more, as we made plans for the addition to our building. We wanted a place in which to meet people's spiritual needs, the needs people we already knew, and the needs of those we were yet to meet. You and I understood then, as we do now, how critical it is for children and adults to learn of Christ Jesus. We were inspired by this all important need, so we organized an offering. Together we studied the Scriptures, together we prayed for God's guidance and wonderful things happened. People gave themselves first to the Lord and then to all of us. They pledged their gifts, and as they did so, some of our number took on extra jobs, some delayed the building of a home or the purchase of a new vehicle, some found extra dollars to give by cutting their own hair. What was the size of these gifts? I have no idea, nor does it matter. Now as in Paul's day, it's not the amount of the gifts, but the attitude behind them that is so inspiring. These generous souls help us to see that there's nothing strange or harmful in acting on love's impulse to give.

What a timely lesson as we enter the third and final year of our Building Together Offering. The time is coming to wrap things up. As we prepare to do so, Paul offers one more piece of advice: finish the work in keeping with God's blessings. Paul's exact words: "Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means." It was pretty exciting to dream about and plan our new addition. It was even more exciting to dedicate the building last year. But now as the newness of our project begins to fade, the same thing could happen to our eagerness to complete our offering. That would be sad, for us, because as Paul has so lovingly reminded us today, this isn't about dollars and cents, it's about our Spirit-born need to serve and thank our Savior. It isn't about a building, but about the ministry that goes on here, ministry that is as fresh and exciting as the forgiveness I proclaim to you this very moment: You're greed, your selfishness, your forgetfulness and apathy, it's all forgiven you, fully and freely in Christ Jesus. There's nothing but peace between you and your God. You're free, free from sin's guilt, free from sin's curse, free to offer your God any gift you will from the blessings he's granting you. You see, God makes no demands of you in this regard. He's not some poor beggar with his hand out, hoping to shame you into giving him more. He's the Lord of the Universe and the God of your salvation, who for reasons that go beyond our understanding, is pleased to keep showing us his grace, and just as pleased to keep letting us share in his work until at last our Lord returns and the work finished, once and for all, to the glory of Christ's most holy name. Amen.