The Forward Spiral of Grace

1.   Grace Alone and Our Attitude in Giving 

 How not to give…. 

• grudgingly (9:5)
• sparingly (9:6)
• reluctantly (9:7)
• under compulsion (9:7)

  To give sparingly is to give from a heart that deep inside wants to hold back. There are enough external constraints and pressures to make us give something. But the real feeling of our heart is not to think of how much we can give, but how much we can keep.   John Piper 

  How to give…. 

• generously (9:5,6)
• cheerfully (9:7)

  To give generously means to give abundantly on the basis of blessing. Giving generously means giving from a heart that wants to share things. Something has happened in the heart so that the basic desire is now to give and share as much as possible instead of keep as much as possible. It’s as though there was a magnet in the soul that used to be turned so that it pulled possessions into itself; and now something has happened to turn it around to the other pole so that it pushes things out toward others.       John Piper 

2.   Grace Alone and Our View of God in Giving 

• God is able (9:6): He can provide for us. 
• God is gracious (9:7-8): He loves to bless us. 
• God is faithful (9:9): He is committed to us.  
• God is the Owner. 
  • Our heavenly Father owns all the wealth in this world and the next. He wants it all in circulation. It all belongs to His children. The secret of getting is giving, not from our apparent resources but from God’s actual resources.    Pastor Rob  
• God is not the Taker of our stuff. 
• God is the Giver. 

3.   Grace Alone, Giving, and the Forward Spiral of Grace 

• God is the Giver at the beginning, middle, and end of our giving. 
• God graciously gives to us before we ever give (9:10). 
• God graciously gives through us as we give (9:11). 
• God graciously gives to us after we give (9:10). 
   
  We are blessed (9:8-11). 
• Others are blessed (9:12). 
• Life together is displayed (9:12-13). 
• God is glorified (9:11-13). 
  • “Those receiving these gifts will glorify God when they see the practical outworking of the gospel in the generosity of the Corinthians.”    African theologian Issiaka Coulibaly 
• With a God like ours and a grace like this, it is no wonder we are called to be cheerful givers!