The One Year Bible Club with Teaching
Commentary by Nick Boork
Commentary by Nick Boork
|
| ||||
September 6 – 2 Corinthians 8:16-24
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, 19 and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, 20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— 21 providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. 23 If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In today’s reading we see the apostle Paul going above and beyond to guard the integrity of his ministry in the area of financial donations.
As we have been reading Paul had a burden and vision to help the poor saints in Jerusalem and he was receiving financial offerings from the churches that he had planted and it was now becoming a substantial amount of money. This was something that was strongly emphasized in apostolic times. The Bible even records that when Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with Peter, John and James that they blessed his ministry to the gentiles and encouraged him to remember the poor: Galatians 2:9-10 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.
So to avoid any kind of accusations about abusing these gifts he advised the churches to elect officials that would represent their financial gifts and travel with Paul to Jerusalem. Notice that the men that were appointed to go with Paul had already been proven and were respectable and trusted. Additionally, Paul did not impose his own choice of who would act as a financial trustee from the churches. These were not a bunch of yes men but were chosen by the churches. It’s a big mistake to appoint only blood family members to handle the finances of a church or Christian organization, it just looks bad! Better to follow the Biblical example of involving others that are nominated by a majority to serve in these important duties. When it comes to money it’s very important that mature, proven and trustworthy people are put in charge to handle it.
Jesus talked about the importance of being faithful in the handling money: Luke 16:10-12 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
So the men that were elected by the churches to travel with Paul we’re given a great responsibility to make sure that the finances given for the poor saints in Jerusalem actually made it to Jerusalem to help the poor. Remember how the apostles asked the church to elect the original deacons in acts chapter six? They needed to be men that were full of wisdom and respected by everybody and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Apostles laid hands on them appointing them to serve in this ministry. The Bible records that Stephen and Philip were both promoted in their Ministries preaching the Word but they started as deacons and more often than not deacons are entrusted to handle church finances collecting, counting and even depositing funds in the bank. If someone can prove themselves faithful as a deacon the Lord can trust them with greater ministry responsibilities.
Today there is one scandal after another of charitable nonprofits being exposed for abusing the public’s trust and taking advantage of generous people that give to their cause only to find out that a tiny percentage of the money given actually went to help the people in need. So you really have to be careful what organizations you decide to give your offerings to nowadays. One of the practices that I always try to follow when I am involved in pastoring churches or even during a home Bible study where offerings are collected is to have two people from the group actually each physically count the money in front of the other. This way it gets counted twice and recorded on a form. Both sign off that they have counted and verified the total amount of money given. This way there is an independent record of the money that gets deposited in the bank and it will reflect on bank statements as well.
Like the apostle Paul, all ministers should be taking care of anything that they do concerning receiving money, that it’s above board and keep accurate records. I’m convinced that the Lord wants to bless his church and Christian nonprofit organizations that are fulfilling the works of Christ and the great commission but he’s looking for those that he can trust to administrate faithfully the funds that they have been entrusted.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The church should be involved in helping people that are going through hardships.
2) Ministers should take extra steps to avoid any appearance of financial scandal.
3) One of the responsibilities of deacons is receiving offerings, counting money and even distributing resources so they need to be faithful in all these duties.
4) Learn to develop a system of accountability by recording financial offerings, having them counted by more than one person and keep accurate records
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll
But thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you into the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted the exhortation, but being more diligent, he went to you of his own accord. 18 And we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches, 19 and not only that, but who was also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift, which is administered by us to the glory of the Lord Himself and to show your ready mind, 20 avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us— 21 providing honorable things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, because of the great confidence which we have in you. 23 If anyone inquires about Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you. Or if our brethren are inquired about, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore show to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf.
OKAY, HERE’S MY TEACHING COMMENTARY
In today’s reading we see the apostle Paul going above and beyond to guard the integrity of his ministry in the area of financial donations.
As we have been reading Paul had a burden and vision to help the poor saints in Jerusalem and he was receiving financial offerings from the churches that he had planted and it was now becoming a substantial amount of money. This was something that was strongly emphasized in apostolic times. The Bible even records that when Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with Peter, John and James that they blessed his ministry to the gentiles and encouraged him to remember the poor: Galatians 2:9-10 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.
So to avoid any kind of accusations about abusing these gifts he advised the churches to elect officials that would represent their financial gifts and travel with Paul to Jerusalem. Notice that the men that were appointed to go with Paul had already been proven and were respectable and trusted. Additionally, Paul did not impose his own choice of who would act as a financial trustee from the churches. These were not a bunch of yes men but were chosen by the churches. It’s a big mistake to appoint only blood family members to handle the finances of a church or Christian organization, it just looks bad! Better to follow the Biblical example of involving others that are nominated by a majority to serve in these important duties. When it comes to money it’s very important that mature, proven and trustworthy people are put in charge to handle it.
Jesus talked about the importance of being faithful in the handling money: Luke 16:10-12 He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. 11 Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?
So the men that were elected by the churches to travel with Paul we’re given a great responsibility to make sure that the finances given for the poor saints in Jerusalem actually made it to Jerusalem to help the poor. Remember how the apostles asked the church to elect the original deacons in acts chapter six? They needed to be men that were full of wisdom and respected by everybody and filled with the Holy Spirit. The Apostles laid hands on them appointing them to serve in this ministry. The Bible records that Stephen and Philip were both promoted in their Ministries preaching the Word but they started as deacons and more often than not deacons are entrusted to handle church finances collecting, counting and even depositing funds in the bank. If someone can prove themselves faithful as a deacon the Lord can trust them with greater ministry responsibilities.
Today there is one scandal after another of charitable nonprofits being exposed for abusing the public’s trust and taking advantage of generous people that give to their cause only to find out that a tiny percentage of the money given actually went to help the people in need. So you really have to be careful what organizations you decide to give your offerings to nowadays. One of the practices that I always try to follow when I am involved in pastoring churches or even during a home Bible study where offerings are collected is to have two people from the group actually each physically count the money in front of the other. This way it gets counted twice and recorded on a form. Both sign off that they have counted and verified the total amount of money given. This way there is an independent record of the money that gets deposited in the bank and it will reflect on bank statements as well.
Like the apostle Paul, all ministers should be taking care of anything that they do concerning receiving money, that it’s above board and keep accurate records. I’m convinced that the Lord wants to bless his church and Christian nonprofit organizations that are fulfilling the works of Christ and the great commission but he’s looking for those that he can trust to administrate faithfully the funds that they have been entrusted.
WHAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE?
1) The church should be involved in helping people that are going through hardships.
2) Ministers should take extra steps to avoid any appearance of financial scandal.
3) One of the responsibilities of deacons is receiving offerings, counting money and even distributing resources so they need to be faithful in all these duties.
4) Learn to develop a system of accountability by recording financial offerings, having them counted by more than one person and keep accurate records
PRAYER TO APPLY THE WORD OF GOD TO OUR LIVES
ORDINATION
We provide Ministry Credentials and Ordination through Diamond Ministerial Association. Click to learn more and apply! http://www.diamondinstitute.org/ordination
ONLINE COURSES
For Bible courses and ministry resources see our online school Diamond Institute. Enroll free today and get access to our free and pay as you go courses. http://www.diamondinstitute.org/enroll