Most Christians are familiar with John 3.16. In some respects that has become the bane of mainline Christianity. “… whoever believes in him will have everlasting life…” has become the watering down of the gospel. Many have seized upon that verse, or verses like it, and turned the gospel into nothing but belief. Just believe and you get a free trip to heaven. Or so it seems. Personally, I think belief is easy. Besides that, people can believe all kinds of crazy things and it has absolutely no impact on their life. Nor does their belief do anything to change anyone or anything else. For example, one may believe that the moon landing in 1969 was a hoax, that Castro and the Soviets had JFK assassinated and that two plus two is equal to five. One may really believe all of that is true and never change what they do on a daily basis. One may believe all of that is true and talk about it a lot but never do anything because of it. One may believe all of those things are true and never try to set the world right because those things are true. Beliefs that are not acted on have no impact on anyone, even the believer. Christianity can become that empty if it is just about belief.
The antithesis of John 3.16 for us this week is 2 Corinthians 8.24. Here Paul says, in effect, put your money where your mouth is. Better still, he may be saying, put your money where your heart is. Certainly he is saying, prove that your beliefs make a difference to someone.
In American culture where we value independence, individualism, privacy and rights above responsibility, we are taught that faith is a private matter. Nobody should tell anyone else what to believe or how to believe. We believe we are free to believe whatever we want. Most of us would be upset if someone asked us to put our money where our mouth is. But that is just what Paul does. In 2 COR 8.24 he comes right out and says to the Corinthian congregation, “You say you are saved, you say you are believers in Jesus Christ, you say you are bound for the glory of resurrection, now prove it.” Paul wants them to prove it with their wallets.
The church had gotten its start in Jerusalem. The first Christians were primarily Jews who proclaimed Jesus as the Jewish messiah. As Christianity spread to the gentiles outside of Jerusalem it was received with more enthusiasm and took hold among the non-Jews of the empire. Jewish Christians in Jerusalem became marginalized and then ostracized, both by Jews and by the Romans. Thus, the Jerusalem church fell on very hard times. So as he went about planting gentile churches throughout the empire, Paul was receiving a collection from each new congregation so that they could help the struggling Christians in Jerusalem. The Corinthians were claiming to be exceptionally spirit-filled Christians. So when it came to the collection for the Jerusalem Christians, Paul calls them out. “Show proof of your love… in such a way that the churches can see it.”
That is really something we are not accustomed to. We don’t like anyone asking us how much we give to the church. We actually work pretty hard at keeping all that confidential. Very few people have access to such privileged information in this office. Volunteers who prepare annual giving statements for tax purposes are trained to stuff envelopes while blindfolded! But Paul says to the Corinthians that they should prove their love for God, their love for Jesus Christ and their love for others by declaring their hearts. They are to declare their hearts by opening their wallets. I don’t think many of us would take too kindly to our pastor (or anyone else) challenging us to “prove” our faith by being generous with our money.
Many people don’t like the Epistle of James. There, the brother of Jesus writes, “Faith without works is dead.” That is somewhat reminiscent of the conclusion to the sermon on the mount where Jesus says, “Not everyone who calls out, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but those who do the will of God…” We like to think that religion is only a matter of the heart. Yet there are times when we must declare our hearts. John Wesley was clear on this. There is no personal holiness apart from social holiness. Simple faith, mere belief, is insufficient in most cases. Faith must make a difference, not only in our lives, but in the lives of others. Rarely does personal belief make a difference. It may sometimes make a difference in the believer’s life but the only way one would ever know that is by judging the actions and behaviors of said believer. The believer has to declare their heart in some tangible way that can be observed and somehow measured in order for others to be able see what is really in their heart.
The Bible is often contrary to what we think and believe. We are taught that Christians are humble and that faith is deeply personal and private. We are also taught that our finances are our own business and nobody has any right at all to tell us what to do with our money. Paul, on the other hand, challenges Christians to be bold. Paul probably couldn’t get a job in a United Methodist church today! Imagine him telling some congregation, “Oh, you say you believe! Oh, you say you are bound for glory because you have given your life to Jesus! But are you willing to show proof of your love in such a way that others can see it? Will you prove your faith is real by being generous?” (Many Christians would respond by saying, “That is none of your business, Paul. It is personal, between God and me.”)
My hunch is that if Paul were appointed to just about any United Methodist congregation in this country that church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee would quickly be contacting the District Superintendent and asking for a new pastor!
Posted by Barney Oldfield on December 8, 2011 at 8:10 pm
Bill, You state a lot of things from 2COR 8.24 that I don’t read in it. It sounds to me (if he is talking about money) that we should flaunt our donations. I don’t read where it says “you say you are saved etc.” Did he want us to brag about what we give to others?
Posted by Paul Parlow on December 9, 2011 at 9:23 am
Barney,
Bill is just like the rest of us. He lifts up that Scripture that supports and strengthens his thinking and position and ignores and discredits that Scripture that does not support and strengthen his thinking and position.
For me the church is larger than any one congregation.
Posted by Peter Rienstra on December 9, 2011 at 12:36 pm
When I was little and heard about God . The more I learned ,the more I believed
and I began to develop a faith which grew as I grew. To believe means to follow
And Jesus us to act upon what He teaches . so James is right in saying “Faith without works is dead.” .In this life we have a purpose and that purpose is to Glorify
God in all that we do, say or think and to be the best we can be for God and ourselves..
Posted by William Bills on December 9, 2011 at 5:37 pm
Barney and Paul, the entire first letter to the Corinthian church is based on Paul dealing with arguments and disagreements in that congregation. Many people claimed to have spiritual gifts that others. Some were claiming to be so spiritually superior that they even believed that they had already be resurrected. Some were claiming that only strict asceticism and total celibacy were the only way to live the Christian life. Because they had chosen celibacy, they believed themselves superior to others. All of the Corinthian correspondence deals with conflict. In fact, Paul refers to “a tearful letter” that he had to write to them because of the way they were behaving. They seem to have been engaged in trying to spiritually “one up” each other. The whole “Love Chapter” (13) appears because they are beating each other up, trying to prove who is the better Christian and the most spiritual. Of course, Barney, this won’t show up on the one verse. All scripture has context. The context for this particular verse is that the church that was claiming to be super, ultra-spiritual was also neglecting the offering Paul had asked them to take for the poor in Jerusalem. Paul is saying exactly to them that if they are as spiritual as they claim they should prove it. They are being all talk and no action, save for the action they take to hurt each other.
I will simply ignore Paul’s comment above (Parlow, not the apostle) because I am sure he knows Paul the apostle quite well. I also imagine that he knows the Corinthian correspondence quite well. I imagine he knows enough about exegesis, too, that he knows that the verse in question has context within its’ chapter and within the greater Corinthian correspondence. I imagine, too, that Paul Parlow knows that Paul the apostle wasn’t afraid to call his people out and challenge them to do better.
Posted by charlene tomlinson on December 12, 2011 at 5:03 pm
I was enlightened on Sunday by hearing the context in which Corinthians was written. I was also glad to hear that those without funds are welcome to fully give of their talents. I imagine that it may be somewhat intimidating during the fund raising season every year for those who cannot paticipate, due to circumstances, monetarily. I do think Georgetown is a welcoming church, and I do see, hear, and when I can, participate in the welcome of new folks. Not only does every denomination and congregation have its special gifts, each one of us does. It’s a blessing to the church, and to ourselves to use what God has given us.
Posted by charlene tomlinson on December 13, 2011 at 4:27 am
Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Amen. Is there any other message? Other than this thought what other theology is relevant? We can argue Methodism. Lutheranism, Calvinism and the like. We can go to school, to seminary, We can argue with one another. Why? The message is simple, as is the call. Let’s live it. It’s a simple Gospel, for heaven’s sake.
Posted by lizarye on December 13, 2011 at 7:49 am
Yes, Charlene!! I take heart in what Pastor Bills said about the context of the Corinthians letter from Paul… they were all human! Not a mythical bunch of holier than thous but humans with flaws and mislaid passions and axes to grind! So, that makes me believe Wesley was right, moreso than I thought before. We are constantly trying to perfect ourselves in Christ and it has been going on for thousands of years without success. That only proves how much we need Christ.
Posted by Peter Rienstra on December 15, 2011 at 2:45 pm
If I only had a million or more I could do so much more but God made me rich in other ways so I do what I can and sometimes that is not very much by today’s standards.. My heart is there but sometimes my wallet is empty I have stopped making commitments because I never know what tomorrow brings . What I do know is that our Lord Jesus is watching over me and sees that I have everything I need every day.
Posted by charlene tomlinson on December 16, 2011 at 12:55 am
Lisa & Peter….Amen! And Amen, again.