Chapter 2

    1. The misapplication of Hebrews 11:1.

    2. The misapplication of II Corinthians 8 & 9.

        a.   8:1, 2 says, “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; How that in a great __________ of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep
________________ abounded unto the riches of their ____________________.”

Note:   We see that it was a difficult time of trials and poverty for these Christians of Macedonia, but they gave liberally from what they had. That would be exactly what the widow woman did — she was poor (two mites), but she gave liberally (all that she had).

        b. In verses 3, 4 we read, “For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the ________, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.”

Notice here that they were giving “beyond their power.”  The typical Faith Promise Giving

interpretation of that is, “They were promising to give money that they actually did not have

in their possession.” But that is clearly a faulty interpretation, because they were “Praying

us with much entreaty that we would RECEIVE the GIFT.” They were not trying to give

them I.O.U.’s, or Faith Promise Pledge Cards. They were pressing them to

accept the ACTUAL MONEY (gift) that they had for them.

Note:   Then what does it mean when it says, “beyond their power they were willing…” to give?  It means that they were giving more to Paul than they could afford, humanly speaking, because THEY HAD NO POWER OR MEANS TO REPLACE THAT MONEY, which they needed for their own bills.

        c. In verses 8, 9, it says, “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to __________ the sincerity of your ________. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was ________, yet for your sakes he became ________, that ye through his poverty might be rich."

Note:   The Corinthians were being challenged to prove their love for the Lord by being willing to give toward His work. They are given the example of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was rich (He actually had something), and He loved us so much that He was will to give it all up for our sakes.  The word poverty is defined as, “that which covers a range from extreme want of necessities to an absence of material comforts.” (Merriam-Webster’s 11th Collegiate Dictionary)

        d. Verses 10-12 summarize this truth very clearly, "And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a ________ ago. Now therefore ______________ the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye ________. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man ________, and not according to that he hath not."

Note:   The Corinthians, a year previously (vs. 10), had begun to give, but now were holding back, and did not seem to be giving like they started. What was the problem? They had an idea of what they wanted to give a year ago, but had not been able to come up with that much money.

 

Now at this point, the typical Faith Promise Giving message holds this up as

the crowning achievement of scriptural giving (the method of setting an

amount a YEAR IN ADVANCE that you are going to give to the Lord).

They are totally missing the real point of this passage — that THE METHOD HAD FAILED.

The Corinthians failed to meet that goal, and it then affected their giving. Their ZEAL

and intentions were commendable, but their METHOD was not right, and had failed.

    So now they had to BE CORRECTED as to what PROPER GIVING really is. “Now therefore PERFORM the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also OUT OF THAT WHICH YE HAVE. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man HATH, and NOT ACCORDING TO THAT HE HATH NOT.”

 

The correct doctrine is this, “You are not held accountable for giving an amount

of money that you do not actually have.  But you are held accountable for how you

use the money that the Lord has given to you. So, now, OUT OF WHAT YOU DO

HAVE, give to the Lord as He so leads.”  The Charismatics are criticized (and rightly

so) for using the Corinthian Church as a model church for speaking in tongues. The

Corinthian Church was a carnal church, and was having to be corrected in that matter.

        e. I Corinthians 3:1 says, “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto ____________________, but as unto carnal, even as unto __________ in Christ.”

Fundamental churches have now come along and made another error of

the Corinthian Church, the model  of giving! They were NOT being commended

for promising to give a certain amount of money a year in advance, but were having

to be CORRECTED about the matter, and told to give of what they actually had.

Note:    Remember, they had to be told to GIVE of what they actually HAD. “Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye HAVE. For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man HATH, and not according to that he HATH NOT.”

 

Their ZEAL was commendable — but not their METHOD, so they had to be corrected.

Note:   In II Corinthians 9, their zeal is commended; but, once again, they are instructed to do more than talk, but to be generous out of that which they have. They have said that they are going to do something, and now they needed to fulfill it.

        f.    2 Corinthians 9:2-4, says, “For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was READY A YEAR AGO; and your ________ hath provoked very many. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be __________: Lest haply if they of Macedonia come with me, and find you ____________________, we (that we say not, ye) should be ashamed in this same confident boasting.”

Note:   Here we find Paul admiring their zeal to give, and sharing it as a testimony to other churches — but he was not commending their method. He clearly stated that THEY WERE READY A YEAR AGO. How could that be, when they had not fulfilled their goal? They were ready a year ago, because God does not hold us accountable for what we might receive in the future, but for what we have today — and they were ready to give.

        g. Verse 5 says, “Therefore I thought it __________________ to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up before hand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be __________, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.”

Note:   Once again, their zeal was commendable, but because of their method Paul had to be so careful that they were READY when he got there, lest there be great embarrassment.

        h. Once again, the emphasis of verse 6 is teaching the OPPOSITE of what the typical Faith Promise Giving teaches. They teach you to pray for an amount that you do not have, so you can give it. Notice what this verse teaches. “But this I say, He which ____________ sparingly shall ________ also sparingly; and he which ____________ bountifully shall ________ also bountifully.”

God’s order is always that you SOW FIRST (that you give first), and then you will REAP accordingly.

Note:    Oswald J. Smith says, “A Faith Promise Offering is a Scriptural offering; it is a Pauline offering and, therefore, God blesses it.” (A Faith Promise Offering, by Oswald J. Smith)  That is not the truth. Paul was not praising the Corinthians’ method of giving, any more than he was praising their manner of speaking in tongues. To the contrary, Paul was being used of the Holy Spirit to correct the errors of the Corinthian Church.

II Corinthians 9:6 is very clear — you give first, and then God blesses accordingly.

The Bible never teaches us to promise to give God an amount of money that we do not have,

and then hope that He blesses us with that amount so we can keep our promise.

    1. The misapplication of Hebrews 11:1.
    2. The misapplication of II Corinthians 8 & 9.

    3. The misapplication of I Samuel 1:9-11.

        a. I Samuel 1:9-11 says, “So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. And she __________ a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man __________, then I will ________ him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head.”

Note:   This incident is often applied to Faith Promise Giving, to try to prove that God wants us to ask Him for things, and then promise to give them back. It was not possible for Hannah to give first in the matter of a son, because she did not have one.

It is a faulty application to use this in regard to giving money, because there are many clear

verses of Scripture that tell us to GIVE FINANCIALLY FIRST, and then God will bless us in return.

        b. Luke 6:38 says, “________, and it shall be given unto ______; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

Note:   That verse does NOT teach that God will give you money if you will just pray for it. That verse teaches that YOU MUST FIRST GIVE of what you already have, and THEN the Lord will multiply it, “...good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…”

        c. Once again, II Corinthians 9:6 says, "But this I say, He which ____________ sparingly shall ________ also sparingly; and he which ____________ bountifully shall ________ also bountifully.”

In each case, sowing comes before reaping. There is no substance  or evidence

in the Bible to support the idea that you can keep all of your regular earnings for yourself

(all of the money which you can see), and simply pray for an abundance of money to give back to God.

Note:   Faith comes from hearing what the Bible says; and there is nothing in the Bible to promise that God will bless you financially — unless you first give to Him. And you can only give to God of what you actually have in your possession.  The Bible says that if you give sparingly, then you are going to reap sparingly (if you are not willing to give God much of what you actually have, then He is not going to give much in return). And if you give bountifully then you are going to reap bountifully (if you are willing to give much to God from what He has given to you, then He is going to bless you much in return).

It is clear that the money that you receive  is going to be based upon the money

that you first give.  That is the opposite teaching of Faith Promise Giving, which

teaches people to promise  large amounts of money to the Lord, and then pray   it in.

        d. Proverbs 19:17 says, “He that hath pity upon the poor ______________ unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he ______ him again.”

Note:   This verse does not teach sitting back and wishing or praying for a large amount of money to help the poor. It teaches GIVING FROM WHAT YOU HAVE to help the poor, and then God will repay you for it.

        e. Proverbs 3:27, 28 says, “Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the __________ of thine hand to do it. Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou ________ it by thee.”

Note:   That verse does NOT teach that we are to promise ahead of time how much money we are going to give, but to consider the present need, and GIVE FROM WHAT WE HAVE. We are not to wait for a year, or even until tomorrow — we are to give today.

        f. Philippians 4:15 says, “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning ____________ and receiving, but ____ only.”
        g. Philippians 4:16 continues, “For even in Thessalonica ye sent ________ and __________ unto my necessity.”
        h. Philippians 4:19 then promises, “But my God shall ____________ all your ________ according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Paul is often referred to as a missionary, because of his journeys to other countries

to give the gospel.  Notice that the Philippians did not have a Faith Promise Missions   program.

They did not promise Paul a certain amount of money -- they simply gave of what they had

— more than once. Because they FIRST GAVE, God promised to SUPPLY all of their NEEDS.

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