2 Corinthians: Part 3

Repentacne & Generosity

While Paul concludes his discussion on how we are to be ministers of God in chapter 6, he opens up a humbling and yet beautiful teaching on repentance in chapter 7. As we have discussed in past posts, Paul is far less critical in 2 Corinthians and far more informative as a teacher throughout this letter. This chapter on repentance shows believers the importance of turning their lives around to follow Christ and leaving their old ways behind them. This leads further into chapters 8 and 9, where Paul discusses how, because of repentance and faith in Christ, we should be generous people. A lot of these passages have unfortunately been taken out of context and used for the financial benefit of the Church, but we will be breaking down what these passages truly mean. Got Questions hits the nail on the head when they state, “As Paul stated, “God loves a cheerful giver”. Cheerful giving, therefore, should be a way of life for the Christian who understands the grace of God. When we give generously and with a willing heart, God assures us He will watch over us and provide for us.” God is clear as He speaks through Paul what true repentance should lead to and how our generosity is to be used. With this in mind, let’s drop whatever we think the world may have taught us about repentance and giving, and take a fresh look at what God’s word truly has to say about the matter.

Sorrow To Repentance

To start, Paul recaps his first letter to the Corinthians and discusses the impact it had on them. Paul is initially saddened by how his letter brought sorrow to them, but he is ultimately joyful for the repentance it produced. Look at how Paul says it in 2 Corinthians 7:8-10 “For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” I absolutely love how Paul phrases this passage here. The beauty of how the Spirit can lead us to repentance, even amid sorrow, is something that cannot be overlooked. Far too often, the Church is focused on not making others feel uncomfortable or sorrowful because of their sin, when in reality, we need to be focused on repentance above all. Even if other believers are sorrowful for a moment, it is 100% worth it to see them repent and truly come to Christ. As believers in Christ and members of God’s body, we must be sure to call out the sin we see in our brothers and sisters. Yes, we are to comfort them and be there for them in their moments of hardship, but we are also meant to hold each other accountable and make sure that we are all in the faith. Again, it may not be fun to lead someone to repentance, but the joy of seeing someone repent and place their faith in Christ is unmatched.

Not A Command

Furthermore, Paul discusses generosity and giving in chapters 8 and 9, and does so in a way that may seem unfamiliar to us today. At the beginning of chapter 8, Paul tells a story of how God used the generosity of the believers in the church of Macedonia. And while Paul is encouraging the Corinthians to also be generous, he clearly states one specific truth in 2 Corinthians 8:8-9 which says, “I am not saying this as a command, but as proving, through the earnestness of others, the sincerity of your love as well. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” Notice how right off the bat, Paul is sure to let the church in Corinth know that this is not a command. Paul is not commanding the Corinthians to match the Macedonians giving in any sense; rather, he is clarifying that God uses the generosity of believers in great ways. I think we can easily see how this can be taken out of context very quickly. Many people believe that God commands us to give to the Church and that if we don’t, we are actively sinning against God. This is simply not the case. God doesn’t want us to give because we’re forced to; He wants us to give because our lives have been changed by Christ to be a generous people.

This is further stated in chapter 9 as well. This is where the famous passage about God loving a cheerful giver comes from. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, “Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” What so many people remember about this passage is that God loves a cheerful giver. What they fail to remember, however, is the first part of this passage that tells us we are to give whatever we have decided to give in our hearts. There is no specific amount or percentage that God commands us to give or not give. We are all told to decide in our hearts what we are to give, and that’s how we determine the amount. You may think that this seems like a flawed method for where people will never give because they aren’t commanded to, but that’s kind of the point. When God leaves it up to the body to decide what they want to give, it is here that we see whether we have true generosity as believers or not. If we have truly repented, we truly have the Holy Spirit, and if we truly have the Holy Spirit, we should be a generous people. This is why God loves a cheerful giver far more than an obedient one, because one who gives out of cheerfulness does so out of a changed heart for Christ rather than just trying to fulfill a law. I hope and pray that as you read these 3 chapters, you understand how beautiful repentance is in the process of salvation, and that this repentance would lead you to be a cheerful giver as God’s Spirit leads you every day.