A Genuine Faith 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 July 1, 2012 7 Now as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you--so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. 8 I do not say this as a command, but I am testing the genuineness of your love against the earnestness of others. 9 For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich. 10 And in this matter I am giving my advice: it is appropriate for you who began last year not only to do something but even to desire to do something-- 11 now finish doing it, so that your eagerness may be matched by completing it according to your means. 12 For if the eagerness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has--not according to what one does not have. 13 I do not mean that there should be relief for others and pressure on you, but it is a question of a fair balance between 14 your present abundance and their need, so that their abundance may be for your need, in order that there may be a fair balance. 15 As it is written, The one who had much did not have too much, and the one who had little did not have too little. In less than a month, the eyes of the world will focus on London. The Summer Olympics begin on July 27, 2012. The events include 36 sports and over 300 events. Medals will be awarded in everything from archery to wrestling. Two hundred and five nations will participate in the events. London will also host the Paralympics. Those games include 147 different events. The Olympics seek to recognize the best in the world. The games involve record times and scores. Furthermore, the games are noted for making athletes household names. Remember Michael Phelps who won eight gold medals in the Olympics held in China. It is easy to see that the Olympics bring out excellence in sports. Some of the athletes spend their lifetimes preparing for and training for the Olympics. If the Olympics bring forth excellence in athletes, what brings forth excellence in spiritual matters? The last time I checked praying doesn t earn gold. Teaching a great Sunday School lesson doesn t receive overwhelming media coverage. I have yet to write a 1
sermon that the headlines either on the front page of the newspaper or the front page of the sports section. In what ways can we as Christians represent excellence? Paul gives us a list of the kind of excellence that Christian believers can achieve. Verse 7 provides the list. Paul writes, Now as you excel in everything--in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you--so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking. There are five ways in which Christians can excel. Those five ways are faith, speech, knowledge, eagerness, and love. Let s look at each for a moment. What is faith and how does faith helps us excel in our spiritual lives? Hebrew 11:1 defines faith as the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Faith is about believing. Think of all the things that we take on faith. We always trust the highway engineers to bring the road back close to the mountain to keep us from flying off in space. We trust our parents and our friends. Faith, however, is about trusting God. The interesting thing about faith is that we can t have it on our own. God is the source of the faith that we use to believe. Absolute faith in God is first a gift. Absolute faith in God is a choice. We can choose faith or we can reject faith. If we want excellence in our Christian life, that begins with faith. Faith, however, is not all that is needed. We are also called to excellence in speech. Perhaps the most telling passage about speech is from James. James 3:-5-6, 8. James writes, 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue is 2
placed among our members as a world of iniquity; it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself set on fire by hell. 8 but no one can tame the tongue--a restless evil, full of deadly poison. James is bluntly telling us that speech is one place where we can show excellence. Think of how often God s name is used in vain. It goes beyond that, however. OMG is the abbreviation for text messaging. It means Oh, my God. That seems a very inappropriate use of God s holy name. Does our speech build up others? Does our speech build up the church? Our grandmothers were right. If we can t say something nice, then we should say nothing. We are called to excellence in faith and speech. In what other ways can we pursue excellence? The text speaks of excellence in knowledge. While it is true that we don t all have to have Bible courses; it is also true that having knowledge about Christianity is important. Paul wrote of this need in 2 Timothy 2:15. He wrote, 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved by him, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly explaining the word of truth. Do you here Paul s implication? In order to share our faith we must have knowledge about that faith. To excel in matters of knowledge, we must spend a lifetime studying and learning. We need to sit under the teaching and preaching of giants. We ve spoken of excellence in faith, in speech, and in knowledge. There is also a call to eagerness. Do we remember times when our imagination has been stirred? Are there things about which we are excited? 3
Children have this wonderful ability to be excited with everything new that they see. I remember Andrew as a child. Whenever he was surprised, he drew a quick breath and made an amazing sound. For many of us, the excitement and the eagerness have passed away. When did we last invite someone to church? When did we tell someone about what God is doing in our lives? When on Monday morning have we spoken about what happened at church on Monday morning instead of what happened in the game? In Philippians 4:4, Paul puts it all in perspective. The text says, 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. If we have joy, we will definitely have eagerness. We are to strive for excellence in faith, speech, knowledge, and eagerness. There is yet one more way for us to show excellence. We must show excellence in love. I don t know about you, but I was really excited at the list until this one can along. Love is easy in some circumstances. We love those who love us. However, I suspect that Paul is not talking about easy love. Corinthians contains what is called the love chapter. That chapter helps us understand how important love is. Paul writes, 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but 4
rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. 9 For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; 10 but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love. There is little that I can add to what Paul has said. However, in closing, I encourage us all to seek excellence in our Christian faith. Although we don t seek medals, let s act like we are striving to win. If we do that, you and I will change. If we do that, the church will change along with the community. Let s seek excellence. R. Shane Owens, D. Min. First Presbyterian Church Lancaster, SC 5