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"Lavish gift"

Text: 2 Corinthians 8:20

SACRIFICIAL GIVING

Paul honoured the sacrificial gift that the Macedonian Churches gave. He sought to encourage the Corinthians to emulate this example! Nevertheless, Paul was conscious that there would be some who may criticise such gifts.

“Avoiding this: that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift
which is administered by us-”
2 Corinthians 8:20

1. “Avoiding this”

a) Paul was aware that he had enemies who were critical

i) Of his life.

ii) Of his ministry.

iii) Of his teachings.

b) He was aware that this ministry of giving social relief would be under scrutiny.

i) Thus, he sought to avoid criticism.

ii) He did this by carefully explaining in detail how this gift came about (see 2 Corinthians 8:1-5).

2. “That anyone should blame us in this lavish gift”

a) This lavish gift

i) The word “lavish” was chosen by the NKJV translators.

ii) The adjective simply means “generous”.

iii) The preferred word is “generous” for it speaks well of the givers.

iv) The word “lavish” may have unpleasant or negative undertones.

b) We are not told just how large this gift was.

i) But Paul wrote that it was given sacrificially.

ii) It was given by people who gave out of a deep love for the Lord and the brethren.

iii) It was a generous gift that came from people with a huge heart of compassion and love.

3. “Which is administered by us”

a) Paul was part of this team.

b) Titus was there too.

c) The brother who was well-known to the churches was also there.

i) They were people above reproach.

ii) They were people who would not be guilty of using funds wrongly.

iii) Paul was willing to stake his reputation on the way the generous gift was administered.