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• When Paul was talking about giving to the Corinthians, he encouraged them through the example of the Macedonians.
• This passage rides on the word "grace," a word that occurs five times in the first nine verses.
• Transition: As we think about grace in giving it will be God's grace in giving as among the Israelites, God's grace in giving among the Macedonians, and then what its implications were to the Corinthian church and to us.

• There is some confusion over how much people gave in the Old Testament.
• There were several mandatory types of giving for those who were faithful to the covenant.
  - First, there was the "Lord's tithe" or the "Levite's tithe," which required ten percent of all of their produce and their animals for the Lord's service, to support priests and ministry.
  - Second, there was the "Festival tithe," ten percent to be used for religious celebration (Deuteronomy 12:10-11).
  - Third, there was the "Poor tithe," which was about 3 percent a year towards helping people in poverty (Deuteronomy 14:28-29).
  
• Mandatory tithes equaled between 23-25 percent of annual income; but there was also freewill giving—firstfruits and special projects—which meant that people were giving between 27-40 percent of their income.

• The Macedonians were in deep poverty; they were the poorest of the poor.
• They were also enduring trials because the surrounding culture was squeezing them harder and harder because of their devotion to Christ.
• In their parched existence, squalid, little churches gushed forth with the joy of giving, and it can only be the grace of God.
  - Christostem, the ancient preacher in the Greek church, marveled at them and said, "They did the begging, not Paul."
  - The grace of God had come into their life, and they, in turn, gave their lives back to God.
  
• It won't do any good to give our possessions to God unless we give ourselves.
• External giving can build religious pride; giving things instead of ourselves can easily become our religion instead of Christ.

• The Corinthian church wasn't poor, and it was marvelously gifted.
• But they did not excel in the grace of giving, and so Paul says they are incomplete and immature. He wants them to grow in the grace of giving.
• There is no way to grow to spiritual maturity without committing your finances to the Lord.
  - This principle can cause some of us to reach sinking spots in our spiritual growth.
• Paul, in verse 8, notes that this is not a command he is giving, but he is trying to encourage them by the Macedonian's example.

• The New Testament sets no figure as to how much one ought to give.
• Ten percent, viewed through the great requirement under the old covenant, is a good place to begin.
• If you are giving regularly to the Lord, the church should have first priority in that amount, whatever it is.
• Giving must be regular.
• There is no better time than now.
  - Illustration: In this joke, a priest asks a farmer how much he would be willing to give to the Lord; the farmer is compliant until the priest asks about possessions he actually has.
• Regular giving is a source of great blessing—not only to the church, but individually.

• Scripture: Luke 6:38
• He's the Creator of the universe, but he emptied himself of his riches and became a servant. That is the grace of giving logged in eternity.
• Giving is a matter of grace from beginning to end.