J D Greear:
“If you are not generous, you’ve never really experienced the Gospel. If you feel guilty about how little generosity you show, you don’t understand the Gospel.”
"This is the statement I’ve been mulling over since working through our study on Sunday… I can’t remember where I heard it but I think it is profound. I’d say there is a 80% chance that I heard it from Tim Keller, but originality is the ability to to forget where you got something.
Basically the idea is this: It is impossible to really experience Jesus and not be radically generous in response. Why? 3 reasons, I’d say. First, a major component of what it means to be truly “converted” is that you realize His Kingdom is the most beautiful and lasting reality in the universe. You begin to find your significance in it, not in what you possess. So, you don’t have to spend lots of money to add beauty and significance in your life. You find that in being a part of His beautiful, eternal kingdom.
Second, you recognize Jesus, not money, is your security for the future. So, you don’t have to save extravagant amounts of money to feel secure.
Third, to be truly saved means you have some sense of how gracious God has been to you. The Bible repeatedly says that the sign that you have tasted God’s grace is you become gracious (Luke 19:8-10; 2 Cor 8:9; Eph 4:32, etc). As you recognize that there was nothing about you that earned God’s gracious look at you, you will want to share that with others who are in the same place you were.
Thus, if you have tasted of the Gospel, you will be gracious. Instinctively. You will give to Jesus’ kingdom because you find it more beautiful than possessing things; you will not need to save extravagant amounts of money, because you trust Jesus with the future; and, you will have compassion on those who are in the same condition you were in."
Read the entire article here.
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