Key Verse: Verse 16 – “But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.”
The church at Jerusalem was going through a tough time because of persecution. Paul was led of the Lord to write to other churches, including the church at Corinth, which were not hurting financially. As you can tell from the Scriptures, Titus is in charge of collecting the offering for the church at Jerusalem from the church at Corinth. Paul encourages the church to be just as earnest in their giving as Titus is in his care for them.
Mark the word earnest. It means to put your money where your mouth is. Earnest giving is putting action with your words.
We all, as believers, should be earnest in our giving. We all should put our money where our mouth is!
In Chile Missionary Karen Wright experienced a bizarre tradition at the funeral of a Catholic neighbor. During the service an offering was collected. The priest then said, “Thank you for participating in the salvation of this man.” After hearing these words and seeing only small change in the offering plate, Karen thought: If these people really believed their offering would help save this man, wouldn’t they sacrifice and give more? She then made her thoughts more personal: I and many others profess the truth about salvation through faith in Christ, yet if someone really believed in Jesus, wouldn’t they give more than a token financial gift? Wouldn’t they give earnestly – not to be saved, but because they are saved?
Let me encourage you to do some earnest giving to God through your local church.
What to do:
✞ Put your money where your mouth is.
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