This passage of scripture is one of the most abused and misinterpreted in this day and age. You have probably heard it quoted on Christian television -- given as a promise to people -- that if they give to a ministry – sow a seed to a ministry – that they will reap a great financial harvest. Indeed, people are being promised freedom from sin, salvation for a family member, healing, the breaking of curses, and well, you name it -- these are all promised from God in return for your money seed. This interpretation is now so common and so accepted that you hear almost no one questioning it.

Christianity today is filled with teaching as to what we must do to get God to provide for us. Those who teach tithing say that we must tithe to insure God’s blessing, and avoid God’s curse. Those who pervert this law of, "sowing and reaping," say that we must sow a financial seed into their ministry – and that if we do – God will provide a great harvest. All of this is error. It is all part of a terrible system of unbelief. It is, in fact, a denial of the Cross, and a denial of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

How so? Well, Jesus Christ gave us His life in order to purchase by His Blood every single promise that is now being offered in exchange for, "your seed." He paid for all of those things – indeed, He paid for US. And having done so, He offers them to us FREELY. Thus, to take what Christ offers freely and attach to it a price – the price being your supposed SEED – this is a denial of, and a misrepresentation of, the gospel of grace in Jesus Christ. It is a LIE. It is, in fact, ANOTHER GOSPEL.

Of course, these teachings on money are simply another form of LAW – they encourage people to get UNDER THE LAW. Sure. We may not call it that. But anytime I present to people something they must do or not do – and attach to their conduct blessings and curses from God – I am teaching LAW. Unfortunately, most Christians have no frame of reference for anything else. To many of us, such a walk under law IS Christianity. It IS holy living. It IS the gospel.

No. It is another gospel. Of course, it is at this point that I am tempted to launch into all of the explanations as to why true grace will never lead to license, etc. But I will not do so.

The bottom line is this: God has drawn a line at the Cross. If you want to try to operate in YOUR life, God will never bless you. You can give and sow and tithe until you are blue in the face but God will NOT bless you – because you have not LOST your life in His hands. But if you take your place at the Cross in Christ, then your life becomes HIS. Blessing in that case is still not based on YOU, or anything you DO. No. Blessing is based solely in Christ.

Many of us struggle and strain to the point of despair, trying to get God’s help. We cannot understand WHY the promises of God are not coming to pass for us. So some of us, often in desperation, begin walking in these false teachings because we think we need to KEEP SOME PRINCIPLE to get God moving. No. There is only ONE thing God says to do – come to the Cross. LOSE my entire self to Him. Only then will we find true life in Christ.

Note that word, "LIFE." What is contained in it? Everything. If you still possess your life, it won’t matter how many THINGS you say you are willing to surrender. It won’t matter how many laws you keep. You can give away all the things that you own and it will not change the fact that you are living in the very definition of unbelief. God will never bless you in such a path. You will not know Christ and He will not know you. But if you LOSE yourself – full possession of yourself – at the Cross. Then there will be a new basis upon which God can work. As Christ is unfolded to you, the blessings of God that are found in Him will come.

Many Christian people, because of ignorance of the Truth, continue to try to possess themselves – and they try to get God to help them. They think this is right to do. They say, "God, bless me! You promised!" And then these terrible teachings are provided as the MEANS by which we can get God to bless us. No. God’s answer is this: "I want to bless you. But I cannot bless that which I have already condemned under the Cross. Relinquish the possession of your life at the Cross. I can bless only Christ. Become one with Him."

Can we see there must be a basis of TRUTH? Really, it is the basis of CHRIST. Christianity is CHRIST IN US. God will bless only His Son. We need to realize that through death and resurrection we can become ONE WITH HIM. How many see that blessings that are IN the will of God are then simply a by-product of being one with Christ? Sure. "Seek you first HIS kingdom (Christ within) and HIS righteousness, and all these THINGS will be added unto you." (Matt. 6:33)

Most Christians would agree that the gospel of Jesus Christ is the gospel of GRACE. Most of us at least give assent to the fact that we are saved solely by the grace of God. We can hardly deny the clear words of scripture:

But so many of the same Christian people who boldly proclaim that we are saved by grace turn right around and suggest a Christian life that is lived on the basis of the works of the law. Does God save us by grace, and then once we are saved by grace, does God put the Christian life on the basis of works? Few would be that blunt in describing what they believe. But the lives of many Christian people suggest exactly that error. And certainly this error is widely practiced on matters of money and giving.

The error of saying you are saved by grace, but then must live under the law, is exactly the error of the Galatian church. And yet Paul said that they were bewitched by ANOTHER GOSPEL. He told them that Christ was, "of no effect for them."

Let’s lay this Truth out with regards to money; with regards to giving. Are we to day that Jesus Christ died on the Cross to save us by grace – but that the Christian life that emerges from His sacrifice is one where we must obtain all the things of God that He purchased by His Blood through our works?

Do we realize that when we say that we must keep a law to get something from God that we are saying that we must obtain from God by our own righteousness? You simply cannot have it both ways. Either ALL is by grace – by HIS righteousness – or it is by OUR righteousness? What do we think the answer is here? It ought to be obvious. And indeed, there are so many passages in the Bible to show that ALL is by God’s grace that we will quote only a few:

The above three verses are but a few out of the many in the Bible that tell us that IN CHRIST God has FREELY given us all things. God is the God of all grace. And today all believers are NOT under law, but under grace. This is the gospel – and the ONLY gospel. It is the Truth. All other suggestions are error.

Now, if that is THE TRUTH – it is the Truth regarding everything, and not just SOME things. Why? Because if it is the Truth, it is the Truth about the nature and character of God Himself. You CANNOT say, "This part of Christianity is based on grace, but this part is based on LAW." No. Why? Because Christianity is CHRIST IN US. Christianity is the Truth. This isn’t about a religious system. It is about a PERSON. And that person isn’t about grace sometimes, and law other times. God is the God of all grace. Jesus is the Truth. This is ALL or nothing. And it is ALL GRACE.

The bottom line is this: You need not GIVE to God in order to GET – you must not try to GIVE to God in order to GET what Jesus died to give you FREELY. To do so is to walk contrary to the Truth. You will not be walking according to Christ.

The Truth of grace states that ALL that is of God is given to us freely in Christ. NOTHING of value is found elsewhere – not from ourselves or from any other source except Christ.

Note this vital fact: God does not give THINGS to us. No. He gives us Christ, in Whom are ALL the things of God. Thus, if Christ is given freely, then all that is in Him is freely given. The key then, is Christ.

Can we see that there is no confusion or gray area here? We cannot have nor experience anything that is of God from any other source except Christ. We cannot find it in ourselves. We cannot earn or merit it. God has wrapped up all in His Son, and in Christ, God has given to us all things freely. Christ – and only Christ – is therefore the true source of all that we could possibly sow into the lives of others – whether it is material or spiritual.

So when we read passages like the one from II Corinthians 9 – which speaks of sowing and reaping -- we MUST interpret it in the context of the Truth of grace. Jesus died so that God could give us all things freely in Him, and thus, there can be nothing in this passage that could be in conflict with this foundational Truth.

Back to II Corinthians 9:5-15. If we pull out of the passage the primary verse – the one most often used in false teaching – and we add to it another part of the same passage, we can begin to see how this passage agrees fully with the rest of the Bible – agrees fully with the Truth of God’s free gift in Christ.

Note the source of the SEED that is sown. It is GOD. He is the Source. This fact agrees completely with the words of Christ we quoted previously:

Now again – you cannot separate the THINGS of God from the One in Whom are all of those things. In other words, don’t take a passage like this and try to turn it into a law or a principle to follow. No. This isn’t about a method or technique that I can use to get something from God. If I have received all that is of God IN CHRIST BY GRACE, then the seed that God ministers to me is included in that grace. There is no other interpretation possible.

It is here that we must lay out a principle of Truth that ought to be, by this time, more than obvious. We see it in the above scriptures. God has GIVEN us all things freely in Christ. We are supposed to RECEIVE all things freely in Christ. But if we have received all things freely in Christ – then we can freely GIVE to others. All the way through GOD is the owner. All the way through there is no payment made, no indebtedness incurred, and no merit earned. No. This entire principle is governed by grace. It is motivated by love. It is all voluntary.

Of course, this principle of grace – and we are talking about the Truth of grace in all GIVING – this principle of grace is completely foreign to the understanding of most Christian people. Most Christians will easily state that they are saved solely by grace, but once saved, we try to maintain God’s grace by works. This is nothing more than being under the law. We are trying to maintain our righteousness by some kind of working so that God will continue to be pleased with us. We might deny we are trying to do so. But millions know of NOTHING else by which to live in Christ.

Being under the law can take many forms. But if there is one thing all law has in common it is a system of rewards for obedience and punishment for disobedience. Yet do we realize that in Jesus Christ are ALL the rewards and blessings of God? And that He resolved through the Cross all curses and punishments? Thus, anytime my standing with God is dependent upon ME – my works, attitude, abilities, or in this case, my giving – anytime my standing before God is dependent upon ME at all, I am not only under a law, but I am denying what Christ has done. I am in unbelief.

Of course, someone is liable to protest by saying, "Aren’t there consequences for our works? Does it matter what we do?" Listen. There are temporal consequences for our works. If you rob a bank you are going to jail. If you smoke you will harm your lungs. Sure. The question here is one of dependence. Do we depend upon anything about ourselves to get God’s blessings? Or do we depend upon Jesus Christ? At the root of this question is salvation itself – how much more regarding all that is in the Christian life.

Christian people by the millions give money to stay in God’s grace. They give so that God will bless them, and to avoid some curse. They give because they believe that it is the way in which to obtain all sorts of blessings from God, financial and more. This is law. It is another gospel. It is a denial of the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

Do you and I think that God is so hesitant to help us and bless us that He demands we write a check to a TV ministry before He will? For example, some of these false teachers say that if you plant your seed into their ministry that God will save a family member. Ok. So in other words, if what they are saying is the truth, then if I do NOT write the check, then God will NOT save them? What then? Do they go to hell because I didn’t write the check? Is anyone’s salvation dependent upon my giving money? Sometimes these false teachers promise that God will break financial curses, and even bondage to sin, if you plant your seed. Is all of the power of the Cross of Jesus Christ held in abeyance until you and I jump start it by writing a check? Is God sitting up in heaven saying, "I sent My Son to die for you, but you have no benefits from this until you write your check to a TV ministry."?

As preposterous as all of this is, there are thousands who teach and believe it. The Bible said that people would eventually turn from the Truth to fables. Well, there it is. Why is such nonsense taught, and believed? People have turned away from the Truth. Or they don’t even know there is such a thing as the Truth.

The Truth, however, is simple and clear. It reflects the Truth about the ONE who FREELY GIVES US ALL THINGS IN CHRIST. That Truth is this: We are to freely RECEIVE from Him – we don’t have to earn or merit. We must not try. And once we receive from God, we are then free to give to others. This isn’t about LAW. It is about the Truth. It is about LOVE.

God has freely given us all things in Christ. If we will receive freely what He has given freely, then there will come a change in us through what He has freely given – that change will make us testimonies of His grace in Christ. And we will freely give to others.

In God’s will, there is NO indebtedness. There is NO earning. There is NO disqualification. There is NO poverty. There is NO ownership. There is NOTHING but Jesus Christ as Lord – and all who are involved are free to minister according to Christ, in the will of God.

When we say God FREELY GIVES, this is based upon the fact that Jesus Christ has paid the full price for all that God freely gives. It is only because of Christ that the grace of God is possible. And IN CHRIST is all that God has – both spiritually and materially. Thus, if we walk according to Christ in the Truth, that relationship is going to resolve financial and money issues. We may not be rich and we may not be poor. But we will be in the will of God – according to what He happens to be working out during our present season.

But let us, or a moment, focus upon the great Truth that God FREELY GIVES. Can we see that to, "freely give," means that there are NO strings attached? Sure. There can be no earning. No needing to qualify. There is nothing I can do but receive. The moment I introduce LAW, or make what God gives contingent upon anything about ME, including MY works, we are no longer talking about God FREELY GIVING. No. Thus, when we say, "God freely gives," we really are talking about GRACE.

The fact that God freely gives all things in Christ is absolute Truth. But then let’s ask: How do you and I actually walk in the Truth that God freely gives? Well, we freely RECEIVE. Sure. If God freely gives all things in Christ, then the moment we do anything but freely receive we are in error. We can only walk in the Truth of God’s grace if we freely receive what God has freely given – all things in Christ.

Note again that this is not about keeping a law, or about figuring out the correct religious system to make work. No. It is about Truth and Light in Christ – we are to walk in the Light as He is in the Light. And the Light is that God has freely given. Thus, we must freely receive.

Can we possibly see this? Grace is not merely a religious tenet. No. Grace is the Truth about God Himself – and by extension, it is the Truth about all His dealings with the human race. There is NO OTHER TRUTH, and no other basis. Thus, God gives ALL men ALL things solely through His grace in Christ. And because the Truth is that God does give all things freely, the only way to walk in the Truth is to receive freely.

Now, again go back to what I stated earlier about what it means to say God has freely given. It means there are no strings attached. He doesn’t require that you earn. Well, then that is exactly what it means to say we must freely receive. It means that we must put ourselves aside. We have to put the question of our merits, or lack thereof, completely out of the picture. We must freely receive – on the basis of the grace of God in Christ – all that God has freely given.

The fact is, freely receiving is NOT an option. It is the only basis upon which we can receive what God has freely given. Any other basis is error.

Here we see the basis of why people live in error – the error of legalism. They do not FREELY receive what God has given. They are still trying to be good enough. Thus, legalism is not merely a wrong religious approach. It is error and deception. That is why Paul called it, "another gospel." It is based on a blindness to the Truth of God’s grace.

The question then becomes, "Why are people blind to the Truth of God’s grace?" We are blind to God’s grace because we have not seen our real need. In other words, to the extent that we are still trying to be good enough for God, we think we can be. We have not been brought to the place of spiritual bankruptcy. We do not understand that God freely gives because it is the ONLY way He can give. And we do not understand that we must freely receive because it is the ONLY way we can receive. We are deceived.

Most Christian people will give assent to the statement that there is no righteousness in man by natural birth. But most of us don’t realize that God never intended us to have any righteousness based in ourselves. Rather, we think we lost our righteousness and must get it back. No. God never intended for human beings to have a righteousness of their own. That is why the Bible says that BEFORE Adam sinned that he was NAKED an unashamed. And God said this was GOOD. Adam had NOTHING in himself. But because he was one with God he was complete.

So what this means is that when God brings us to the place of spiritual bankruptcy, it is not a matter of Him putting us down and grinding our face in it. No. Rather, it is a matter of God showing us the TRUTH. We have no righteousness. We can earn nothing. This is how God created us. It is good – but God intends us to have all things in HIMSELF through Christ. Then we are complete IN HIM.

So to freely receive what God freely gives is the only possible way to walk in the Truth. But for that, God must bring us to the place where we are MADE TRUE unto Him – meaning that God must show us the Truth about our need so that we will finally freely receive with no strings attached. Again – we are here talking about the Truth. We are talking about walking in the Light as He is in the Light.

Once we begin to see the Truth about God’s grace it ought to begin to redefine so many of the false interpretations we have had of scripture. For example, in this passage of II Cor. 9, we will realize that instead of a teaching as to how to GIVE in order to GET from God, the passage is actually based on the Truth that we have already received from God – and that we are encouraged to voluntarily, and in love, give to others.

Let’s look at some of the verses in this passage. In the beginning of the passage, Paul says that this giving, or sowing, ought to be done, "as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness." What is he saying?

The word, "bounty," here has nothing to do with AMOUNT. That is one of a number of outdated words used by the KJV translators in this passage. The Greek word means simply, "to give as a blessing." We are to give as a BLESSING to others.

Now ask: Does that sound like we are to GIVE to others in order to GET for ourselves from God? No. To bless others is not to GET for us. In short, instead of GIVING TO GET, this word points us to the Truth: We are to GIVE TO BLESS – or, if you will, rather than give to get, why not give to……..GIVE! Isn’t that what God does? Isn’t that what it means to FREELY GIVE?

So our giving, or sowing, is to be as a BLESSING to others. Freely given to others because God has freely given to us – and we are living in the Truth of God’s grace. But just in case we don’t understand this meaning, Paul also told us how we are NOT to give. He said, "not as of covetousness." What is covetousness? It means to lust after, or desire to get for oneself. Well, what could possibly be clearer? Paul is stating that we are not to sow or GIVE – for the purpose of GETTING.

We have barely begun looking at this passage and already we are seeing that the Truth therein is absolutely ignored and violated by most teaching on this subject today. Indeed, this passage of God’s Word teaches precisely the OPPOSITE of what is commonly taught on the many fundraisers on Christian TV today. Dozens of times I have heard in churches and on Christian TV that we are supposed to GIVE TO GET, indeed, I have heard that we cannot GET any other way! In fact, it is now popular for many on Christian television to teach folks that when they give they ought to tell God what they want in return – health, financial blessing, family salvation, freedom from sin, etc. What an abomination and denial of the grace of God in Christ.

No. Paul tells us that we are to give exactly as God gives – freely as a blessing, without any strings attached. We are NOT to give because we want something in return. That is not grace, and that is not the Spirit of God.

Now, as we read on in the passage, we have the spirit and intent defined. The sowing we are going to read about is not supposed to be done in order to GET something back. It is supposed to be done as a blessing – freely given because the sower has already freely received from God.

Now we come to the focal point of the passage – at least what is usually made the focal point. It is from this verse that Oral Roberts, years ago, developed the teaching that if you, "sow a seed," into a ministry, that you would, "reap a financial harvest." Sow a big seed – give much money – and you will get a big financial harvest in return. But not just a financial harvest. As I’ve mentioned, television preachers are promising a harvest of healing, salvation for family members, the breaking of so-called generational curses, the obtaining of favor from God and man, the blessing of God upon all areas of your life, freedom from sins, and even the breaking of, "the spirit of poverty." All of this and more is being promised if you SOW a seed into a Christian ministry – these things will be your harvest.

Not only does this interpretation deny the grace of God, but in fact, the passage isn’t even talking about how to get a bigger blessing from God. Indeed, when Paul describes HOW you sow, and HOW you reap, he isn’t talking at all about the AMOUNTS you sow or reap. Rather, Paul is talking about the heart attitude of faith that is behind any sowing or reaping. This is his focus – it is the entire point of the passage.

Ask: What does it mean to sow, "sparingly?" And what does it mean to sow, "bountifully?" Most people would say that these terms refer to the AMOUNT given. But they do not. Rather, they refer to the spirit of the person giving – and this is clearly seen if we just add to our verse the very next sentence:

So what does Paul mean when he says that a person should give, "bountifully?" The English translation here is quite misleading. The original Greek helps. The word here is, "haplotes." It means, "single – as opposed to being double minded." In effect, to give, "bountifully," isn’t referring to an AMOUNT at all. It is referring to the attitude of heart within the GIVER. To give, "bountifully," means to give with a pure and simple motive – it means to give FREE of insincerely and self-interest. Above all, the word is speaking of a person’s attitude towards GOD HIMSELF in our giving.

Paul actually goes on to tell us what he means. He directly explains his meaning right in the next sentence. First, he says that to give, "bountifully," is never to give, "grudgingly." The Greek for that word, "grudgingly," means RESENTFULLY. Well, ask: How might a person give, "resentfully, or regrettably?" One way is if they keep a scorecard of their giving –they keep an account of what they give, under the expectation or demand that they get something in return – and they resent it if they don’t get the pay back they want. They put other people, or God, in their debt – even if the debt is only moral or emotional. They say, "I gave to you. I helped you. And now you owe me."

THIS is the attitude against which Paul is teaching. Sure. Most people who give don’t resent doing so at the time they give, unless they are forced to give. It is later, once they don’t get the payback they expect that resentment sets in. This surely is a primary meaning that Paul intended to convey in the passage.

Paul likewise says that to give, "bountifully," never means to give, "of necessity." In other words, it never means to give BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GIVE. Immediately, this eliminates all giving for the purpose of keeping a LAW. It also eliminates all giving to earn, merit, or entitle oneself to a reward. If I am giving to stay right with God, or to entitle myself before the Lord, I am giving out of, "necessity." That is wrong.

Add all of this up and you come to a very simple conclusion – and it is one that is not the least bit surprising. Paul is telling us that we ought to sow FREELY – as a blessing to others – without any motive of GETTING something in return. We have freely received from God, and so now we ought to freely give to others. That is what it means, using the KJV language, "to sow bountifully." It means to sow WITHOUT being double-minded about it – I am not giving in order to GET, or to keep a law. No. I am giving freely to bless others – that is the SINGLE purpose. I am being true before the Lord.

The opposite of sowing with the single purpose of blessing others – the opposite of freely giving – is, "to sow sparingly." The Greek means, "to hold back." Again, this is NOT talking at all about AMOUNTS. No. To, "sow sparingly," means to hold back my giving based on what I think I will get in return. It means to NOT give freely – there is a string attached – THAT string is what is governing my giving. In short, instead of freely giving out of faith and love, I give based on whether it will PAY ME. That is the true meaning of, "sowing sparingly." I hold back to the extent that I will GET in return.

As you can see, the Truth of God on this matter of giving has been so blurred and distorted that once we see the Truth in these passages it is almost as if we are hearing something brand new. Really, we are having our eyes opened – not merely to a true teaching, or Bible meaning. We are having our eyes opened to Jesus Christ, and the grace of God that is IN HIM.

As the God of all grace, God has freely given us all things in His Son. We can receive all things in His Son ONLY on that same basis – we must freely receive by His grace. Thus, our lives are going to be governed by that same Truth. We will give because we have freely received. We will walk by this Truth because we will have been made true unto God through the knowledge of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Paul’s point in this passage was NOT to show us that how MUCH we sow will determine how MUCH we reap. That is nonsense. Rather, Paul’s entire point in writing this passage was to show us that HOW we sow will determine HOW we reap. If I reap as a blessing to others – freely giving because I have freely received – then because I sowed under this Truth – I will likewise REAP under the same Truth. But if I am sowing with a double mind, giving only to the extent that I think I will get from God, then this motive is going to determine how I reap. This is what Paul is saying, and we need to understand what he is getting at.

But before we proceed into the meaning, we have to be clear that our motive for giving, in other words, HOW we sow – this is determined by one thing: Our personal relationship with God. I alluded to it earlier. I can only freely receive from God what He has freely given if I am open to the Truth of my own need. This, in turn, is going to impact me. I will then be able to freely give. However, if I have not freely received what God has freely given, then I am not walking in the Truth. This, in turn, is going to impact me and I will not freely give to others. In short, how I am related to God – whether it be in Truth or error – is going to determine how I live in this world.

To elaborate for a moment, I want to point to one key scripture on this matter;

Here again, in this passage from Matthew, we encounter the word, "single." It is the same root word as is translated, "bounty," in our passage from II Corinthians. In context, it speaks of being free from any, "moral folds," or, "moral unevenness," in our heart, that would shut out God’s light. In other words, we want God to bring His will to pass NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES – in our lives. Our eye, or intent, is unto that end.

Now, you will notice that this single purpose determines EVERYTHING according to Jesus. If my heart is fixed on God’s will and purpose, and I will not settle for less – we might say, if I am seeking first the kingdom – then the fact that I am unconditionally committed to God’s purpose in Christ will open me to LIGHT. But if I have a double mind – give lip service to God all the while wanting something for myself – then the eventual result is going to be darkness. This is not a matter of seeing doctrine. It is a matter of seeing Jesus Christ.

For the purpose of our present passage, we therefore see the application. If I have freely received from God all things in Christ – if I have allowed this Truth to MAKE ME TRUE unto God -- then I am going to SOW accordingly. My eye is single to God, and my body or life is full of light, and because of this, I will freely give, or sow, unto others as a free blessing. But if I have not freely received from God – but have attached my own merits or my own lack thereof – then this is going to create a darkness under which I will sow unto others. I will not sow freely. I will sow sparingly – there will be a string attached. Sure. Because that is my problem. I am attaching strings to the grace of God at all levels.

What I am saying is that if I sow sparingly, I am sowing in darkness – and this is because I am not in the Light as He is in the Light. Thus, when I reap, I will reap in that same darkness. How I sow – which speaks to my relationship with God – is going to be how I reap – because that same relationship will govern. If I am freely giving because I have freely received, then I will reap freely – the same Truth will govern.

I cannot be TWO people. The person I am in Christ when I sow is going to be the person I am when I reap. Thus, if in my heart I am freely sowing, then I am able to freely reap. If in my heart I sow sparingly, then this will be what I am before the Lord as I reap. In short, our relationship before the Lord – whether we are in the Truth or in error – whether we are MADE TRUE before Him – is going to govern both our sowing and reaping. You cannot separate the two.

Jesus said exactly the same thing. He said:

The Greek word here for, "measure," is, "metron," and denotes, "that which is used for measuring," or, "the method which is used to calculate." In other words, rather than AMOUNT, this word means the MEASURE that determines the amount -- again, the heart attitude that springs out of a relationship of grace in Christ.

So Jesus taught the same thing that Paul taught. We will reap AS we sow. The relationship with God that results in sowing will be the same relationship we have when we reap.

If I have no grasp of the grace of God in my sowing, I will have no grasp of the grace of God when I reap. Paul said to the Galatians, "Christ is of no effect to you who are under the law." Did Christ desert them? No. They deserted Christ. In short, the grace of God in Jesus Christ was just as freely given to them as it ever was, or ever would be. But they were sowing to the flesh – religious flesh. Thus, what they reaped could not be grace. They were in darkness. If you cannot see grace when you sow, you cannot see it when you reap.

We will reap as we sow because we are not one person when we sow, and another person when we reap. No. If our eye is single to God, then our entire life will be filled with Light – and this will govern our sowing AND reaping. But if we are double-minded before God, then the darkness from which we sow will be the darkness with which we reap. How a man sows will be how he reaps – as determined by his, "eye," before the Lord.

Paul gathers up all of this teaching about sowing and reaping and says, "God loves a cheerful giver." He is obviously referring to the one who sows, "bountifully," that is, to the one who sows with a pure motive before the Lord – as a blessing to others. Thus, we have a further affirmation of Paul’s meaning in this passage. When he speaks of sowing according to God’s will, he is talking about being nothing more complicated than a CHEERFUL GIVER.

By the way, you will note that Paul did not say, "God loves a cheerful tither." No. Neither does he say, "God loves a cheerful law-keeper." No. There are many Christian people who say they give voluntarily, but what they are doing is obeying their law voluntarily. Many say they give cheerfully, but they are obeying their law cheerfully, or are cheerful in their giving only because they think they are going to get a big payback. No. This motive of cheerful giving is rooted in one’s relationship with God Himself.

By definition, GIVING is voluntary. We have already seen that true giving, as defined by God, is not out of necessity, or resentfully, or because of covetousness. No. If I have freely received from God – and I value this and it has changed me – I will be more and more a cheerful giver. This is really the only possible outcome of being a recipient of God’s grace.

A, "cheerful giver," is one who WANTS to give – because he is motivated by the love and grace of God. He GIVES – because he has first given himself to God. He GIVES – because he has first received from God. In effect, this person GIVES and then severs himself completely from the fact that he has. He does not keep score. He does not feel entitled. He LETS IT ALL GO into the hands of God.

Now, the amazing thing is that if I do GIVE to others in that spirit, Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Why? Because of some financial reward I will receive for my giving? No. It is more blessed to give – but only if I do it in the spirit Paul describes – it is more blessed to GIVE in that case – because in my GIVING I am in fellowship with God and there is an enlargement that comes in me because of it.

This is what Paul is getting at in his subsequent explanation:

To, "give bountifully," or to be, "a cheerful giver," is to give in the love and grace of God – not to get something for myself – but really, it is to give as unto the Lord. There is a spiritual release and freedom in this.

But won’t God reward the giver? Well, can’t we leave any reward to God? Can’t we give of ourselves freely, out of what God has given us, and leave any possible reward or positive result to God? That is actually what LOVE DOES.

We could take all of these questions about rewards and plug them into a pivotal saying of Christ. He said, "He that loses his life for My sake will find it." This applies to all things before the Lord, including rewards. We ought to LET GO of all thought of a reward. Let God decide that. THAT is the way we will find it in Christ.

It is a spiritual principle: The more I give of myself and LET GO TO GOD – the more capacity I have for God. The more I express grace, the more COMMUNION I experience with the God of all grace. This is simply being illustrated and lived out through this giving to the saints. It is what Paul means when he says that how I sow will be how I reap.

Paul is getting at a great Truth here that really applies to all aspects of our Christian life. He says that we can, without fear of loss, GIVE ourselves to the Lord, and then, to others. He says that we can freely give – without attaching rewards or punishments – because of our relationship with God through Christ. We can let go of all of that – why? Paul answers:

Can we possibly see the Truth here; discern the heart of God – without distorting this into a rewards and punishments system of man’s religion? Paul is simply saying, "God is your Father. Jesus Christ is one with your spirit. God has given you all things freely in Christ. Therefore, if you know this, you can freely give to others – not for a reward – but because you know that God is able under all circumstances to make all grace abound towards you so that you will have sufficiency in all things." In other words, GIVE as God makes it possible – and LET IT GO. God is sufficient.

Incredibly, rather than be a formula as to how to GIVE in order to GET, Paul is actually denouncing that, and saying that we can be free to give BECAUSE God is the God of all grace, and will provide for us.

Someone once said that all of man’s religions – including man’s version of Christianity – boils down to man trying to construct a way up to God through his own workings. But the Truth of God is that God has made a Way in a Person, Jesus Christ, solely by His grace.

All of the false teaching in the church today regarding money are not merely doctrinal problems of theology. No. They are faith problems. They are Truth problems. If people would actually see and experience Jesus Christ, we would be set free from all of these efforts to pay for what God has already freely given us in Christ. We would be changed by the grace of God into those who could, in turn, freely give to others. Indeed, I would submit that the entire face of Christianity would be changed. No longer would Christians be known for their lust and ridiculous teaching on money. We would become testimonies of the grace of God.

Yet all of these errors about money in the church are simply part of a bigger problem. We do not understand the grace of God – because we have not come to the Cross and seen that God’s grace is our only hope. Because we don’t see our need we don’t value the only solution in Christ. Thus, to solve the problem, the Truth of the Cross MUST be preached. People must be brought to the place where they see their need – to where they can freely receive what God freely gives. A simple thought, but the Truth of God.