Discover The Word

Thursday, February 18, 2010, Part 2

“Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need” (Ephesians 4:28).

IDEA: Through work we can earn money to give to others in need.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand that giving is another way to carry out God’s command to love others.

Do you think it is more blessed to give than to receive? Why?

Do you think most people believe that it is more blessed to give than to receive?

I. People who are Christ’s followers are people who see as a benefit of work that they can love others by giving to them.

There is an interesting episode in Ephesians 4:28: “Those who have been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.”

Unpack this command:

What kind of person is the apostle Paul addressing? He is evidently talking to a Christian who has been a thief. What might you think he would have said to him if his old occupation was stealing?

Paul adds, “Let him do something useful with his own hands.” Why do you think that would be important to a former thief?

Through work, the result is to have something to share with those in need.

II. In 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, the apostle Paul uses the example of the Christians in the Macedonian churches: they were extremely poor, but in spite of that, they showed a rich generosity.

Where did their generosity come from? Should generosity be a mark of a follower of Christ? Why?

Psalm 37:25-26 – “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.”

III. If earning money is a means by which we show love for our neighbor, then what does that say about the way we think of our work in relationship to our giving?