These last two articles of faith are somewhat different that the previous eighteen we have looked at. These simply contain a collection of Scripture verses with very little comment. I believe that the two are connected because there can be no mission work accomplished through the local church apart from our faithfulness to give financially that others might hear the gospel. There are many passages of Scripture to which we could turn to find truths about the grace of giving.
Many myths exist in believers' minds concerning giving.
Tonight, I want us to consider a somewhat familiar passage of Scripture and see some principles that we can learn concerning giving. The believers in the churches of Macedonia were extremely poor. Not only were they poor, but they had experienced persecution because of their new-found faith in Christ. The mathematical equation in this verse doesn't make sense to the world or to the carnal-minded Christian. They had received the grace of God upon them.