II Corinthians 8:16 But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.
17 For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord he went unto you.
18 And we have sent with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches;
19 And not that only, but who was also chosen of the churches to travel with us with this grace, which is administered by us to the glory of the same Lord, and declaration of your ready mind:
20 Avoiding this, that no man should blame us in this abundance which is administered by us:
21 Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.
22 And we have sent with them our brother, whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things, but now much more diligent, upon the great confidence which I have in you.
It is important to remember that anything that any person does that is good, is due to God’s work in their heart. The world has a much different understanding of “good” than God does. Some in the world think that President Trump’s agreement with Iran is good. Israel certainly does not see it that way.
Some believe that our Prime Minister is doing a good job in standing up for the rights of Canada. He has sold Canada to China. He refuses to deal with the drug problem in this country. Our military is a mess. We could not defend ourselves if we tried. We have allowed terrorists to take over areas of our major cities. No, our Prime Minister is not doing a good job. This country was in a mess before he became Prime Minister, and he has made things worse.
When we go to Genesis chapter 1:31 we read that God assessed His work of Creation and He called it very good. There was no sin. There was no corruption and there was no death. Man decided he did not want to live in this good world, and Adam chose to listen to a lie and he ate of the forbidden fruit and became a sinner.
In our text, Paul thanked God for putting the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for the Corinthians. The Corinthians needed to be thankful to God for Titus. He had helped them to get things straightened out with God. That is praiseworthy.
Titus was a true man of God. He accepted the challenge to speak to the Corinthians. He was already with them. Otherwise Paul would have needed to have gone there. However, Titus was a good man and he could look after this matter. He was willing to speak to the Corinthians and to challenge them with the need to humble themselves and serve God faithfully.
In verse 18 we see that Paul sent another brother to help Titus. We are not told who this brother was. Some think it might have been Luke, but the text does not tell us. We know the brother was well known as a good brother. It is important to have a good testimony. The minister of God needs to be above reproach. There is a need for genuineness in ministry. This brother had that.
Verse 19 tells us that this brother was chosen of the churches. It was not just Paul that saw value in this brother. The churches saw this man as a good man. Godly men will be seen to be such by other godly men. Godly men are men who are not ashamed of the Truth. They are willing to address the true needs as they are.
It is not pleasant to have to correct the brethren. However, it is necessary. The Work of the Lord needs to be done in purity. The world needs to see the work of God’s men and they need to glorify God because of it.
Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
As we mentioned already, the world has its own standard of good. That standard is quite corrupt. We can see that in who is leading this country right now. We can also see that in who is leading the U.S. right now. We can also see that by how many people will follow corrupt men and women when it comes to spiritual matters. Few people appreciate godly leaders.
We need to remember that Jesus was hated by the Jews. We need to remember that Peter and John were hated by the Jews. We also need to remember that Paul was hated by the Jews. However, the saints appreciated these men of God.
In verse 20 Paul acknowledged that he had enemies. The context of these verses has to do with collecting the gifts that would be sent on to Judaea during the famine there. There were people who wrongly assumed that Paul and his companions were not trustworthy and that they would steal the gift for themselves. However, the apostle Paul made sure that he not only had a good testimony, but also the appearance of a good testimony. True godly leaders do not want to be entangled in legal battles. They want to be free to serve God according to His will.
In verse 21, Paul knew he had a good testimony with God. He was a true servant of God. However, he desired to be seen as a true servant of God among men as well.
Thus in verse 22 Paul again reminded the Corinthians of the reason why this other brother was sent to them. They needed to give to the needs of others. They needed to know that those gifts would not be squandered. They needed to have trust in the messengers.
In Bible times they did not have e-transfer or checks. They sent money the same way they sent letters. Someone needed to take it and carry it to its destination. Those involved in that work needed to be trustworthy. Paul, as an apostle, did not want to be burdened with that task. His ministry was the preaching of the Gospel. There were other good men who could take care of the financial needs and they were also trustworthy men.
It is important in any true ministry that there be integrity at all levels. Those within the church need to see this as well as those who are outside the church.
Pastor Bartel