8:8
“I am not commanding you .. test the sincerity of your love”. I think we would find these words very hard to take in a church today, considering it rather offensive. However, let’s get over our offence and consider the matter more closely. Many people (sometimes including ourselves?) who express concern, care or love for someone or a group of people, yet when it comes to practical action, or reality of love, they do very little. Virtue signalling perhaps embodies this phenomenon. It is real love that counts, and Paul has cited the actions of others as an indication what genuine concern results in.
8:9
Now this verse is one of the most misused verses by so called prosperity teachers. Look at the context! The motivation, the thinking behind Paul’s words is not that this is a get-rich-quick scheme. He has cited the Macedonians who gave out of their poverty. The motivation is that Jesus gave everything, so we too should be generous in our actions. In the wider context, Jesus became poor that we might become spiritually rich (ie forgiven, adopted as sons, etc). He also says in Rom 15:27 that since the Gentiles were spiritually blessed by the Jews they should be eager to help Jerusalem materially. Prosperity teaching is a symptom of poverty thinking.
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