Christian Stewardship in Light of Paul's Collection for the Poor

Christian Stewardship in Light of Paul's Collection for the Poor

“Permanently in debt but never bankrupt.” No, this is not the motto of a creative investor, but it is a picturesque description of every Christian. Christians are all permanently indebted to the Creator and Redeemer because he has showered them with his gifts of physical and spiritual life, yet they are never insolvent because as stewards of God’s gifts of “talents, time, and possessions” they always have at their disposal ways of partially repaying their debt. The apostle Paul affords Christians a spectacular example in using his God-given skills of leadership and motivational discourse to initiate and complete a relief project for needy fellow-believers in the church of Jerusalem. Nowhere else in his thirteen extant letters does he spend 39 consecutive verses speaking about one and the same topic, as he does in chapters 8 and 9 of 2 Corinthians where he encourages his friends in Corinth to complete their collection for this admirable project. In the course of his encouragement, he highlights many commendable ways for Christian stewards to give to God and to others—such as generously, enthusiastically, voluntarily, creatively, regularly, and unobtrusively. "A crown jewel in Paul's earthly ministry was the collection from gentile believers for impoverished Jewish Christians in Jesus' homeland. Murray J. Harris brings his world-class expertise in Paul, Acts, and 2 Corinthians to bear in telling this story. A full one-third of the book details the relevance of that long-ago collection for current outlook and practice. The result is an inspiring and exegetically rigorous commendation of responsive generosity toward others based on God's goodness and gifts to us." --Robert W. Yarbrough, professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri "With characteristic succinct clarity Murray Harris shines a light on Paul's long-planned collection of a gift for poor believers. Harris integrates the details of Acts with Paul's letters, guides readers through Paul's longest discussion of the collection (2 Cor 8--9), and offers wise practical insight into the complexities and blessings of giving and generosity. This book on a topic that is sometimes avoided or exploited is yet another gift to the church from Murray Harris." --Alan J. Thompson, head of New Testament, Sydney Missionary and Bible College, Sydney, Australia "Paul's collection for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem was a fundamental part of his ministry, but it is often overlooked when we think about Paul's mission work. Drawing on a lifetime of study of the New Testament, Murray Harris comes to our aid and shows us how very much we can learn from this overlooked feature of Paul's life. This engaging book about Paul's collection will enable us all to understand ministry, stewardship and practical giving in new ways and from fresh angles." --Paul Trebilco, professor of New Testament studies, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand "For believers seeking to base their understanding of Christian stewardship on faithful and rigorous exegesis, I know of no better resource than Murray Harris's Christian Stewardship in Light of Paul's Collection for the Poor . Harris takes the reader on a 'deep dive' of an often-neglected subject." --Robert L. Plummer, Collin and Evelyn Aikman Professor of Biblical Studies, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Murray J. Harris is professor emeritus of New Testament exegesis and theology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. Formerly he was warden (i.e., director) of Tyndale House, a biblical research library in Cambridge, UK, and a faculty member of the Divinity School in the University of Cambridge. He has written commentaries on the Greek text of Colossians and Philemon, 2 Corinthians, and John's Gospel. He was one of the original translators of the New International Version (NIV). He resides in his native New Zealand in retirement.