“Cheerful Giver” (2 Cor 9:7)

“Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver” (vs7).

This word “cheerful” is the Greek word “hilaros”, from whence we get “hilarious” or joyfulness to the extreme.  The root word for “hilaros”, however, comes from the Greek word “hileos”, meaning propitiation or appeasement, so that God is SATISFIED with Christ’s death for us, and being satisfied ourselves, or “cheerful”, we give.

Be sure your joy in God produces giving; we cannot have hilarious joy, if it doesn’t produce obedience. God cannot be worshiped in contradiction to His Person, so that JOY in God must be expressed in holy conduct, for REJOICING in God and sinning (murder, rape, thievery) are not the effects of the gospel. The gospel, when REALLY received, produces good works as assigned by God to PROVE the sincerity and reality of our love; where the works are absent, true godly joy is absent also (2 Cor 8:8). Joy and works ALWAYS are hand in hand, and yet we must be exhorted to obey in the gladness of Christ, so that REAL joy produces fruit.