“Christmas_2020, The Season of Giving” by Romans
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Tonight, I am going to interrupt our Series, “Basic Christianity,” with a Seasonal but still-related off-shoot Series I am calling “Christmas_2020.” It will consist of three installments: the first tonight, and then Part 2 next week, and finally Part 3 on December 23rd. I hope you all find it interesting, informative, and edifying to your relationship with God, and as a follower of Jesus Christ. Unlike my usual Discussions, for time's sake, there will be few and limited commentaries quoted.
This is the time of year when the birth of Jesus Christ is celebrated. We hear in sermons, or see images on the Christmas cards we send or receive, images of the wise men bringing gifts of gold, and frankincense and myrrh to the Christ child. And, as a part of the celebration, we have adopted the cultural practice that includes the giving of gifts. We make our lists of people that will receive cards or gifts or both from us.
That particular aspect of this season is observed by both believers as well as those who do not believe in God or Christ, and, who never go to Church even if they were raised in a Christian home. We are almost never out of sight or ear shot of reminders about giving. Many stores that we go to have a Salvation Army “bell-ringer” our front with their little red-kettles so that people might give donations to them.
Besides the unceasing reminders that we get on TV and the radio, there are circulars that arrive in the mail filled with page after page of Stocking Stuffers. Whole tables and displays appear in many stores, even super markets with various and sundry Gift Ideas. So the one thing that we likely have in common with our non-Church-going or unsaved neighbors, classmates and co-workers is that we recognize and observe that the time from Thanksgiving Day (here in America) through the whole month of December is “The Season of Giving.”
But in every mention of gift-giving during this Season that I have heard, I have never heard anyone acknowledge God being, not only a Giver of Gifts, but “The Greatest Giver of Gifts.” First, before I begin, I would like to give full credit for many of the Verses that I used in the basic Outline found in Torrey's Topical Textbook, under the heading: “The Gifts of God.”
Before I get to those provided verses, I would like to offer what may be a Scripture that is more familiar to more people than any other Scripture: John 3:16. It speaks of Giving: John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
Most of the time, I try to be as good to people as I can possibly be. I have even had a few successes in turning the other cheek and doing good to those who were not good to me. But I can tell you that I do not have it within me to offer my own son to die in the place of anyone else. That will never happen, even if it were to save someone I considered a close and dear friend, guilty or innocent.
But I would like to point out that God did not give His Son for close and dear friends, or even for those who obeyed and believed in Him. To God's chosen people the Jews Paul wrote in Romans 5:10: “For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son...” And to the Gentiles Paul wrote in Colossians 1:21: “And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled.”
God gave the Gift of His Son to die in the place of His enemies. And men responded to His Son, Who lived a sinless life going about healing the sick, raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind, feeding the multitudes, and teaching the ways of God... their response was to gather false witnesses to testify at an illegal trial, and then urge the Roman Governor to pronounce the sentence of death on Him. And Jesus knew that before He arrived. God gave His Son, but never forget that His Son was a willing sacrifice. Notice that Jesus said in John 6:51: “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
But it did not begin or end there: Scripture tells us that God is the Source of All blessings: We read in James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
Let's go back: James wrote, “Every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father...” Did you ever consider all that God has given us? Scripture enables us to be specific about all that God has given us. Consider, as a first offering, 2 Peter 1, and beginning in Verse 1: “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ...
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:1-4).
In just these three Verses, look at we read about the Gifts that God has bestowed on us! First, Peter writes to “them that have obtained like precious faith.” Faith has to be obtained. And, since it has to be obtained, that means that we are not born with it. It is a gift from God: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, all three working together in our lives to open our minds to accept and believe in Him. Consider in this regard, Jesus' words in John 6:44: “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him...”
Do you have friends or relatives who think you're foolish for believing in God and His inspired Word? I do. But none of us can understand or believe the things of God without the presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. It is a direct answer to Jesus' petition regarding His disciples that He prayed on the night before His crucifixion: We read in John 17:20: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”
Peter addressed his epistle, “to them that have obtained like precious faith with us...” It applied to believers decades after Jesus returned to Heaven, and it applies equally to us, today. We have come to believe through the printed words of Jesus' disciples. God drew us to Himself, and gave us the Gift of understanding, opening our minds to His Truths. What else does Peter list as a Gift? Let's read the next phrase: “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.”
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you. Grace and peace are both Gifts from God. We read in Ephesians 2:8: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” We also read in James 4:6: “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
Then we read that the Grace of God to us is through Christ: Notice Ephesians 4:7: “But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” But notice what is also given besides Grace: Romans 5:17: “For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.)”
Additionally, we read in The giving of Grace is also mentioned in the Psalms in Chapter 84:11: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” This Psalm introduces a Gift that is given to us by God that is rarely ever mentioned: glory. Part of the incredible future that God has in store for us includes our being glorified in the resurrection. Notice this additional reference in Jesus' prayer the night before His crucifixion, that we looked at earlier: This time we read in John 17:22: “And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:”
Another term we rarely hear applied to believers is the identifying term: heirs. We rarely hear this term in sermons, or at least I cannot remember the last time I heard this term applied to Christians, but we are heirs, and we are about to inherit incredible things. Notice this next incredible Verse that lists both of these rarely-used terms, naming Christians as heirs who will be glorified. And it does it all in the same breath: Romans 8:16: “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”
But as I said, those Gifts are held in store until the Resurrection: Notice in the Resurrection Chapter, 1 Corinthians 15, beginning in verse 41: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:”
Christ is to return in Glory, and we are to be raised in Glory... glorified together. That is why we read in
1 John 3:2: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
Peace was also listed as a Gift from God: We read in Psalms 29:11: “The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.” Next in Psalm 119:165 we find one of the ways we are blessed with peace: “Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.” We read next what Jesus said in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you.”
Precious Faith, Unmerited Grace, the Peace of Jesus Christ and the Gift of Righteousness, not merely given as Gifts, but rather are poured out on us! But it doesn't end even there! Let's go back to Peter's epistle to see what else we receive from this God Who is the Greatest Giver: “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature...”
Do we humanly have the ability to recognize and wrap our brains around exactly what this Verse is saying? “Partakers of the divine nature”? God wants us to be Holy as He is Holy. He wants us to choose those things in our lives that bring Glory and Honor to His Name. He wants us to share, not just in Eternity with Him, but also be partakers of His Divine Nature. I will speak for myself, here. I cannot begin to fully grasp what I am reading and seeing as I prepare these Notes. I am seeing and appreciating things in a way and on a level that is causing all the circuits in my brain to overload. And this is still just the introduction.
The Gifts of God are dispensed according to His will: The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7:7: “For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.” In the Community of believers, in our individual Congregations, God gives various Gifts through His Holy Spirit to both edify and unify the Body.
This giving on God's part, and His declared goals for these Gifts are described beginning in Ephesians 4:11: “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:”
Of this Matthew Henry writes: “Unto every believer is given some gift of grace, for their mutual help. All is given as seems best to Christ to bestow upon every one. He received for them, that he might give to them, a large measure of gifts and graces; particularly the gift of the Holy Ghost. Not a mere head knowledge, or bare acknowledging Christ to be the Son of God, but such as brings trust and obedience.”
If I am reading these next verses correctly, Christ names Himself as a Gift of God. Let's take a look at an encounter recorded in John's Gospel: “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water” (John 4:7-10). We will see the giving of that living water, again, later in our Study, tonight.)
Jesus refers to Himself as a Gift beginning in John 6:32: “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.”
Next there is the Gift of The Holy Spirit: Luke 11:10: “For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or, if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?”
Jesus spoke, again, of the Gift of the Holy Spirit just before returning to Heaven: We read in John 14:15 “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
Another Gift that God gives us is the Gift of Wisdom. Notice, beginning in Proverbs 2:6: “For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous...” Then also in James 1:5 we read, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
Another Gift of God to us is one that I don't think believers fully recognize as a Gift, namely, the Gift of Repentance: In Peter's explanation of why he was in the company of Cornelius and other Gentiles, we read beginning in Acts 11:18: “And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost...
Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.” How many realize that when we came to that place where we were tired of living a life of failure, or, as many have experienced, an emptiness in the wake of success, and we turn our backs on a godless life of sin, we did not derive the ability to do that from within ourselves. God granted us the Gift of Repentance.
God also gives us the hand-in-hand Gifts of Strength and Power: We read in Psalms 68:35: “O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: the God of Israel is he that giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.” In the New Testament, this is confirmed by Jesus in Luke 24:49: “And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.”
Then we read of that Power being given Jesus' disciples in Acts 2:1: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
As believers, we are given the Gift of a New Heart: We read in Ezekiel 11:19: “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh:” The writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews adds to this, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Hebrews 8:10). I see this as also applying to Gentile Christians because we were grafted into the natural olive tree of Israel, as Paul referred to in Romans 11:17-24.
Another Gift of God that we rarely hear about was offered by Jesus in Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew Henry offers the following thoughts on this Gift: “Our Saviour has invited all that labour and are heavy-laden, to come unto him. In some senses all men are so. Worldly men burden themselves with fruitless cares for wealth and honours...
Those who labour to establish their own righteousness also labour in vain. The convinced sinner is heavy-laden with guilt and terror; and the tempted and afflicted believer has labours and burdens. Christ invites all to come to him for rest to their souls. He alone gives this invitation; men come to him, when, feeling their guilt and misery, and believing his love and power to help, they seek him in fervent prayer. Thus it is the duty and interest of weary and heavy-laden sinners, to come to Jesus Christ.
This is the gospel call; Whoever will, let him come. All who thus come will receive rest as Christ's gift, and obtain peace and comfort in their hearts. But in coming to him they must take his yoke, and submit to his authority. They must learn of him all things, as to their comfort and obedience. He accepts the willing servant, however imperfect the services. Here we may find rest for our souls, and here only.
Nor need we fear his yoke. His commandments are holy, just, and good. It requires self-denial, and exposes to difficulties, but this is abundantly repaid, even in this world, by inward peace and joy. It is a yoke that is lined with love. So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable the encouragements, and so strong the consolations to be found in the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness.
The way of duty is the way of rest. The truths Christ teaches are such as we may venture our souls upon. Such is the Redeemer's mercy; and why should the labouring and burdened sinner seek for rest from any other quarter? Let us come to him daily, for deliverance from wrath and guilt, from sin and Satan, from all our cares, fears, and sorrows.”
And lastly, as far as tonight's Discussion is concerned, believers are given the Gift of Eternal life: Romans 6:23: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Also, the Apostle Paul put the Gift of Eternal Life a slightly different way in Galatians 6:8: “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Throughout the year, and, perhaps especially in this Season of Giving, people receive good gifts from family members and friends. But have you ever received a perfect gift? Yes... you have... we all have... even those who have refused that perfect Gift. Allow me to read, again, the first Verse I quoted this evening: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Matthew Henry had this to say about this Verse: “As every good gift is from God, so particularly our being born again, and all its holy, happy consequences come from him. A true Christian becomes as different a person from what he was before the renewing influences of Divine grace, as if he were formed over again. We should devote all our faculties to God's service, that we may be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.”
God freely gave us the Gift of His Son, Whose birth Christians celebrate. When I decided to present tonight's Discussion on God as the Greatest Giver, I am ashamed to admit that I had failed to keep current in my own heart and mind the wonderful, even astounding multiple lists of Gifts that God has poured out on those who believe in His Name. Yet, there are Gifts that He has yet to give us we can't even begin to wrap our minds around: Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9: “But as it is written, “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” Or, as it says in the original found in Isaiah 64:4, “what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him.”
Hundreds of millions of people will be giving and receiving Christmas gifts, while not investing a single thought or word about what God has given them. To many who will be celebrating this holiday, God, in their minds, is no more real than Santa Clause. A local pastor at this time of year, repeatedly tells his Congregation the importance of “keeping Christ in Christmas.” But even as good as that goal may be, let us go on to focus on a yet higher goal. Jesus said in Luke 12:31: “Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.” This is not limited to just one day of the year.
If we put God's Kingdom first in our lives, the Father promises to give us all the things that unbelievers put first. But we actually receive so much more than the spiritual and the physical because that Verse goes on to say, “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”
How can I best sum up all of what God has done for us and given to us? Well. Let me be completely honest: I can't. So I will have to defer to the Apostle Paul's words I would like you to meditate on. We read in Romans 8:32: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”
Paul's words are confirmed in Revelation 21, beginning in Verse 5:“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.”
This is the Season of Giving for Christians, and for non-Christians alike. But I have learned in preparing this Discussion to never think of Christmas again as I ever did before. God has opened my eyes, and I hope yours, also, to see Him as our Holy and Giving Heavenly Father on a scale I never before fully appreciated. During the course of the writing and delivery of this Discussion, it occurs to me that I have failed in this presentation to mention some of God's Gifts:
In addition to everything I mentioned, God also gives us His Inspired Word that is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It is only through His Word that we can come to know Him. God also give us the ability to recognize that it is His Word, His Holy Spirit empowering us to understand and live His Word. And God also gives us Mercy and Forgiveness when we fail to live up to His Standards. God gives Hope and Light in a ever-darkening world without hope.
God gives us Promises that only He can offer, and only He can deliver. They are Promises unlike anything we can find in any other worship or belief system. God gives us True Meaning and Purpose for our lives, Eternal Security, an Example in His Son to follow, the ability to forgive others, a Reason to live, and the Way to live.
As Christians, we should re-think this Season of Giving, and use it as a springboard to focus on rededicating our lives to a life of obedience and worship in Thanksgiving to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit for all that has been given us. God Almighty is the greatest and the most generous Giver of Gifts, far, far, far beyond anything we can imagine or ever deserve.
This concludes this evening's Discussion, “Christmas_2020”
This Discussion was originally presented “live” on December 9th, 2020.
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