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“The Season of Giving:” by Romans
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS4JQi4dgvg
As we are deep in the month of December, I thought it good to take an exit briefly from our “Questions and Answers” Series, and present a Discussion on, as you may have noticed the banner announcing tonight's title, “The Season of Giving.” Tonight, being Wednesday, December 19th, is my last opportunity to present a Bible Study before the birth of Christ is celebrated next Tuesday.
At this time of year, many of us have heard sermons regarding that Celebration and its significance. We have seen images on the Christmas cards we send or receive, images of the wise men bringing gifts to the Christ child. And, as a part of the Celebration of the birth of Christ, we have adopted the cultural practice that includes the giving of gifts. That particular aspect of this Season is observed not only by believers in Christ, but also 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, displays and even aisles appear in many stores and Supermarkets with various and sundry Gift Ideas.
So the one thing that we likely have in common with our unsaved or non-Church-going family members, neighbors, co-workers, and classmates 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,” which is the title of this Evening's Discussion.
But in every mention of gift-giving during this Season that I have heard, I don't remember ever hearing anyone acknowledging God as, not only a Giver of Gifts, but “The Greatest Giver of Gifts.” Before I begin, tonight, I would like to give full credit for many of the Verses that I used in the following basic Outline found in Torrey's Topical Textbook, under the heading: “The Gifts of God.”
First, 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.”
I try to be as good to people as I can 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, and by anyone else, I mean anyone else. That will simply never happen, even if it were to save someone I considered a close and dear friend.
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 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 / blackmail 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: 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.”
“Every good and perfect gift is from above, James wrote, “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.”
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... 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. Notice what Jesus said 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 in the Garden of Gethsemane 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 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.”
Before we focus in on the Gift of Peace, this Psalm introduced a Gift that would be 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 the Garden of Gethsemane prayer 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 term: heirs. We rarely hear this term in sermons, or at least I cannot remember the last time I heard this term used in regard to Christians, but we are heirs about to inherit incredible things. Notice this one astounding Verse that names both of these rare terms naming Christians as heirs who will be glorified, and 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.” 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, but rather poured out on us! But it doesn't end even there!
Let's continue from 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 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. 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 just the introduction.
The Gifts of God are dispensed according to His will: 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 edify the Body. God's 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.”
Christ, Himself, is named as a Gift of God: Notice in John 4:7: “There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink... 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.”
Jesus, again, 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.”
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 also spoke 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.”
God gives us 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 is not regarded as a Gift: It is 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.”
Notice that repentance is granted by God to us. The urging we feel to turn our backs on our old sinful life is given to us by God. He has a Primary Role in every phase and aspect of our Salvation.
God gives 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.”
We also 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 a 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:”
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, in tonight's Discussion, 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.” 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.”
The word, “eternity” is an interesting word. We can spell it and pronounce it. We even pretend to be able to define it and comprehend it. But we are to be recipients of the undeserved Gift of Immortality. As a finite human being, my brain simply cannot compute being able to live on into an endless Eternity. Yet, along with all that is poured out on us, God includes in His incomprehensible Gift Package to us, the Gift of Eternal Life. People receive good gifts from family members and friends. But have you ever been offered a perfect gift?
Yes! We all have. That perfect Gift was our Salvation through the shed blood of the Son of God. We have received it, but it has been offered to the world. By and large, the world has chosen to turn their backs on it, to dismiss it, and even to mock it! Allow me to read, again, the first Verse I quoted this evening was James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights...”
I will close this main section with Matthew Henry had this to say about James' writing: “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 will be celebrated next Tuesday. When I decided to present a Discussion on “The Season of Giving,” I am ashamed to admit that I had failed to keep current in my heart and mind the astounding list of the Gifts that God has poured out on those who believe in His Name. Some of the Gifts that He has yet to give us we have not even begun 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.”
Multiple millions of people will be giving and receiving gifts on Tuesday, while not investing a single thought or word about the existence of God, much less the Gifts of God. We often see the phrase at this time of year posted in various places, “Keep Christ in Christmas.” I would like to propose a higher goal to strive for and all year long, and not just one day of the year. In Jesus' own words, “Seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Luke 12:31).
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?
I can't.
So I will have to defer to the Apostle Paul who wrote 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?” And his thoughts 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 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 a Holy and Giving Heavenly Father on a scale I never fully before appreciated. Tonight's list of the Gifts of God was not by any means an exhaustive list. Due to space and time, I neglected to mention: Forgiveness, Hope, Mercy, Promises, Prayer, His Word to Guide and correct us, the Example His Son gave us to follow, meaning and purpose for our lives, the ability to forgive others, Victory over Sin, Victory over Death, and the Jesus' pledge to never leave us nor forsake us.
Besides these Spiritual Gifts, there are Physical Gifts which I also neglected to mention: All of the miraculous systems that have been set in place by God that allow us to be alive on this planet. Life on earth did not begin as an accident, nor is it maintained without a series of incredibly fine-tuned life support systems found here on earth, contributed to by our own Milky Way Galaxy, and provided by the exacting and precise settings of the celestial machinery found in the great expanse of the Universe! There are the physical gifts from God of living on a planet that feeds us and protects us from deadly ultraviolet light (by the Ozone Layer) and deadly Solar Radiation (deflected by the Magnetosphere, generated by the shifting molten iron core at the center of the earth, and extending 300,000 miles out into space!) Another physical gift is the incomprehensibly complex body we live in, with some fifteen separate marvelous systems operating to keep us alive and healthy!
These are also Gifts that God gives us all as well. The actual complete list of all the many Gifts we have been showered with is seemingly endless. As Christians, we should take this Season of Giving to focus on rededicating our lives to a life of obedience and worship in Thanksgiving to Almighty God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, the greatest and most generous Giver of Gifts, far beyond anything we can imagine or ever deserve.
This concludes this Evening's Discussion, “The Season of Giving”
This Discussion was originally presented “live” on December 19th, 2018.