The Gifts and The Givers

Trinity Sunday- Romans 5:1-5

Transcript

Tool for exercising faith in the, in the mind and heart of a child. Just like a lot of fairy tales. We stir and speak stories of fairy tales to our children to encourage them to have a category of faith and to use their imaginations. Because without imagination, how can you even come to understand the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? But it is, it's this little concept of this list, the naughty and nice list that that gives you, that affords you the great gifts that Santa Claus gives you.
That I want to challenge today is because throughout all of history, this idea and concept of gift is usually more meant for a reward. There's a difference between a gift and a reward. But in Jesus time they often believe. Both Romans and the Jews believed that a gift was only given to those who would be deserving of it. So it is less of a gift and more of a reward.
And that's kind of how Santa Claus often comes up. That's how we usually portray Santa Claus as doing is that he provides gifts to only good boys and girls. And these gifts are the best gifts at Christmas time. Usually. Well, it's that, that I do not find to be consistent with the scriptures.
And here's what I mean. If you think about the Jews, you think about the Pharisees who are the ones to receive all the blessings and inheritance from God. It was them, it was the Jews. There was nobody on the outside of their community that was deserving or willing to be given a gift from God. It was only them and only those people.
But in the scriptures, what you find that there are gifts and there are rewards and that God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit give gifts and they also give rewards. And this is where we are with our lectionary lesson Today. We're going to be looking at Romans chapter five. And we come in chapter five, this where Paul writes this letter to the Romans. And what he is building an argument for is he is challenging their concept of gifts.
And what he comes to in chapter five is he speaks about the gifts from the three givers, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And he demonstrates to them what a true gift, not a reward is. And people smarter than me have come up with the criteria of what makes a gift a gift and not a reward. So let me just spell that out for you real quick. There's six things that that a gift, what makes a gift a gift.
The first one is that a gift is self motivated. It's not, I'm not talking about selfishness, but the fact that the person who gives the gift gives out of his pleasure out of the simple fact that he just loves to give gifts. It's not contingent about the other person. It's solely on them. Their motivation for giving gifts is them themselves wants to give a gift.
Right. I can identify with this because I love to give gifts. I will quite often if I go to a store and I've had a conversation that week and I think of something, I'll see something, I'll connect the dots, man, that'd be a really good gift for somebody. And sometimes I'll give it and I'll just give it for no apparent reason other than the fact I really like to give gifts. I love to watch people respond with joy to this thing that I've given them.
I'm self motivated. You didn't do anything probably to deserve a gift. But I like to give gifts. Matter of fact, I'm so bad at giving gifts, I probably will tell you what I got you before you can unwrap it. That's just one of the things I struggle with.
I can't keep a secret. I'm really bad. But I'm self motivated and given gifts. And that is one of the criteria of a true gift is that it's self motivated. It's not contingent on someone else.
Right. The second criteria is that it's indiscriminate, meaning that it isn't based on whether you deserve it or not. A true gift is a gift and it has nothing to do with how good or bad you are. Right. It's not contingent on whether you're naughty or nice.
The gift is just given. And it's given to a person whether they're undeserving or not. And this is the one that is the most egregious to a culture who thinks a gift should be deserved. Matter of fact, the Romans and the Jews during Jesus time thought that not only does the gift have to be special and it has to go to people that are deserving of it. That if a gift was ever given to somebody undeserving of it, that it was a wasteful gift, that it was pretty much a donation.
You guys might understand a little bit about this. What do you take to the Salvation Army? Do you call them gifts or do you call them donations? They're usually things that you don't find valuable, but that you're hoping somebody else might benefit from. Are those gifts or donations?
Well, according to the Jews and the Romans, during Jesus time, you'd be giving something of no value if they were undeserving. So you would Never give a gift to somebody who's undeserving. But if you did, it's pretty much not valuable. The gift is nothing special. That's how they thought it.
So a gift is indiscriminate of whether you're naughty or nice. But also number three, a gift is abundant. And what I mean by abundant is that it is something of great value and worth. Unlike a donation, the gift has to be a gift. A gift that's worth and valuable to the person who's receiving it.
That's a true gift. Right? If you gift somebody a lump of coal with all the love and self motivation, they'll be like, oh, okay, thanks. Right? The gift, to be a true gift has to be an abundant gift, a wonderful gift, one that anybody would love to receive.
The fourth criteria is timely. And it's just more than a thought that it's timely, that the gift comes at a time that it can be used. I remember one Christmas we went to my dad's parents house for Christmas. They lived in Cincinnati. And my dad was obviously an older man at this time.
And my papaw was really, really old. And he gave my dad this box about this big. And my dad unwrapped it and papaw started crying for some strange reason. And it was a Tonka truck. And I could see, I remember the look on my dad's face, he's like, thanks dad for a Tonka truck.
I mean, I'm 50 years old now, but like. And the reason why my papa got my dad that Tonka truck was because he couldn't afford one when he was a little boy. So he gave him that. Right? And oftentimes we say that it's the thought that matters.
But a gift that is timely. How much more would my dad have enjoyed that gift had he received it when he was a boy than a grown man, right? The thought does matter. But also it's a better gift if it's timely, if it comes at the time that is most useful. That is a criteria of a gift.
But not only is it indiscriminate, abundant and timely and self motivated. But it is also free. And there's no strings attached. Meaning you give the gift with nothing in return. I'm not expecting something from you to, for you to do for me.
That's not what a gift is. A gift is free. There's no strings attached. I'm not expecting anything in return. And lastly, a gift has to be effective.
It's a gift that keeps on giving. Right? And that's what exactly, Paul is trying to argue to his letter to the Romans. He is trying to change their minds about the concept of gift. Because you will not be able to appreciate the gifts from God if you have that mindset where you are deserving of it, that God expects something in return from you that it's not timely or anything of that.
His argument is so well founded and it's so countercultural that he blows the minds of his audience. And that's where we meet today on this Trinity Sunday we engage in Romans chapter 5, where Paul is in the middle of his argument, communicating to them what the true gift is that comes from the givers, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So let me walk you through all the ways that the Trinity gifts those who have faith in Jesus Christ. They not only have gifts and rewards, but they are really good and amazing gifts. So let me just walk with you through Romans chapter five and kind of spell out what Paul is trying to get to here with his understanding of.
Check this out. The gift that God gives us, right? Number one motivation. God being self motivated because He's a giver. He's a lover.
He is love. Romans 5:8 says, But God demonstrates His own love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. We learn in this verse that God is self motivated. It is for the sake of his own love that he does what he does. It is not because you are special and cool and you have moved him to love.
It's because he's love himself. And every act that he does is loving, right, good and holy and just. It comes from Himself. It's self motivated. And so the gifts that he gives are self motivated coming from who he is.
He is a gift giver because he is a lover. He is love itself. But not only that, the gifts that he gives is indiscriminate. It goes to those who are undeserving. Romans 5, 6, 8 Spell this out for us.
For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man. Though perhaps for a good man, someone would dare even to die. But God would die for sinners. But God demonstrates His own love towards us that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
See, according to God, everybody's on the naughty list. But God, because He's indiscriminate, because he just gives gifts from who he is and what he does, he gives gifts to those who don't deserve it. While we were still helpless, while we were ungodly While we were yet sinners. God gives gifts to those undeserving. And not just any gift, but the greatest gift to the undeserving.
Oh, he doesn't donate anything. He doesn't re gift anything he doesn't like and gives it to the people who are undeserving. He gives to those who are yet sinners and ungodly and helpless. The choice greatest gift of all, His Son. There's nothing else in heaven and earth that he could have gave that is better than giving his own Son.
And you're familiar with this? We have to go back to John chapter 3, verse 16. For God so loved the world that he gave his only, only begotten Son. Now whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life, everlasting life. So this isn't some mediocre gift that God has given to the undeserving.
He is self motivated to give gifts and to give it to the undeserving and to give them the greatest gift he can ever give them, which is His Son, which, which produces salvation for us. And not only salvation, the forgiveness of sins, but also sanctification and the concept of being moved into holiness so that we can image ourselves just like God, who is holy. So God is a gift giver who's also abundant with his gifts. And if you read through Paul in all his letters to the churches, Paul is the best at breaking out all the lavish gifts that God gives. He starts with his best and then he just keeps on giving, giving, giving all the treasures, all the gifts that come with faith in Jesus Christ.
But not only does he give in abundance, not only does he give us his best gift, but it's also timely and it's more than just a thought. It's just more than, oh, I appreciate that God, thank you so much. It's, this is really helpful. This is useful. I need this in my life right now.
This is a gift that is so timely and right. Romans 5:6. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. That's you and me at the right time. One of my favorite lines from Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf comes strolling into Hobbiton, the Shire, and Frodo is waiting for him.
And Frodo, when he pulls up in his little wagon, Frodo comes to him and says, you're late. And Gandalf says, a wizard is never late. He arrives precisely when he means to. And I love that line because it's so helpful that Christ came at the right time, not too early, not too late, but the right time in history when humanity needed him most to die for us.
But not only is it timely. Not only is the gift of the Trinity so timely, but it's also free. There's no strings attached to it. God's gifts are not conditional, but he gives them freely, and he doesn't need anything in return. Matter of fact, he doesn't need you to do anything, because he done it all for us.
Romans 6:23 says this. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. God doesn't give gifts with strings attached. He freely gives them. He's not motivated by you.
He's motivated by himself. Because he is good, he is loving, and he is kind. But not only that. And we can just stop there and be like, okay, we get it, man. God gives gifts, not rewards.
Well, he does give rewards, but God gives gifts. He gives them abundantly. He gives them free. He gives them based on himself, not because of me. I'm undeserving, but I get the gifts of God.
Oh, how good is that? We could stop there. But God also gifts with gifts that are effective, the gift that keeps on giving.
The best way I could describe how gifts keep on giving is when I attended my first church in Wasilla, Alaska. My mom took us. We never went to church, but every once in a while, mom would take us. And we went to this little church that, like, met in a trailer in the middle of nowhere. And I remember it was a Baptist church.
And I remember walking into this church, and typical Baptist preacher. I mean, we all have that mind, you know, a little bit of a belly and a suit and glasses and just shake. Meet you at the door, shaking your hand. And I was just a little boy. I didn't even know what church was.
But I remember sitting at that church, looking out the window, waiting for him to be quiet and get done with the sermon because it was going on for way too long and I was bored. But he met me at the back, shaking hands, and he handed me this long, velvety red pouch. And I was like, what is this? And inside this velvety red pouch was the most beautiful watch I had ever seen. It was gorgeous gold.
It had, like, hands and not digital numbers on it. I was like, this guy doesn't know me. This is the. Is this what you get the first time you come to this church? Man, I'm so.
I like church now. But he gave me this watch, and, you know, what that watch did to me, I found it so awesome and beautiful. I became obsessed with watches. I would go to the local store called Pay and Save in Wasilla, Alaska, and as my parents were shopping, I would sit there and at the glass counter looking at all the watches. There was a calculator watch, there was a Timex Iron man watch with the two buttons at the bottom.
I was obsessed with watches, all because of that gift that that guy gave me one time. And that's how gifts typically work, that if you are so thankful to receive a gift that it's astonishing to you, it does something to you, you kind of obsess over the fact you have this gift. And that's exactly the type of gifts. What happens when we receive the gifts from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Listen to just how overflowing your cup gets full of gifts from the Father, Son and Holy Spirit as we read through our lectionary reading for today in Romans 5:1 2.
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand. What that means is Christ also gives us access to grace, unmerited favor and pleasure from God Almighty. Not only has by faith in Jesus, Jesus given us peace with God, he also has given us access to this grace of God in which each and every one of us who have faith in Christ have. And not only that, but we get to exalt or to have joy in the hope of the glory of God. That may not be a big deal to you.
What's the big to do with the glory of God? A lot. And the best way I can describe it is that Moses desperately wanted to see it. And God says, oh, you can't see my glory. You can see maybe a glimmer of it, but you can't see it lest you die.
But because of Jesus Christ, we have the joy of the glory of God, peace with God and grace, unmerited favor. And not only that, but Romans 5:5 says, and this hope that we have because of Jesus Christ, it doesn't disappoint. Paul's about to say, check this out. Because the love of God, the motivation for why you receive all these gifts, the very nature of God himself, because the love of God has been poured out within your hearts through the Holy Spirit, which is also given to you.
Those are the gifts of the Trinity, Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. And there's way more. We're just looking at five verses. We'll have to continue reading in chapter five because Paul is just going to undo the whole cabinet and say, here are all amazing gifts that God the Father bestows upon you.
Jesus gives us his righteousness. He makes peace between God and man for us. He grants us access into God's grace. He gives us joy of the glory of God, and He allows us to experience that. Because without Jesus, we all would die if we experience the true glory of God and He gives us the love of God Himself.
These are the gifts that keep on giving and work in our life constantly. They are effective gifts that change us into better people, the right kind of people who look and act like the gift givers themselves.
The gifts lead us to obsess over God and His love that he has for us and how free they have been given to us.
So in celebration of Trinity Sunday, as we reflect upon God who is three in one, we learn more about the gifts of the givers and what they mean for our lives, how loving, good and giving they are towards us. And this causes a celebration and thanksgiving in our hearts and in our lives. So I challenge you with this understanding of gifts and now knowing what gifts God has given to us freely and abundantly and effectively.
Have you received these gifts? Have you disregarded these gifts? Thrown them into the trash bag that needs to go to Salvation Army? Do you keep these gifts giving in your life? Are you only stuck with that first gift of salvation and the forgiveness of sins?
Or have you allowed that gift to effectively work in you and move you to a life of holiness because that's the gift that keeps on giving? Have you come to acknowledge the abundance of God's gifts not just for salvation and forgiveness, but for sanctification and everlasting life.
If you want what God has given and take it, it's free. Cherish it.
Cherish that these gifts from the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit can work holiness and goodness and rightness in your life. Let's pray.
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, we thank you so much for the abundance of the gifts that you've bestowed upon us freely. We thank you that you have given us your best, that you have not withheld anything from us. And though we don't deserve it, that is not what motivated you to give it. You gave it because you are good and kind and loving. And it is for that reason that we worship you.
We ask that these gifts that you've given to us will make us more effective in our lives, that they would be the gifts that keep on giving us and moving us from being sinners to being saints. We pray that they would work in our lives to make us look more like you. Help us to be gift givers ourselves as we share with one another in this church the love, the peace and the fellowship that you have poured into our lives.
We thank you for these mighty acts and gifts that you've given us in Jesus Christ and may you increase our faith. We pray In Jesus name we pray. Amen.