God’s Gift

Introduction

Well, good morning. It is such a blessing to be here with you as always and together with one another and to have the encouragement of being with our spiritual family and the comfort of having one another and worshiping God together and studying his holy word and being united around that. That is such a tremendous blessing. We need never forget what a blessing that is. Turn, if you will, to John 4. We’ll begin there in just a few minutes. John chapter 4. I wanted to give a bit of an update.

I already told Mr. Bob who’s doing the announcements, but an update on my dad. Of course, I heard word uh right before I came to services this morning that he was having a hard time breathing and having chills. And then I started getting more updates talking to my sister and my mom. And uh he’s now stabilized. He’s in the hospital, and he had an infection and was dehydrated, and so uh we can rule out a lot of other really bad stuff there, and uh so hopefully he’ll he’ll start making improvements. I appreciate everybody’s thoughts of concern very, very much. I’m gonna change topic today from what I had announced. Uh any of you who’ve ever preached might know that sometimes you think you want to preach on something, and then you realize you really want to preach on or need to preach on something else, and you might switch it at the last minute.

Well, I’ve done that uh today. Uh and so I am going to continue the series on the pattern of the New Testament church. I’m gonna continue that next Sunday, though it will be at the 9 o’clock hour. So, anyone who uh has not uh studied on that, and that you were maybe were here last week and you want to hear part two, then I invite you to please be here at the 9 o’clock hour uh next Sunday, and Lord willing, that’s when I will finish that two-part series. So this is a time of gift giving and of gift receiving. That’s on a lot of our minds right now this time of the year. And it’s an exciting time of the year. It’s, I might say, my favorite time of the year.

At least one of my favorites. And we enjoy giving gifts. Maybe we enjoy receiving gifts even more. But it’s a wonderful time, a time of generosity. Let me ask you to think of what is your favorite gift that you have ever received. Just think back through your life. Maybe it was something simple, something very practical, something that was just special, or maybe it was something very expensive, or very big, like maybe a car. What’s the best gift you’ve ever received? Now I want you to think, what is the best gift that you could ever receive? I mean, just let your imagination go wild for a minute. I mean, this is genie in a bottle kind of a thing. Just whatever you could ever possibly want if you could have that, the greatest gift you could ever think of.

You probably know where I’m going with this. I want to ask you a question. Did any of you in that second question think about salvation? Because that is the greatest gift of all. It is, as Paul calls it in 2 Corinthians 9 15, an indescribable gift. We can’t comprehend it. We can’t even really describe how wonderful it is to have this gift of God. In John chapter 4, Jesus has a conversation, of course, with a Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob. We read in verse 7, there came a woman of Samaria to draw water, and Jesus said to her, give me a drink. For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Therefore the Samaritan woman said to him, How is it that you being a Jew, ask me for a drink?

Since I am a Samaritan woman, for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, if you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water. What Jesus is saying, and throughout the rest of this conversation, he is saying, I’m not talking to you about that liquid stuff that you drink that you really need and that’s wonderful to have.

1. Defining God’s Gift

We’re talking about something far grander on a totally different scale. We’re talking about living water. And she had a hard time coming to understand exactly what he was talking about. This is the gift of God. There’s no comparing any earthly gift with this living water that is from our God and our Savior. So in this lesson, we’re going to unpack that idea of this greatest gift that God has given to us. And I want to begin by defining God’s gift. The word gift is defined in the New American Oxford Dictionary. I had to practice that a lot of times to be able to say it fast. A thing given willingly to someone without payment. A present. So it’s giving willing given willingly. By definition, if a thing is given grudgingly, and surely we’ve never done that, right?

You know, surely you kids have never done that grudgingly. Or do I have to give this to my brother? Then it’s not technically a gift in that case. It has to be given willingly. And it has to be given without payment, of course. If they pay for it, then it’s a purchased item. It’s no longer a gift. God’s gift is without payment. At the end of the Bible, in Revelation chapter 22. In verse 17, it says, the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let the one who hears say, come. And let the one who is thirsty come. Let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost. And we have that water of life idea again here in Revelation. What a beautiful thought.

Without cost. In chapter 21 and in verse 6. The Lord says, It is done, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. It is apparently God speaking there. And so again, without cost. I mean, what a wonderful thing that the gift of God is something that is given that cannot be purchased. Doesn’t have to be purchased. And even if we wanted to, we couldn’t purchase it. I don’t care if you’re Donald Trump. I don’t care if you’re Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. I don’t care if you’re George Lucas. I don’t care if you’re Disney. You don’t have enough money to buy salvation with all the money in the whole wide world.

You couldn’t do it. It is without cost. You know, it makes me think of Simon the Sorcerer in Acts the 8th chapter in Samaria after he had been baptized by Philip the Evangelist. Or taught by Philip the Evangelist anyway and baptized. And then he sees that the apostles are coming there and laying their hands on these new Christians, imparting upon these new Christians the ability to work miracles by the laying on of hands. And he offers money to be able to do that. Not the doing of the miracles, but to be able to lay his hands on others and give them the ability to work miracles. He offers money because he’s a magician. He’s a sorcerer. I mean, that’s what you did in his world. You purchased these spells and so forth and so on.

And Peter rebukes him because he thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. Now that’s talking about a different type of gift than I’m talking about in this sermon, but take that same principle. It would be ridiculous, of course, for anybody to think that they could purchase the gift of God, which is salvation with money. Of course, we see that could not happen. It is equally ridiculous for someone to think that he can purchase his salvation with all of his good deeds. That he can do enough good deeds that he can then own salvation by purchasing it by himself. Brethren, salvation has been purchased for us by the blood of Christ, which was shed to purchase the church of God. It’s been purchased.

Now that’s not to say that good deeds are not important. I need to make a clarification here. It’s very important we establish this up front. Without cost does not mean without condition. Without cost does not mean without condition, but that’s how it is defined broadly throughout Christendom. So called. In Revelation 21 and verse 7, this is the verse that follows after God says, I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things. And I will be his God and he will be my son. So, who will receive the gift of God? The one who overcomes. So I have to overcome to receive it? Yes. I thought it was a gift. It is.

Or Acts 2.38, when Peter said on the day of Pentecost, repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Wait a minute. So in order to receive the gift, I have to repent and be baptized? Yes. It’s still a gift. Because without cost does not mean without condition. Let me give you a couple illustrations as we think about this. Let’s say that you tell your child, if you make good grades this school year, at the end of the school year, I’ll take you on a special trip. I mean, maybe it’s far away. Maybe it’s in the mountains. Maybe you have to get an airplane.

So your child makes the grades. They work hard. And at the end of the school year, you do it. You take your child on the trip. You might say, in one sense, that your child earned it, but we all know your child didn’t pay for it. It is still a trip that is without cost. Is it still a gift, even though they had to work hard to receive it? Yes. It is still a gift. Another illustration. Let’s say that you put in your will that you will give you a certain amount of your inheritance to your child, or all of it, maybe, depending on the fact that your child is a follower of Jesus Christ. If they do not follow Jesus, then it’s in the will that your child will not receive that money.

Hey, it’s your will, it’s your prerogative to do that, right? So when you die and your child being faithful to the Lord receives the money, is it still a gift? Did they earn it through being a faithful Christian? No, they didn’t earn it. It’s still a gift that is without cost. In fact, it is a free gift, as it is called in the New American Standard Version in Romans 6 and verse 23. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. It’s interesting that those two words, free gift, are translated from a Greek word that comes from the same word that is translated grace. The word is basically, as we say it in English, charisma.

2. Describing the Gift of God

Translated free gift. And it’s translated from a word caris, without the ma. That’s the word translated grace. And how do we typically define grace? Unmerited favor. And that’s what this free gift is. It’s unmerited, it’s undeserved. That doesn’t mean that it’s without condition. It just means you still don’t deserve it in the end. Does that make sense? It’s so important to make that clarification. Now, let’s, now that we have defined the gift of God, let’s describe the gift of God. And I’m just going to revel in this. I just want you to reel.

Let your spiritual senses reel in the glory of this gift as we now look at a few scriptures. First of all, the gift of God is described as a gift of salvation. In Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. That what? That salvation, not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. When you see the term works in such context as this, it’s not talking about just any obedience. It’s talking about works of merit by which one is trying to earn his salvation, and we’ve already pretty well discussed that.

It is a gift that is given by the grace of God, salvation. We were lost, and now we’ve been found. We are saved. The gift is also described as a gift of justification. If you want to look in Romans chapter 3. Romans chapter 3, verses 23 and 24 say, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. And the context, the context is discussed in the fact that the law cannot save. The law of Moses in the context cannot save. Why? For all have sinned. If we’ve sinned, how could we be saved by a law? When a law is given to point out your sin. We have to be saved by some other basis than just a sheer law.

We are saved by the favor of God, the grace of our God. It is a gift that we are justified. When’s the last time you said to God, thank you for the gift of justification? It’s a Bible term we need to be very familiar with. What does it mean to be justified? It means to be made righteous in the sight of God. As someone said, justified means to be made justified, never sinned. I think of the illustration of when you’re typing and you want to left justify or right justify what you’re writing, it means to make it straight. And so we want to be made righteous in the sight of God so that when he looks at us, he sees someone that is purified and cleansed from sin.

Instead of seeing our sin. We can be made righteous. That’s something we could never do all on our own unless we were perfect. And so this is really connected with forgiveness. We see in Romans 4, 7 and 8. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered. Blessed is a man whose sin the Lord will not take into account. We need to revel in that fact. We need to rejoice in the fact that our sins are removed as far as the east is from the west, that they are cast into the depth of the sea, that they are cast behind our back, that they are gone and erased when we have them removed in Christ Jesus. That’s a gift. Thirdly, this gift is described as the gift of eternal life in the verse that we’ve already looked at in Romans 6 23.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Do you stop to fathom these things? Brethren, sometimes we just have to put these concepts in the pressure cooker and just let them, just let them sit. We’re a microwave society. But you need to take the time to meditate on these principles. Eternal life. I would say the worst part about human existence is that one day we’re going to die. I received that message about my dad, and I was afraid that he might die. You never know. I don’t want to lose my dad. I don’t want to die. Death is death is terrible. So how wonderful is it that really, though our body dies, our spirit lives forever, and we have eternal life. What else could possibly be compared to that gift? Have you ever stopped to try to fathom eternity?

I have a couple illustrations. Let me give you one. I don’t think I’ve ever given here. Just imagine, and this is totally imaginary, a bird that flies down to the beach and picks up one grain of sand. Okay? And this bird then takes that single grain of sand and flies away to a distant planet, taking this bird light years, and he deposits this one grain of sand on that faraway planet. Then light years pass before this bird can make it back to earth to get a second grain of sand. And the journey begins again. Deposits that grain of sand on that faraway planet. And then a third grain of sand and a fourth. Until eventually all of the sand all over the planet has been removed.

That is not even eternity. Okay? To fathom the fact that our souls are going to exist forever. And that the gift of God, through his grace, through Jesus Christ, is that we can live forever. You cannot put a price on that gift. And that gift has been made available through Jesus Christ to all men. And in Genesis 12 and verse 3, this is not on the slide. God promised to Abraham and you, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed. And that’s because Jesus Christ came through Abraham, and through Jesus Christ, a blessing has been given to the whole creation, and that is the blessing of the offering of salvation. They have that opportunity. Now they are going to have to avail themselves of that opportunity.

But everyone, every human being that exists has the opportunity of salvation. Just think of it as a gift that they have, but they have to receive it. And they have it with them all the time, but they don’t choose to actually open it. How sad it is that someone might live his whole life thinking one day I’m going to do that. Or someone has the gift and says, I don’t like this gift, and they reject it and they cast it aside. And then they die in the end without ever having received the gift, which you receive through belief, repentance, and baptism. And that’s what we have to do to receive the gift. And then continue to serve God and to trust Him, and He will save us by His grace.

3. Recognize the Gift for What It Is

To die without having received that gift is not necessary. Nobody should do that. And you shouldn’t either. Well, this all leads to the final movement in today’s lesson, which is the attitude that we need to have toward this gift of God. If it is truly the greatest gift that could ever be given, then what kind of attitude should we have toward that indescribable gift? First of all, brethren, we need to recognize the gift for what it is. In Ephesians 1, 18 and 19, Paul says, I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened. So that you will know what is the hope of your calling, what are the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of his power towards who believe.

4. Treasure That Gift

Look, brethren. Look around at the spiritual blessings that God has given you. Not the physical, I’m talking about the spiritual. Open your eyes to see them. And to appreciate them. It is as if we’ve walked into a treasure room full of unbelievable treasures. Heaps and mounds of gold and silver and precious gems. And we walk in and look at it and say, Yeah. I think I’ll just take one little thing. What? You see, we need to realize the treasure that lays before us and realize that God wants it to be heaped up upon us. It’s there for our taking. So recognize the gift for what it is. Secondly, treasure that gift. Jesus said, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal.

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither mutton rock, moth, nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Everything about this earth gets old, wears out, needs replaced, corrupts, rusts. And eventually, 2 Peter chapter 3 tells us that everything in the universe, this earth and all the heavens will melt with fervent heat. It will all be destroyed. I want you to think about the fact that your house, which maybe you value a lot, which you paid a lot of money for, is your most expensive possession. And all the things you love about your house, your wood floors and your granite countertops, all of it is going to burn. Your car or cars that you work so hard to maintain and to clean.

Or maybe you don’t. And to make payments on if you don’t own the vehicle.

All of your favorite places to go. The Grand Canyon, the smoky mountains, the beaches, wherever. Brethren, it’s all going to burn. Why would we place all of all of our treasures? Why would we place all of the importance on things that are going to burn? Because heaven’s not going to burn. Heaven’s not going to be destroyed. It’s not going to corrupt. There’s nothing corruptible there. It is the only thing that will not. That’s where we need to place our value. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3 and verse 1 tells us. Treasure that gift. In Matthew, the 16th chapter and verse 26. For what will it profit a man, Jesus says, if he gains the whole world? And forfeits his soul.

5. Sacrifice for the Gift

Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? I asked you at the beginning of the lesson to think of what is the greatest gift you could possibly imagine having. Did any of you think, I’d like to just have the whole world? How about that? That sounds like a good gift. So Jesus is considering that. What if you could get the whole world? You got it all. Belongs to you. But you have to give up your soul to get it. Is it a good transaction? No. Because there is no comparison to this greatest gift that is from God. Thirdly, we need to sacrifice for the gift. In Matthew chapter 13 and verse 44, we have a parable in a verse. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field which a man found and hid, and from joy over it, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Why? Because it’s more precious, more valuable, the treasure that belongs in that field than anything else that he owns. Is that how we view the kingdom of heaven? Is that how we view the greatest gift of all? That is greater than all the things that we might get here on earth, and we’re willing to give any of that up in order to have that gift that is from God. In Matthew the 19th chapter. We have the rich young ruler event. Sometimes I say story, but it’s not a story, it’s an event. Beginning in verse 16, and someone came to him and said, Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may obtain eternal life? And he said to him, Why are you asking me about what is good?

There is only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments. And he said to him, which ones? And Jesus said, You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false witness. Honor your father and mother, and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. The young man said to him, All these things I have kept. What am I still lacking? Jesus said to him, If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But when the young man heard this statement, he went away grieving, for he was one who owned much property.

Jesus said, You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot have two masters. Sacrifice is necessary. David said, I will not give to the Lord that which costs me nothing. What are we willing to give up? I mean, it’s going to hurt. That’s the whole point of sacrifice. You’ve got to give things up that you might have liked. It might be a possession. It might be money. It might be a job or a career path that was leading you to hell. It might be friends. It might be family that might get in your way of salvation. Are we willing to give up whatever it might be that is in the way of our obtaining of that gift of salvation? Because if not, we simply won’t be able to obtain it.

You know, some people almost think like King Saul in the Old Testament. King Saul would serve the Lord as long as it was on the way. I mean, as long as he didn’t have to go out of his way. He was okay serving the Lord. But the moment he had to do something that he didn’t want to do, and he had to go out of his way, it wasn’t convenient anymore. Now, this whole serving the Lord matter is.

6. Be Thankful for the Gift

And because it was the path just laid down for you in your life, and you’re just following that and it’s effortless. Hopefully, you’re doing this because you have pursued that and you’re choosing to sacrifice anything that might be in the way. Fourthly, and finally, we need to be thankful for the gift. I mean, brethren, brothers and sisters, we carry around with us this blessing of eternal life, justification, and here we are with this gift, and we moan and complain about things in this physical life. What are we focusing on? Do you not really think you have salvation? You must not. Because if you really believe that you have eternal life, you would live a joyful life and a thankful life. And so would I. And that’s something we all need to be doing.

Conclusion

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift. So this season of gift giving may be better for some than others. It may be that you receive some really marvelous gifts in those pretty boxes wrapped with a bow. Maybe you receive some very expensive gifts, and maybe that’s what you’re really looking forward to. It might be that you don’t receive hardly any gifts at all. We all need to remember, whatever gifts we’re going to receive, none of it compares to the greatest gift of all. And if in this season, if maybe you don’t receive many gifts or any, you know what? It’s okay. As long as you have the gift of God that is salvation. That’s what really matters. If you don’t, why not? You can have it.

It’s right here. You can take it today by repenting of your sins, having believed in the Lord and confessed his name. And being immersed in water, baptized for the remission of your sins. Then continue to obey the gospel, trusting in His grace and being saved by faith and by obedience to the faith. If you’d like to become a Christian today, we’d love to assist you as we stand and sing the song of invitation.