9/15/2024 Sunday Morning.
Gifts from the Father and the Son
Because we are under the New Covenant of grace and faith, we need to always be mindful of the fact that everything we get from God is a gift of grace. It is never earned. We are not under the law; we are under grace and all God’s blessings are received as gifts of grace. This is a necessary renewal of our minds because people always tend to gravitate toward the covenant of law and works. All God’s gifts are free, but they are not cheap. They were purchased for us by the precious blood of Christ as a part of God’s covenant of grace.
Who doesn’t like to get gifts? They’re unearned, unpaid for – they cost us nothing – they are free, just for being you? We love birthday gifts, the more the better. We love Christmas gifts, the more the better, and the bigger and more costly the better. Well, all God’s gifts are great. “Every good and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father.” (Jas.1:17)
The richer and more generous the giver the better! Imagine getting a gift from Elon Musk, soon to be the first trillionaire ever. Or from Oprah Winfrey, who has over $3 billion dollars. She once gave each of her entire audience of 300 people a new car! Imagine what kind of Christmas gift you could get from her! When Linda and I were poor, I’m talking no food in the pantry or fridge poor, I occasionally would save up all year to buy her a great Christmas present. One year I gave her a $350 Michael Kors beautiful red purse. She took it back, got a refund, bought a cheaper purse and had lots of money to spend on what she wanted. She said, “I can’t carry that purse around. Someone will knock me in the head and steal that thing!” If you were poor, you would want me for a husband.
What kind of gifts do you suppose God gives? Good and perfect ones, that’s what kind.
I. Gifts from God the Father. He gave us His only begotten Son to die on a cross to pay the penalty for our sins (Jn.3:16). How’s that for starters? And that’s only for starters. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” And Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?”
The Father gives us eternal life. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ, His Son.” (Rm.6:23) He gives forgiveness of sins (Acts 26:18). We owed a debt we couldn’t pay; He paid a debt He didn’t owe. That’s quite a gift. It was really the blood of His own Son that paid for this gift. He gives us an eternal glorious inheritance (Rm.8:17; Col.1:15). He gives us the gift of righteousness (Rm.5:11). Righteousness is not something we earn, it’s a gift. Like all gifts, it’s something we receive.
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