Sermon Tone Analysis

Luke 6: 38

Jesus on Money: Giving in Order to Receive

 

Give, and it will be given to you.

Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap.

For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.[1]

 

| I |

am certain that every Canadian is able to recite the biblical injunction prohibiting judging— Judge not, and you will not be judged.

Stung by an accusation, especially an accusation delivered by a brother or sister Christian, we fling those words out in a sort of unconscious self-defence mechanism.

Even non-Christians are quick to recite this particular injunction whenever they are personally criticised, especially by a believer.

I could wish that each Christian was equally familiar with the remainder of the verse, and also familiar with the verse that follows.

Though the words of Jesus’ warning against harbouring a critical spirit are frequently misapplied, and though we would doubtless benefit from considering the importance of those words, I am not focusing on them today.

Instead, I intend to focus on the remainder of this divine saying.

The focus of the message is on generosity as a mark of stewardship.

Few contemporary Christians approach the biblical ideal of a tithe in their giving.

Stewardship has often become a means by which we Christians attempt to coerce others into do our will.

Should a church do what we think is right, we will support it—at least with a portion of our gifts.

When a church does not do what we want, or when the pastors are less responsive to our own views than we imagine they should be, we attempt to punish our church through withholding our generosity.

There is a biblical mandate that is neglected in this business of giving, and we will do well to remember what the Word of God says concerning giving.

If we are children of the Living God, we are under obligation to give as an act of worship.

In fact, the whole of our life should reflect the spirit of generosity demonstrated through giving.

When we understand the relationship between honouring God and generosity with what we possess, we will also discover the reality of His gracious promise toward those who honour Him.

God Encourages Generosity Among His people — Give, and it will be given to you.

It is anticipated that a Christian will be generous with his life and with his goods.

The child of God gives, not in order to be a child of God, but because he is already a child of God.

A willingness to be generous reflects the character of the one who knows God.

God is generous, and those who are born of Him will likewise be generous.

James testifies of God that He gives generously to all without reproach [*James 1:5*].

Few of us consciously think to ask God to give us sunshine or rain, though we may complain if there is too much rain or too much sunshine.

We would be safe in assuming that those who do not believe God and who have nothing to do with worshipping Him would not consider asking Him to send sunshine or rain.

Yet, we are taught that God makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good.

He also sends rain on the just and on the unjust [*Matthew 5:45*].

The point is that God is generous and good, and His generosity toward us is not dependent upon how we treat Him.

His generous nature, which is synonymous with His mercy, sometimes creates confusion, even consternation, in the mind of believers.

For instance, God does not immediately strike down the wicked, but instead He shows mercy and generosity toward sinners; and that generosity sometimes disappoints His people.

As Asaph pondered life on one occasion, he questioned God’s goodness.

Listen to the Psalmist in the *73rd Psalm*.

Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly slipped.

For I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

[*Psalm 73:1-5*]

 

His disappointment with God mirrors the disappointment of a wayward prophet who felt God’s goodness was undeserved.

God had dispatched Jonah to Nineveh to deliver a message of judgement.

Jonah, of course, tried to disobey, only to be confronted by God.

There followed a wild ride in a great fish, after which Jonah never again enjoyed fish and chips.

Jonah did, however, choose to obey God.

He grudgingly delivered the message of judgement, and his message brought about a great revival.

Unfortunately, revival was not what Jonah wanted to see!

He wanted judgement.

The Word tells us, God’s mercy to Nineveh displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry.

And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country?

That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster.

Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” [*Jonah 4:1-3*].

God is good and God is generous.

James notes God’s goodness to us when he writes, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights [*James 1:17*].

Despite the fallen nature of our world, life, and all that makes life enjoyable, is a gift.

More than merely being a gift, life and all that makes life enjoyable is a divine gift.

God is generous to mankind, and that includes you and me.

When God shows us mercy, forgiving our sin and giving us life in His beloved Son, He initiates a process designed to create the image of His dear Son in us.

We are quick to memorise *Romans 8:28*: /We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose/.

However, it is tragic that we fail to memorise the verse following that reminds us that those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers [*Romans 8:29*].

God has a purpose in bringing us to life, and that purpose is that He might be glorified by being conformed to the image of His Son.  God is at work in the life of each Christian recreating the image of Christ the Lord.

It is perhaps impossible to mention this glorious promise without reminding you of the promise as John views it in his first letter.

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is [*1 John 3:2*].

The reason I take the time to remind you of God’s purpose in saving you, at least to remind you of His purpose in so far as you are personally concerned, is to stress again that you bear the divine image because you are born into the Family of God.

You bear an indelible stamp that marks you as a child of the Living God.

Your character must, of necessity, reflect your parentage.

Since God is generous, you will be generous because you reflect the divine character in greater or lesser measure.

Understand that generosity is not demanded in order to be a Christian, but it is anticipated because you are a Christian, generosity will be reflected through your life.

This is very much related to the teaching that we find in *Ephesians 2:8-10*: /by grace you have been saved through faith.

And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them/.

You were saved specifically so that you could to do good works.

Those good works demonstrate to others the perfect work of the Father in your life.

Part of that goodness is that you will be generous, being open-handed toward those labours that glorify God.

Unquestionably, God calls His people to be generous.

In the Psalms, we read:

 

The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous is generous and gives.

[*Psalm 37:21*]

 

Again, the Psalmist has written:

 

It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;

who conducts his affairs with justice.

[*Psalm 112:5*]

 

So, it is apparent that God expects His people to be generous.

We should ask, “What specific acts of generosity prove pleasing to God?”  Throughout the Bible God encourages generosity toward the needy and in advancing His cause.

Consider just a few examples to demonstrate God’s concern that His people be generous to the needy.

In particular, God calls His people to be compassionate toward the impoverished within society.

Whoever despises his neighbour is a sinner,

but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

[*Proverbs 14:21*]

 

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker,

but he who is generous to the needy honours him.

[*Proverbs 14:31*]