Psalm 24, John 3:16 (KJV), and Rom 8:32 are the primary passages that we explore in this message to see that God gives graciously, generously, and sacrificially. In particular Romans 8:32 brings those three ideas explicitly together. Among the other passages noted that show God’s gracious giving are Titus 3:4-7, Rom 5:6-8, Matt 5:45, and Luke 6:30-36. The point being that we have not earned salvation, nor do we deserve salvation, nor for that matter have we earned or deserved any of God’s gifts. Thus if we imitate God we will give to people who will never send us a thankyou note and to people who might never love us. God also gives generously as the opening of Genesis shows God giving us the creation, as Colossians 2:13-14 show God forgiving ALL our trespasses, and as the new heavens and earth is the inheritance awaiting the meek believers in Jesus. Thus if we are to imitate God in our giving we need to be generous. And God gave sacrificially by giving His only begotten Son. Jesus gave us life at great personal cost. In fact, His death was a gracious, generous, and sacrificial gift. It was the only gift great and generous enough to save us, it was a gift for those who were His enemies and for those who had not even been born yet to earn or deserve it. And so if we are to imitate Jesus, the very image of God, we should also give sacrifically of our time, talents, treaures, and even our very lives if necessary (cf. not only John 3:16 but 1 John 3:16). Thanks be to God that He has given to us graciously, generously, and sacrificially.
Thanks be to God for Lowell Avery for the idea of the outline and the suggestion of many of these Scripture passages in this series.
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