Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 18; Giving; John 15:18.

Title: Thinking with grace rather than justice, part 18; Giving; John 15:18.

 

Grace in giving:

 

Gracious giving requires an attitude of grace, a sacrificial attitude, an attitude of faith in God’s promises, and an attitude that is free from fear.

 

Prov 3:9-10

Honor the Lord from your wealth,

And from the first of all your produce;

So your barns will be filled with plenty,

And your vats will overflow with new wine.

 

One does not honor the Lord from what is left over, but from the first of the produce, which agriculturally is the best produce. The promise, as will be seen in several passages is further prosperity, not because you gave to the Lord, but because of the mental attitude of graciousness which leads to capacity for blessing.

 

God desires a gracious heart in the believer so that he may have the capacity to be blessed, which is God’s heart eternally.

 

ISA 30:18

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.

For the Lord is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.

 

We have seen in 1PE 4:18 that we should entrust our souls to God in doing what is proper in His plan when we are experiencing tribulation and here we see the same attitude in giving. Entrust your materialism to the Lord and your gracious attitude, not the gift itself, will give you the capacity to be blessed by Him.

 

Luke 6:30 "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back.

 

Luke 6:31 "And just as you want people to treat you, treat them in the same way.

 

Luke 6:32 "And if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

 

Luke 6:33 "And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

 

Luke 6:34 "And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, in order to receive back the same amount.

 

Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

 

God gave all of Himself in the person of Christ knowing fully that many would hate Him and reject His precious sacrifice.

 

What about the person that is hurting themselves with your gift? He might be a friend or an enemy. Pray for wisdom. If in anything we have a different attitude than grace then God will reveal it through His word and in prayer. Do not cast what is holy before swine for they will trample it under foot. Separation is legitimate, but the believer priest must make those calls for himself while being open to the fact that he might have been wrong. Pray and ask for wisdom.

 

Parents often have a difficult time with this. When does giving become enabling bad behavior? When is it more prudent and helpful to cut off a person so that they may learn to be dependent on God alone?

 

Luke 6:36 "Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

 

Luke 6:37 "And do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.

 

Luke 6:38 "Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."

 

Graciousness with one’s materialism is a mental attitude and it excludes compulsion from outside sources and always proceeds from a cheerful soul.

 

Greed, laziness, and selfishness are the enemies of gracious giving. Gracious giving contains joyous sacrifice, boundless energy, and a limitless trust in God’s care for yourself.

 

Acts 20:32 "And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

 

1. “I’m taken care of because the word of God within my soul guarantees my capacity for God’s inheritance, which will come in His perfect timing.”

 

The word of His grace is able or powerful to build you up and to give you the inheritance that has been given in EP to all who are sanctified, to all who have believed in Christ as Savior.

 

 

 

 

 

EPH 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world,

 

Acts 20:33 "I have coveted no one's silver or gold or clothes.

 

2. “I do not covet what others have. I am happy for their prosperity and know that God has my blessings which are personally tailored to me.”

 

Acts 20:34 "You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my own needs and to the men who were with me.

 

3. “I am not lazy. Grace gives me an attitude of hard work. I don’t expect others to give to me; rather, I focus on what I can give to others.”

 

1 Cor 15:10

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.

 

On the surface it might seem that grace would promote laziness, but in fact, grace shows me that I can run with the plan of God and fulfill my destiny without fear of the failure that will inevitably come. Grace allows a fallen sinner to execute a perfect plan and that motives a strong desire to realize the fulfillment of that destiny in a strong labor that only true joy could establish.

 

Acts 20:35 "In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

 

4. “I experience true blessing in giving to others rather than keeping what I have and collecting more. There is an indescribable freedom in this release from the bondage of materialism.”