Sermon Tone Analysis

“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 others—“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 believe they have been criticised.

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

Though Jesus’ warning against harbouring a critical spirit are frequently misapplied, and though we would doubtless benefit study of His words on that occasion, I am not focusing on them today.

I am focused on the remainder of this divine saying.

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

Seldom do we Christians approach the biblical ideal of a tithe in our giving.

Stewardship has too often been a means by which we attempt to coerce others into doing our will.

When a church does what we want, we support it—at least with a portion of our gifts.

When the pastors are less responsive to our own views than we imagine they should be, we attempt to punish the congregation 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.

As children of the Living God, we are under obligation to see giving 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.”

The Word anticipates 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.

Generosity 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 that God “gives generously to all without reproach” [JAMES 1:5].

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

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

We are taught that God 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.

Pondering life on one occasion, Asaph questioned God’s goodness.

In the 73rd PSALM, Asaph wrote:

“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]

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

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

Jonah 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 that 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 that will eventuate in creating 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’s purpose is that He might be glorified by conforming us 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 for reminding us of God’s purpose in saving us is to stress again that we bear the divine image because we are born into the Family of God.

As Christians, we bear an indelible stamp that marks each one of us as a child of the Living God.

Our character must, of necessity, reflect our parentage.

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

Generosity is not demanded in order to be a Christian, but generosity is anticipated because we are Christians; generosity will be reflected through our life.

This is very closely related to the teaching found 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.”

We were saved specifically so that we could to do “good works.”

Those “good works” demonstrate to others the perfect work of the Father in our life.

Part of that goodness is that we 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]

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 as demonstration of God’s concern for His people to be generous toward 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]

Among the poor to whom God expects His people to demonstrate generosity are widows and orphans—arguably the most vulnerable members of society.

James cautions Christians that “religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father [includes showing compassion toward] orphans and widows in their affliction” [JAMES 1:27].

Consequently, concern for widows and orphans begins with our own families.