Advent 2022—Give Like Christians

Introduction

One of the trademarks of Christmas is presents under the tree, gift giving, and charity. Most of us hopefully have warm memories of the smell of cookies, Christmas cheer, and caroling. But what was once a delight as a child can quickly become a drudge as an adult. Grown-ups grow to despise Christmas and complain about it. One common complaint is shopping for all the parties and gifts for the season. You come to dread another invitation because it means more shopping, planning, wrapping, and scheduling.

This leads discerning Christians to ask: is shopping even biblical? Doesn’t shopping and gift giving feed our materialism?

The Text

When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Matthew 2:10-11

Summary of Text

Notice it was after rejoicing exceedingly with great joy (v.10) that the wise men gave their gifts. You see, God already gave them a precious gift, they in return gave precious gifts. So, what gift did these wise men receive that caused them to give gifts? These wise men weren’t Jews, they were Gentiles.

But the Lord promised in Isaiah 49 that a light will come to the gentiles.

He says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” Isaiah 49:6

These Magi accepted what God had given them—salvation to the ends of the earth. So they responded with gifts.

A Theology of Giving

If we are going to celebrate Christmas rightly, we must understand how to give gifts biblically.

First, we must remember that every good gift comes from God.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. James 1:17

God gave you the clothes you’re wearing today because he created the plants that provided the fabric, the made the metal that wove the fabric, he made the other plants that dyed the fabric, and he made the oil that made the rubber tires your clothes were delivered on. He deserves all the glory because he restrained the evil heart of every human being involved to get that scarf to your neck this morning.

This means everything we would ever give to someone else was first given by God. In that White Elephant game, everyone who participates buys a little gift and they exchange those gifts randomly. In the way God made the world, He gives everyone a gift then they exchange those gifts with others.

Second, blessed people give like God.

In the illustration above, if a man had piles of presents on his table and he refused to give away any of his gifts, he looks exactly the opposite of God. God freely gives while the man selfishly keeps. This is why Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

Jesus is the great gift giver. If we as Christians give presents at Christmas, we should give like Christians. Jesus is God’s gift to us (John 3:16). Humanity never has and never will deserve God becoming like us to save us. So, giving like God means giving to people who don’t deserve it. God gave Jesus so we can give like Him. Jesus gave His life to God by giving His life for us. We give to God by giving to those beside us.

He gave his son to people who did not deserve it. He saves people who don’t deserve it. Then He makes them into people who give like He does. You can only give what God has already given.

So, Christian, when you give generously in faith to your child or neighbor, you’re giving like Jesus and you’re giving to Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 25 that if we give a cup of water in his name to one of his brothers, we actually gave that cup to Jesus (v. 40). Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:12 that when we give generously to fellow Christians, we are giving thanks to God.

So, Christian, your shopping on Amazon and your wrapping of presents is spiritual work.

Give Christmas Cheer

You can only give like God if you have received from God.

He gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:14

To accept Christ is to reject all that is not Christ. We are not saved by Christ + conservatism or Christ + niceness or Christ + Santa. We are saved only by Christ. But Christ doesn’t save only you. He is savior of this world. That means He saves marriages and mortgages. He saves families and Ice cream shops. How? By giving people grace, who then become people who give graciously.

God gives and you receive God’s gift by faith.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Ephesians 2:8

There should be a difference between a man who lacks faith and a man who lives by faith. The man who lacks faith lives in a world that God has freely given but lives as a slave to sin. So, whenever he gives, he gives like a slave gives—to pay off a debt. Christmas is a time where God graciously gave and also a time where people legalistically give. In this scenario, Mrs. Jones gives you a $10 gift you didn’t expect. If you’re enslaved to your sin, you either harden your heart and receive the gift critically “I hate this flavor of chocolate.” Or you deceive your heart and try to out do Mrs. Jones spending $30 dollars on a gift. Slaves either live in resentment or trying to pay off their debt.

However, the Christian living by faith gives by faith.

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

We give generously expecting that God will reward us for giving in faith. We give fully and freely knowing that God promises to give back far more than we give. So, we can give generously to people because God has given generously to us and will give generously to us.

Give good gifts

A foundational truth for Christians to remember is God only gives good gifts. As we grow in imaging God, we should grow in giving better and better gifts. I’m not only talking about the value of a gift, although that is important, I’m talking about the nature of the gift.

Like cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a distant land. Proverbs 25:25

Christians should be the people who give both cold water and clear gospel. We separate the two when we should combine the two. We give our child the bike he wants for Christmas as well as telling him the gift comes from our God in heaven who loves him and wants him to enjoy life. We give a family clothes they need after a house fire and tell them this comes from a God who cares for the distraught.  

Pitfalls to Avoid

Before I close, let’s briefly examine some ditches to avoid as we move toward generosity this Christmas.  

First, beware of Christmas traditions that contradict Scripture. For example, decorating a Christmas tree isn’t prescribed in the Bible as something we should do. But it also doesn’t contradict anything in Scripture either. But when our traditions lie against truth, those traditions will not be blessed.

The problem with cultural Christmas is that we lie to children. We create a world in which they are the center of the universe. If they’re good, they get gifts. If not, they don’t. The entire point of cultural Christmas is receiving gifts by works, not grace and keeping those gifts for yourself. But the biblical world is God is the center of everything. He gives generously to people who don’t deserve it. He gives because he is gracious, not because you were good during the month of December.

Second, Proverbs 13:22 says that a righteous man gives an inheritance to children’s children. Jesus said its more blessed to give than to receive. So, elders in the church, you should model generosity in how you give to your family, friends, and church especially at Christmas. There’s no retirement age for the Christian life.

Conclusion 

Gift giving is gospel living. If we are in Christ, we are new people. That means we give generously because we’ve been given to graciously. Each time you give a gift, it’s a gospel presentation. Are you showing how generous God gives or not?