The Free Gift – The Great Gift – Romans 5:12-17

 Today has been proclaimed to be “Mother’s Day.” It joins a couple dozen other days of the year as being special – in some artificial sort of way. There are a great many people, mostly stingy men, who would like to do away with any and all holidays. That includes birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Mother’s Day and even Father’s Day. Some would prefer not to ever have to buy – or receive – any kind of gift for their wives or children. And then some other people have legitimate arguments against supporting many of the various holidays – including Mother’s Day.

According to the computer encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Mother’s Day may have its origins in the idolatrous worship of Greece and Rome, who honored Cybele and Juno at the Spring-time Vernal Equinox. Here in the United States, Julia Ward Howe, who wrote “Battle Hymn of the Republic” is credited with importing the British “Mothering Day” to America. Mrs. Howe wanted to unite the women of both North and South against the Civil War. She failed to get formal recognition for a Mother’s Day of Peace, but she did inspire Ann Jarvis. Mrs. Jarvis, during the war, began something that she called “Mother’s Work Days” in an effort to encourage woman to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides of the war. When Mrs. Jarvis died in 1907 her daughter Anna started a crusade to found a memorial day for women. Grafton, West Virginia celebrated the first Mother’s Day exactly one hundred years ago yesterday. Four years later there were several states which were celebrating the day. Then in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother’s Day, as a day for American citizens to fly the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in World War I. But by that time Anna Jarvis became an ardent opponent of Mother’s Day because it had become so blatantly commercial. And of course, it has become progressively more commercial ever since. Is it really about honoring mother, or about spending money and filling men’s pockets?

It’s about gift-giving that I’d like us to think for the next half hour or so. This little parenthesis here in the middle of Romans 5 says a great deal about a very special gift. Since this isn’t our first message from this scripture, I hope that you are aware of Paul’s primary message. By one man, Adam, sin entered the world and into humanity, and thus death eventually takes everyone, because the wages of sin is death. Adam sinned and made us all sinners, because he was acting as the federal head of all mankind. What Adam did for all this children could in no way be called “a gift” to us. It was an offense to God, verse 15, and a curse to all of Adam’s descendants. But what Christ Jesus has done in overcoming the effects of Adam’s sin, is absolutely and surely a gift. It’s a gift of highest order – a gift of grace.

There is a ping-pong game of vocabulary in these verse which only a little patience begins to reveal. Verse 15 – “But not as the offence, so also is the free gift (CHARISMA). For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God (CHARIS – related to CHARISMA), and the gift by grace (DOREA by CHARIS), which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift (DOREMA): for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift (CHARISMA) is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace (CHARIS) and of the gift (DOREMA) of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.”

What I would like you to notice is that the English words “grace” and “free gift” are so closely related as to be virtually the same thing. And then the words “THE gift” in no way distract from Paul’s primary meaning. Adam sinned and poisoned us all with a death-causing sin nature, which was certainly no kindness to us. But what Jesus did on Calvary is a GIFT of grace – of unmerited favor – greater than any other gift that could ever be given.

In thinking about gifts, including Mother’s Day gifts and the gracious gift of salvation, consider several points:

First, by definition gifts cannot be earned.A gift is “something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation.” I suppose that some things can be bestowed voluntarily and without compensation, but they shouldn’t be called “gifts.” What Adam gave to you, through your parents, was completely voluntary on his part, and it certainly cannot be given back or repaid, but since it’s a negative thing, the word “gift” just doesn’t seem appropriate. Gifts are good things – positive things – beneficial things.

Of course as sinful human beings, we are rarely ever close to perfect or to the ideal. There are probably thousands of gifts being given to mothers today which don’t carry any fullness of heart. There are thousands of children who are so selfish and inconsiderate that they can’t begin to understand all that their mothers are sacrificing for their well-being. But the calendar tells them that they have to give a present so they either make, or buy, as little as possible in order to fulfill their filial obligation. And on the other hand, I suppose that there are thousands of mothers, who wake up on this special yearly Sunday and expect to be given some sort of gifts, and if they aren’t rewarded well enough they are grumpy and disappointed. In either case, the word “gift” is inappropriate, because true gifts can’t really be expected or extorted.

And despite what a lot of religions teach – and what most human beings like to believe – Salvation from sin is a gift – an undeserved, unearnable, gracious kindness of God. There was nothing that Adam ever did which provoked the Son of God to go to the cross. And after Adam, there was nothing in Noah, Abraham, David or any other servant of God, which somehow forced the Lord to redeem them. Most people cannot really grasp the concept of “grace,” because they cannot understand the holy depth of God’s hatred for the sin which is in each of us. The very best example of humanity, stinks like day-old vomit in the nostrils of God.

During my first year at Bible college, I worked in the kitchen of a college cafeteria. We washed the dishes of thousands of students every meal, and cleaned up after them. There was one particularly noxious part of that job, which not one of us enjoyed – the grease trap. In the floor of the basement there was a collecting tank into which all the sludge, grease and liquid garbage poured. Into it was added a culture of bacteria which lived on eating and digesting that sludge. But periodically, one of us, in hip-waders and heavy gloves, would have to climb into that oozing, stinking slime and, by hand, scoop out what the bacteria wouldn’t eat. When I picture the grace of God saving a sinner, I picture the Lord climbing down into that grease trap, and getting Himself thoroughly filthy in order to rescue someone who had passed out and was sinking to the bottom of all that poison. The Lord should have left me there to rot – surrounded by the rest of the slime – but He didn’t. He saved me by diving in and sacrificing Himself on my behalf. That is a gift – costly, and completely undeserved.

Second, a gift should be an expression of something.Not only are millions of gifts being given to mothers all over this country this morning, there were a number of gifts given to our newly-weds yesterday. And each of those gifts – in fact every properly given gift – is an expression of something. There can be a variety of reasons to give, but the best reason and true source should be love. In the case of Mr. and Mrs. Wilbur, we love Molly, and we like Rob (or is it the other way around?). Also, many of us know what it is like to begin to establish a new family or a new home. We know that there are a lot of expenses and a lot of missing necessities. So we give, hopefully filling some empty niche in their new home and life together. And we give out of our love for them. I can’t honestly say that every wedding present that I have ever given has been like that, but they should have been. And similarly, when Mom knows that her gifts have been given out of love, it doesn’t matter if it’s a diamond broach or a home-made card, it warms her heart.

But remember that no human love has ever been perfect and untainted by some degree of selfishness. How many gifts have you given after which you wished that you’d done more – or less? How many gifts have been given to someone, with whom only a couple days before, you’d been angry? There is no such thing as perfect human love, and as a result, there is no perfect human gift.

But with Jehovah there is no such thing as imperfection. God’s wrath is perfect, and so is His love – which to us is even more important. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Why did Christ die? No, it wasn’t because He deserve to die, or that you deserved His death? He didn’t die because God felt pity toward you – a corpse floating in the grease-trap of sin. The Bible says that out of God’s love the greatest of all gifts was given. “Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.” “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God.”

All true gifts are an expression of something, and God’s gift of salvation is an expression of His love.

Third, gifts often change relationships.Sometimes the gift creates a new relationship, and sometimes the gift strengthens an existing relationship. A couple weeks ago we saw Abraham and King Abimelech make a covenant. Abraham provided a number of animals primarily to be a covenantal sacrifice. But then later he gave his neighbor seven ewe lambs. “Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves? And he said, For these seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of my hand, that they may be a witness unto me.” Even though love was not the primary motive for the gift it was designed to solidify the relationship. There a great many notable gifts given in the Bible. What resulted from the gifts that the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon? And what became of their relationship after Jacob gave so many gifts to his brother Esau? Do you remember the gifts that Joseph gave to his brothers when he was still incognito? And then there were the gifts of the Magi to Jesus and his parents.

Have there ever been gifts given which have hurt, or even destroyed, relationships? No greater statement can be made than, in a will, a very rich man leaves a grandson a single dollar. But in that case, there probably wasn’t much of a relationship to begin with. Sometimes a very large gift can damage an association of two people. There are times, because we are sinners, when the recipient responds badly and hurts the giver. And there are occasions when the giver doesn’t feel that the recipient has reacted to the gift very well. But these things are because we are all sinners.

In the case of the gift about which these verses are speaking, the gift changes everything. Verse 16 – “And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.” Can there be a greater change than for a dead man to become living again? Is there a greater difference than for a sinner to become a saint of God? It might be properly said that Christ gave this gift in order to change our relationship with Jehovah. There is no other way for sinners like us to be reconciled to God apart from this gift which Christ has given.

Fourth, gifts usually cost the giver something.This is not always true, at least not always true monetarily or sacrificially. But even when that small child spends fifteen minutes drawing, coloring and cutting out that Mother’s Day card it costs him a little time and energy. And when Dad goes to the store to buy a card for his wife, he’s usually going out of his way to do so. Mom walks past the card section of the grocery store almost every week, but Dad rare ever does. So there is a little bit – a tiny bit – of sacrifice on his part in such a case. And those wedding and shower gifts are usually something requiring thought, planning and a bit of searching.

But there has never been a human gift given which cost as much as the gift of this scripture passage. There have been many fathers who gave their lives for their wives and children. And there have been millions of men who have willingly given their lives for the freedom of their country. But the death of those men, cannot be compared to the death that Christ made on the cross. The difference is found in Paul’s theme in these verses. There has never been a father, or husband, or citizen who didn’t actually, already, deserve to die. Maybe they didn’t deserve to die the way they did – in a battle or in a struggle with a criminal. And maybe they were still young and looking forward to enjoying their loved ones for years to come. But because they were sons of Adam, they deserved to die nevertheless. And when push comes to shove, there is little difference between dying at the age of 19 or 99. And there is little difference in dying in a car accident or at the hands of a murderer. Sin is still at the root of that death, and it was inevitable for them to die, because the wages of sin is death.

But at Calvary there was a death which was undeserved and otherwise inexplicable. That the eternal Son of God should die, doesn’t make sense, or even sound possible; and yet there it is. And remember that the purpose of Jesus’ death was to provide the greatest gift ever given. In order for Christ to save, and restore the life of that man in the slime of the grease trap, He was overcome by the fumes Himself and died in that awful pit.

Isn’t the manner in which the gift is given often as important as the gift itself? Can’t something be given with an arrogance which sucks the joy right out of the gift? Can’t we sometimes be made to feel bad – cheap and even wicked – by the way that something is given? Humanly speaking I suppose that the best attitude in which to give has got to be humility. That was Jacob’s demeanor when he gave his flocks to Esau. Jacob’s attitude was far more commendable and valuable than the gift itself.

Someone once wrote: “How can that gift leave a trace which has left no void.” There has never been a greater void left in Heaven or earth than when the Son of God died on that cross. And Emerson said, “The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver into me – correspondent to my flowing into him.” What Christ did on Calvary was a flowing of the Lord into me, and me into Him. Calvary means the gift of eternal life given to those who were eternally dead.

The theme of this passage of scripture, technically speaking, is “grace” overcoming sin.But the word primarily used here is “gift” and more specifically the “free gift.” Salvation from sin – deliverance from sin and forgiveness of sin – is a matter of divine, sovereign, grace. There is nothing that any sinner can do to merit or earn that salvation – it is the gift of God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

How many times has someone marred his reception of a gift through his pride or even his mock-humility? And how many people consider themselves too good to be saved by grace alone. How many want to improve upon God’s free gift by adding something that they have devised? And conversely how many say that they are too wicked and sinful for God’s free gift to bless? How foolish we are in our sins. “God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

When was it that you humbly reached out your heart by faith in order to receive God’s free gift? It is yours if you will humbly repent of your sin before God and trust Christ to save you. Prove that this gift is for you by accepting it and responding to God’s love with your love and your life.