CHRISTMAS!!!

LET’s TALK ABOUT CHRISTMAS

‘Tis the season, but let’s take a few steps back, first. Then we’ll jump into Christmas and see what it’s all about.

BEFORE THE GIFT, AN INHERITANCE

We have a major problem. Yes, all of us. You can think of it as a sort of disease that we inherited from birth. An inheritance is usually a good thing, but, this one is rotten to the core. And it didn’t come from our parents – so don't blame them! It came from the first man who ever walked the earth – Adam. In the middle of the garden of Eden in a perfect world that God had created, Adam disobeyed a commandment of God. From Adam's sin, every one of us has inherited an unrighteousness completely unacceptable to God: 

"Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned— " (Romans 5:12).

Along with this inheritance comes accountability to God. Therefore, everyone's default destination is not heaven, but hell. We are born at enmity with God, not at peace with Him. Please grasp this. We have been born already condemned, and we must opt out in this lifetime.

There has to be a reconciling with God, and this is on an individual basis. You have to reach out to God personally and ask for the forgiveness of your sin. But forgiveness can only come through Christ Jesus. What does this mean? Why can't we come to God through the world’s religions or some other way?

The answers to these questions will lead us right to the crux of Christmas. But, first, let’s take a look in the mirror at ourselves. 

We have all been born with a rebellious, selfish, sinful nature, and God has a serious problem with that. Need proof? Read the headlines. Look around you. Better yet, look in the mirror! Have you ever lied to someone about someone else? Ever looked at a guy or gal and had desires? Have you even gone so far as to fulfill those desires while not being married to them? Have you ever coveted something – that jealous yearning for things others have? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever been really, really angry at someone, and then found out later that they never actually did what you thought they did?

This is our everyday. And while it may seem normal to us because we have all done these things at various times om our lives, there’s something in our consciences telling us that doing these things is wrong, especially right out in the open.

When we were growing up at home, we didn't just blatantly break the house rules right in front of our parents, did we? And if we stole something, we did our best to make sure no one was looking. That’s a conscience for you. It’s a guide for right and wrong. But, because of our predilection for self-gratification, we tend to silence our consciences and pursue the desires we think will fulfill our need. Rather than a means for self-control, we’ve reduced our consciences to a small warning of what we don’t want people to see or know about us. Even though we have a conscience telling us all along that some things are just wrong, we also have free will and desire driving us past the point where our conscience says, “Stop!”

As a result, we end up fulfilling our desires on the sly, in the darkness, or behind closed doors when we think no one is looking. And if we do get caught, we usually try to cover it up or lie about it afterwards, doing and saying anything to avoid accountability.

This is human nature. This is the rebellious, selfish, sinful nature that we inherited from Adam; and we must learn to deal with it just as we would deal with a life-threatening disease. The world may call it normal, but God calls it sin.

There are some very well-behaved people out there, and, in general, it’s not difficult to find someone more dastardly than we've ever been. But if we are honest with ourselves and honest before God, we can find our own place somewhere between the two extremes, just as it is written in the Bible:

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).   

 THE CONSEQUENCES 

So, if we’re all made of the same stuff, what’s the big deal? Here's perspective: does it sit well with you when something of yours has been stolen or destroyed? Does it sit well with you when someone has lied about you to your friends or to people at work? Does it sit well with you to watch a group of arrogant outlaws get away with raping, destroying, and murdering - even children? Well it doesn’t sit well with God, either. And even though much of the evil done on this earth has gone unpunished, there is no getting over on God who sees and hears every bit of it. Even our innermost thoughts are known to God. Think about that for a while. 

Here’s the problem facing us. If we leave a life-threatening disease untreated, we suffer and then die. In the same way, if we leave our rebellious, selfish, sinful problem untreated, we die and then suffer. God cannot and will not overlook our rebelliousness, our selfishness, or our sin. Sin has a price, and God will exact that price upon us. He will hold us accountable for each and every sinful thought, word, and deed. What is the punishment?

It is an eternity in hellfire.

This is not like a jail sentence that lasts for a particular period of time. The decree is an eternal punishment, banished to utter darkness in the lake of fire with no rest from the torment, day or night. No sleep, no water, no food, no relief from the physical agony or hopeless depression. No light at the end of the tunnel. This is a dreadful existence that has no end. And once you’re in, that’s it and that’s that. 

This is God’s righteous, holy judgment against sin. And there is none higher than God. So who could you go to for an appeal? If you wait until after you die, there will be no one to mediate and no one to advocate for you.

 WAIT A MINUTE!!!

This is Christmas time! Where's the jolly? Where's the merry? This is doom and gloom! This isn’t shopping, going to church, getting together, opening gifts, opening a bottle of wine, and eating a nice dinner with those we love. 

RIGHT!

We may be used to celebrating the holidays in these ways. But what you’re reading now is what God needs you to know so that you understand why His gift is so important, even precious.

Just as we would seek medical care to treat a life-threatening disease, so must we seek a solution to this sin & hellfire problem. Fortunately, God has not abandoned us. In fact, He has solved the problem for us. It is time to learn a bit about God and Jesus.

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Think of the word “Christmas”. It has the word “Christ” in it. Christmas was never meant to be about Santa Claus, elves, and gifts for good little children all around the world. It certainly was never intended to be celebrated in the materialistic frenzy that big business was all too happy to institute. Sorry to say, but these are the pagan and corporate influences on a world that doesn’t know any better. Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, the Christ. What does “Christ” mean? It means the same as Messiah, “the Anointed One”. What does the name “Jesus” (Yeshua in Hebrew) mean? It means “Salvation.”

"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).

What was lost? That would be us!

WHO IS JESUS, REALLY?

"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel" (Isaiah 7:14). Immanuel means God with us or God among us. For a virgin to have conceived, that would mean that there was no biological father, but a heavenly father, making this Child the Son of God and equal with God, hence the description Immanuel, which means "God with us."

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of His being” (Hebrews 1:3).

“He is the visible image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15).

These verses explain that Jesus is God’s one and only beloved Son. But, He is not just the Son of God; He is also God the Son. God exists in three persons: "For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one" (1 John 5:7).

Did Jesus exist before He came into the world? Yes, and He was referred to as God and also as the "Word of God": “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God” (John 1:1-2) What was the significance of Jesus coming into our world as a human being? 

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).

These are just some of the verses in the Bible that show us that Jesus is the Son of God and God the Son. God has also given His Son, Jesus, all authority over heaven and earth. This is why Jesus is called the Lord. In fact He is called the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Think of Jesus as God in a body, for that is who He is.

Question: Why did God have a Son, and why did He send Him into this world in the form of a human being?

Answer: It is because God wanted to solve our sin problem; and we are not able to do that for ourselves, nor can any of our religions. This had to be a work on the part of God, not man. 

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

“All souls belong to Me, the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son – both alike belong to Me. The soul who sins shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4).

As we just learned, our problem is that we have thousands of sins attached to our souls that God is fully aware of, and there is a price for each sin. God will not excuse or overlook any of them. The consequence of sin is to be brought back to life after we have died to face Jesus as Judge in the eternal courtroom. Instead of having Jesus as our Savior, He will be our Judge. All of our sins will be considered, and we will receive a sentence that is just and righteous, yet without mercy, and a due recompense, no more and no less. But, it will be an eternal punishment. This is simply too much for anyone to bear. This is the righteous and just side of the Lord.

But the same Bible that tells us that God is just and must punish sin also tells us that He loves us. He loves us so much that He has done something about this sin problem for us. Now it is finally time to learn about Christmas, God’s gift to the world. The gift is offered to us, but we must claim it in order to receive it.

 GOD’s GIFT

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil" (John 3:16-19).

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

"That you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed. Nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and beside Me there is no savior" (Isaiah 43:10c-11).

What did God do to solve our sin problem through Jesus? Jesus became the one who would take the blame for all of us. He obediently gave His own life as a sacrifice, a ransom for our souls. He was given the authority from God the Father to lay down His life as a sin offering, the perfect offering – God in the flesh – to pay the price of all of our sins, and not just ours, but for the whole world. For it is written: “And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission” (Hebrews 9:11). If you never understood what the significance of Jesus’ death is, now it should be clear. 

God’s gift to the world is an expression of His grace, and of His mercy. It is also the love of God toward His own disobedient creation. God’s Christmas gift to us is a necessary reconciliation, already paid for with the life of His own Son offered as a one-time sacrifice to pay for the whole world's sin.

But not only did Jesus die, God gave Him the authority to take His life back. Jesus rose back to life, signifying that His sacrifice was completely sufficient for the forgiveness of sins. It proves that He is who He says He is.

Buddha and Muhammad are still in their tombs. But, Jesus, though buried for 3 days and 3 nights after His crucifixion, was given the authority by God to take His life back. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God the Father in heaven, now, and intercedes in the lives of those He has chosen to be His children. And know this: Jesus is returning to take those that belong to Him back to heaven. We have no idea when this is going to happen, so we must be prepared for His second coming.

Now that we know what the gift of God is, how do we receive this gift?

 GOD’s GIFT IS RECIEVED BY FAITH

Faith is more than “I hope I go to heaven when I die.” It’s that step beyond hope. It is a comfortable certainty that lies in Jesus Himself, resting in the fact that He has broken that one barrier between you and God, which is your sin. He paid for it with His own blood – His very life. This is what was required, nothing more and nothing less would do. It was a judicial verdict in God’s eyes, and during that crucifixion, Jesus was considered by God to be guilty, even though He had never sinned in His whole life: “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5:21. Jesus obediently became a sacrifice for us, though He Himself carried no sin or guilt of His own. That is what made His sacrifice acceptable to God. 

In turn, if we repent of our sins and place our faith in Jesus, and in Jesus alone, then we will be judicially declared innocent of all charges against us, and we will not have to worry about being sent to hell after we have died because of the sins we have committed. This is God’s grace toward us. Grace is undeserved favor shown to us by God. It is not some elevated state earned through our spiritual or religious efforts:

“For we are saved by grace, and this is not of ourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, so no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

What are works, and what would we boast of? “Works” means religious efforts, obligations, and good deeds that you might brag about. You see, religion is not our link to God. Religion, an attempt at being right with God, is of man because it is based on his own efforts. We must have a Jesus-centered faith because this is based on God’s efforts, and here is why in His own words:

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6).

The sin barrier had to be broken, and it is our belief and faith in Jesus, that He is the One whom God sent into the world that is accounted to us as righteousness, the righteousness required to enter into the kingdom of God. The innocent blood of Jesus – His very life – is what God required to pay the debt of our sin. Your choice to choose God’s forgiveness through Christ is what is accounted to you as heaven-worthy righteousness, because a Christ-centered faith is what God requires of us. It’s a faith that is based on what God did for you, not on something you’ve done that you think makes you worthy or “good enough” in God’s sight. We never even had a chance to solve the sin problem on our own. That was always Jesus’ responsibility, and He has already accomplished it.

Recall that through Adam’s sin, all of mankind became defiled. Then, through Jesus’ righteousness, all of mankind has the offer of being righteous in God's eyes. We must as individuals come to God through faith in Christ to receive the gift of eternal life, and we must do this as soon as possible:

"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

"For if by the one man's offense death reigned through the one (Adam), much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17, clarification added).

So, do you want God’s gift? Ask, seek, and knock. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

Today is the day of salvation. Choose to receive eternal life for what it is, the gift of God:

1.       Recognize your own sin, and consider it through God’s eyes. It has been a barrier between God and you all along, and it must be removed. Turn away from your sins, even in your heart where desires form. Be willing to turn away from the things that are an offense to God. When you turn away from sin, it is an expression of a humble and contrite heart, and it frees you to follow God's way of living.

2.      Understand that Jesus never sinned, but took upon His shoulders the accountability of our sin. He is the sacrificial Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world. (The Jews did not take His life from Him, nor did the Romans. Jesus obediently laid down His life for us that we may inherit eternal life from His vicarious death through our faith in Him.)

3.      Ask Jesus to forgive your sin, and place your eternal destiny with trust in His hands. That’s God’s plan for the righteousness we need to enter the kingdom of God. That is saving faith.

 IF YOU HAVE CHOSEN GOD'S GIFT OF FORGIVENESS THROUGH JESUS CHRIST, THEN IT IS TIME TO LEAVE THE WAYS OF THE WORLD BEHIND AND BEGIN WALKING IN THE WAYS OF THE LORD.

So, where can we learn about Jesus and how to live the way He has taught us? It is all found in the Holy Bible. The Bible consists of two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament foreshadows the coming of Jesus as the Messiah, the Anointed One. It tells us how the world was created and of how God had chosen a people, the Hebrews, to be His own. It shows how these people responded to God – sometimes in obedience, and sometimes in disobedience. With obedience came blessing. Disobedience was not dealt with so well after God’s patience was tried.

It is good to learn God’s nature and His wisdom which is all given in the Old Testament so that we don’t make the same mistakes and fall into the same punishments and even eternal condemnation as so many of the Hebrews did.

But The New Testament is directed at us now. We do not have to follow the dietary requirements and all the laws required of the Hebrews, but we are instead under a new and better covenant with God, and this covenant is completely explained in the New Testament. It is suggested to begin reading the Bible in the New Testament in order to learn of Jesus and all He taught. But most importantly, we have to put into practice what we learn.

Living the way Jesus taught is the way we express our love toward Him; and if we love Him, we will follow His commands. There are lots of hypocrites out there. Do not become one of them! Get your hands on a Bible and begin by reading just a little bit every day. When you’re done with the New Testament, go back to the beginning of it and read it again, and then again. It is important to know and practice the teachings of the New Testament, because much of what is taught today is not true to God and His Scriptures. Then go back to the very beginning of the Old Testament and read the Bible through to completion.

God’s Holy Spirit will give you understanding, if you ask, because Holy Scripture, though written by men, was authored by God. It is spiritually inspired and must be spiritually discerned. Only God’s Holy Spirit can unwrap the true meanings revealed in Scripture. So get close to the Lord and have a vibrant relationship with Him. Separate yourself from the ways of the world and walk in the ways of the Lord from now to the day you die. You’ll be glad you did when all is said and done and you hear from the Lord Jesus Himself, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come and enter into Your Master’s rest” (Matthew 25:23).   

Therefore, when He came into the world, He said:

“Sacrifice and offering You did not desire,
But a body You have prepared for Me.
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You had no pleasure.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come—
In the volume of the book it is written of Me—
To do Your will, O God.’

Previously saying, ‘Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the law), then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first (covenant) that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (Hebrews 10:5-10, clarification added).