Do Christmas like a Christian this year!
The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ is God, and that in the person of Jesus, God has come to earth and made full provision for the eternal salvation of mankind.
In our contemporary world we are commonly aware of the psychology of denial. The refusal to acknowledge or deal with what should be an obvious malady of some kind. Denial may not only be identified in the psychology of an individual, but also in the group psychology of families, communities, nations, etc..
Of such is the denial of sin and its role in the human community. The bible is clear on this matter declaring that, “through one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” (Romans 5:12)
Sin, as described in the Bible, has been ruining our world from the days of Adam. Nothing works like it’s supposed to because of sin. We all experience its corrupting effects in personal and family life, as well as local, national and international systems of finance, politics and charity.
Always and without ceasing, our best intentions, inventions and social fixes are corrupted by the presence of sin that resides in the fallen nature of mankind.
Because we have not found within our own resources the power overcome sin we have surrendered to it. We have applied the political tactic of redefinition; labeling it disease, alternative living, personal rights, etc.. But none of these forms of denial solve anything, because they all leave the corrosive power of sin intact.
It is exactly because of this pervasiveness of sin and its corrosive effect in the world of mankind, and the hopelessness of our finding a solution to it, that we are doomed to be enslaved by its power unless we can get some outside help. Mankind needs a savior.
In Comes Jesus the Christ!
“And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus,
for He will save His people from their sins.” -Matthew 1:21
Through the virgin birth God has come to save us from our sins in the person and work of Jesus Christ.
The Jewish aristocrat and prophet Isaiah, foresees Jesus’ miraculous incarnation in the prophetic record of Isaiah 7:14.
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
And Matthew identifies the meaning of this sign, that Isaiah wrote of some seven hundred years earlier, when he records the birth of Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:22-23.
So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
In this divinely inspired account of Jesus’ birth, and commentary on Isaiah’s prophecy, Matthew provides us with the translation of Jesus’ prophetic name “Immanuel.” This is a descriptive name that identifies something about Jesus’ true nature; that He is “God with us.”
In the gospel written by the Apostle John this truth is further confirmed in chapter 1, verses 1 and 14.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 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.
The “Word was God,” and that “Word became flesh” and was “God with us.”
And this was not without purpose according to John 3:14- 21. (please read these verses from your Bible) In this passage of scripture John sets forth at least four purposes for the incarnation of Christ:
- (v. 16) That Jesus might satisfy the love God has for sinful mankind by providing Himself as a satisfaction for the penalty of man’s sin, so that all who believe in Him might receive eternal life.
- (vs. 14-15) That Jesus might be lifted up on the cross in the midst of a sin plagued people, providing to all generations the opportunity to escape this plague of sin and become heirs of eternal life by believing in Him. (you can read about the symbolic occurrence being referred to in, Numbers 21:5-9)
- (vs. 17-20) That through believing in Jesus mankind might have opportunity to escape the existing condemnation of unbelievers, which is manifest in evil deeds and love of the darkness that hides those deeds.
- (v. 21) That people may be saved from the power of sin and enabled to “do the truth;” thereby enjoying the freedom of a transparent life; that is, a life that is found to be acceptable when subjected to the examination of God.
This is why Christians come together at this time of year as families, friends and Churches. It is to celebrate a great miracle. A miracle of the ages, that a babe was born of a virgin mother by the power of the Holy Spirit for the salvation of mankind.
This is the opening of a tremendous, startling, and wonderful historical episode; that God the Father loved the world of mankind in such a way that He would subject God the Son to the humiliation necessary to save mankind from the consequences, power, and eventually the very presence, of sin.
If you believe the biblical record of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, that He died a vicarious death for your sins, and that He was raised from the dead on the third day by the power of God; make this Christmas a time of confirming, demonstrating and sharing your faith in Jesus Christ.
Please, don’t ignore the reason for the season. Let this Christmas season be a time of worship and thanksgiving for God’s wonderful gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus!
George T. Frey, Jr.
