The lights? Food? Baby in a manger?
If you spent time in Sunday School, you know the answer to every question is Jesus, and that is true here. No Jesus…no Christmas. No Jesus…no Christianity, but it doesn’t explain the why of Christmas. For the answer, we have to go beyond the dazzling lights in our neighborhood, the carols on the radio, and even a manager surrounded by shepherds. The why goes back to the start.
In the beginning…
Mankind is God’s own handiwork, created in his image to do one thing: glorify him. Glorify means to please. It’s the reason people have children. We want our children to glorify or please us, and it’s no different with God. He wants his children to please him, but there’s a problem we cannot ignore. Sin entered the human race through the head of our family, Adam, and now, every child of Adam is born with the same affliction: we want to please ourselves rather than the God who created us. This is sin, and it explains why we are selfish and self-determined. We see it in our children the moment they are born, and if we’re honest, we see it in ourselves, but why does it matter? It matters because the ultimate result of sin is death; ten out of ten people die.
The only way to defeat the effect of sin/death is righteousness which is perfect moral character. The Bible tells us, “Without holiness, no one will see God.” Since we weren’t born righteous, and we can’t earn or win it, we must have righteousness from somewhere else. The proud person sets his will to the work of being good and doing good. He believes he can be good by what he accomplishes.
God resists the proud…but he gives grace to the humble.
A humble person fears God and can do nothing except receive righteousness from somewhere else because he has no righteousness of his own. Only the humble will admit their goodness is like giving their dirty laundry to a holy God. They are desperately needy for goodness they don’t have and cannot produce.
Humble sinners are the only ones qualified to be Christians. They are the only ones who can receive God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. The proud, self-righteous can never receive Christ’s righteousness because God resists them, but those who humble themselves, repent, and believe on Christ as their only hope are those who receive salvation through Christ...not by works of righteousness that they have done, but because of God’s mercy in Christ alone.
Christianity is the righteousness of Jesus Christ received by a sinner, and that is why Christmas is a special day to those who bear the name Christian. It is the day when we remember there is no greater gift than the gift of righteousness. It is the time we remember Christ is our righteousness, and we have peace with God through him. The Apostle Paul describes why those who wear the name of Christ have peace on earth and good will to men: "Jesus saves us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:10) The humble, repentant sinner spends the rest of his life in gratitude to the one who took his punishment upon himself on the cross. Thus even the name of Jesus, the day of his birth, the essence of his life, and the blood he spilled is precious. "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious..." (1 Peter 2:7)
Merry Christmas...merry because Jesus died in the place of helpless sinners.
Peace on Earth...peaceful...because we have peace with God since Jesus experienced God's wrath for our sin upon himself.
Good Will Toward Men...because there is hope for humanity because Jesus was born, died on the cross, and rose again the third day.
Humble sinners are the only ones qualified to be Christians. They are the only ones who can receive God’s righteousness in Jesus Christ. The proud, self-righteous can never receive Christ’s righteousness because God resists them, but those who humble themselves, repent, and believe on Christ as their only hope are those who receive salvation through Christ...not by works of righteousness that they have done, but because of God’s mercy in Christ alone.
Christianity is the righteousness of Jesus Christ received by a sinner, and that is why Christmas is a special day to those who bear the name Christian. It is the day when we remember there is no greater gift than the gift of righteousness. It is the time we remember Christ is our righteousness, and we have peace with God through him. The Apostle Paul describes why those who wear the name of Christ have peace on earth and good will to men: "Jesus saves us from the wrath to come." (1 Thessalonians 1:10) The humble, repentant sinner spends the rest of his life in gratitude to the one who took his punishment upon himself on the cross. Thus even the name of Jesus, the day of his birth, the essence of his life, and the blood he spilled is precious. "Unto you therefore which believe He is precious..." (1 Peter 2:7)
Merry Christmas...merry because Jesus died in the place of helpless sinners.
Peace on Earth...peaceful...because we have peace with God since Jesus experienced God's wrath for our sin upon himself.
Good Will Toward Men...because there is hope for humanity because Jesus was born, died on the cross, and rose again the third day.
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