At Christmas time we gather with family and friends to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. We gather in church to say thanks to God for giving us His Son.
To celebrate the true meaning, and to say thanks to God properly, we need to know why God gave His Son? Why did Jesus come into this world?
The Bible gives us a number of reasons.
1. Jesus came as a ransom for many
The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. Matthew 10:45
The reason we need a ransom is that we have sold ourselves to the slavery of sin and are the enemies of God. Because Jesus gave His life as the ransom price to free us, the devil and sin have to give up their claim on us.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came to pay for our sins.
2. Jesus came to call sinners to repentance
They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. Luke 10:31-32
Those are the words of Jesus. He calls sinners, you and me, to repentance. Repentance is not only saying sorry to God for sins we commit, but also changing our lives so that we live according to God's word. Jesus is still doing this calling today through the Bible and the preaching of the Bible.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came to call sinners.
3. Jesus came to give sight to those who are blind
I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. John 12:46
Our problem is not only slavery to sin for which we need a ransom, but also we are naturally blind to spiritual and moral realities. We are in darkness, and are blinded by sin to God and what is right. We need the gift of sight so that we can see God, believe on Him, and live in a way that honors Him.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came so that those who do not see may see.
4. Jesus came to divide households
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. Matthew 10:34-35
The point of this text is not that God loves division and strife. Rather, the point is that allegiance to Jesus will often bring division in human relationships. When the angels sang "Peace on earth" at the birth of Jesus, they were not talking about peace between men and men, but between God and man through the forgiveness of sins. When Jesus ransoms, calls and enlightens a sinner, a radical change takes place in that person and they begin to serve a new master, Jesus Christ. For some who are close, (Jesus mentions family members), this can be very threatening, and so tension develops.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came to make us friends and servants of God, and our allegiance to Him will affect human relationships.
5. Jesus came to save from divine condemnation
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already. John 3:17-18
That we need a Savior implies a danger from which we must be saved. That danger is not only sin, death and the devil, but the most serious danger is the wrath and condemnation of God. God sent His Son to save His people from the eternal condemnation of hell. Jesus died on the cross as our substitute, bearing for us the full weight of God's wrath.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came to deliver us from eternal condemnation.
6. Jesus came to give us life eternal
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. John 3:16
Life eternal is life in heaven with God to eternity. Heaven is not a place where everyone goes at death, but heaven is only for those for whom Jesus died, for those who believe in Him.
This is the meaning of Christmas; Jesus came to give life eternal to His people.
The true meaning of Christmas centers on what God has done for us, on peace between God and man, a peace that takes into account the reality of sin.
At Christmas we say thanks to God for sending us a Savior who frees us from sin and hell.
-- by Rev. Rodney Kleyn
Text of a flyer we handed out in our neighborhood |
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