12/15/2018
Christmas 2018
The Incarnation represents the most amazing sacrifice ever made when God the Son became the God-Man forever. What we know from a purely human, naturalistic, non-supernatural frame of reference is that a virgin birth simply is not possible. This kind of occurrence had never happened before and has never happened since. So, whatever we are looking at in the virgin birth of Christ is a one of a kind unique event that will never again be duplicated. By its very nature, it is crucial and critical to Christianity and to the gospel message. Remove it from our teaching and we have no teaching. It is critical to biblical doctrine and theology because it allows God the Son to become the Son of God or the God-Man – to be fully God and become fully man at the same time. It is at the very heart of Christianity so much so that if anyone denies the “DEITY” of Jesus Christ, then in essence he or she has not believed in Christ.
When considering what the Christmas season is all about, it calls to our attention in a very unmistakable way that Jesus Christ is the centerpiece of redemption and of redemptive history. In fact, we can say that He is the only figure of redemption. Put another way, Christ is the only One who can save. He is the only source of salvation. Time itself is dated to the birth of Christ, and certainly that simple fact alone brings to our attention the modest fact that He existed. No one in their right mind would date time to someone who never existed, to someone who was an illusion. Obviously, this Jesus in the manger existed. Just think about this for a moment. It can be rightly assumed that man would not have dated time to someone who was completely insignificant and unimportant. All of biblical history points directly to Christ, to His amazing birth, and ultimately to His final sacrifice on the cross. The entire redemptive message is zeroed in on two primary events – the birth of Christ and the death of Christ. What we read in the Christmas story is often categorized as a fairytale or some legendary myth, but it is far from that. It is what we might call the greatest beginning for the greatest unfolding of the greatest supernatural work ever performed. This is God fulfilling nearly 350 specific prophecies related to the birth of Christ, the life of Christ, and the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. This is God doing what only God could do. So, the birth of Christ was not just another normal birth. To the contrary, His birth was the most unique birth in eternity. It was not because of its location in a stable or because of the angels in the fields or because of the wise men who journeyed to see Him. It was unique because of Who was born and how He was born.
Now, I understand that it is not fair to the Christmas message and to the doctrine of the Incarnation to make it overly complicated, but at the same time it is a gross misrepresentation to simply see it as just an eventful accumulation of several important events in time. To the contrary, all of history was moving to that moment and to that particular place and to that miraculous birth. The ramifications and implications of those events are without equal, and they make a relentless and unyielding demand on our lives. We must see Christmas that way. We can never see Christmas as a holiday at the end of the year, or as a Christmas tree with ornaments, or as a time for giving presents, or just a time when we sing carols. It is all of that and I say this graciously, but it was never intended for that, yet we have made it that way, and in that process we have lost its meaning and value. In fact, our preoccupation with the commerce of Christmas is what has ultimately made it for many to be no more than just an annual ritual. Now, my intent is not to try and make you feel guilty for buying some presents, for putting up a tree, or for actually enjoying the Christmas season – not at all. My intent is really simple. It is to drive us back to the reality of what actually took place on that day. What took place on that day was that “a Savior was born”, and the reason that He was born is because we needed someone who could save us from our sins.
Merry Christmas to all,
Pastor Gary
