1 John 1:2-3 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
1 Timothy 3:16 Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great: He appeared in the flesh, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
There are two Bible verses for this Christmas day because there are two "reasons for the season," so to speak. First, we hear the Christmas story from familiar Bible verses that recreate the most beautiful love sonnet ever falling upon human ears. There are no coincidences where God is concerned; he has a plan for every day from day one to the end of the world as we know it today and for all time and eternity. Second, Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem because that was where our Savior was to be born (Micah 5:2; Luke 2:4-5, 7, 15; John 7:42).
The
first coming of Christ Jesus, which we celebrate every December 25th, was for
two reasons. First, it was to pay the penalty for our sins because we could
never pay that penalty and have eternal life. The only sacrifice that would
cover all of our sins is the sacrifice of perfect, sinless blood. Since we are
all sinners (Romans 3:10 & 3:23), there is no way we could ever pay the
penalty for our sins here in this life, which would mean an eternal death for
us instead of eternal life (Romans 6:23). The second reason for the Christmas
season was so Christ Jesus could destroy the work of Satan (1 John 3:8). Unlike
all people covered by the sinless blood of Christ Jesus, Satan and all his
followers will be separated from God for eternity in an awful place, the Lake
of fire, where they will be tormented continually for all eternity (Revelation
20:10).
God
placed our sins and the sins of all who want to accept the free gift of eternal
life on our Lord and Savior on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus suffered on the
Cross on our behalf, so we do not have to suffer for our sins. All we have to
do is accept what our Lord and Savior did on the Cross of Calvary; there is no
work or good deed that we can do to obtain total forgiveness.
Satan's
ill-gotten plan was to separate people from a relationship with God through
Christ Jesus. Satan separated Adam and Eve from God in the Garden of Eden when
they committed the first sin. However, God loved all people so much that he
announced in the Garden of Eden the coming of a Savior that would take away the
world's sins (Genesis 3:15).
Doctor Luke tells us in his second writing of the words of the Apostle Paul, from a Synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, in which he said that Jesus came to us for the forgiveness of our sins (Acts 13:38). This Christmas, let us remember the words of the Apostle John in which he said that because Jesus gave His life for us, we should prepare ourselves to lay down our lives for other people (1 John 3:16). This sacrifice does not imply that we should lay down our lives in one flash of glory. Instead, we should give our lives, one day at a time, for the furtherance of the Gospel of Christ Jesus.
The
Ball Brothers (Andrew and Daniel Ball, their Brother-in-laws Chad McCloskey,
and Rett Roberts) wrote a song entitled "It's About the Cross." The
Song ends with the clear-cut message of the writing:
The following is an excerpt from that
song:
"The beginning of the story is wonderful and great, but it's the ending that can save you, and that's why we celebrate. It's about the Cross; it's about my sin; it's about how Jesus came to be born once So that we could be born again. It's about God's love Nailed to a tree; it's about how every drop of blood that flowed from Him when it should have been me. It's about the stone that was rolled away so that you and I could have real-life someday." It’s About the Cross.
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