I recently read an article by Tucker Carlson [The Christmas Lock down are here at http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/tucker-carlson-coronavirius-lockdowns%5D After reading his article I began to think about what if Christmas were not just canceled, but never happened? I mean we have movies about the Grinch stealing Christmas and seemingly some dastardly henchman trying to thwart Christmas. SO what would it be like in our world if Christmas really was canceled or never happened? I think of the Back tot he Future series of movies with Marty McFly and Doc Emmett Brown. They always are alerted not to change the past because the unknown effects on the future. Well let’s look at what our world would look like of Christmas never happened. [I know that Herod and Satan tried to prevent it]
If Christmas never happened – that means Jesus didn’t go to Calvary, he wasn’t born of a virgin named Mary. I guess the main thought about Christmas is the definition of the word Christmas – Christ Mass. It means worshiping the Christ. There is no celebration of Christmas because Jesus was never born. For Christmas to be, Jesus had to be born. This means if Jesus never came, then God’s promises of a Savior were lies.
Just as the Apostle Paul talked about Jesus and his resurrection, if Jesus is not raised, [1 Corinthians 15:14] then preaching is in vain. There is no forgiveness of sin and no eternal life. This means we are still in our sins and men most miserable.
I would like for us to go back even further than just the Christmas story, for the birth of Jesus started long before the angel Gabriel talked with Mary. We really have to go back to Genesis 1:1 – In the beginning God – that statement includes the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we look at that single verse we find that the “Trinity” godhead already existed. In Genesis 3 we read that mankind sinned and fell, being alienated from God who is holy and just. In Genesis 3:15 we have a prophecy that there would be a Savior that would defeat Satan and sin.
All through the bible we are reminded through the prophets that a Savior would come – Isaiah 61 for example. The Old Testament looked forward to the Messiah/Chrism coming. If Jesus never is born we can’t get to the Cross and Calvary, much less an empty tomb of the resurrection.
Now some may say that Jesus could be born, but maybe never go to the Cross – impossible, for that was the very reason Jesus came – to give his life as a ransom for many. Luke 19:10 tells us that Jesus came to seek and to save the Lost.
But let’s step away from the bible for a moment. Let’s take Jesus completely out of the equation. If all other religions were still in existence, then man would be compelled to try and live a good life – or not. When we look at humanity, when let to itself we are capable of the grosses deeds to ourselves and humanity. World history is replete with the henchmen of the world wreaking havoc on mankind. I guess we would look like the world in Back to the Future II where Biff does find the book with all the sports results of the future and how he manipulated that information to bring total depravity and darkness to the world. I would think without Christ, our world would be much like it.
If Jesus never was born, never lived a sinless life, never fulfilled the prophets prophecies, never went to Calvary, never died and rose again on the third day; then everything we know about life changes! God doesn’t love us, we are left to ourselves and all that is, is this worldly existence and there isn’t Eternal Life. We are still in our sins – and to be pitied!
For the past several decades, society has been trying to eliminate Christmas – calling it a holiday. Removing any “Merry Christmas” from our speech. Historians have been trying to remove BC and AD from our history narratives. BC – Before Christ and AD -In the Year of Our Lord, have been altered to BCE – Before Common Era and CE – Common Era. These to abbreviations eliminate Jesus!
But here is the Good News – Jesus has been born, no amount of rewriting history can destroy or deny that fact. Jesus did live a sinless life, He did go to the Cross at Calvary, he was buried in a borrow tomb and Yes – Virigina, Jesus did rise again the third day and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He is sitting on His throne, the throne of David! Yes, and one day Jesus is coming again for His people and to establish His kingdom! The good news, we have the Gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ – Yes CHristmas is here to stay, not matter how people try to eliminate it. Our God loves us and has sent His son, Jesus to be the sacrifce for our sins, that we may be restored back to our Heavenly Father! What a gift – Let’s Worship the Christ for that is the reason for CHRISTMAS!
Incarnation of Christ
We all know the various prophecies that tell of Jesus’ birth in the Old Testament. These predictions come to fulfillment in the New Testament. There are many questions of how Mary could conceive a child without a man; the conception being through the Holy Spirit. When we try to imagine God putting on flesh like the very creation He, himself fashioned – well that becomes mind blowing. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, we beheld His glory as the Only Begotten Son, full of grace and Truth.” [John 1:14] In the beginning was the Word, The Word was in the beginning with God, and the Word was God. The incarnation is the revelation to Mankind of the presence of God in visible form. Jesus told His disciples “if you have seen Me, then you have seen the Father; I and the Father are One.” [John 14]
When I think of the story line of scripture, from Genesis with God making man from the dust of the earth and breathing into him the “breath of life, and man becoming a living soul, I am overwhelmed. When I think of the Fall in the garden of Eden and the devastation as a resulted, that even Creation cries out for restoration and reconciliation – it again is overwhelming. The Law of Moses given to try and reveal to harden mankind the failure and inability to be holy and to restore ourselves to the Only God – our creator, the situation seems hopeless.
Thinking through the past four and half years of blogging, the scripture reinforces the fact that only God can restore mankind back to Jehovah. No matter how holy or righteous we are in our behavior and attitudes, we will always fall short. Even today in churches across North America the clarion call is for “disciple making” instead of sharing the Gospel through evangelism. Men must be saved, not instructed on how to live better lives.
Jesus came because the Father in Heaven so loved us. Jesus came because it was the Trinity’s plan to do so. At the end of the Law there was not the restoration of mankind. Sin had not been dealt with, and mankind had become institutionalized by religious performance. The Pharisees and Sadducees in particular revealed the hypocrisy of performance oriented religion that makes us feel good about ourselves; yet does nothing to reconcile us to God.
Jesus came to show us the Father; He came to make the invisible, visible – Col 1. Jesus is the second Adam, for the first Adam, although created holy and innocent, rebelled and believed the lie of Satan, that man could live without God. Jesus, as the second Adam, revealed what mankind “could have been” had they lived in obedience to the Father.
Jesus was subjected to temptation and sin like as we all are, yet without sin. He [Jesus] came to be the vicarious atonement for all sin, the enmity that separated man from God would once and for all be dealt with, and the Accuser of the brethren – Father of lies would be dealt an eternal blow. Jesus came to deal with our sin, defeat Satan, and rose again for our justification – all by faith that the Father would be faithful to His own word. In the Birth of Jesus, a new era or day came. No longer would men be shackled by The Law requirements. Faith in Christ as the Anointed, Messiah to do for man, what man could never do for himself – to give life instead of death, to give hope in a hopeless situation. This Jesus born of a Virgin, lying in a cradle would change history forever, regardless of who sat on the thrones of kingdoms of earth. This Jesus would serve and be sacrificed as a Lamb before God, and God would be pleased – opening the pathway for all who would call upon Jesus as Savior and Lord to begin “New Life” being a “new Creation” having the Breath of Life breathed back into them. Oh, what a story of redemption!
Thank God for His amazing Love, Grace, Mercy and Hope – all because Yahweh acted on our behalf. The Plan of God is not complete, for this Jesus will return in like manner one day. Acts 1. Until then let us rejoice and live out that which is now living in us – Christ in You the Hope of Glory [Col 1:27]
Merry Christmas!
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Tagged as Breath of Life, christmas, incarnation, Jesus Christ, justification, reconcilation, restoration, second Adam, vicarious death