Untitled Sermon (29)

Why is Christmas necessary?

Now, I don’t mean the Christmas season. Truth be told celebrating Christmas the way that we do is relatively modern. We didn’t exactly celebrate Jesus’ birthday the way we do now. And I hate to spoil it but it’s likely not on December 25th. But the early church did celebrate the season of Advent. It was a time to celebrate the fact that God became man…it’s what we call the incarnation.

And just for a brief moment this morning I want to share with you why Christmas is necessary. Why did God become man? Why does Christmas have to happen before any of us to be saved, made right with God, have our shame taken away, be restored to our God-given purpose, etc.? Why Christmas?

To answer this we need to understand why we are here. To understand redemption we need to understand what Jesus is redeeming. So the first thing we have to see is that the story of the Bible tells us that

God lovingly created us in His image to extend His glory through our enjoyment of Him.

In the beginning pages you can see that God made humanity in His image. God created us. This has a few implications.

First, Because God created us we are accountable to Him

Secondly, Because God lovingly created us we can trust Him

Because God loving created us in His image each person has great value

Because God lovingly created us to display His glory we have a God-centered purpose

Because God lovingly created us to display His glory through our enjoyment of Him, He intends for us to find our greatest satisfaction in Him.

To put this another way, God made us for rest, rule, and relationship. He created us to find each of those in Him and with Him. And so we can see that : Each person has great value, great responsibility, and great accountability to God.

Though God created us to enjoy His grace and extend His glory we decided instead to find our satisfaction in self instead of God and to extend our “glory” instead of His.

The Scriptures also teach that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. That is Romans 3:23.

Our part in the story of the Bible is that We all rebel from God’s loving rule, and choose instead to pursue our own enjoyment and our own glory

Just like the reality that we were lovingly created by God has a few implications…so also does this sad reality.

First, We all rebel, therefore all are guilty before God

Secondly, We all rebel from God’s loving rule, so sin is fundamentally God–ward rebellion therefore:

1. sin is defined by God not man

2. the debt for sin is payable to God not man

3. sin is primarily an offense toward God not man

What our rebellion means is that we forfeit the rest, rule, and relationship which comes from being united with God. When we decide to worship creation instead of the Creator—we rob ourselves of our greatest good. God Himself.

And this rebellion carries with it consequence:

1. spiritual death (Ephesians 2:1-3, Romans 6:23)

2. enslavement to self, sinful society, and Satan (Ephesians 2:1-3, John 8:34)

3. loss of humanity (Romans 1:18-32, Psalm 135:15-18)

4. loss of relationship with God (Genesis 3:8, Ephesians 4:18, Colossians 1:21)

5. loss of God-intended relationships with others (Genesis 3:12-17, Ephesians 2)

6. futility (Ecclesiastes, Genesis 3:17)

7. being under the wrath of God (Ephesians 2:3, Romans 1:18-20)

Result: Rather than life, meaning, and freedom we are robbed of our humanity and the God-intended relationships with each other and our Creator. Because of sin we are now spiritually dead, enslaved, and under the wrath of God.

This, to steal words from C.S. Lewis, is living in a world where it is always winter but never Christmas. If Christ had not come this would be our lot. And so this is why Christmas is necessary. This is what God is doing with Christmas.

But God has lovingly acted to rescue and restore humanity through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why was the incarnation necessary…a few reasons.

Because God is holy and just. Exodus 23:7

Exodus 23:7 ESV

Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked.

Therefore God cannot simply pardon sinners. Would a judge be righteous to allow a murderer or rapist to go free simply because he said he was sorry? A righteous judge must punish sin. Sin carries with it consequence.

2. God is infinite

Therefore our sin against God is of an infinite nature. A finite person cannot remove an infinite offense against and infinite God.

3. Man is the guilty party.

Therefore only a man can pay the penalty for mankind, or act as a substitute on man’s behalf. Our dilemma is that expressed by Job who longed for one to “lay his hand on us both”.

Job 9:32–33 ESV

For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him, that we should come to trial together. There is no arbiter between us, who might lay his hand on us both.

That is the conundrum. We can’t pay the penalty. We can set things right. We aren’t by nature infinite. We are created. Who will lay his hand on us both?

1. Jesus Christ is that “someone” that Job longed for because He is fully God and fully man. Fully man to stand as a fitting substitute for man. Fully God to absorb the infinite wrath of God.

Through His life…he becomes our righteousness. He lived a sinless and perfect life. He did what no other human could do. He is our representative. And His record is perfect....He did what we were supposed to do…living out that rest, rule, and relationship.

Through His death he paid our penalty. He died in our place as a substitute. Two things principally stand in our way of a relationship with God: our sin and God’s fitting response to sin—wrath. Because Jesus’ death removes these we are now able to be reconciled to God.

Through His resurrection, we have resurrection. It means that death is defeated. Our ultimate enemy is vanquished. His resurrection is a foretaste of ours.

What does all of this mean? It means Redemption and Restoration is found in no one else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

What then is our fitting response to this?

God calls every person to repent and believe.

Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. It’s about trusting and treasuring. Taking his record instead of your own.

All that the Father gives to Jesus will come to Him, and whoever comes, He will never cast out (John 6:37). Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Will you call upon the Lord Jesus today?

This is why Christmas happened. To save sinners. So that we might be reconciled to God.