The Purpose of Christmas

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023

The purpose of Christmas was the salvation of the world through Jesus Christ. There is no salvation without it Christmas. Christmas is the celebration of the Incarnation of Christ. (A doctrine not taught very often, but one that is essential to our understanding of the Gospel) What is the incarnation? The incarnation refers literally to the in-fleshing of the eternal Son of God — Jesus “putting on our flesh and blood” and becoming fully human. The doctrine of the incarnation claims that the eternal second person of the Trinity took on humanity in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. “The incarnation displays the greatness of God. Our God is the eternal God who was born in a stable, not a distant, withdrawn God; our God is a humble, giving God, not a selfish, grabbing God; our God is a purposeful, planning God, not a random, reactionary God; our God is a God who is far above us and whose ways are not our ways, not a God we can put in a box and control; and our God is a God who redeems us by his blood, not a God who leaves us in our sin. Our God is great indeed!” Joseph Scheumann John’s Gospel says, “14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 (CSB)

Jesus didn’t begin at Christmas. Christmas celebrates the day that the one who has no beginning and no end came to earth in the flesh to born as an infant. Jesus has always been, is now, and forever will be the Son. The Trinity is eternal, not situational. This means that God has always existed as Father, Son, & Spirit. He doesn’t change to fit the occasion, He is one God made up of three distinct persons... and the second person of the Trinity came to the earth as an infant, and He came for a reason, and that reason why we have the Christmas season. “18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit. 19 So her husband Joseph, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her publicly, decided to divorce her secretly. 20 But after he had considered these things, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023 been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” 22 Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” Matthew 1:18–23 (CSB) God has come to dwell with us, this is what the name Immanuel means. But He didn’t just come to spend time with us in the flesh... The song “God made low” by Sovereign Grace tells the Christmas story with the full picture in mind: Prophets promised long ago A King would come to bring us hope And now a virgin bears a son The time to save the world has come Humble shepherds run in haste To see the One the angels praised In cattle stall they find a girl Who holds the hope of all the world Emmanuel has come to us The Christ is born, Hallelujah! Our God made low to raise us up Emmanuel, has come to us As He sleeps upon the hay He holds the moon and stars in place Though born an infant He remains The sovereign God of endless days For all our sins one day He’ll die To make us sons of God on high Let every heart prepare Him room The promises have all come true Jesus, the eternal Son of God, without ceasing to be God took on a fully human nature for the purpose of undoing the curse of Adam’s sin on the world.

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023 Jesus took on flesh, or a fully human nature because it was the way to undo the curse of sin which is death while at the same time defeating the devil. Look with me at Hebrews 2:14-18... 14 Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil—15 and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. 16 For it is clear that he does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. 17 Therefore, he had to be like his brothers and sisters in every way, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in matters pertaining to God, to make atonement, for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself has suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted. Hebrews 2:14–18 (CSB) Jesus shared in our flesh, blood, suffering, and temptation Jesus stands between us and the Father as the Great High Priest to offer an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Jesus did not sin, and was not conceived by man, therefore He offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Romans 5:19-22 teaches us that just like sin came into the world through Adam, it is God’s plan that through one man the world would be saved. 19 For just as through one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:19-22 (CSB) It is only on the other side of the Cross that we see the purpose of Christmas. Looking at the manger through the lens of the Cross leads us to see... 4 facets to the purpose of Christmas. 1. The redemption of mankind through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross 2. The end of the reign of sin and the defeat of death and the devil 3. The beginning of the reign of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord 4. The reminder that God is faithful, trustworthy, and worthy of our worship

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023 Making Christmas Meaningful (Again) 1. Receive the gift of salvation that Jesus came to give you. Believe and confess the truth about Jesus Admit and confess the truth about your sin Repent of your sin and commit to following the way of Jesus with your life (Lord) 2. Praise God for His grace and His goodness The Christmas story is filled with the praise of those who see the truth of what is unfolding before their eyes... Zechariah Elizabeth Mary The Angels The Shepherds... What about you? How are you praising God this Christmas season for who He is and what He has done in Christ? Praise God as a part of your regular devotional time or family devotional time... Sing loud here! Sing loud at home! We sing a lot of songs in our home, many of them from the Disney princess movies... but we are intentional about singing songs to the Lord and about the Lord as a family. It never goes quite like you picture here... (give a brief description of a family devotion) 3. Pursue righteousness because of the grace that you have been given. The end of result of sin is a deserved eternal death in hell. The end result of grace is the undeserved inheritance of an eternal life with God that belongs Jesus Christ. If you know Christ as your Savior, then your end is eternal life because of the grace of God. Because God has granted to you salvation and attributed to you the righteousness that belongs to Jesus you should live the rest of your life according to Jesus and His Word. Be Christ-like with your words Be Christ-like with your thoughts Be Christ-like with your actions Be Christ-like with your family

The Purpose of Christmas December 24, 2023 Be Christ-like with your friends Be Christ-like with your enemies Be Christ-like with your attitude (be humble) Be Christ-like with your priorities (seek the kingdom of God first) Be Christ-like with your obedience and reliance on the Word (man does not live on bread alone... are you living on the Word of God? Are you in it, being nourished by it?) The purpose of your life is to worship God for the love, grace, and salvation He has given you. The manger is the promise kept that secures your salvation Commitments: Commit your life to Christ by trusting in Him for salvation Commit to celebrating Christmas in ways that are unique to your faith in Christ. Commit to worshipping God with the life He has given you (repentance, prayer, commitment, etc)