Why Christmas? Pt. 5 - The Hope

A man sentenced to death obtained a reprieve by assuring the king he would teach his majesty's horse to fly within the year--on the condition that if he didn't succeed, he would be put to death at the end of the year. "Within a year," the man explained later, "the king may die, or I may die, or the horse may die. Furthermore, in a year, who knows? Maybe the horse will learn to fly." 

Its amazing what a man will resolve to do today in light of the hope he has for future possibilities. In fact, hope for the future remains as one of the most powerful motivators for present courage and strength.

A number of years ago researchers performed an experiment to see the effect hope has on those undergoing hardship. Two sets of laboratory rats were placed in separate tubs of water. The researchers left one set in the water and found that within an hour they had all drowned. The other rats were periodically lifted out of the water and then returned. When that happened, the second set of rats swam for over 24 hours. Why? Not because they were given a rest, but because they suddenly had hope!

Those animals somehow hoped that if they could stay afloat just a little longer, someone would reach down and rescue them. If hope holds such power for unthinking rodents, how much greater should its effect be on our lives as followers of Jesus who have put our hope in the true and living God? 

Throughout this last month and as the Christmas season comes to a close for 2025, we come to the final culmination of the biblical foundation for why we still need Christmas today. We need it because the Fall of man necessitated the coming of a Savior. We need it because the Law and Prophets pointed to the fulfillment of the Messiah. And today, we’re going to see that we still need it because the fact that our Lord came a first time ensures that He will come a second time. In other words, the first advent guarantees the second advent.

And that’s exactly what the Christmas season is all about - we look back as well as we look forward, and this serves as the basis for Christian hope - a hope that’s not grounded in wishful thinking or spiritual subjectivity or personal preferences, but rather a hope that’s rooted in the very person of Jesus Christ and all the promises of his second-coming. One of the most common mindsets of humanity is to focus on the here and now. We want what we want, and we want it now! Even within the church, many Christians have not adequately developed the spiritual maturity to wait patiently on the Lord, and a large part of that is due to a misunderstanding of God’s plan for our life and for the world.

Even the early disciples struggled with this, and we see this only weeks following the resurrection of Jesus. In Acts 1, the disciples are wondering now that Jesus is risen from the dead, is he finally going to overthrow the Roman government and restore the kingdom of Israel to her right place in the world? And this is how Jesus responds in verse 7 and following: Acts 1:7–11 (SLIDE) “He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.””

A couple things to note in this passage.....for starters, notice that Jesus doesn’t answer their question directly, but reminds them that they’re not meant to know the times and seasons related to future events. Rather, they are to live in the present through the resurrection power that comes through the Holy Spirit, and that power is meant to help them witness to the world about the reality of Christianity. Furthermore, the angels reassure the disciples that Jesus will in fact return just as he left - in the flesh and on the clouds of heaven. And it was this two-fold promise of the future that served as sufficient reason to motivate both the patience and obedience of the disciples. So why do we need Christmas? Because the first advent gives us hope for the second advent.

In our final message for this Christmas season and for 2025 as a whole, we’re going to see how Christmas serves as a powerful reminder of the hope we have in Christ Jesus - he came a first time, and he promises to come again, which should then serve as a primary motivator for how we live as followers of him today. Now that Christmas is over and the holiday season is coming to a close - Mavrick is jumping for joy that Monica and I are going to progressively lessen our requirement to watch something on TV that’s Christmas-themed.

But one of my favorites is “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens. Its one of the most popular Christmas stories of all time and features the all-too familiar Ebenezer Scrooge. And as you’re familiar with the storyline, Scrooge gets visited by three ghosts who’s visions into the past, present and future work to change the heart of the old miser and transform his declaration from “Bah Humbug” and dismissal of Christmas as “a time for paying bills without money” to promising by the end of the story that “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year.”

While Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” contains within it timeless messages of charity and kindness towards those who are deepest in need, this story is filled with biblical themes, not the least of which is this final declaration of a transformed heart. But notice what Scrooge promises -that he will keep Christmas all year long. And Christmas shouldn’t be only one day for present-day Christians either. While we likely can’t afford to do the gifts and the food all year long, certainly the foundational themes of Christmas should be kept throughout the year.

And so like Scrooge, we’re going to allow the message of the Holy Spirit, who led men to write down the words of God which should have lasting impact on how we live our lives. And one such powerful message is found in a letter that Paul wrote to Titus to help him bring order and structure to the church on the island of Crete that was being threatened mostly by false teachers. So in Titus 2, we see how the apostle Paul uses the first and second advents of Christ as reasons to motivate Christian living in the present through transformed lives.

Titus 2:11–14 (SLIDE) “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.”

For far too many people these days, verse 11 is all they need - “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people...” This is what many think sums up Christianity - God has come to give us his grace and save us......end of story. But there’s so much more to the Christian faith, and I fear that way too many Christians are going to miss out on the fullness of life that we have in Christ all because we still struggle false expectations and fleshly desires.

Rather, Paul uses the first coming of Jesus - the first Christmas - to teach us how to live as a consequence. The grace of God appeared in the person of Jesus Christ, and his proclamation of the gospel was good jews of great joy that was for all people who would hear. And in the following verses, we see how the first advent of Jesus and the first Christmas should affect how Christians live as we remain faithful to the Christmas message all year long.

The first is found in verse Titus 2:12, through which we see that Christmas-inspired hope should produce within us all (SLIDE) Faithful endurance. Again, that first coming of Jesus, according to Paul, is for (SLIDE) “...training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,...” Paul established in verse 11 that the fundamental reason for the first Christmas was for the purposes of providing for salvation. However, salvation as we see in Scripture is more than just a single moment in time and space, but rather a process over a lifetime.

As evangelical Protestants, we tend to be hyper-focused on one aspect of salvation referred to as justification. Justification is the legal proclamation that one is in right-standing with God, and this is all we tend to think of in terms of salvation. God has declared me saved by grace through faith...therefore I am fully saved now...and now I get to go on living as I relatively please, just as long as I try to avoid as many of my past sins as possible - like addiction or cursing or lust or anger. And while we do want to avoid those things, there’s much more to our being justified. We also undergo sanctification, which is another aspect of our salvation experience that is being described here in verse 12.

The word that’s rendered as “training” here in the ESV means to discipline or to educate. In other words, the first coming of Christ, or the first Christmas, educates and trains us to live a certain way, which should be foundationally marked by the renouncing of ungodliness and worldly passions. This kind of training that comes through discipline and education only comes in time. Its rare for new Christians to experience radical transformation in their lives in short periods of time. In “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge’s transformation literally happens over night. However, with most new Christians, significant transformation and the renouncing of ungodliness and worldly passions takes time.......but why?.......Because although the spirit may be willing, the flesh is weak. We can have all the right intentions, but obedience and godly living that is a true reflection of Christlikeness can take time through which we make mistakes and sometimes have to learn hard lessons.

And it takes time because some of the best lessons in life are taught through tough experiences. God doesn’t just teach through His word, but through life’s experiences, and for some of us, learning one lesson can take multiple experiences. But that only makes sense as Paul further defines what the Christian life should look like here in verse 12....… “self-controlled.....upright.....and godly”.

Before Christ, we lacked the ability and/or desire to resist fleshly desires, but now, we are supposed to live with self-control as a fruit of the Spirit. And that takes time to grow and mature.

Before Christ, we did what we wanted and what felt right to us, no matter how damaging it might have been. But now, we live upright and just lives according to the word of God. That becomes our new standard, not ourselves, and certainly not others.

Before Christ, we lived according to our own moral standards, or the standards of others that are popular and accepted. But now, we live our lives in reverence to a holy God who expects more from us, because He loves us and paid the ultimate price for our lives. And this is why we need to faithfully endure, because everything within the natural man in us all and everything in this world that is under the power of the prince of the air is working against our sanctification. Its amazing how new Christians will so quickly become bombarded by the cares of the this world and led astray by the temptations of life. We looked at that several weeks ago in Jesus’ parable of the different kinds of soil.

And with access to the world’s information highway that is the internet, its so easy to buy into the lies of false teachers who are like wolves in sheep’s clothing. Its virtually impossible to guard the church from heresy and poor Christian teaching, unless we do our part to equip you with sound doctrine and biblical training. This is why fellowship within the church is so important, because the church is the pillar and buttress of the truth, and no Christian can live the Christian life alone and apart from the body of Christ expressly seen and lived out in the local church.

And here lies a crucial point.....although we want to be patient and understanding and gracious with people, we cannot allow their newness in the Christian faith to be a license to avoid growing in their faith and remain baby Christians for longer than is necessary. This is why its so important that Paul wrote that this is how we are to live in “the present age”. This is the call on your life today.....not at some future point when you’ve learned all the lessons and done all the growing up. Sanctification begins the moment we get saved, and therefore, our goal today should be to become more self-controlled, more morally upright, and more godly than we were yesterday.

And although we will fail at attaining that goal perfectly on any given day, it nevertheless remains our general trajectory in life. But this trajectory, as boldly and courageously as it should be, should also be measured and balanced as Christmas produces (SLIDE) Patient waiting in us all. Notice what Paul says in verse Titus 2:13 (SLIDE) “...waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,” Even with the modern advances of online shopping and how stores have made adjustments to temper the madness of Black Friday shopping, some people will still go through great lengths to get what they want.

This past Black Friday, Lowes was offering free 5gal buckets filled with merchandise to the first 50 customers in line. Well, I’m a sucker for a good deal, so I headed out to Lowes on Friday morning to get there by about 5:30, because the store opened at 6. Needless to say, I didn’t make it within the first 50. But I did happen to overhear that the first person in line got there around 3am. They waited patiently for 3 hours outside in the cold, for a bucket filled with free merchandise. And its not just Black Friday sales that people will wait for......they’ll wait in line for hours to attend a concert or a sporting event or get on an amusement park ride.

People will wait for all kinds of things that this world has to offer, but how long are we willing to wait patiently for the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, which speaks of his second-coming? That is our blessed hope - not the cure of disease.....not a restored relationship.....not financial freedom.....and certainly not sinless perfection and flawless obedience. Our blessed hope is in the fact that Jesus is coming again to be with us forever. But until that day comes, we are called to wait patiently and remain obedient to our Lord.

Every year, come about October or November, I cannot wait for Christmas to come. And the Hallmark channel doesn’t make that any easier with they come out with all the “Christmas in July” movies. But the Christmas season really is a time of waiting. I remember as a child having to wait weeks to open my presents that I knew were hidden under my parents’ bed. And still to this day, so much of the month of December is marked by events and gatherings that lead up to and point to the culmination of everything on the 25th.

That’s why I think Christmas can still teach us the lesson of waiting for the ultimate gift - the gift of Jesus himself that is our blessed hope. Think about it, the nature of the gift will determine how well you spend your time waiting. Or. you can say it this way.....the way in which you wait communicates the value you’ve placed on the thing for which you’re waiting. Our family is awaiting the birth of our second grandbaby, and so we wait patiently by preparing for that day when it comes. Monica’s already buying toys for both Dawson and his little sister to share. And Dawson needs to learn how to sleep through the night without getting up once or twice, which means he’s probably going to spend a weekend with Papa J to break him....I mean train him. Dylan and Whitney are going to have to wait patiently and prepare for the coming of little Maya Danielle, after which their lives will never be the same!

So how much more should the promise of eternal life with Christ motivate us all to wait patiently and faithfully endure to the end? The Apostle Paul encourages the church in Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1 by reminding them that the grace of God was given to enrich them in all speech and knowledge so that they lacked in no spiritual gift as they (SLIDE) “...wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You see, our power to wait patiently doesn’t come from within us......its not by human will power, but in and through Christ alone, who sustains us to the end by His Spirit. And we wait patiently because we trust in the promises of Jesus, which should then fortify our resolve to participate in the process of sanctification.

The third aspect of the process of sanctification that we must undergo and which the reality of Christmas reminds us of is (SLIDE) Impassioned stewardship. Paul continues in Titus 2:14 about our great God and Savior Jesus Christ “....who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Jesus didn’t just save us to escape hell and eternal damnation. He redeemed us...he ransomed us.....he bought us....in order to save us from all lawlessness and to purify us. And why? So we could be these perfect little cookie-cutter Christians who can pretend we’re better than everybody else?

No! He saved us in order to create for himself a people whom He could call his own who are zealous for good works. In other words, we don’t obey Christ out of obligation or duty, but out of love and devotion and zealous passion. Before you were saved by Jesus, think about the things you pursued with passion. Maybe it was money and success......or love and affection.....or alcohol and drugs.....or maybe you passionately pursued the need to be entertained. Its been said often that the way we spend our time and resources reveals what’s most important to us.

So here’s a beneficial exercise to go through in our remaining days of 2025. Try to estimate the amount of time you’ve spent passionately pursuing the things of the Lord. This can include Sunday morning worship services.....Life Groups on Tuesdays....personal devotion and Bible study.....prayer and worship.....discipleship with other mature Christians. Now total that up for each day and multiply it by 365, then divide that by 6205, which represents the average number of waking hours in a year. So for example, if your devotion to God is going to church once a week, then you will have devoted 1.3% of your year to God.

Now if you’re close to that number, and you’re not satisfied with that number, then praise God! Maybe think about making a covenant with God that you will multiple that number by a factor of 10 or 20 or 30 in the new year by stewarding your time and attention and resources with impassioned zeal for Jesus. Just think how your life might change if you simply took the amount of time you spent on your phone on a daily basis and devoted that to serving the Lord and his church.

The apostle James pointed this out most clearly in his most famous words - “Faith without works is dead.” He poses the all-too common comparison in James 2:18 “But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” True saving faith is most clearly evidenced by our zeal for good works. Why? Because we understand what we been saved from and we know what awaits us, and that is all the motivation we need to zealously and passionately steward everything we’ve been given for the glory of God alone.

The hope we have in the second-coming of our Lord is more than enough of a reason to pursue our sanctification with faithful endurance, patient waiting, and impassioned stewardship. This is what it means to become more like Christ. This is what it means to be a Christian. But the second-coming of our Lord doesn’t just mark the day that we will be freed from the cares and shackles of this world, but it also marks the day we will experience the end-result of our salvific experience (SLIDE) - our final glorification - Christmas is a promise of our final glorification. So we begin with justification......we live a life of sanctification......and all that culminates with glorification.

The Prince of Preaching, Charles Spurgeon, once said (SLIDE) “If Christ in his poverty made us rich, what will he do now that he is glorified. If the Man of Sorrows saved my soul, will the man now exalted suffer it to perish? If the dying Saviour availed for our salvation, should not the living, interceding Saviour, abundantly secure it?” Our blessed hope and our eternal inheritance is securely in the hands of our living, interceding Savior. And this reality is no better communicated than by the apostle Peter who knew a thing or two about falling short of God’s standards, of failing Jesus, and yet still being safe and secure in the hands of his savior.

Turn with me to 1 Peter 1:3–5 (SLIDE) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” If we look at the NT in its fullness, we’ll undoubtedly come away with an understanding of salvation in that we have been saved.....we are being saved.....and we will be saved one day. This is how the Bible speaks of salvation as a whole......justification.......sanctification.......glorification.

According to Peter, God has caused us to be born again to a living hope and to a perfect inheritance that awaits us in heaven. And as we faithfully endure, patiently wait, and passionately steward our lives, we are being guarded by God’s power through faith which serves as our guarantee. Going back to “A Christmas Carol” one final time, Scrooge’s transformation was motivated by the hope for a better future filled with charity and Christmas cheer on this earth. Our transformation is motivated by a hope connected to eternity and far exceeds anything we could ever gain or experience in this life.

So why do we still need Christmas? Because the reminder of the first-coming of Jesus, which gives rise to our hope in his second-coming, is sufficient motivation to fully live for him today. While Christmas tends to focus on the birth of Christ, and Easter on his resurrection, the two are theologically inseparable. So while the two holidays are separated by a few months, the fact of the matter is that Christmas can only be fully celebrated and lived out through the resurrection power that resides in all of us who are truly born again. As Peter saw our living hope only in light of the resurrection of Christ, so too we must see our hope for the second-advent of Christ as motivation to live out Christ’s resurrection power today.

So my challenge for you in 2026 is this.......prayerfully consider how you are going to live in resurrection power as you await the second-coming of our Lord?

Will you seek a renewed commitment to faithfully endure?

Will you seek to improve how you wait on the promises of God with patience?

Will you strive to become more impassioned with the stewardship of your time and resources and become more zealous to do good works for God’s glory?

In general, how will the promise of the Jesus’ second-coming change and transform how you live out your faith in 2026?

2025 was an awesome year! And it was a difficult year!

How will 2026 be any different? In some ways, it may not be.......it’ll be awesome.....and it’ll be heart-wrenching. But the difference won’t lie in the nature of our circumstances, but rather in the nature of our faith and in our hope of the coming of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ. Let’s live better.....let’s do better....let’s hope better.....let’s serve better and give better......and let’s love better.....all for the glory of God!