The Sinners Are Saved: Love in Jesus' Name

If someone were to ask you what is the most misunderstood word in all of human language, regardless of which language you’re speaking, what would you say it is? I am convinced that the most misunderstood (and misused) word in all of human language is “love”. The Ancient Greeks tried to remedy this by having several words for love. There was phileo; a warm familial love. There was my personal favorite, philadelphia; a brotherly love. There was agape; love so pure it must be of God.

In our time and culture, we throw love around like it’s nothing. We truly have no idea what it means. Some treat love like cheap candy rendering it meaningless. Some treat love like a license to do whatever pleases them. Still others treat love like a drug: as long as the highs keep getting higher it’s all good - just don’t bring me down. Finally, some use love as the end that justifies the means - as long as I accept you and affirm you then surely I have loved you.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

In this world, anyone who tells you “no” hates you; anyone who confronts you (even with gentleness and respect) despises you. When up is down and wrong is right and truth is whatever you want it to be: love becomes hate. No wonder we are all so confused and hurt. This isn’t a political problem or a climatic disaster - it’s a heart issue. We don’t know what love is so we don’t know how to love each other. If we don’t know how to love each other, then surely we cannot love God.

This is why we need the truth of our two primary passages this morning. This is why we need Advent. We need to be reminded and assured that hope, peace, joy, and yes, love are not only still possible, but obtainable. That’s why we need to know about a particular Jewish carpenter who found himself in the middle of the Creator’s grand design to retake His Creation and share His love in the process. If we will listen, we may just learn how to love others as God does; to love others in Jesus’ name.

A Familiar Story ()

We begin with a familiar story. I don’t want to assume anything so please allow me to set the stage:

Joseph, a carpenter from the town of Nazareth in Israel, was betrothed to a young woman named Mary. We don’t know their ages, but it is likely that Mary was a teenager (as young as 13) and Joseph could have been 10 or 15 years older.

Both were descendants of David, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history and the prophesied Messiah was promised to come from his lineage.

According to custom, a betrothed couple was effectively married except each lived apart from the other for a period of one year. This time period served as an assurance that the bride had not been sexually active. This is why Mary’s pregnancy presented such a challenge. To everyone else, including Joseph until an angel of the Lord revealed otherwise, it would appear as though Mary had been sexually unfaithful to Joseph or that they had engaged in marital relations prior to their wedding.

This story, along with Luke’s account, confirm that Jesus was born of a virgin. This is a critical Christian doctrine. Jesus cannot be the Messiah without this. He had to be fully God and fully man without the stain of sin upon His human nature. God accomplished this by working a miracle in the conception of Christ within Mary without sexual intercourse being involved in any way.

We don’t have this explained to us in a way that satisfies 21st century scientific curiosity, but don’t miss the involvement of who? The Holy Spirit. This amazing, one-of-kind forever, event of this often overlooked member of the Triune Godhead.

But there were two fathers in this story. The first father had a real dilemma on his hands...

One Father’s Dilemma (vv. 18-19)

The account of Jesus’ incarnation and birth are full of events and characters that lead many to wonder what they would do if something like this happened to them. I’d imagine many women over the centuries have pondered what it was like to be in Mary’s position. I know I’ve thought a lot about what it was like for Joseph.

V18 tell us that at some point in that one year betrothal time period, “it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant from the Holy Spirit.” We know from Luke’s account that soon (perhaps immediately) after the incarnation / conception occurred Mary left to visit her cousin Elizabeth and that she stayed “about three months” (). That means it is very likely that this discovery wasn’t made and shared with Joseph until she was about four months along (second trimester).

V18 tell us that at some point in that one year betrothal time period, “it was discovered

Gentlemen, what would you do? Your fiancee is pregnant and you know the baby isn’t yours. Your told a fantastic tale about an angel, another strange story about Elizabeth’s baby leaping in her womb at the sound of Mary’s voice, and promised that she has remained faithful to you. Six or seven months ago the contract for your marriage with Mary was finalized between your fathers. She’s a good girl who should make a wonderful wife, but suddenly your world’s been rocked - in just five or six months she will give birth to a baby that isn’t yours before you’ve even consummated the marriage.

Joseph had rights. According to , he could write her a certificate of divorce and send her away with no further obligation to her.

Deuteronomy 24:1–4 CSB

“If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something indecent about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house. If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man’s wife, and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he dies, the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord. You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 24:1 CSB

, he could write her a certificate of divorce and send her away with no further obligation to her.

We’re told in v19 that Joseph is a righteous man. The rules said that he could divorce her and be rid of her. He had every right. The biblical concept of righteousness includes but also goes beyond merely following the rules. In Hebrew, the word for righteousness has the sense of perfect harmony or fulfillment of purpose. In other words, at its purest essence, righteousness means something or someone is exactly as they should be; in accordance with the creator’s own character and intent. Biblical righteousness goes beyond the question of what do the rules say and asks, “what would God do” with the motivation to be just like Him and to act in perfect harmony with who He is.

This righteousness leads him to make a decision to divorce her quietly instead of disgracing her publicly. As much credit as I want to give Joseph for his merciful conduct here, he’s on the verge of making a big mistake. Like any human being, he’s not operating with all of the information. He’s doing the best with what he has in the midst of a crazy situation, but there’s more going on here than meets the eye.

This righteousness leads him to make a decision to divorce her quietly instead of disgracing her publicly.

As this earthly father faces a dilemma, the Heavenly Father reveals His determination...

One Father’s Determination (vv. 20-21)

After reaching the decision to quietly divorce Mary, Joseph goes to sleep. There an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream; an experience recorded in vv20-21. This angel reveals that what Joseph, and Mary, are going through is part of a plan:

Matthew 1:20–21 CSB

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 been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

The Heavenly Father, God, had put together a plan long before time began. Now was the time for the arrival of the Messiah toward whom all of history had been pointing. That Messiah was going to come into the world through Mary and Joseph had an important role to play.

The Messiah was to be named Jesus, a very common name for such a singular savior. His mission: to save His people from their sins. He would do this by living a perfectly righteous, obedient life which would enable Him to make an effective sacrifice of His own life which would then be confirmed by His glorious resurrection. This statement, “he will save his people from their sins”, puts the emphasis on the final efficacy of Jesus’ work on the cross.

This determination to save was driven by love. Remember that word that we don’t seem to understand or use all that well? As we just heard sung about a few moments ago, love came down. Given our own culture’s confusion about love, let’s turn to the words of the Apostle Paul in for further insight into what God’s love is (keep your place in , we will return there).

God’s Love is: ()

Romans 5:6–11 CSB

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

God’s love is not like our love. It is a much higher, purer love. God’s love doesn’t operate by the same rules our love does. We need it. God’s love drove Him to offer us salvation in Christ.

Why was all of this happening to Joseph and Mary? Because all of humanity, including BOTH Joseph and Mary, were cursed with sin and death as a result of our rebellion in Adam and Eve. We were hopeless and completely unable to save ourselves. Help had to come from the outside; from above.

Here in , Paul describes God’s determination to save through His Son by His love. I’d like to highlight three things that make God’s love different and amazing. You’ll never love others the same way again after you’ve known God’s love.

Undeserved (v. 6)

Romans 5:6 CSB

For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

The first aspect of God’s love that Paul highlights is that it is undeserved. “For while we were still helpless, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.” Let’s break this down a bit here:

For while we were STILL HELPLESS: If someone is helpless, can they help themselves? Of course not. Unless your baby is Baby Yoda and can use the Force, your baby is helpless. Congrats to the Schwartzenbergs, Dowlings, and Dagenharts, who’ve all had children and grandchildren born into them recently!

Paul says that in our natural state human beings are helpless. Our sin has so radically corrupted us that we are left without hope in ourselves. God’s love is different though. God loves the helpless and He does something about it.

AT THE RIGHT TIME: Insert Christmas and Easter here. At the right time, according to God’s perfect, sovereign plan, Jesus came and lived among us.

CHRIST DIED for the UNGODLY: Who was Jesus dying for on the cross? The people who were good enough? No, none of those. The people who weren’t that bad? No, none of those. Christ died for the ungodly! This is the perfect time of year to explain this. Parents, listen up. I’m going to try to do this with as much sensitivity and grace as I can, so please take notes.

This time of year parents gain powerful allies, be they elves or a toy maker from the North. The idea is that nice kids get “gifts” and naughty kids get coal (if anything). Everyone is rewarded or punished according to what they do. Does that sound familiar to anyone? Sounds a lot like the Law to me. Don’t take my word for it, listen to Paul describe the way the Law worked before Christ came:

Galatians 3:10 CSB

For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

Galatians

If we want to be treated as we deserve, then we are in trouble. But God’s Law was never intended to save us:

Galatians 3:21–26 CSB

Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For if the law had been granted with the ability to give life, then righteousness would certainly be on the basis of the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise might be given on the basis of faith in Jesus Christ to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:21-

Paul clearly understood that the events celebrated at Christmas brought the offer of salvation to the world:

Galatians 4:4–7 CSB

When the time came to completion, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then God has made you an heir.

Think about it. EVERYTHING else in life is based on merit. You have to earn it. You want a paycheck? You have to work. You want a good grade? You have to work. Only God’s love reaches the undeserved.

This isn’t the only thing about God’s love that is different. His love is also sacrificial...

Sacrificial (vv. 7-8)

Back in , Paul continues to unpack God’s love in vv7-8:

Romans 5:7–8 CSB

For rarely will someone die for a just person—though for a good person perhaps someone might even dare to die. But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Unlike most people, who are unwilling to sacrifice themselves for others, Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice for us. Paul continues his previous emphasis in v8, Christ died for us “while we were still sinners”. We don’t do this. The world does not give, it takes.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have get right or become “good enough” to be saved. You are saved when you confess your need for Christ and your faith in the sufficiency of what He’s done for you. The search is over! And it’s all due to God’s love. He provided the sacrifice for you and for me. It didn’t cost us anything. A gift you earn isn’t a gift, it’s a paycheck ().

That’s not the way God’s love works. We lack nothing in Christ because God gave us everything in Him. Paul puts it this way in :

Romans 8:32 CSB

He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything?

Why is God’s love so sacrificial? Because our sin is complete and catastrophic. Sin is serious.

That brings me, for the last time - I promise, to this season of the year. Those allies from the North used to be powerful. One slip and you’re on the naughty list. Being good mattered and being naughty was something to be avoided at all costs. Has anyone noticed that, over the last few decades, the naughty list just isn’t what it used to be?

Watch most recently made movies or specials and there’s hardly anyone on the naughty list. And if someone is naughty it’s received with a shrug or a wink - like it’s really no big deal. Nobody actually gets coal anymore, do they? Sometimes naughtiness is even celebrated. How many of us have shirts, sweaters, or pajamas at home proclaiming it’s okay to be a little naughty?

Not for God. Our need was too great and His love was too real. Sin kills. Never forget that. Sin lies and destroys. Without Christ’s sacrifice we have no hope. The full weight and consequences of our sin is ours to bear alone unless Jesus comes to become one of us and to live and die for us so we might live. This is a life or death situation. Don’t let the world tell you otherwise.

When talking about God’s love, it’s impossible to really pick out its greatest attribute, but it is possible to argue that it is the security of God’s love that crowns it all.

Secure (vv. 9-11)

God’s love is secure. This is because it is from Him and of Him. We can rest because the love and salvation that we don’t deserve and can’t repay will never be lost. Paul puts it this way:

Romans 5:9–11 CSB

How much more then, since we have now been declared righteous by his blood, will we be saved through him from wrath. For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received this reconciliation.

There’s so much here that we don’t have time to fully deal with. The fact that we are declared righteous by Jesus’ blood - you and I can’t simply say something is true and make it reality, but God can. If He says we are forgiven and free, then you are. That’s it.

a. For Now

Salvation, as provided in Christ through His death and resurrection, can never be lost, taken away, or lose value. No one who dies in Christ will face the Lord and find themselves lacking anything for their salvation from sin and death.

Here in vv9-11, Paul makes it clear that God’s love provides a salvation that will last throughout eternity. By His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead, Jesus has defeated (for real - not Star Wars or Marvel defeated) humanity’s greatest enemies: sin and death.

The Cross > Sin: Before Jesus’ death on the cross, God and humanity were irreconcilable. As Paul has repeatedly acknowledged - we were God’s enemies. We were rebels (not the good kind) against the rightful rule of our Creator and King. We had no justification for our rebellion against the love and righteousness of our God. By dying on the cross, Jesus killed sin. He killed it with His obedience:

Philippians 2:7–8 CSB

Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.

Philippians

If Jesus had been perfectly righteous and obedient through over 30 years of earthly life and then turned down the cross, it would not have provided the antidote or remedy for sin. He had to be fully obedient “to the point of death - even to death on a cross.” In this way, Jesus liberated those enslaved to sin. Our former master is dead forever if we are in Christ by faith in what He did for us.

The Empty Tomb > Death: Before Jesus rose from the dead, people stayed dead. There was no hope for conquering death. It was the great equalizer.

Then came the day death died. By raising from the dead, Jesus overcame and defeated our final enemy. Death is God’s just response to a life of sin. A holy God could not allow humanity to live in continual rebellion forever. This is why Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden away from the Tree of Life.

Death is the reckoning for abusing the precious gift that life is. But Jesus, who had killed sin at the cross, then killed death itself by leaving behind an empty tomb.

Paul reminds us of this in v10, “then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.” The wrath Paul refers to in v9 is of no concern to those in Christ. We have been reconciled. We are no longer at war with God. Peace now reigns between God and those redeemed in Christ.

These victories, over sin and death, are secured by Christ. He is the righteousness required. He is the guarantee of payment. God’s love is secure. We need not fear its loss.

See how different God’s love is? It is undeserved, it is sacrificial, and it is secure. Hallelujah!!

If this is how God loves us, then how should we love in Jesus’ name? Joseph’s response to the angel’s message in his dream gives us a model to follow...

Love in Jesus’ Name ()

In , the angel told Joseph, “don’t be afaid to take Mary as your wife”. You know what casts out fear? Perfect love (). I’m not ready to call Joseph perfect, but in our closing verses from Matthew we miss a positive model from Christ and his earthly father.

We’re talking about loving in Jesus’ name. Do you know what it means to do something in another’s name? A good picture of this is the function of an ambassador (I promise nothing political). An ambassador acts and speaks in the name of the one who sent him/her. Their residence and workplace are considered to be the soil of the nation they represent even though it is located in a foreign land. To do something in another’s name means to speak and act as though you are the person that you represent. How do we love, then, in Jesus’ name?

Give Others Your Presence (vv. 22-23)

b. Forever

First, give others your presence. Yes, I’m a punny guy. Seriously, though look at Matthew’s note in vv22-23:

Matthew 1:22–23 CSB

Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 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.”

This is a quotation of applied to the birth of Christ. For centuries, God had spoken to His people. He had taught them right from wrong, how to be like Him and please Him - all through prophets, priests, and kings (and angels). Now after 400 years of silence, God sent Immanuel. From that moment forward, God was with us. This completely changed the game.

Giving someone your presence is one of the best, most faithful, ways to love others. Presence is a costly gift in a world where you can message from the other side of the world or call on video. Those are ways of being present when you truly cannot be there, but presence costs us time, other opportunities, and sometimes money. By the way, some of us rob others of our presence when we allow ourselves to be consumed with these (hold up phone). If this is where you are focused, then you are not present even if your body is there.

Give others the gift of your presence. By doing so, you will have some credibility when you tell them about Immanuel. Nobody is going to believe God is with them if His people are not. This may mean reevaluating some priorities in your life, but it will be worth it.

Give God Your Obedience (v. 24)

Second, give God your obedience. tells us what Joseph did in response to what he’d been told by the angel:

Matthew 1:24 CSB

When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

Matthew 1:24–25 CSB

When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:24 CSB

When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her

Whatever Joseph’s mindset had been before he heard from the Lord, it changed after his encounter with the angel within his dream. He did as he was commanded, “he married her”.

If you were to ask Jesus what it means to love, He would probably repeat what He told us in

John 14:23–24 CSB

Jesus answered, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. The one who doesn’t love me will not keep my words. The word that you hear is not mine but is from the Father who sent me.

Our salvation is a free gift which cannot be earned or repaid. We show that we have received that gift and put it to use when we obey Him. How hurt would you be to give a gift and have the person pretend to be thankful and then never use the gift? Is that really receiving a gift? I don’t think so.

God’s grace doesn’t free us from doing the right thing or the godly thing, it frees us TO DO the right thing. God’s grace and His love, give us the ability to love others in Jesus’ name; to love as God has loved us. One way our love for God shows itself is when we are obedient to His Word.

By the way, that means we have to take the time to get to know His Word, right? That’s next week’s message. I’ll let Jason tell you about that.

Give Away Your Rights (v. 25)

Finally, we love in Jesus’ name by giving away our rights.

Matthew 1:25 CSB

but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

In v25 Joseph does something unimaginable by modern standards. He sets his own needs and gratification aside. Dude just got married, but she’s already pregnant and there are other priorities for the moment. Regardless of what he may have felt entitled to as Mary’s husband, he set it all aside. He put himself last. Husbands and fathers in the room today, take heed, that’s a godly man.

What a concept. In a world where everyone is clutching and clawing to climb over everyone else to get theirs, Joseph follows his Son’s future example and puts others ahead of himself. Shouldn’t it be the Christians, those who claim the name of Christ, who set the gold standard in selflessness? I believe so.

Loving others in Jesus’ name should look like Jesus. People should see us and interact with us and see that there’s something different about us. We’ve been changed by the love of God who sent His only Son to “save His people from their sins.”

PRAY

Invitation / Stand and Sing

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