Why Christmas? Pastor Dan Cravillion

Why Christmas?

12-14-14

Lk 2:1-20, Mt 1:18-25

Matt 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:  "Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel" (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.

The world would be completely different if Christ never came.

• There would be nothing related to Christmas.
• There would be no LEFC (or other Christian churches) & you wouldn’t know many of your friends,
• Many books/movies would have never been made or would be completely different.
• Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Omen trilogy.
• There would be no Red Cross, no St. Francis Hospital, no Salvation Army, np Alcoholics Anonymous.
• It would not be 2014, maybe the name would be different if it were named after a New Testament person.
• The New Testament would never have been written & prophecies would be unfulfilled
• There would be no idioms: Good Samaritan, prodigal son, lost sheep, etc.
• No teachings: turn other cheek, go 2^nd mile, love your enemies.

Yet Christ’s coming was not primarily to affect life on this planet.

·      It was to impact all lives in life after life….eternity.

o   Therein lays the reason for this precious season.

The obvious answer to “What is Christmas?”: Joseph’s wife Mary (virgin) bore son (Jesus) in manger in Bethlehem, etc.

• However, this fundamental fact about Christmas is often forgotten:

o   Christmas is when the Creator came into His creation to provide way to be eternally with Him. Jn 14:9, 10:31-33, 8:56-58, Phil 2:6-8, Col 1:15

·      Jesus is not simply the revealer of God but God Himself revealed.

o   Immanuel (God with us): invisible God made visible.

Most know the “what” of Christmas but the eternally critical question is “Why did God come?

• The answer is humbling because it is based on our inadequacy & need.

God’s standard to spend eternity with Him in heaven is perfection (without sin)

·      We can never meet this requirement even with religious actions (baptism, church attendance) good deeds ($$$ poor, kindness).

o   If we could….Jesus’ coming is unnecessary & foolish.

• Our religious & good deeds never address the real issue.
• We broke God’s law (sin) which according to Bible requires punishment & being good doesn’t change that spiritual fact. Rom 3:19, 23, 1 Jn 1:8
• You can’t break civil law and then expect your good behavior to cancel out your bad deeds & remove corresponding punishment.
•  All people have “eternal death sentence” because of sin. 

There is nothing man can do to remedy the situation, so God provided the solution at first Christmas

·      Christ’s main purpose for being born was to die for our sins.

o   He existed on earth to be executed for our sins.

·      Christmas is about God initiating a way for our sin debt to be paid by Him so we can spend eternity with Him in heaven.  1 Pet 3:18, Rom 6:23, 10:9-10, Jn 14:6

Where you spend eternity is based on whether you receive the free gift of God’s grace found in sacrificial death of Jesus for your sins.

·      LEFC is the banner….“Jesus is the gift” with the cross in background.

o   Like any gift, (in this case salvation) it was paid for by someone else & doesn’t become yours until you receive it, even though always been available to you.

·      Nothing more needs to be done, Jesus did it all so freely receive the eternal life in heaven that you can never earn by good works.