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THE INCREDIBLE STORY OF CHRISTMAS

1 John 3:4-6

SERIES:  Christmas

1999 # 2

            There is no other time of year that is more festive than Christmas.  Christmas trees are up, neighborhoods are lit, people exchange gifts and are nice to each other, and nations even declare a short truce from war.  Christmas is a wonderful time of year.  There is another side of Christmas that isn't so pleasant.  With the break up of so many homes, millions of children spend the day without at least one parent.  The week between Christmas and New Year's day is the highest suicide rate of the year.  The average American will spend nearly $900 on gifts and travel for this holiday.  What is this all about?  Certainly Christmas can't be about suicide and debt.  One person tried to explain the Christmas story this way:  "Jesus was born just in time for Christmas up at the North Pole, surrounded by 8 reindeer and the Virgin Mary...Then Santa Claus showed up with lots of toys and some swaddling clothes...The three wise men and all the elves sang Christmas carols while the Little Drummer Boy and Ebineazer Scrooge helped Joseph trim the tree…In the mean time, Frosty the Snowman saw this star in the east…"  I don't think that is the real Christmas story. 

            The Bible does not tell us when the Christ-child was born.  The shepherds were in the fields with their sheep, so it probably was not as late in the year as December 25.  That date came out of paganism when the sun god was supposed to be born.  When Constantine made Christianity legal, the church incorporated Christian beliefs in with some pagan dates and the rest is history.  The issue is not that we celebrate the birth of Christ on the proper day, it is that we celebrate His birth.  The truth is, we believers should celebrate the birth of Christ every day.  We need not be concerned that the date comes from paganism.  The names of the months and days all arise out of paganism.  We don't worship the date, but celebrate the event.

            As we come to Christmas this morning, we want to draw our attention to a passage of scripture that is not usually thought of in this context.  All of us have heard of the virgin birth, the shepherds and angels, the wise men, the couple being turned away at the inn, etc. I want to look at a single verse, which wraps up the Christmas story in less than 20 words.  1 John 3:4-6 tells us,            1 JOHN 3:4-6           Granted the wise men, angels, Herod and Virgin Mary are not mentioned, but they are all there.

            FIRST, WE SEE HIS APPEARANCE.  Nearly all of the pagan religions have some sort of story of God's relationship with man.  Christianity is the only one in which God actually becomes a baby and lives among the people in humility and need.  We saw several weeks ago in our study of Daniel that God told us of the coming of this Messiah who would enter Jerusalem on the exact date God predicted.  That is not the only prediction we are given.  Isaiah told us of the virgin birth.  Micah told us He would be born in a little obscure village named Bethlehem.  Hosea predicated that He would spend time in Egypt and Jeremiah told us all the other babies would be killed because of His birth. 

            This birth is unique in all the world.  God planned everything out.  Paul told us,   GAL. 4:4         Look at all the details that had to be pulled off.  The Messiah had to be a descendant of David, had to live in Nazareth but be born in Bethlehem.  Spend time in Egypt and also be born to a virgin.  Every one of those details had to be completed.  This is why we must be reminded that Christianity is an historical religion.  It is true or false based on the historical data that is revealed.  It is not a philosophical religion, although there are philosophical ideas and issues mentioned.  If Buddha never really lived, Buddhism would not suffer.  Christianity is different.  If Jesus was not born of a virgin and did not rise from the dead on the third day, Christianity is a lie.  Not because some of what it teaches isn't good or true, but because the foundation of its basis is a lie.  This is why the early fathers of the church wrote into the Apostles Creed these words, "And in Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…"  If these facts are not true, then Jesus is not who He claimed to be and our faith is worthless.

            SECOND, WE SEE HIS PURPOSE.  Why in the world would Jesus leave Heaven and join the human race?  The answer is found in verse 5.  John tells us that He appeared "IN ORDER TO TAKE AWAY SINS…"  Isn't this what the angel told Mary?  We read in Matthew 1:21 "HE SHALL SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SIN".  This was a constant theme in the life of Jesus.  Luke tells us,                 LUKE 19:10               There is the assumption on the part of Jesus that the human race has a problem called sin.  Ezekiel told us, "THE SOUL THAT SINS, IT SHALL DIE."  Over and over again in both the Old and New Testament, the problem of sin is mentioned.  The reason for the sacrificial system was the acknowledgement on the part of God that sin was a problem and had to have a solution. 

            Each year the Jews would take a lamb and on the Day of Atonement offer it to God as a sacrifice to cover their sins.  The Bible tells us that Jesus came to be that ultimate sacrifice to pay for the sins of the world.  This is why John the Baptist introduced Him by saying, "BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD WHICH TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD."  That is why as He breathed His last, He could utter, "IT IS FINISHED."  The word was a phrase used in banking and involved the final payment of a loan.  It had been paid in full.  When Jesus died on the cross, the sins of the entire world were paid in full.  However, each of us has to accept that payment. 

            That little baby in the manger was not born to bring joy to His mother; He was born to be the final sacrifice to God for the sins of the human race.  You may be here this morning under a heavy load of sin.  I want you to know that the entire load of your sin was paid off on the cross.  That is why Christmas occurred.

            THIRD WE SEE HIS QUALIFICATION.  Every year between Palm Sunday and Easter, our news is filled with stories of men who nail themselves to a cross for a period of time to make themselves worthier of God's forgiveness.  Their sincerity is admiral, but they are not qualified to be the sacrifice God demands for their forgiveness.  There is one qualification that is demanded by God to be an acceptable sacrifice.  John writes of Jesus that, "IN HIM THERE IS NO SIN."  Jesus was a perfect sacrifice.  This is why the Virgin Birth is critical.  The sin nature is passed through the seed of the man.  If Jesus had a human father, He also has a sin nature.  Because He was born of Mary, He has a human nature, but because the Holy Spirit conceived him, He has a perfect nature as well.  Hebrews tells us,                   HEBREWS 9:13,14                   That baby in the manger at Christmas became the perfect sacrifice on Easter.  There is no amount of good deeds you can do to earn your salvation unless you can be perfect.

            FOURTH, WE SEE HIS CALL.  By this I mean, His call to us.  With every act on the part of God, there is a corresponding call to His people.  Sometimes that call is to rest in Him, to walk by faith, to pray, or to get out of the way and let God solve our problem.  Sometimes there are activities He asks us to do.  When surrounding Jericho, the people were ordered to shout.  In Acts 2 they were told to be baptized.  In the case of the rich ruler he was told to give away His money.  Different people were told to do different things.  In our passage this morning, the people of God are told of two calls from God.

            First, we are to know.  That means more than just gain the information, we are to be convinced.  We don't do much with creeds in the modern church, but throughout history creeds have been used to inform people what it is Christians believe.  Some of you may have learned the Apostle's Creed.  Others have become familiar with the Shorter Catechism.  That creed doesn't have fewer words; its author was named Shorter.  If you grew up in a Presbyterian Church, you are probably familiar with the Westminster Catechism.  All of these are documents that explain what we believe.  The term creed comes from the Latin word for "To believe".  You are not a Christian because you have warm feelings for Jesus; you are a Christian because you believe certain truths that cause you to act in a certain way.  This means you are called to think.  You are to come to grips with certain ideas and facts.  Not everything you believe will be exactly like the individual next to you, but certain facts must be accepted in order that we be called Christians.  Paul wrote,          1 TIM. 3:15,16                This must have been a creedal statement of the early church.  This is what we believe.  We are to know these things.

            Second, we are to respond with a holy life.  The Christmas story should not lead to greed and debauchery, but to holiness and gratitude.  This week a jewelry store in Texas sent out an advertisement brochure describing some of the items they had for a special Christmas sale.  The advertisement stated "If you don't buy this for her, her next husband will."  That is disgusting.  To advertise that the future of your marriage is based on how much you spend for a Christmas gift is worth sending the store a letter of protest.  The Christmas story should not lead us to a harsh, legalistic code of conduct, but to a love relationship that seeks to please Him out of love.  This is why we are told in both the New and Old Testament, "BE HOLY FOR I AM HOLY."  If you truly love God, you will want to be like Him.  This is why John could write in verse 6,                 1 JOHN 3:6                We are called to be holy because it is the nature of God to be holy.  To be holy means we have removed all the crud from our life.  Christmas is coming and some of you may have been looking for gold jewelry.  Would you buy a gold ring that had lots of dirt still in it?  You want jewelry that has been refined and purified.  God is no different.  He wants His people to be free from the pollution of the world.  This is why Peter could write,   2 PETER 1:4                 Salvation doesn't free us to sin, it drives us to avoid it.  This is the Christmas story.  A holy event took place on a holy night so that a holy God could provide a way for people to live holy lives in order that they might spend eternity with Him in a holy place.

Our task then is to receive that gift and turn to Him, committing our lives to bring glory to Him.