December 22

December 22

Ornament with cross

We have been hanging ornaments that help us see how the scriptures point us forward to the celebration of the birth of Christ.  Our countdown is almost complete; Christmas is only a few days away!  

Our culture places a great emphasis on the birth of Christ, and I wanted to be sure we include Jesse tree ornaments which point us to WHY the birth of Christ is so important.  Matthew and John tell us the reason for his coming to earth and being born as a man.  

Matthew 1:21 says, “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

You see, God sent Jesus to save us from our sins and give eternal life to those who put their hope and trust in Him.  Gospel means, “Good news,” and that is very good news indeed!  

Our ornament for today is a cross, and I am sure you can guess why!

   

1 Peter 2:24 says, “and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.”

Christ died on the cross so that sinners could be found righteous before a holy God.  This is SUCH an important topic, because the gospel is everything.  It really IS the difference between life and death.  For this reason, I want to read a few paragraphs written by a man named R.C. Sproul.  He does a great job explaining the gospel:

  

There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel.    

    The Gospel is called the ‘good news’ because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another.

    The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

     For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification.

    So the Gospel is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity.    From Ligonier Ministries, the teaching fellowship of R.C. Sproul. All rights reserved. Website: www.ligonier.org | Phone: 1-800-435-4343

Let’s close with Hebrews 12:1-3 and remember to fix our eyes on Jesus this Christmas:

12 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.