Christmas

The second Person of the triune God added a human nature to His divine nature a little more than 2,000 years ago. This stupendous and miraculous event was revealed to God’s people from the beginning of the world. God announced to Satan not long after the creation of Adam and Eve (which occurred “at the beginning,” Matt. 19:4): “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed [the unbelieving community of mankind] and her seed [all true believers represented by their Savior]; [He] shall bruise thy head [a fatal, judicial blow delivered to Satan at the cross—John 12:31], and thou shalt bruise His heel [the crucifixion of Christ]” (KJV, Gen. 3:15).

Especially noteworthy is the emphasis on “the woman” (rather than “the man” or even “the man and the woman”). If Adam was the responsible head of that family unit (“by one man sin entered into the world,” Rom. 5:12; and “by man came death,” 1 Cor. 15:21), what function was Eve to have in the light of this prophetic announcement? Adam perceived that his wife, though instrumental in the fall (1 Tim. 2:14), would, by the amazing grace of God, be instrumental in bringing their Savior into the world. Therefore he named her Eve (i.e., “life” or “living”) “because she was the mother of all living” (Gen. 3:20).

Our first parents could not, of course, have understood when or how this wonderful seed would accomplish their delivery from the power of Satan. Eve may have thought that her first son would be that person (“I have gotten a man from the LORD,” Gen. 4:1). And the name Adam gave to her (“life”) shows that he also believed God’s promise. This is confirmed by the fact that “the LORD God made coats of skin, and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21).

By shedding the blood of innocent beings in order to symbolically provide coverings to protect them in their sinful state from His holy wrath, God demonstrated to Adam and Eve that their sin was atoned for—temporarily covered or passed over.

From the Dec. 2010 edition of the Body Builder, a newsletter published by Highland Park Church, Kokomo, IN. Used by permission.

A number of America’s holidays have Christian overtones, particularly Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter. Because these holidays originated as times to celebrate God’s graciousness to us, it is not all that difficult to restore their original spiritual meaning. This will happen only if we value doing so and are willing to expend a bit of energy. I would like to share some considerations and suggestions.

My first consideration is that we become comfortable with the secular. As followers of Jesus Christ, we find ourselves in the world, though we are not of the world. This means we must walk the tightrope of participating in our society and its decent (good or neutral) ways, while at the same time refraining from its wrong ways.

Gift-giving, decorations, Christmas cards, rich treats, a Christmas tree, touring light displays, or gorging oneself with a Christmas meal are all part of the fun. Secular is not necessarily evil, but secular is not enough.

My second consideration is that we remind ourselves that we are not enslaved to traditions that may negate a truly blessed Christmas. We need not incur amazing debts or keep up with our siblings by matching extravagant gifts. Although most of us want Christmas to be a family time, we are free to dissent from family customs when those customs are offensive or counterproductive to our own families.

My third consideration is that we do not expect lost people to appreciate the real meaning of Christian holidays. Although the origin of Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving is religious, the Bible nowhere mandates these holidays; in fact, Christians did not celebrate Christmas until centuries after the time of Christ.

I believe God’s children should consider keeping Christ in Christmas, but they should not scold unbelievers who fail to do so. The annual “Christmas War” in our society is really an American/religious rights issue, not a biblical one.

Just as Christians who cannot even list the 10 Commandments often fight hardest to keep them posted in courthouses, so many Christians who gripe about others taking Christ out of Christmas do little to keep Christ in their own family celebrations. This sometimes frustrates me, I must admit. Rather than scolding lost people, maybe should begin sharing the gospel with them.

First, I’d like to wish all the readers, contributors, and volunteers here at SharperIron a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. I trust it’s been a good year for all of you and that you’ve been able to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2Pet. 3:18).

First appeared in The Baptist Bulletin, December, 2007

1. The original song was published as “Hark, How All the Welkin Rings” in the 1739 Wesley hymnal, Hymns and Sacred Poems. The second line, as written by Charles Wesley, read “Glory to the King of kings,” not “Glory to the newborn King.” And he originally wrote “Universal nature say,” not “Sons of men and angels sing.”

Delivered Sunday Morning, December 23rd, 1855, by the Rev. C.H. Spurgeon at New Park Street Chapel, Southwark.

“But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2).

We were awakened by a call at 5:43 AM on Thursday, December 10^th. It was my Sister-in-law from Cincinnati. As Kathee fumbled for the phone in the dark, I was asking myself, “Who died?” Sadly, it was my 32 year old nephew who had died suddenly and unexpectedly of an aortic aneurysm. 38 months earlier we had been in Helen Georgia at his wedding and on December 14^th we went to Gainesville Georgia for his funeral. Sad event indeed! As I viewed his open coffin, I thought about the tremendous hope of the resurrection and the link between our Lord’s incarnation and that hope. This is reflected in Wesley’s “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.”

Even His name speaks of that hope: “And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Peter expounded on the linkage between His resurrection and the believer’s own future resurrection: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3-4).