THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
Editorial
December, 1971
Volume 6, Number 5
During the Christmas season, there are so many things
to take one's attention, that we have a tendency to miss the true meaning
of Christmas. Some link Christmas with decorated trees, sentimental carols,
and office parties. Sometimes folks are so occupied with candy and carols
and candles (and tinsel and toys and turkey), that the real eternal meaning
of Christmas is lost. Christmas often involves spending money we don't
have for things we don't need. One news item for Christmas shoppers says,
"For the child who has everything, consider an electric model of the universe
($295.00); for the man who has everything, you can buy an electric wastebasket
with a built-in shredder that tears paper into small pieces ($99.00); etc."
The average American uses seventy feet of Christmas paper, and fifty-three
yards of ribbon, to wrap an average of thirty-two gifts. This stands in
stark contrast to that first Christmas nearly two thousand years ago--one
that was rugged and simple.
The good news of Christmas is not a date in history, for
no one, knows with certainty when Christ was born. The good news of Christmas
is not a festival, with its gifts, fun, feast, yule log, and lighted Christmas
tree. These are vestiges of a pagan culture that knew nothing of the true
God. The good news of Christmas is a Person - God's unspeakable gift, God
incarnate, a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. Many today are too sophisticated
to sing hymns like "Rescue the Perishing" - but that is precisely one of
the reasons for the first Christmas. Where salvation is made
central in the Christmas theme, there is true joy.
Christmas is a time to search hearts. We must think of
Jesus Christ not merely as the baby Jesus, but as the risen,
presently-living, soon-coming King of kings and Lord of lords. He menaces
our way of life. He is a threat to our smug, self-centered living. Unconditional
surrender to His lordship is the price each of us needs to pay. Let Christmas
for each believer be a joyous, spiritual, grateful acknowledgment that
Christ came from heaven to earth to rescue a perishing world. Like Simeon
of old, we need to thank God for his unspeakable gift, and say, "Mine eyes
have seen thy salvation." The Christmas season for the believer is not
to be a time for selfish feasting, and preoccupation with "The Great American
Winter Carnival" - but it must be a time for spreading good cheer - the
glorious message of the heavenly host, "Unto you is born a Saviour."
--H.S.M.
The True Meaning of Christmas
by Harold S. Martin
We are once again approaching the Christmas season -- the time when
we commemorate the advent (the coming) of Jesus Christ. Of all the titles
attributed to Jesus, the one that should warm our hearts most of all, is
the title Emmanuel, which means "God with us." When Jesus
was born, God became man. The One who flung the stars into space, came
to earth and dwelled among men. The tiny arms of that Babe in the manger
were the arms of the One who laid the foundation of the universe. The coming
of Jesus Christ into this world was the time when God came to earth. God
took on a human body and dwelled among us. Jesus came for several reasons:
1. TO REVEAL THE FATHER
John 1:18 says, "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him." Jesus said,
"He that hath seen me hath seen the Father" (John 14:9). Hebrews 1:3 tells
us that Christ is the express image of the person of God.
God is a great Spirit. He is invisible. He cannot be seen with the physical
eye. All of us at some time or other have asked the question, "What is
God like?" Jesus came so that men might be able to see God, and to know
what he is like. The Apostle John says, "The Lord was made flesh, and dwelt
among us" (John 1:14). Paul says, "For God, who commanded the, light to
shine out of darkness, hath shone in ...the face of Jesus Christ" (2 Corinthians
4:6). Ever since the birth of Jesus nearly two thousand years ago, we
have been able to see the glory of God.
A little boy (the child of missionary parents) was attending school
in the United States a few years ago. He hadn't seen his parents since
the preceding summer, and wouldn't see them again until the next summer.
A few days before Christmas, the principal of the school said to him, "Jimmy,
what would you like to have most of all at Christmas?" There was a picture
(on the principal's desk) of the boy's missionary father. The boy looked
at the framed picture for a little while, and then after a few moments,
he said to the principal, "I want my father to step out of that frame."
And you know - this little boy voiced the cry of all humanity. The Greek
philosopher Plate said many years ago that he hoped some day to see God
walk down the streets of Athens. In Israel, generation after generation
looked for the Messiah. Soon after Adam and Eve were driven out of the
Garden, they looked for the promised Redeemer. And then one night nearly
two thousand years ago, God stepped out of the frame of the universe, and
appeared on earth in the Person of Jesus Christ. Before this, the eternal
God had never been seen by mortal eyes. Even the Old Testament patriarchs
did not see God in his real essence, but only in angelic form (or in what
is more properly called a theophany). Jesus came to this earth so that
we might learn to know better what God is like.
2. TO PUT AWAY SIN
1 John 3:5 says, "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins."
Jesus speaking of his death, said, "For this cause came I into the world."
Paul says in 1 Tim. 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
of whom I am chief." Jesus Christ came to Bethlehem primarily to due. He
came to earth as the Baby of Bethlehem in order that he might later become
the Christ of Calvary.
All have sinned. Everyone of us has fallen short of the standard which
God demands. And our sin places a separation between us and God. And the
gulf is so wide (the separation is so great) that none of us by his own
efforts is able to close it.
Many seem to think that the gulf between man and God can be closed by
good works. If you say so many prayers, and give so many alms, or make
a pilgrimage to some holy place - these things somehow are supposed to
erase a sinner's guilt. But this will never do. Take the man who drives
his car faster than the speed limit. What can he do to atone for the wrong
he has done? If he thinks good works will do it (if he thinks good deeds
are going to atone for the wrong he has done), then he can diligently observe
all the traffic laws for the rest of the day. But any policeman will assure
you that this is not enough. There's a penalty for disobedience, and no
amount of carefulness afterward, will atone for past disobedience. If you
fall short of God's standard on Monday, you can never erase that guilt
by walking straight on Tuesday! No person can erase his own guilt, and
neither can any other human being erase it for him. Every man (no matter
how upright and how morally clean he lives), still has come short of God's
demands, and thus needs to be saved. He cannot save himself.
Suppose a plane is flying toward a base in the continent of Antarctica,
and suddenly it crashes into the frigid waters north of the continent.
Three men are thrown into the ocean, and the plane sinks at once. Nobody
is near the spot, and the closest land-area is the country of New Zealand,
a thousand miles away. One of the men can swim for ten minutes; the second
man can swim for two hours; the third man is the world's champion long-distance
swimmer. Which of those three men are going to reach safety? And the answer
is obvious -- none of them! The only difference between them is that the
one man will drown in ten minutes, another in two hours, and the champion,
a few hours later. And this is a parable of the human family. The criminal
is like the swimmer who is able to keep afloat for ten minutes. The average
man is represented by the swimmer who can stay on the surface for two hours.
And even the unusual man (honest, upright, and a good citizen), like the
champion swimmer, is still unable to reach land.
Everyone needs a Saviour (no matter how good he is). And the message
of Christmas is this: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David,
a Saviour" (Luke 2:11). The brightest message that has ever been delivered
to mankind, is the glad news that in some mysterious way (which we will
never be able to quite fully comprehend), Jesus Christ puts himself underneath
our sin, and lifts it off from our soul, and takes it away. 1 John 3:5
says, "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins." The phrase
take away simply means to remove the guilt and punishment of sin, by paying
the price. The angel said to Joseph, "And she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their
sins"(Matthew 1:21).
3. TO DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL
1 John 3:8 says, "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that
he might destroy the works of the devil." This message is a sentence filled
with good news. The devil is a murderer and a liar. The Bible says he is
lawless and deceitful and subtle. He alienates from God; he blinds to the
truth; he promotes selfishness and jealousy and cruelty. But the Bible
says that Jesus Christ came that he might destroy the works of the devil.
The word translated "destroy" is the Greek word luo. It
doesn't mean to demolish or to break up - but it means to loosen one: who
is bound or to set free. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the tomb, he said,
"Loose him and let him go." The word loose is the same Greek word as the
one translated destroy in 1 John 3:8. For this purpose was the Son of God
manifested, that he might loosen and set men free from the works of the
devil.
Eddie Taylor was once a drunkard that slept-off his drunken stupors
under the boardwalk at Atlantic City. He was about as far gone as a man
can get. He staggered from tavern to tavern (at the south-end of the city)--
and then after he had soaked himself with liquor, he flopped beneath the
boardwalk, and slept-off his stupor. He wrapped himself in old newspapers
to keep warm. The devil brings men into a sorry state,. But one day Eddie
Taylor responded to tile Gospel invitation, and became a new man in Christ
Jesus. Today beer and liquor no longer attract him. Jesus Christ has delivered
him. He hasn't touched alcoholic beverages for many years. For this purpose
the Son of God was manifested, that he might loosen men from the works
of the devil (1 John 3:8).
One of the reasons Jesus came to Bethlehem was to destroy the works
of the devil. And nothing that the devil has ever done, is too hard for
Jesus to undo. If you find yourself living under the power of the devil's
grip, remember that Jesus Christ who was born on Christmas Day, came to
set you free. If you will give your life in surrender to him, he will loosen
the grip Satan has over you, and set you free from the bondage of sin.
He will give you power to live: a new kind of life. For this purpose the
Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy (set free from) the works
of the devil.
4. TO PREPARE FOR THE SECOND ADVENT
Hebrews 9:28 says, "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many,
and unto them that look for him, shall be appear the second time without
sin unto salvation." At this season of the year, our thoughts turn with
gladness to the first coming of Jesus. We're reminded of the songs that
the shepherds heard, and of the hope that filled their hearts, and of the
star that shone over the place where the child lay. And yet we are all
conscious of the fact that this present age cannot continue on like it's
going. Sin abounds on every hand. Crime is on the increase. Lawlessness
is sometimes encouraged. Peace and righteousness have not been established.
Mankind threatens to wipe civilization off the face of the earth. Deep
down within, we realize that something more is needed.
One main theme that recurs over and over again in the Bible, is the
teaching that Jesus Christ is coming to this earth twice! Most people live
as if life as we know it today is going to continue on like this forever.
They say the grass is still green, cows give milk, hens lay eggs, dogs
bark at the moon. This is the way it always was. But remember, the Bible
says that this same Jesus who came: to Bethlehem is going to come a second
time. Life as we know it today will come to an end.
The Scriptures teach that Jesus Christ is coming to this earth on two
different occasions for two different purposes. He has already come on
one occasion and accomplished the first purpose - that of paying the price
for sin. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, the Bible revealed that
he would be born of the tribe of Judah; that his mother would be a virgin;
that there would be a massacre of infants in Bethlehem. The prophet Micah
named the very town where he was to be born. Hundreds of years before Jesus
came to earth, all these things were foretold about him. And just so, the
Scriptures prophesy that this same Jesus will come to earth a second time.
Jesus is not coming this second time to put away sin. He's coming to
complete our salvation. He came the first time as the Author of salvation;
he's coming the second time as the Finisher of our faith. He came the first
time to atone for our sins; he's coming the second time to execute judgment
on earth. When He came the first time, there was no room for him in the
inn; when he comes the second time, the whole world (and all the universe)
is going to make room for him - for the Bible says that every knee shall
bow, and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus came
the first time to deal with sin (and to pay the price for it); he's coming
the second time to set up his kingdom on earth (and to bring peace and
order to this tortured old planet). Every sign indicates that this world
is ripe for the second advent. Our day is a time that might be described
as "The night before the second Christmas. " And on that second Christmas
Day (when Jesus comes again), we are going to be like him. Our redemption
will be complete. Wars will cease, and peace will reign on the earth.
As our minds go back across the centuries during this Christmas season,
to the time and place and the setting where Jesus was born--let us try
to remember the purposes for which he came. He came to reveal God the Father,
to put away sin, to set men free from the works of the devil, and to prepare
for a second advent. If during this Christmas season, we concentrate on
the reasons for his coming - surely we'll love him more and we'll be able
to serve him better.
Many a heart and many a home this Christmas will have no more room for
Jesus, than the Judean innkeeper had nearly two thousand years ago. But
each of us has the power of choice, and the greatest thing you can do this
Christmas (if you've never done it), is to accept God's unspeakable Gift
into your life.
He stands at the door of every heart, and seeks to enter - but you must
open the door. It is not enough that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. He must
be born in our hearts.