Title: 4 Christmas Gifts
Scripture Reading: Luke 2:10-11; John 1:29; 1 John 3:23. John 4:4
Luke 2:10-11 ‘And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.’
John 1:29 ‘ The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.’
1 John 3:23, ‘And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.’
John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
The Central figure in the celebration of Christmas is the birth of Christ.
The birth of Christ is the beginning of the Gospel.
John 1:29 makes it very clear: Behold the Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world.
He came to die so that when you do sin, there is a propitiation, a removal of God’s wrath, then what does this imply for living your life?
Four things. And they are wonderful to have. I give them to you briefly as Christmas presents.
Gift 1: Christ has come
Luke 2:10-11 says, ‘I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
They will call Him Immanuel — which means, “ God with us.” — Matthew 1:23
There’s a song in the air! There’s a star in the sky!
There’s a mother’s deep prayer,
And a baby’s low cry! And the star rains its fire
While the beautiful sing,
A number of years ago a remarkable Christmas card was published by the title “If Christ Had Not Come.” It was based on our Savior’s own words, “If I had not come,” in John 15:22. The card pictured a minister falling asleep in his study on Christmas morning and then dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.
Gift2: A Clear Purpose for Living
The second implication is that you have a clear purpose for living. Yours sins are forgiven. You have a new life ahead of you. Negatively, it is simply this: don’t sin—don’t do what dishonors God. “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin” (1 John 2:1). “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). The clear purpose for living is believe on his name, love one another and don’t sin anymore. Christ has broken the power of sin in your life. You are living a new life with divine empowerment from the Holy Spirit.
1 John 3:23 says, ‘And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.’ It’s a great summary of what John’s whole letter requires. These two things are so closely connected for John that he calls them one commandment: believe Jesus and love others. That is your purpose. That is the sum of the Christian life.
Gift 3: Hope That Our Failures Will Be Forgiven
The third implication of the twofold truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: we make progress in overcoming our sin when we have hope that our failures will be forgiven. If you don’t have hope that God will forgive your failures, when you start fighting sin, you give up.
The sum of the Christian life . . . [is] trusting Jesus and loving people the way Jesus and his apostles taught us to love.
Gift 4: Christ Will Help Us
Finally, the fourth implication of the double truth that Christ came to destroy our sinning and to forgive our sins is this: Christ will really help us in our fight. He really will help you. He is on your side. He didn’t come to destroy sin because sin is fun. He came to destroy sin because sin is fatal. It is a deceptive work of the devil, and it will destroy us if we don’t fight it. He came to help us, not hurt us.
So here’s your third Christmas present: Christ will help overcome sin in you. First John 4:4 says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Jesus is alive, Jesus is almighty, Jesus lives in us by faith. And Jesus is for us, not against us. He will help you in your fight with sin in the new year. Trust him.
