THE GREAT QUESTIONS OF CHRISTMAS
Isa. 7:14 "Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Isa. 9:6-7 "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of [his] government and peace [there shall be] no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
Christmas is a time for questioning. It is the year's end. In the life of a church it is the climax of a year's worship and service unto God. A time when every individual should have a close look at his relationship to Christ and stop and reassess his committal.
Isn't it strange that the secular spirit of Christmas sometimes seems to run so counter to all that the Christian life should be about all the year through? When you think of the materialistic emphasis of the season, is it any wonder the little child was heard to inadvertently pray, "Lord forgive us our Christmases...." Or the drunk was heard to mutter as he staggered past a Christmas service, "They have to bring religion into everything!"
Yes, questions are appropriate this time of year. Someone told me that as they the sat in a crowd of many hundreds watching a Christmas pageant one night this week, they overheard a little boy ask his mother, "Mom, is this story true?" And as they looked around they wandered if even a dozen people there really knew the true story of Christmas.
For the Christian the most important questions relate to the meaning of Christmas. And even for the non-committed, this could be the critical and crucial time in your life. What better time to seek the truth about the Saviour who was born in a manger in the little town of Bethlehem? Let us ask ourselves the classic questions that have well served sincere truth seekers in every age:
I. WHO IS JESUS CHRIST?
A. He is the One who prophets predicted would point men to God.
Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem 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." (See also, Isa. 7:14, 9:6-7, 53)
B. He is the eternally existent One.
John 1:1-3 &14 " In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.. . . .And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
C. His birth - incarnation - was merely His emergence on the plains of history as the God-man. Present with man.
D. Who is Jesus? This is what that babe born in a manger had to say about the question during His ministry.
John 8:58 "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am."
John 14:9 "Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; .."
John 10:30 "I and [my] Father are one."
II. WHERE WAS JESUS BORN?
A. The geographical location and the humble situation of His birth are well known and central parts of the Christmas story.
It is beyond the comprehension of worldly and finite minds that the Creator and King of Kings could have such a lowly beginning. The event is so unusual it bears repeated comment. Millions of angelic hosts heralded His birth. - yet man practically ignored it.
But wise men studied the scriptures and found His birth place.A. Jesus was born into a world of darkness and sin. A world filled with lost and hopeless souls - without meaning and purpose in life.
1. He was born among those who needed eternal salvation.
John 5:24 "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life."
2. He came to give life and purpose to all who would believe.
John 10:10 ". . . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have [it] more abundantly."
III. WHEN WAS JESUS BORN?
A. He came in God's good time - according to His time table.
Gal. 4:4-5 "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."
B. He came at one of the darkest moments of human history. Rome, the last of four great world evil empires, epitomized the most evil nature of man.
C. But never in the history of man is He more desperately needed than today.
D. Never have human hearts had a greater need for a new birth than now.
E. Jesus can be born in your heart today by simple child-like faith in Him.
John 1:12-13 "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
Rev. 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
IV. HOW WAS JESUS BORN?
A. He was born of a virgin - the ultimate grace of God expressed!
Luke 27 & 31 "To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name [was] Mary. . . . (The angel said to Mary) And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS."
B. The attacks of Satan and his infidels have always focused on this point. All other doctrines of God, deity and grace hinge upon this great truth.
C. The new birth is based upon this great miraculous birth.
John 3:3 "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
V. WHY WAS JESUS BORN?
A. He did not come as a revolutionary, as the social gospelist say, or as just another prophet or a great teacher or to set a good example and show us a way unto God.
B. He came as the only living way to God.
John 14:6 "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
C. He came to die on a cross for the sins of all mankind.
Heb. 2:9 "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man."
D. He came that we might become God's eternal sons and life forever with Him. I John 5:13 "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God."
I John 3:1-2 " Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: . . .Beloved, now are we the sons of God, . . ."
