CHRISTMAS SERIES 2018, PART 1
WHY DO WE NEED CHRISTMAS? BECAUSE WE HAVE A SIN PROBLEM!
INTRODUCTION: WELL, AS I GET READY TO PREACH THIS FIRST MESSAGE, THANKSGIVING IS GONE, (EXCEPT FOR SOME OF THE LEFTOVERS). BLACK FRIDAY IS PAST, AND WE ARE IN GEAR, FULL SPEED AHEAD FOR CHRISTMAS.
FOR MY FAMILY, CHRISTMAS HAS MORPHED TO MEET THE EVER-CHANGING TIMES, AND THE DISTANCE OF FAMILIES. IT USED TO BE THAT SHERRY AND I WOULD START CHRISTMAS ON THE EVE WITH A VISIT TO HER FATHER’S FAMILY, THEN THE MORNING OF CHRISTMAS WAS SPENT WITH HER MOTHERS FAMILY AND THE AFTERNOON WITH MY FAMILY. IT WAS OFTEN NOT THE EASIEST THING WITH SMALL CHILDREN IN TOW. THEN WHEN WE GOT A HOUSE, THINGS CHANGED A LITTLE BIT AND WE WERE ABLE TO HOST SOME CHRISTMAS ACTIVITIES. THEN LATER ON, AS THE KIDS GREW, CHRISTMAS WAS AT OUR PLACE AND THE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND FIRST RESPONDERS.
NOW, CHRISTMAS CONSISTS OF SOME FAMILY HERE WITH US, CHRISTMAS PRESENTS SENT BY MAIL AND THROUGH AMAZON, FOLLOWED BY VIDEO VISITS TO SEE THE KIDS AND GRANDKIDS.
TRANSITION: YET, WHAT WE DO ON CHRISTMAS, OR WHAT WE DO FOR CHRISTMAS PALES TO THE QUESTION OF WHY WE HAVE CHRISTMAS AT ALL. THE APOSTLE PAUL DEFINED THE NEED FOR CHRISTMAS LIKE THIS – GAL 4:4 But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law, ACCORDING TO PAUL, THE TIME WAS RIGHT. WE HAVE A CHRISTMAS BECAUSE WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SIN. AND WITHOUT A CHRISTMAS, WE WOULD HAVE NO WAY OF DEALING WITH SIN.
I. THE ORIGIN OF SIN
Genesis 3:7 (NIV) Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Romans 5:12 (NIV) Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
a. SIN ENTERED THE WORLD THROUGH OUR FIRST PARENTS
i. ADAM AND EVE WERE CREATED IN AND UNTESTED INNOCENCE
ii. THEY WERE CREATED WITH CHOICE
iii. THEY CHOSE TO FREELY WORSHIP GOD
1. WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE WHEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED, THEY CHOSE TO HIDE FROM GOD
b. ADAM AND EVE WERE OBLIVIOUS TO EVIL
i. THEY DID NOT KNOW WHERE THE “TRAPS” WERE
ii. THEY HAD NEVER FACED DECEPTION
iii. THEY ONLY KNEW GOD
SOME KEY THOUGHTS HERE:
THE WORD OF GOD BRINGS LIFE AND ORDER
SATAN’S WORDS BRING CHAOS AND DEATH
TRUTH IS OLDER THAN FALSEHOOD
GOD’S WORD CAME BEFORE SATAN’S LIES
c. THE MANNER OF SIN ENTERING THE WORLD
i. SATAN CAME IN THE FORM OF A SERPENT OR SNAKE
1. TEMPTATION OFTEN COMES IN DISGUISE
2. TEMPTATION OFTEN COMES UNEXPECTEDLY
ii. EVE DID NOT KNOW GOD’S COMMAND OR DID NOT WANT TO REMEMBER IT.
1. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT CHRIST WAS VICTORIOUS OVER THE TEMPTATIONS OF SATAN BECAUSE OF HIS PRECISE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD’S WORD.
iii. THROUGH SATAN’S DECEPTION AND EVE’S COMPLACENCY
1. GOD’S WORD WAS ADJUSTED
a. WEAKENING THE PENALTY
b. ADDING AND TAKING AWAY FROM WHAT GOD HAD SAID
2. QUESTIONED GOD’S CHARACTER
a. GOD IS JEALOUS
b. GOD IS HOLDING YOU BACK
3. ONLY THE RESULTS WERE SEEN AND NOT THE CONSEQUENCES
d. SIN BECOMES DESIRABLE – WE FORGET THAT GOD SAID, “NO”
i. THE WORD DESIRABLE IS RELATED TO THE WORD COVET -- Exodus 20:17 (NIV) "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
ii. THIS ORIGINAL SIN FOLLOWED THE PATTERN LAID OUT BY JOHN IN HIS FIRST LETTER – 1 JOHN 2:16
1 John 2:16 (NIV) For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.
1. THE LUST OF THE FLESH – SHE SAW THE TREE AS BEING GOOD FOR FOOD
2. THE LUST OF THE EYES – SHE SAW THE TREE AS PLEASANT TO THE EYES
3. THE PRIDE OF LIFE – SHE SAW THE TREE AND HAD THE DESIRE TO BE WISE
iii. THE RESULT: THEY DID NOT GET WHAT THEY SOUGHT
1. THEY DID GET MISTRUST AND ALIENATION FROM EACH OTHER.
a. COVERED SELVES WITH FIG LEAVES
b. ADAM THREW EVE UNDER THE BUS
2. THEY DID GET FEAR AND SHAME
a. AWARE OF THEIR NAKEDNESS
b. HID FROM GOD
NOTHING GOOD IS EVER ATTAINED BY DISOBEYING GOD’S WORD!
WE NEED CHRISTMAS TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE OF SIN
II. CHRISTMAS DEALS WITH THE PROBLEM OF SIN
Romans 5:6-17 (NIV) You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned-- 13 for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come. 15 But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! 16 Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. 17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
a. CHRISTMAS REVEALS THE CHARACTER OF GOD’S LOVE
i. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST PROVIDES HOPE – CONFIDENCE THAT GOD IS NOT DONE WITH US
ii. CHRISTMAS DEMONSTRATED THE CHARACTER OF GOD THROUGH THE INCARNATION
1. GOD CAME IN HUMAN FLESH
2. NOT ENOUGH TO BE BORN
3. CHRIST WAS BORN TO DIE
iii. CHRISTMAS DEMONSTRATED THE CHARACTER OF GOD IN THAT CHRIST WAS BORN AT THE PERFECT TIME IN GOD’S PLAN OF REDEMPTION FOR MAN
iv. CHRISTMAS DEMONSTRATES THE CHARACTER OF GOD IN THAT HE ACTED BECAUSE WE WERE POWERLESS AGAINST SIN
1. WE WERE WITHOUT STRENGTH
2. WE WERE FEEBLE
v. CHRISTMAS DEMONSTRATED THE CHARACTER OF GOD BECAUSE IN COMING, CHRIST CAME FOR THE UNGODLY TO BE A SUBSTITUTE FOR THEM
b. CHRISTMAS REVEALS THE CONTRAST OF GOD’S LOVE (TO OURS)
i. IN HIS DEATH – KNOWING WHAT WE WERE CHRIST WAS STILL WILLING TO DIE FOR US!
ii. IN OUR IGNORANCE
1. WE HAD NO IDEA WHAT HE WAS DOING
2. WE DID NOT CARE WHAT HE WAS DOING
iii. WHILE WE WERE AGAINST HIM. WE WERE HIS ENEMIES!
c. CHRISTMAS REVEALS THE COMPLETION OF GOD’S LOVE
i. WE WERE RECONCILED
ii. RECONCILIATION IS THE REMOVAL OF WHAT STOOD BETWEEN US AND GOD – SIN!
iii. RECONCILIATION RESTORED THE FELLOWSHIP BETWEEN GOD AND MAN THAT WAS LOST IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN
SO, WHY THEN DO WE NEED A CHRISTMAS? BECAUSE WE HAVE A PROBLEM WITH SIN THAT COULD ONLY BE SOLVED BY THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST
