I’m really glad God came up with the idea of Christmas. What did God have in mind when He created Christmas?
Turn 1 John 3 (page 1303 in pew Bibles)
What motivated God to bring Christmas to us? When we think about Christmas, we normally turn to passages inside our Bibles that tell us the story of Jesus’ birth. We remember the angels, Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and the wise men. But, scattered throughout your New Testament are breadcrumbs, little statements of why Jesus came. Like Hansel and Gretel so long ago, these breadcrumbs tell you why Jesus came to earth that first Christmas. If you’re not careful, you’ll simply drive right by them.
This is a series devoted to showing God’s why behind Christmas. This morning, Jesus came to declare war.
Today’s Scripture
Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:1-10).
Showing “the Big Why” behind God’s idea of Christmas. The word we use to describe Jesus taking human flesh is Incarnation. Two times in this passage we are told why Jesus came to us - once in verse 5 & again in verse 8. Two times in this passage we are told why Christmas was created. Celebrate Christmas because Jesus Christ came to eliminate sin. Celebrate Christmas because Jesus Christ came to eliminate Satan.
1. Jesus Came to Eliminate Sin
From the moment Jesus came forth from Mary’s womb, it was understood that He was to take away the sin of the world. “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). He came to save us from our sin. No wonder when John the Baptist say Jesus coming his way, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29b)! Jesus came to destroy sin. Christmas was designed to take away your sins.
1.1 What is Sin?
“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4). Sin is the most powerful three-letter word in the English language. It is the reason that the world is in such a mess today. It is the reason that our jails are full & our churches are empty. In one word it explains why God sent Jesus, why we need Jesus and why so many people reject Jesus. Sin is the only thing God hates & the only thing that the Devil loves. It is the reason hell was created. Sin caused the fall of man. It has condemned the human race. And sin crucified the Son of God.
1.2 Sin Is Lawlessness
Sin is lawlessness. This is one of the clearest and the best definitions of sin you will find anywhere. Now there are many definitions of sin in the Bible to show its textured layers. “For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.” (Romans 14:23b) “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17). When the Bible tells us “sin is lawlessness,” it simply means that we aim to life on our terms and to live life in our own way. Sin isn’t breaking just any law, it is God’s law. When you sin, you’re saying to God, “I know what you say, but I’m going to do what I want anyway.” This is rebellion.
Did you hear about the little boy whose mother punished him by putting him in her bedroom closet? She had not heard from him in some time and she became worried. She opened the closet door, “What are you doing?” He said, “I have spit on your coat. I have spit on your dresses. I have spit on your shoes but now I’m just waiting for more spit.”
Rebellion - “sin is lawlessness.”
1.3 God’s Commands Are for Your Happiness
Someone will argue, “Let’s get rid of these laws & we’ll be a lot of happier.” Every one of God’s commands is for your happiness. Every one of God’s commands is for your holiness. Every one of God’s commands is for your safety. Every one of God’s commands is for your security. Every one of God’s commands is for your happiness.
Let me repeat: every one of God’s commands is for your holiness. Every one of God’s commands is for your safety. Every one of God’s commands is for your security.
When God says, “Thou shall not, “ He is essentially saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.” When God says, “Thou shall not, “ He is essentially saying, “Help yourself to happiness.”
1.4 You Want a Surgeon
When your Bible says in 1 John 3:5 that has to become personal for each of us. You see, you have to welcome Jesus like you would welcome a surgeon. If you had cancerous tumor, you would welcome the sharp blade of the surgeon because you know his cuts are designed to heal you. It is the same as with Jesus. Unless Jesus destroys something in you, He cannot save you. To be clear: He saves you by destroying that part of you that has that inner desire to “do your own thing.” … to cut your own path in life. Friend, I am so glad to tell you that Christmas was designed to eliminate sin. The one who feels the most joy at Christmas is the one who knows there something inside him that needed to be destroyed.
1. Jesus Came to Eliminate Sin
2. Jesus Came to Eradicate Satan
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b). Christmas is about war. Christmas is a declaration of war from the throne room of heaven. It is God’s pronouncement of war on Satan Himself. We often think of Christmas in terms of peace. Yet, Christmas is war. Listen and look at Jesus in His Own words: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.” (Matthew 10:34) Christmas is about the destruction of the devil. Christmas is declaration of war against Satan & all his minions.
2.1 Jesus Believed Satan Existed
The reason why I believe in Satan is because Jesus believed in Satan: “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Satan was the first sinner and every sinner today, without Christ, is Satan’s child. He is presented throughout Scripture as a highly superior, spiritually intelligent being, who chose to set himself up as a rival ruler of the universe. And Satan is a master at his craft of tempting you, inciting evil anywhere and everywhere: “…for the devil has been sinning from the beginning…” (1 John 3:8b). Again, the reason I believe in Satan is because Jesus believed in Satan.
2.2 Evil is Alive and Well
My youngest son asked his mother and me this past week, “Do you know about chop shops? Where they steal a car and take it apart really fast so not to get caught.” We replied, “Yes, we have heard of this. We really do live in an evil world.” Going back into the Christmas story, we remember shortly after Jesus appeared in Bethlehem, Satan inspired the regional ruler, Herod into a fury (Matthew 2:16-18). In order to eliminate the baby Jesus, Herod had all the male children under the age of two killed in Bethlehem. Satan knew Herod’s propensity to jealousy and anger. But evil isn’t just an ancient thing but it is a “right now” thing too.
Earlier this week, my wife alerted me to the news of what three young men did to a mentally disabled teenage girl in nearby Cedar Hill a little more than a year ago. It is too evil to mention in church. Then I learned of a mother shooting her 21-year-old son in the leg after he pulled out a samurai sword during an argument in Fort Worth this past Monday. Or how about right here in North Richland Hills? Where a woman scammed $1.6 million from the elderly! Sentenced in November, she will be eligible for parole in 21 years. Evil is alive and well and that because Satan is alive but not well. Satan is now languishing as a defeated foe.
2.3 Jesus’ Battle with Satan
The evidence of the battle between Satan and God is all over the pages of our New Testament. And while I don’t have the time to detail all of this epic battle… …I am reminded that Jesus encountered the Gadarene Demoniac (Luke 8:26-39). Here was a man’s rage and insanity so intense and so large that normal chains could not hold him. The Scripture says he ran around without any article of clothing and everyone was afraid of this demon-possessed man. Do you remember Jesus asking the demon’s name? The demons (plural) replied that their name were legion for they were many. Jesus told the legion of demons to leave the man and to enter into a nearby herd of pigs. While all these stories scare me to my bones, I am so grateful that Satan is a defeated foe. God told Eve one day in the future, Someone will come to crush Satan’s head (Genesis 3:15). And on the cross Jesus dealt a deathly blow to the Evil One’s existence (Romans 16:20). I’m looking forward to the time when the Bible says Christ will pick up Satan and discard him into an eternal pit (Revelation 19:20).
Ross’ tweet “Tell the teenagers: when the cyberbullies, mean girls, or steroid-drenched jocks are giving you trouble, just whisper to yourself, ‘My Dad (Almighty) can mop up the floor with you dad (Beelzebub). I follow Richard Ross on Twitter and many of your parents heard Dr. Ross in our church a few weeks ago.
1. Jesus Came to Eliminate Sin
2. Jesus Came to Eradicate Satan
3. Jesus Came to Emancipate You
The Incarnation was for your Emancipation. Let me show you how.
3.1 Jesus is Sinless
“You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Jesus is pure. Jesus is righteous. Jesus is holy. Jesus is entirely without sin. Jesus, on one occasion, asked a challenging question, “Which one of you convicts me of sin?” (John 8:46a) And the answer was no one.
The only way your sins can be taken away is by the One Who is sinless. The only way your sins can be taken away is by the One Who is sinless. Still, people look for the solution to their problems in a lot of places.
3.2 Education Isn’t the Solution
They look for education to emancipate them. Some years ago about a man discovered some very rich gold mines. He became fabulously wealthy. He moved to New York where he had an intelligent son, and he sent his son off to engineering and mining school, cause that was the family legacy, mining. One day when the son graduated with honors, he came into his father’s office and put his diploma on the desk, and said, “Dad, I have graduated with honors. I want to go to work for the company. I would like for you to give me your very best mine so that I can go and work it.” The father said, “Son, that’s my plan for you, but I think first of all, even though you’ve been to school, I think it would be better son if you were to put on a pair of overalls and go down and work in the mines and get some hands-on experience.” He said, “Now dad, we have learned things in mining school and engineering school that you’ve never even thought of. I can handle it. Give me one of your best mines.” So at young man’s insistence, the father gave to this boy the reigns of his best gold mine. But this one particular mine was kind of dangerous because the mine was backed up against a lake. Now, no sooner had the young man received his assignment, than he went out there and he fired the superintendent. The old man had been working there for years but he fired some of the other works and brought in some of his contemporaries, college grads, engineering students, to work the mine to show his dad how it could really be done. But soon water began to seep into the mine. They tried to keep the water from seeping in. The boy wired his father back to New York and said, “Dad we’ve got a problem here… what do you suggest?” but the father never answered. After a while, they did some more mining but the water continued to seep in. The boy sent a 2nd telegram and then a 3rd, and finally, in desperation, he said, “Dad, if you don’t tell me what to do we’re going to lose this gold mine.” His dad immediately sent back a message and said, “Why don’t you shove your diploma in that hole.” Education isn’t always the answer, wouldn’t you agree?
Somebody said you can take an uneducated person, he’ll steal a box off a boxcar but give him an education, he’ll soon figure out how steal the railroad itself. Education can simply makes us a more clever devil. No, education is not always the answer.
3.3 Religion Isn’t the Answer
Any cursory look of the gospels will tell you Jesus did battle with some of the most religious people known to human history, the Pharisees. Have you ever wondered what a church full of Pharisees would be like?
1. They would all attend every service;
2. They would all tithe;
3. They would all serve in the church;
4. They would all go to Hell!
Satan loves to counterfeit everything God does and he’ll deliver you to hell just as quickly from the pew as he will the local strip club. Satan loves to counterfeit everything God does. And if you’re looking for the devil, don’t forget to look in the pulpit. Don’t forget Satan loves false religion and false prophets. Satan loves to counterfeit all that God does. In fact, the letter of John is written to help all of us distinguish between real and counterfeit Christians: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10). There are at least 3 places where John shows us the contrast between the two groups.
Children of God Children of Satan
“No one who [continues] in [Jesus] keeps on sinning…”
1 John 3:6a “no one who keeps on sinning has either seen [Jesus]or known [Jesus].”
1 John 3:6b
“…Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as [Jesus] is righteous.”
1 John 3:7b “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil…”
1 John 3:8a
“No one born of God makes a practice of sinning…”
1 John 3:9a “…whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God…”
1 John 3:10b
Pastor, are you telling me Christians don’t sin? “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10).
Yes, Christians do sin. Yet, Christians fight sin in themselves and in others. God wants you to know that His followers see and they hate sin just like our Father. Christians don't go on sinning without inner conflict and continual confession. Christians see sin… Christians hate sin… Christians confess sin… and Christians fight sin. Let me repeat: Christians see sin… Christians hate sin… Christians confess sin… and Christians fight sin. Christianity puts the policeman inside our hearts.
Christ followers fight sin with increasing vigilance as your grow up into Christ. You fight sin with increasing violence as you grow up in Christ. And the reverse is true as well. Habitual and constant sin shows we our Satan’s child no matter what we say.
Education Isn’t the Solution
Religion Isn’t the Answer
3.4 The Cross of Jesus is the Solution
The only way your sins can be taken away is by One who is sinless. Back in verse 3, John tells us that our real hope is in Him. Christmas is the worldwide celebration of the Son of God appearing in human flesh. And the reason He appeared was to eliminate sin. The only hope you have of eliminating your sin is the blood of Jesus: “… and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Jesus came not on the back of a conquering steed in order to overthrow the evil empires of the world. He came not loaded with moneybags in order to raise the living standards of the world. Nor did He come down laden with books in order to teach and relieve the ignorance of the world. Instead, He came to die for the sins of the world.
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The cross of Jesus acts like a big sponge to absorb the sins of you and me. Heaven is not a reward for the righteous—it's a gift for the guilty.
Conclusion
Two times in this passage we are told why Christmas was created. “You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). Then in the second part of verse eight, John says: “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8b). Are you a child of God? I want to give you a reason to celebrate Christmas. God can bring you peace to your past, purpose to your present, and hope to your future.
