The True Story of Christmas. Pt.1 The Love of God and the Birth of Christ

Good morning to all of you and if you live where winter has arrived I hope that you are keeping warm! A good coffee helps me get warmed up and ready for a new day. It is especially good if you can add some real maple syrup to the coffee because that adds a rich, buttery maple (and sweet) flavor. 

I want to thank each of you again for taking time to read through these studies. I greatly praise the Lord because this blog has reached into 17 different nations around the world! I have absolutely nothing to do with who reads it or what location they may be in. God gets all the glory for helping people find this blog about His word.

Please keep pointing others to Christ and share this blog with other people confidently because the Word of God will not return void. It will do whatever God wants His word to do in each individual heart. We must give the words of life to people around us who do not know Christ. 

Christmas is coming. What does it all mean?

I would like to take a short break from our study on what it means  to be "in Christ." I would like to take a few days to think with you about the true meaning and story of Christmas and then return to our previous study.



My reason for doing this is that the severe secularization of Christmas in America has made many people desensitized to the true meaning of Christmas.  The absolute commercialization of what is a "holy day" has made many people lose sight of God's purposes in the birth of His Son, Jesus Christ. 

The Christmas Story began before Creation

Where does the true Christmas story begin? There are many places in scripture where we could start but the truth is, this story began before God created anything and before He breathed life into Adam and Eve. 

1 Peter 1:18-21  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;   But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,   Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God. 

The apostle Peter spoke about the cost of our redemption through Christ Jesus. He had to shed His precious blood on the cross to pay for the sins of all humanity. Peter described Jesus as the lamb of God without blemish or spot. Jesus lived a perfect life and satisfied God's law so that our sins could be paid for and removed from us. 

Then Peter stated that the sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross for you and me was "foreordained before the foundation of the world." The word "foreordained" means that God planned this all out in every detail before He created anything. 

Revelation 13:8  And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 

The apostle John also spoke of Jesus Christ called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The word "from" means apart, distinct and separate from the foundation of the world. In other words His death preceded the foundation of the world. The perfect counsel of the Godhead acting in unity determined before Creation that the Son of God would be born to become God's perfect lamb. 

God's motivation for Christ's birth is His love

John 3:16-17 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

The love of God motivated Him to provide a savior for the world. His love was manifest before creation and before sin ever entered the world through Adam and Eve. The final and perfect fulfillment of God's love for us came when Jesus Christ laid down His life on the cross to redeem sinners to Himself. 

Romans 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Paul speaks about this same overwhelming love of God in Romans 5. He tells us that God commended His love while you and I were still sinners drowning in sin's darkness. God's love is unconditional and is freely offered to all people. 

However, do not spurn His love because those who refuse to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation will perish. 

Points to Ponder...

• The Holy Day of Christmas and its significance is largely lost in the American culture.

• The Holy Day of Christmas has been swamped and overrun by commercialism. 

• God put into motion His plan of redemption before man was created.

• God's plan was to have His Son Jesus Christ be born in a human body to be our Savior.

• The love of God is the motivation for providing a Savior.

The true Christmas story began before creation and before there was any sin in the world. It was put into place driven by God's great love toward us, even while we were sinners. It was based upon the perfect foreknowledge of God such that He knew Adam and Eve would fail the test in the garden and sin. 

How wonderful and deep the love of God is to each person who has been born again. However, there is a sober reminder that this love and invitation to respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ will not go on forever. The Spirit will not always strive with man so we must hear and heed what He says when He is speaking to our heart through the Word. 

Bob