Why Christmas Makes Sense
Hebrews 2:5-18
December 25, 2011

It is always a unique joy of mine to be able to gather here on Christmas morning with God’s people and celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

I am grateful you have chosen to come.

Earlier we watched the video: “How Many Kings?”
The singer asked:
“How many kings stepped down from their thrones? How many lords have abandoned their homes? How many greats have become the least for me? How many gods have poured out their hearts to romance a world that is torn all apart? How many fathers gave up their sons for me?”

And when you ask the questions like that it highlights what could easily be called “The Absurdity of Christmas”

Philippians 2:6-8 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

And again that statement just almost sounds absurd
That Holy God would become Lowly Man.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Again, an absurd statement, that someone would give up all their riches
In order to trade places with those who are the most poor.

2 Corinthians 5:21 “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”

Romans 8:3 “For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.”

And when you read statements like that we must admit that
They sound a little bizarre, if not fully unbelievable.

In fact, the notion that the God of all creation would belittle Himself
To the point of becoming the poorest of men
And would submit Himself to the most shameful of deaths,
Just so those who killed Him could have some of His glory….
That’s really hard to handle.

We might actually find it easier to believe a fat man in a red suit rides reindeer from house to house and drops through chimney’s in order to bring a child’s most desired gift if they have been good all year.

I mean, when you think about it that story isn’t much harder to believe.

In fact, the story of Christmas seemed so absurd
That it was in fact the reason the Jews so often failed to believe.

Remember John 6?
• The crowd that had just been fed at the feeding of the 5,000…
• Fully enamored with Jesus…
• Wanting more bread…

And then Jesus hit them with this bombshell:
John 6:35-38 “Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in Me will never thirst. “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe. “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

And when Jesus said He came from heaven,
Instantly the crowd lost their enthusiasm.

John 6:41-42 “Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down out of heaven.” They were saying, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does He now say, ‘I have come down out of heaven’?”

John 6:60 “Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, “This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?”

And even later:
John 6:66 “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

• You see, the notion of a king stepping down from His throne…
• The notion of a lord abandoning His home…
• The notion of the great becoming the least…
• The notion of a god pouring out His heart…
• The notion of a father giving up His Son…

That was just too absurd to be true.
And this is why the Jews so quickly rejected Him.

And if for just a moment, we forgot that we have been taught this from childhood, and put ourselves in the Jew’s shoes
We can see how they thought this was a little too far-fetched to be true.

It just sounds absurd.

BUT: There is a perfectly good explanation for why Christmas happened.
And it is the explanation that the writer of Hebrews gives this morning.

You are familiar that the book of Hebrews wasn’t a letter that was written, but was a sermon that was preached.

And the preacher is addressing a Jewish congregation.
• Some are skeptics – thinking it all a little too much to believe.
• Some are cowards – knowing it is true, but afraid of the scorn of admitting it.
• Some are weary – having confessed, but considering denying due to hardship.

And the preacher hits all three at various points.

The sermon actually opens (and the portion we will see)
Dealing with those skeptics.

And in chapter 1, the writer gives his first argument, and that is that
Jesus is greater than the angels.

That seems like a no-brainer to us,
But it was actually a big deal to the Jews.

Angels were with God on Sinai…
Angels mediated the Law…
Angels were lofty messengers…

But more than that, angels were certainly higher than humans.
And they definitely believed Jesus was human.

And so they believed that Jesus was lower than the angels.
The writer first sets out to prove that isn’t so.

HEBREWS 1:5-14 (And we won’t comment on this fully, but notice the argument)

And because Jesus is higher than the angels, the writer gives a little encouragement then that we had better listen to what He says.

HEBREWS 2:1-4

So even though Jesus was human, He is higher than the angels,
As God’s Old Testament clearly reveals, and we had better listen.

That is really the scope of the entire sermon,
But the preacher knows it isn’t that easy.

For there is another question about to arise.
WHY?

You are asserting that Jesus is in fact higher than the angels.

THEN WHY DID HE BECOME HUMAN?
• Why didn’t He remain as God?
• Why didn’t He become like the angels?
• Why did He become human?

And the answer begins in verse 5,
Where the preacher says it all makes perfect sense.

Three things I want to show you this morning.
#1 THE REASON
Hebrews 2:5-9

And right off the bat the preacher gives the reason
That Jesus became man and not an angel.

“For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking.”

The reason He didn’t become and angel
Is because it wasn’t the angels who were in danger.

It wasn’t the angels who needed saving.
It was men.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN?
(6-8) “But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT YOU REMEMBER HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? “YOU HAVE MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; YOU HAVE CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAVE APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF YOUR HANDS; YOU HAVE PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

The preacher there quotes Psalms 8 in which David recognizes
That God has given full dominion over all creation to man.

Genesis 1:28 “God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

So God had given full dominion to man.

In fact according to the preacher Psalm 8 is clear:
“He left nothing that is not subject to him.”

God put all things under the feet of man.
BUT THERE IS AN OBVIOUS PROBLEM
“But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him.”

Obviously man is not in control.

I’ve told you before, just watch animal planet.
“I shouldn’t be alive” – nature tries to kill man.
“Fatal Attractions” – animals try to kill man.

This world isn’t in subjection the way God intended it.

WHY?
Genesis 3:17-19 “Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it All the days of your life. “Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field; By the sweat of your face You will eat bread, Till you return to the ground, Because from it you were taken; For you are dust, And to dust you shall return.”

So God didn’t become an angel
Because angels weren’t the ones with the problem.

Man had the problem.
He was supposed to reign, but he didn’t, he had fallen.

This is why God became a man.
(9) “But we do see Him who was made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

You see, there is only one way for man to undo the curse.
Pay off the debt.

He sold his rights to the usurper in exchange for “the knowledge of good and evil” and in order to get his rights back, he must pay the debt.

WHAT IS THE DEBT?
Romans 6:23a “For the wages of sin is death…”

So, the only way to deliver man from his predicament
Is to become man and pay their debt.

That is exactly why God became man.
“so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.”

There is the reason.

BUT WAIT A MINUTE!!!
As we said earlier, THAT SOUNDS STRANGE.

If man disobeyed God and brought this misery on themselves, why wouldn’t God just leave it up to man to fix it?

Why would God belittle Himself so much so as to fix it for them?

It sounds absurd that God would do this.
#2 THE RATIONALE
Hebrews 2:10-16

Notice how the preacher starts:
“For it was fitting”

In other words, “This makes perfect sense”

“For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.”

The preacher said it makes perfect sense for God
To let Jesus suffer as a human.

WHY?
(11) “For both He who sanctifies (Jesus) and those who are sanctified (men) are all from one Father; for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brethren,”

Why does it make sense for Jesus to become man?
BECAUSE WE ARE GOD’S CHILDREN TOO.

And the preacher quotes some more Old Testament passages
To reinforce this fact.

(12-13) “saying, “I WILL PROCLAIM YOUR NAME TO MY BRETHREN, IN THE MIDST OF THE CONGREGATION I WILL SING YOUR PRAISE.” And again, “I WILL PUT MY TRUST IN HIM.” And again, “BEHOLD, I AND THE CHILDREN WHOM GOD HAS GIVEN ME.”

The point there being that Jesus called humans “My brethren”

So we are God’s children too, and that is why it makes perfect sense for Jesus to become human.

God sent one Son to help the rest of them.
It all comes back to the love of God.

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
The notion of Christmas does sound absurd,
Unless you understand the love of God,
And then it makes perfect sense.

In fact Christmas only sounds absurd to those who only love themselves.

But in God’s mind this “was fitting”
He sent one Son to rescue the rest.

And to rescue a human, you have to be human.
(14) “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same”

WHY?
So He could die
“that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.”

He came to pay man’s debt and set them free.
And He had to become man to do that.

Make no mistake, the most fitting symbol of Christmas
Is not the manger, it is the cross.
HE CAME TO DIE

That is why He became man and not an angel.
“For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendant of Abraham.”

It wasn’t about Him maintaining status,
It was about Him giving help to those who needed it.

The Reason, The Rationale
#3 THE REALITY
Hebrews 2:17-18

• If God loves humans…
• And if the only way to help them is to become human…

Then the rest is obvious:
“Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things”

It wasn’t just a decision, it was necessary.
It was the only way man could be delivered. “He had to” do it.

“so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.”
The point here is that if He hadn’t become human,
Then not only could He not have died and paid the penalty,
But He couldn’t even have been sympathetic to their dilemma.

Ever hear the statement, “Walk a mile in a man’s shoes…”?

That is what Jesus did, in fact He went 2.
Hebrews 5:8 “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered.”

No He didn’t learn to obey, He was already doing that.
He learned why obedience is so hard.

He learned how to sympathize with us.
He learned how to be merciful to us.

Perhaps if the older brother had fed the pigs with his prodigal younger brother, he would have been more sympathetic when he came home.

Well, Jesus is sympathetic because He became one of us,
And this had to happen.
(18) “For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”

He endured compassion training.

And so
• It seems strange that God would become man.
• It seems strange that a king would leave his throne.
• It seems strange that a lord would leave his home.
• It seems strange that the greatest would become the least.
• It seems strange that a father would give up his son.

Unless you understand the love of God
And His desire to save man and sympathize with them.
And then it makes perfect sense.
And the point?
God really did become man, and He really did die in our place, and you can believe it.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

God’s Great Gift
John 3:16

This morning we look at a text, that none of you needed me to read to you. It is very well the first you ever learned.

And as I began to contemplate what to preach on this Christmas morning,
It was this verse that rang in my head.

At Christmas time we rightly look upon the manger
And dwell upon those near impossible words,
“The word became flesh and dwelt among us”.

It is absolutely mind boggling to try and understand the incarnation.
It is absolutely mind boggling to try and rationalize how it occurred.

How can Jesus be fully God and fully man?
How can two natures be one, and yet two?

Even theologians for centuries have wrestled with the concept.

Eventually we have to strike it all up to the transcendence of God.
This is just another concept on that long list of things
That God knows, that I cannot.

For His thoughts are not my thoughts, and His ways are not my ways.

The incarnation is a mystery.

However, not all of it is mysterious.
In fact, part of the incarnation is quite clear.
And that part is the “WHY” of the incarnation.

While we may never fully grasp the concept of God becoming flesh,
The simple reasoning as to why He did has always been plainly stated.
And that reason is LOVE

And this morning as we meet for Christmas,
I just want to remind you of this great love of God.
A love so strong that it conceived
And then performed the miracle of the incarnation.

Now, as is true in all study of God’s word, no text stands alone, and every one must be put in context.

You are aware that in John 3
Jesus is in the middle of a nighttime conversation.

Nicodemus came under covering of darkness (a fact that Jesus will exploit later in the text) and Nicodemus came with bad theology.
(2) “Rabbi we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

Nicodemus had a faulty mindset that all Israel needed was a good teacher. (That after all is probably why he was a Pharisee)

Jesus absolutely overturned this notion in verse 3.
(3) “Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

Man didn’t need to be “tweaked”,
Man needed to be “scrapped” and started over.

There was and is nothing salvageable in mankind.

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:10-12 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”

Mankind must be “born again”

But as you remember, this concept was inconceivable to Nicodemus.
(4) “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he?”

Even after Jesus did some explaining, Nicodemus was still in the dark.

(9) “Nicodemus said to Him, “How can these things be?”

And don’t be too hard on Nicodemus,
True salvation has always been hard for man to swallow.

Man has always had difficulty conceiving of a salvation
Where man is powerless to do anything,
But must throw himself at the mercy of God.

Even when the rich young ruler went away sad
And Jesus revealed that it is easier for a camel
To go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.

It was the disciples who said, “Then who can be saved?”

To which Jesus responded:
Matthew 19:26 “And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Man has always had difficulty conceiving of a salvation
That cannot be attained by their own efforts.
Yet true salvation, according to Jesus, is the total work of God.
Man cannot help, God must do it all.

And Jesus first introduced the MEANS of this salvation in verse 14.

(14-15) “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.”

Jesus revealed to Nicodemus that salvation
Would be attained through the death of the Son of Man,
And that man would partake of that salvation,
Not through strong effort, but through faith.

And all this seems like a cozy plan, except for one thing.

WHAT WOULD POSSESS THE SON OF MAN TO ALLOW HIMSELF TO BE LIFTED UP?

WHY WOULD GOD DO SUCH A THING?

And then enters John 3:16
It is a verse that explains the “why” of salvation.
It is a verse that explains the “why” of the incarnation.
It is a verse that explains the “why” of the crucifixion.

And the “why” is simply LOVE.

And this morning I just want to take a close and thoughtful look
At the love of God as it is depicted in this famous verse.

#1 THE AUTHOR OF LOVE
“For GOD”

And please don’t read on until you take a moment
To comprehend exactly who did the loving here.

This verse does not begin by saying, “For man was so broken that God…”

Man did not initiate this salvation, God did.
It was God who was first at work.

A natural man doesn’t even want salvation, let alone seek it.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”

Man didn’t want God, man wanted sin.

And that goes for you as well.

If God hadn’t intervened,
You would have never even wanted what He had to offer.

Apart from God you could not have come,
And apart from God you would not have come.
God set the whole thing in motion.

And don’t miss out on the fact that He is God.

The author of love is not some insignificant being.
We are talking about the Creator of the universe.
We are talking about the absolute supreme Power.

The entire universe bends to His will.
When He told light to come, light had to come from somewhere.
When He told land to appear, land had to arrive.
When He told fish to swim, they had better do it.

It didn’t matter “how” it happened, but it happened
Because the supreme authority of all things told it to.

Furthermore He is the judge of all the universe.
All things answer to Him.

And if anything or anyone dares to stand against His decrees,
All He has to do is blink, and that small piece of obstinance
Is forever removed from existence.

HE IS GOD
• It is our mission to find out what He wants.
• It is our mission to please Him.
• It is our mission to get to Him.

And yet, even though He is the supreme authority,
It was not us, but He who originated salvation.

The Almighty, Infinite God is the One we are dealing with.
He is the Author of Love

#2 THE EXPRESSION OF LOVE
“For God SO LOVED”

And that too is a mind-blowing concept.

Because He is God, He has the right to promote and display
Any emotion He desires.
He could choose vengeance, or deception, or wrath.
He had the right to be whatever He wanted,
And yet He, with no input from us, DETERMINED TO EXPRESS LOVE.

While false gods throughout the world demonstrate
“anger” or “hunger” or “rain” or “wind”
THE God demonstrates love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

THE God could have done whatever He wanted
And forced us to bend to His will, and yet He chose to express love.

And what did He choose to love?

#3 THE OBJECT OF LOVE
“For God so loved THE WORLD”

And there is a notion for you.
If it had been us, we would have set our affection upon ourselves.
And yet God did the opposite.

God chose to love the world.
And this is especially mind-boggling,
Especially when you consider how unworthy the world was of love.

All mankind had ever done was disregard God.
• Adam & Eve broke the only command they had.
• Cain killed Abel
• Lamech started polygamy and killed a man and a boy.

And finally by the days of Noah, this was God’s evaluation of “the world”

Genesis 6:5-6 “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

And man hasn’t changed much over the years.
Even as we read earlier out of Romans,
“there is none who does good, not even one.”

And yet it was this wicked, obstinate, disobedient, God rejecting world
That God chose to love.
God loved those who cursed Him.

God chose to express His love to a wicked carnal world
That had done everything they could to reject His right to be God.
And what did this love look like?

#4 THE EVIDENCE OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world THAT HE GAVE…”

Does this strike anyone else as odd?
Why should He give?
He did nothing wrong.
Why should He offer a ransom?
He wasn’t the offender.

Because love that does not give is not love.

Amy Carmichael said: “You can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving.”

1 John 3:16-17 “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

God’s love is not unverifiable.
God’s love is not invisible.

God didn’t just say, “I love you” and leave it at that.
God proved His love by giving.

What did He give?

#5 THE EXTENT OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world that He gave HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON,”

In Scripture we are told that love is MEASURABLE.

Remember the woman at Jesus feet?
Luke 7:44-47 “Turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet. “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume. “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”

We know the woman loved more than Simon
Because she gave more than Simon.

Love is measured by giving, and if that is true,
Then the depth of God’s love can never be questioned.

For God did not just give water, or even and alabaster vile of perfume.
God gave “His only begotten Son”

God’s love is absolutely priceless.

Romans 5:6-8 “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

1 John 4:9-10 “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

God demonstrated love by giving, and He gave no small gift.
God gave His Son.

He gave Him first into exile, and then into death.

Charles Spurgeon said:
“If you desire to see the love of God in this great procedure you must consider how He gave His Son. He did not give His Son, as you might do, to some profession in the pursuit of which you might still enjoy his company; but He gave His Son to exile among men. He sent Him down to yonder manger, untied with a perfect manhood, which at the first was in an infant’s form. There He slept, where horned oxen fed! The Lord God sent the heir of all things to toil in a carpenter’s shop: to drive the nail, and push the plane, and use the saw. He sent Him down amongst scribes and Pharisees, whose cunning eyes watched Him, and whose cruel tongues scourged Him with base slanders. He sent Him down to hunger, and thirst, amid poverty so dire that He had not where to lay His head. He sent Him down to the scourging and the crowning with thorns, to the giving of His back to the smiters and His cheeks to those that plucked off the hair. At length He gave Him up to death – a felon’s death, the death of the crucified. Behold that cross and see the anguish of Him that dies upon it, and mark how the Father has so given Him, that He hides His face from Him, and seems as if He would not own Him! “Lama sabachthani” tells us how fully God gave His Son to ransom the souls of the sinful. He gave Him to be made a curse for us; gave Him that He might die “the just for the unjust to bring us to God.”
(Spurgeon, C.H. “The Treasury of The New Testament” Volume II St. Luke XV. 8 to Romans III. 25 [Marshall, Morgan & Scott, Limited; Edinburgh, London] pg. 283)

God’s love is indeed deep, God’s love is indeed wide.
God’s love gave, and gave His only begotten Son

WHY?

#6 THE SCOPE OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, THAT WHOEVER”

It is truly one of our favorite concepts of Scripture,
And that is that God’s love comes absolutely without limit.

We sing the song, “Whosoever, surely meaneth me”

Romans 10:13 “for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”

Jesus said:
John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.”
God holds absolutely no favoritism.
God holds absolutely no partiality.
God holds absolutely no prejudice.

In fact, the use of “the world” earlier
Was shattering to the prejudice of the Jews.

It was to remind their Jewish readers that the gospel wasn’t just for them.
It was to remind them that “whoever would” could come.

You may even remember the fight in the early church
As to whether or not Gentiles could really be saved.

But after God sent Peter to Cornelius, this was his response:
Acts 10:34-35 “Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”

God’s love reaches to whoever, and they all have the opportunity.

#7 THE EXPECTATION OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever BELIEVES IN HIM”

Today in the church world if you throw out the word “Limited Atonement” people instantly get in an uproar.

How can you say the atonement of Jesus is limited?

Because Scripture says it is.
Even you believe the atonement is limited, for right here it says that the atonement is limited to who?

To “whoever believes in Him”

That does not diminish the scope of God’s love,
But it does indicate that God’s love comes with expectation.

God love comes expecting the recipients of His love to believe.

And the word “believes” means far more
Than to ascribe intellectual ascent.

The word here means to trust.
• It is a word that encompasses obedience to God’s commands.
• It is a word that encompasses endurance in God’s work.
• It is a word that ultimately points to love of God in return.

Mark 12:28-34 “One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that HE IS ONE, AND THERE IS NO ONE ELSE BESIDES HIM; AND TO LOVE HIM WITH ALL THE HEART AND WITH ALL THE UNDERSTANDING AND WITH ALL THE STRENGTH, AND TO LOVE ONE’S NEIGHBOR AS HIMSELF, is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.”

Jesus revealed the main objective of salvation
And that is that you would love God.

And that is still the expectation of God’s love.

He loved so much that He sent His Son,
With the expectation that you would love in return.

And there is good reason why you should.
#8 THE EFFECT OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him SHALL NOT PERISH,”

This is an absolutely amazing effect of God’s love toward us.

As we have already said man is born sinful,
And absolutely deserving of destruction in hell.

We inherited a sin nature from our father Adam,
And very soon we followed in his footsteps.
And the wages of that sin is death.

And yet God loved us enough to send His son,
That His Son could pay the penalty for that sin.

And that all those who believe in the Son could be forgiven.

God’s love brought about forgiveness from the sin
That would send each and every one of us to hell for all eternity.

Psalms 103:10-14 “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”

It is the tremendous love of God
That comes with the effect on our lives of forgiveness.

But that is not all
#9 THE BONUS OF LOVE
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”

It’s one thing to be called forgiven and to escape the sentence of hell,
BUT THIS IS EVEN BETTER.

Now not only are we no longer called enemies,
But we are actually called sons.
Not only do we skip the sentence of hell,
But we gain an invitation to heaven.

And more than just heaven it is “life”

Eternal life is not just what you get when you die,
It is what you get when you believe.

It is what picks you up out of your sinful lifestyle
And allows you to walk in holiness
AND IT IS ALL A BENEFIT OF LOVE.

When you sit back and try to soak it all in, it is really too much to fathom.

For here in this verse we learn
• That even when He didn’t have to,
• The God of the universe chose to exercise love,
• And love to such degree that He would give His only begotten Son
• To pay the penalty for sinners
• Gaining them forgiveness and eternal life

And all of this is free to those
Who will simply believe in Christ and love Him in return.

I don’t know how Christmas works.
I don’t know how God entered the womb.
I don’t know how the incarnation occurred.
BUT I DO KNOW WHY.

Christmas exists because of the love of God,
And today I simply invite you to bask in that love with me.

1 John 4:19 “We love, because He first loved us.”

“So that He might Redeem”
Galatians 4:1-7

Last Sunday we talked about what I believe to be
The most significant part of Christmas, and that is the incarnation.

God didn’t just put on a human body…
God didn’t just get inside a human and cohabitate in order to closely associate…

In short, God didn’t just observe man.
GOD BECAME MAN

And we talked about why that had to happen.

This morning I want to show you how timely it was,
And the extreme benefit we gain from it.

Some of you may remember our study of the book of Galatians,
But for those who did not take part,
Allow me to give you the overall point of the letter.

The Galatians were a region of churches consisting of such churches as Antioch, Lystra, Derbe, & Iconium

What you may also remember is that that region
Was a hot-bed for legalistic Judaism.

(In fact it was Jews from Antioch & Iconium
That followed Paul to Lystra in order to have him stoned)

So it is no surprise that those same Judaisers who attacked Paul
Are now attacking the churches he planted in the region.

And their main objective is to turn the Galatians
Back into a legalistic religion.

The main argument centers around the concept of circumcision.
Faith in Christ alone is not enough.
You must also adhere to the Law.
(You must be Jewish, not just Christian)

(Today it could be baptism or worship on Saturday, or missions)

Certainly the church today affirms the importance of good works,
But as fruit of salvation, not a means unto salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
And I might as well point out that this is
Precisely what circumcision was as well.

This is clearly seen in Abraham.
Romans 4:9-12 “Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised; and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.”

And so even circumcision, as with all religious works,
Was merely a symbol of salvation, but not a means unto it.

But the Judaisers insisted otherwise and attacked the Galatian churches
Seeking desperately to draw them back under their spiritual control.

And so we see the purpose for Paul’s letter.
1) To clarify the true gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone.
2) To condemn the heretics who were promoting a false gospel
3) To chastise the Galatians for being so gullible as to buy their deceptions

And that can be clearly seen from a complete study of the book of Galatians.

This morning we are in one of the gospel clarifying portions.
WE SEE ONE OF THE BENEFITS OF CHRIST’S COMING

3 things
#1 OUR SLAVERY
Galatians 4:1-3

You immediately notice that Paul is speaking
In an illustrative sense as he speaks of an heir.

This is actually a concept he began in the previous chapter.

God had made a promise to Abraham.
A promise of blessing on him and his seed. (Not Israel, but Jesus)

And the idea is that if we desire to be heirs of that promise
We must become children of Abraham, or of His seed, Jesus.

And that is precisely what happens when we come to faith in Christ.
Galatians 3:26-29 “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”
When we are IN CHRIST then we are automatically heirs of the promise
That God made to Him and to Abraham.

And Paul now carries that same theme into chapter 4.
(1-2) “Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.”

And I hope you understand the implication.
Your father may be a multi-millionaire,
And you may indeed be set to inherit the entire estate,
But while you are a child you have no say in the matter nor control of it.

Instead you are held back, taught, and trained
Until the day you are ready to assume responsibility.

We understand it in our culture; certainly it was true of a Jewish boy.

Jewish boys don’t officially become men until their bar mitzvah
On the first Sabbath after their 13th birthday.

Until that day, they are “under guardians and managers”

These are intended to prepare the boy
To become the man that his father expects him to be.

Paul then takes that reality and makes a spiritual parallel to it.
(3) “So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.”

Paul says what is true for every Jewish boy in a cultural sense
Is true of us all in a spiritual sense.

“while we were children”
Is Paul speaking of just age here? – No.

He is using the term “children”
As a statement of ignorance and immaturity.

Look down at verse 8,
Galatians 4:8 “However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods.”

And so it is clear he is not just saying when we were younger,
But when we were immature and ignorant
And more specifically did not know God.

He goes on to say in verse 3
That we were “held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.”
Just as a young boy often feels held back by all the rules
So was the same for us.

WHAT ARE “the elemental things of the world.”?

We can gain much insight later in the text.
Galatians 4:8-11 “However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.”
Paul said in verse 9 that they were
Turning back “to the weak and worthless elemental things”

WHAT ARE THEY?
Verse 10, “You observe days and months and seasons and years”

And so it becomes clear to us that the “elemental things”
That enslaved us was a life under legalistic religious ordinance.

And this is true elsewhere as well.
TURN TO: COLOSSIANS 2:16-23

To them the “elemental things of the world”
Looked like obedience to God’s Law, but it wasn’t.

In reality it was sensual, Phariseestic, arrogant, self-glorifying,
Mystical, and absolutely worthless ritual.

But that is where the Galatians were formerly enslaved.

Allow me to develop the picture a little further.

Galatians 3:23-24 “But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”

And so there we see that the Law was a tutor.
It was not the final aim, but was a tool to lead us further.

And according to Galatians 4:1-2 the guardians and managers
Were intended to tutor us with this curriculum
To prepare us for a true relationship with the Father.

But the problem was that the guardians and managers
Corrupted their purpose, and kept us separated from the Father
And from our inheritance by forever keeping us under the Law.

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.”

Why did the guardians and mangers do this?

Because with the heir out of the way,
They wished to seize the inheritance.

Remember the parable of the vineyard that Jesus gave?

The Father sent slaves to reap the produce of the vineyard,
But the tenants beat the slaves and robbed them.

So the Father then sent the Son to collect the payment.

Matthew 21:38 “But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’”

And this is what Paul is revealing.

We were formerly enslaved under corrupt guardians,
Who desired to keep us under the Law forever,
And therefore to prevent us from obtaining our inheritance.

We couldn’t get the inheritance because we were trapped in religion.

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TRAPPED IN RELIGION?
Men do this on purpose to keep you loyal to them,
And they never really turn you loose to serve Christ.

[I was angered at a Seventh Day Adventist Church]

He keeps his pews packed with a fear tactic
That if they miss they fall out of fellowship with God
And incur His wrath.

We’ve seen other religions and denominations do the same.
• If you aren’t here every Sunday to partake of the Lord’s Supper…
• If you don’t participate in Mass or confession…
• If you don’t spend two years on a bicycle as a missionary…

And with such threats, they steal any sense of security,
And keep people enslaved under those “elemental things”.

And that is where we all were.

The slavery of trying desperately to make God love us
Through our persistent dedication to ritual and religion.
#2 OUR SAVIOR
Galatians 4:4-5

God sent His Son to change our slavery into sonship.

“when the fullness of the time came”

It means when the time on God’s calendar was finally here.
When the time was right, when God’s appointed time came to fruition.

And I also see a hint of attitude here.

It is almost like saying, “When God had had enough”
When God had had His fill of the guardians and managers.

Then “God sent forth His Son”

And that can certainly be seen in the attitude of Jesus can’t it.

And when God had had His fill,
He “sent for His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law”

And as we studied Sunday
“born of a woman” – because God had to be man
“born under the Law” – because He had to bear our burden

Romans 8:1-3 “Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,”

He came in our likeness to fight our battle and earn our victory.

(5) “so that He might redeem those who were born under the Law,”
He came to this earth as a man to fulfill the Law
And then to spread His success to us.

The guardians and managers forever held the Law over our head. And as long as we failed, they had grounds to keep us in line.

But Christ came and perfectly fulfilled it,
And He forged a way for us to be set free.

“that we might receive the adoption as sons.”
• He fulfilled the Law (our tutor)
• He set us free from the guardians and managers

HE USHERED IN OUR BAR MITZVAH
He made it possible for us to quit being a slave
And start enjoying the benefits of being a son.

AND THE BIGGEST ASPECT IS SECURITY.
(If we learn anything from the prodigal, it’s the security of a son)

We no longer walk in fear of God rejecting us.
Now we have been adopted. He has selected us,
He has signed the papers, He has made us His sons.

We now enjoy a status with God that can never be undone.

Jesus made that happen.
He had seen enough of the legalistic abuses taking place
Keeping people from their right as heirs of God
And He came to earth as a man to set us free.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”

Our Slavery, Our Savior
#3 OUR STATUS
Galatians 4:6-7

Perhaps a child had lived in an orphanage waiting to be selected.
• But every time a couple comes to visit he makes some sort of mistake, and the couple chooses another child.
• He is trapped by his own failures and lives in fear of never being found worthy.
• But then one day a family takes him home and tells him he is their son.
• But because of the boys history of rejection he has difficulty believing them.

Until one day he finds his adoption certificate
And sees the seal stamped on the paper that reveals
That he is now a son forever and it can never be changed.

Verse 6 is our certificate.
(6) “Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

HOW DO I KNOW I AM A SON?
Because God worked a change in you
That caused you to look at Him as a Father.

He poured His Spirit into us, and that is why we naturally cry out to Him “Abba! Father!”

Which is a very personal term equivalent to our phrase “Daddy”
God made us a son through Jesus.
He makes us feel like a son by giving us His Spirit

Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”

Romans 8:15-17 “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

Because of the Spirit, we know we are sons of God.

(7) “Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.”

And there we see again the point of Christmas.

To set us free from the fear instigated by the guardians
And to move us into the security of being an adopted child of God.

And because we are sons, we are heirs.

All the promises that God made to Abraham
All the blessings of Scripture

They are yours.
You can’t lose them…
Never to be revoked…

God adopted you and chose to give them to you,
And they are forever yours, because Jesus set us free to be sons.

And so this morning I want you to have a Merry Christmas
Realizing the absolute security found in being a son of God.

Furthermore I want you to bask in the joy of knowing
That you have an inheritance that your Father has stored up for you

And it is made possible all because
God became a man and made it possible.

2 Corinthians 8:9 “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”