THE PROVIDENTIAL BIRTH OF GOD’S SON

The birth of Christ, in addition to his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension to glory, are the most important events in human history. For through Christ, God has revealed to the world his love, his mercy, his grace and all his other attributes. The incarnate Son of God was born into the world to bring life, for death began to rule on earth after the fall of the first man. That is, because of the original sin of Adam, the entire human race was cursed and condemned to death; the one sin of Adam separated us from our Creator God. As the Apostle Paul says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” As descendants of Adam, we were all conceived in sin; Adam’s sin spread to us through our inheritance of his blood. In other words, because we were all in Adam when Adam sinned, we all have a sinful nature. “As the Scriptures say: ‘There is no one who is righteous, no one who is wise or who worships God. All have turned away from God; they have all gone wrong; no one does what is right, not even one. Their words are full of deadly deceit; wicked lies roll off their tongues, and dangerous threats, like snake’s poison, from their lips; their speech is filled with bitter curses. They are quick to hurt and kill; they leave ruin and destruction wherever they go. They have not known the path of peace, nor have they learnt reverence for God.” (Romans 3:10-18).

We are all inherently evil and do not seek to please God. Because of our sinful nature, we are all enemies of God, and all we all deserve is death, the wages of sin. To understand the importance of the birth of God’s Son into the world, we must not only have a proper knowledge of the character of God – God is holy and righteous – but we must also understand our damning condition. As natural men, we are all held captive by death because of sin, for sin brought death into the world. But with Christ comes life. Sin separates us from God, but Christ reconciles us to God. The birth of Christ is the first key component of God’s redemptive plan. Christ was born to live the life we couldn’t live because of our fallen nature; He came to bear our sins, in order to reconcile us to God, the Creator of the entire universe. We were dead in our transgressions, slaves to sin, held captive by the sting of death. The birth of Christ into the world is extremely crucial; it is a full expression of God’s love for humanity.

After the fall, God’s judgement fell on Adam and Eve, and the serpent is cursed. But the Lord also promised to send a Redeemer who would redeem his people and set them free from their captivity to sin and death. The Lord said to the serpent, “I will make you and the woman hate each other; her offspring and yours will always be enemies. Her offspring will crush your head, and you will bite her offspring’s heel.” (Genesis 3:15). Thousands of years later, God fulfilled his promise through a young virgin named Mary in the town of Nazareth in Galilee, promised in marriage to Joseph, a descendant of King David. Luke 1:28 tell us, “The angel came to her and said, ‘Peace be with you! The Lord is with you and has greatly blessed you!” In verse 31 the angel said to Mary, “You will become pregnant and give birth to a Son, and you will name Him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High God. The Lord will make Him a King, as his ancestor David was, and He will be the King of the descendants of Jacob for ever; his Kingdom will never end!” Verse 35, the angel continued, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and God’s power will rest upon you. For this reason the holy child will be called the Son of God.”

Christ is the long-awaited King, the Promised King, the Messiah, the Redeemer of his people, the King of peace, whose birth and eternal dominion were announced in the past by the prophets. Isaiah 11:1-5 says, “The royal line of David is like a tree that has been cut down; but just as new branches sprout from a stump, so a new King will arise from among David’s descendants. The Spirit of the LORD will give Him wisdom, and the knowledge and skill to rule his people. He will know the LORD’s will and honour Him, and find pleasure in obeying Him. He will not judge by appearance or hearsay; He will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless. At his command the people will be punished, and evil persons will die. He will rule his people with justice and integrity.”

Jeremiah 23:5-6, “The LORD says, ‘The time is coming when I will choose as King a righteous descendant of David. That King will rule wisely and do what is right and just throughout the land. When He is King, the people of Judah will be safe, and the people of Israel will live in peace. He will be called ‘The LORD Our Salvation.’” Micah 5:2-5, ‘“The LORD says, ‘Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in Judah, but out of you I will bring a Ruler for Israel, whose family line goes back to ancient times. So the LORD will abandon his people to their enemies until the woman who is to give birth has her Son. Then those Israelites who are in exile will be reunited with their own people. When He comes, He will rule his people with the strength that comes from the LORD and with the majesty of the LORD God Himself. His people will live in safety because people all over the earth will acknowledge his greatness, and He will bring peace.’”

The birth of God’s Son took place at the right time, in the right town as preordained by the Sovereign Father. Christ was born in Bethlehem as prophesied by Micah. Luke 2:8-14 tells us, “There were some shepherds in that part of the country who were spending the night in the fields, taking care of their flocks. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone over them. They were terribly afraid, but the angel said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid! I am here with good news for you, which will bring great joy to all the people. This very day in David’s town your Saviour was born – Christ the Lord! And this is what will prove it to you: you will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great army of heaven’s angels appeared with the angel, singing praises to God: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom He is pleased!”

The birth of Christ is good news for us sinners. Without the birth of Christ there would not be the cross; without the cross there would not be forgiveness of sin and we could not even talk about resurrection. Christ came and endured the suffering and curses that were meant for us. He set aside his glory and took on the cross. This is what Isaiah talked about when he prophesied about Christ, the Suffering Servant of God. He said, “He endured the suffering that should have been ours, the pain that we should have borne. All the while we thought that his suffering was punishment sent by God. But because of our sins He was wounded, beaten because of the evil we did. We are healed by the punishment He suffered, made whole by the blows He received. All of us were like sheep that were lost, each of us going his own way. But the LORD made the punishment fall on Him, the punishment all of us deserved. He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly; He never said a word. Like a lamb about to be slaughtered, like a sheep about to be sheared, He never said a word. He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die, and no one cared about his fate. He was put to death for the sins of our people. He was placed in a grave with the wicked, He was buried with the rich, even though He had never committed a crime or ever told a lie.” (Isaiah 53:4-9).

Before the coming of our Lord, we were all living in darkness, held captives by sin and death. But out of the fullness of his love, God the Father sent his Son to save us from our captivity. Christ was born under the Law and He obeyed the Law in its entirety. He lived a perfect life, the life we can never live, in order to set us free from our slavery to the destructive lusts of the flesh and the deceitful teachings of this world. Christ is the source of our joy, freedom, victory and peace. He is the light that came into the world to dispel the darkness that deprived us of the glorious presence of God and filled our minds and hearts with the fear of death. And so says the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 9:2-7, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. You have given them great joy, LORD; You have made them happy. They rejoice in what You have done, as people rejoice when they harvest their corn or when they divide captured wealth. For You have broken the yoke that burdened them and the rod that beat their shoulders. You have defeated the nation that oppressed and exploited your people, just as You defeated the army of Midian long ago. The boots of the invading army and all their bloodstained clothing will be destroyed by fire. A child is born to us! A Son is given to us! And He will be our ruler. He will be called, ‘Wonderful Counselor’, ‘Mighty God’, ‘Eternal Father’, ‘Prince of Peace’. His royal power will continue to grow; his Kingdom will always be at peace. He will rule as King David’s successor, basing his power on right and justice, from now until the end of time. The LORD Almighty is determined to do this.”

However, we cannot talk about the birth of Christ without considering his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension to Heaven. All these events are indispensable elements of the work of redemption accomplished by God through his Son Jesus Christ. It was necessary for the Son to take the likeness of man in order to bear the curses that were meant for those who would turn to Him in repentance and faith, i.e., God’s elect. Hebrews 2:14-15 says, “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death He might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

Because of our sins, we were all guilty before God. It was therefore necessary that justice be satisfied. Christ came and offered Himself willingly as a propitiation for our sins for the righteous demand of the Law to be satisfied. Our King was born to pay our debts and to set us free for ever. We are not able to keep the Law of God and all we deserve is death. But because of what the Lord has done for us on the cross, we have become recipients of God’s grace and heirs of his Kingdom. The Lord has imputed his own righteousness to us who have faith in Him. He has justified us before God. Sin and death no longer have power over us.

Christ is our victory over sin and death; He is our triumph over judgement. His birth is a blessing to us who believe in Him. The Lord is the mighty Saviour who gives life to all those who put their trust in Him. But this life has been granted to us at a price that is infinitely high – the precious blood of Christ. He was crucified for the sake of his elect. For without Christ’s atoning sacrifice, there would be no forgiveness of sin, there would be no salvation. Hence, declares the Lord in John 3:14-16, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Christ was born to save the world. He was sent by the Father to live the life we cannot live. He lived a perfect life, in obedience to God the Father, and reconciled us to Him. He was made a curse for us, and He died for our sins in order to appease God’s wrath on our behalf and to satisfy the righteous demand of the Law. Christ is the propitiation for our sins. He took the likeness of man and bore upon his own shoulders the sins of all those who have faith in Him. The perfect Lamb of God died for us. He who knew no sin suffered the full wrath of God in order that we may inherit eternal life. He was nailed to the cross for our sake. As the writer of Hebrews says, “Through the eternal Spirit, Christ offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to God.” (Hebrews 9:14). Thanks to the sacrificial death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the sins of all those who believe that Christ died for their sins and was raised from death by the glorious power of God are now forgiven. They are no longer slaves to sin, they are no longer held by the sting of death. They are dead to sin because they shared in Christ’s death on the cross and in his resurrection from the dead. That is to say, as far as sin is concerned, we Christians are dead. However we are alive in Christ through his resurrection, because by raising Christ from the dead, God has given us a new birth and a new life in Christ.

The birth of our Lord is providential and sacred. It is a blessing, it is God’s gift to his children, the elect. Christ is the glory of God that shines over his children. As Christians, it is extremely important for us to preserve the blessedness, the sacredness and the significance of the birth of our Saviour. We should continue to value and celebrate the birth of our Lord, with honour and reverence, with praise and thanksgivings. Some two thousand years ago, the Saviour was born to give us life. We were dead in our transgressions, slaves of sin, condemned to face the second death. But the Prince of peace came and set us free.

It is therefore our responsibility as Christians to protect the birth of our Redeemer God from any defilement. We are the body of Christ, the Temple of the Most High, rescued for his glory. We are to celebrate the birth, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord daily in a way that reflects the image of our Lord – Christ is the holy God, He is light. We celebrate Christmas to commemorate the coming of our Saviour into the world and to give glory to our God. Yet each day should be marked by a faithful worship of our Lord who enthroned on high and who pleads with God the Father on our behalf. Like the angels who appeared to the shepherds the night of our Saviour’s birth, we should always sing praises to God and give Him glory for the birth of our King and for all that He has done for our redemption.

Christ came to save those who walk in darkness. But the world hates Him. To cast a shadow over the birth of our Savior, the world has given Christmas an unorthodox meaning. Christmas for those who belong to the world is an opportunity to pursue thrills and indulge in orgies. It is an occasion for them to party, to indulge in gluttony, and celebre santa and his reindeers. This is Satan’s strategy to obstruct the significance, the blessedness and the sacredness of the birth of Christ. Santa is a product of Satan and his agents, that is, those who reject Christ and his word, crafted to keep people away from the truth. They have exchanged the truth about God for a lie. They reject the Word of God because it tells them their deeds are evil. They reject Christ, deny the existence of God, because the word of God is offensive to them. They love the darkness rather than the light, they walk according to the flesh; for their god is their natural desires.

It is our responsibility as Christians to expose the evil schemes of the devil, crafted to hold man forever captive to sin and death. It is our responsibility as believers to expose those refuse to give up their sinful desires and evil passions and hinder the truth with their lies and deceptions. They gratify their pride by seeking out evil and by exchanging the truth of God for a lie. They came up with santa to hinder the birth of the Saviour, so that even little children may not know what Christmas is all about and how important the birth of Christ is to every human being. They are enemies of God, haters of the truth, rejecters of Christ and blasphemers of the Holy Spirit. Their purpose is evil and demonic. They hinder the truth in order to serve their lusts. These are the people the Apostle Paul speaks about when he says, “There are many whose lives make them enemies of Christ’s death on the cross. They are going to end up in hell, because their god is their bodily desires. They are proud of what they should be ashamed of, and they think only of things that belong to this world.” (Philippians 3:18-19).

Christ came into the world to be its Saviour. If anyone says he is a Christian, Christ alone should be the object of their faith and worship. Anyone who puts santa at the centre of Christmas or who considers santa as part of it is an idol worshipper. Any worship that includes the festive elements or the adoration practices of pagans is offensive to God. The Lord’s command to all his people in Deuteronomy 12:4 is this, “Do not worship the LORD your God in the way that these people worship theirs gods.” Every child of God should be an imitator of Christ. A true child of God does not indulge in the destructive lusts of this world, but rather he imitates Christ in his walk. Everyone who in Christ must be constrained by the love of Christ to seek that which pleases Christ. Every Christian is a slave of Christ, and therefore should live for Christ. We are to offer a pure worship to our Lord. Christmas is to give glory to God for what He has done for us through his Son Jesus Christ – Christ the Redeemer died on the cross for our sins. His birth should be celebrated with greater honour and thanksgivings to God.

Christmas is not about santa or gluttony – these are the worthless things that those who belong to the world indulge in. Santa is an idol. Therefore, anyone who has a place for santa in their life breaks the greatest commandment. For thus says the Lord of Hosts, “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me.” (Deuteronomy 5:7-9). The Lord hates idolatry. He is a jealous God who does not share his glory with false gods. He promises to unleash his wrath against all those who turn away from Him to worship idols.

The Lord cannot be mocked. He never lets go unpunished those who dishonour Him, those who abandon Him to worship idols. This is what the Lord Almighty said to Israel when they abandoned Him to worship the gods of the nations, “‘I will no longer help them,’ He said; ‘then I will see what happens to them, those stubborn, unfaithful people.’ With their idols they have made Me angry, jealous with their so-called gods, gods that are really not gods. So I will use a so-called nation to make them angry; I will make them jealous with a nation of fools. My anger will flame up like fire and burn everything on earth. It will reach to the world below and consume the roots of the mountains. ‘I will bring on them endless disasters and use all my arrows against them. They will die from hunger and fever; they will die from terrible diseases. I will send wild animals to attack them, and poisonous snakes to bite them. War will bring death in the streets; terrors will strike in the homes. Young men and young women will die; neither babies nor old people will be spared. I would have destroyed them completely, so that no one would remember them. ” (Deuteronomy 32:20-26).

Those who worship santa are storing up for themselves wrath for the Day of Judgement. God will not let those who defile the birth of his Son, those who hinder the truth go unpunished. He will take revenge on his enemies, on all those who hate Him and dishonour Him. For thus says the Lord of Hosts in verse 40-42, “As surely as I am the Living God, I raise my hand and I vow that I will sharpen my flashing sword and see that justice is done. I will take revenge on my enemies and punish those who hate Me. My arrows will drip with their blood, and my sword will kill all who oppose Me. I will spare no one who fights against Me; even the wounded and prisoners will die.”

The Lord also promises a terrible punishment for those who indulge in drunkenness. Anyone who indulges in drunkenness defiles himself before the Holy God. And it is written, “Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). Isaiah 5:11 says, “Woe unto them that rise up early in the morning, that they may pursue strong drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!” Verse 22, “Woe unto them that are mighty to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong drink.”

Those who belong to the world want to strip Christmas of its sacredness, its infinite value and true meaning. They have published tons of children's books that they claim are about Christmas. But the prominent character in those books is santa claus with its reindeers. They give Christ’s glory to this fictional character. In western countries these books are the most featured books in many elementary classrooms every Christmas season. Children are bombarded with all kinds of tales about santa, the dead god of this age. Furthermore, there are all kinds of so-called Christmas stories on TV and on the Internet. All these silly stories are deliberately designed to target young children, with the purpose to entice their minds and hearts to indulge in the lust of the flesh and the destructive lies of this world, rather than to seek God and the truth. This is Devil’s strategy to prevent young people from knowing Christ. But no one can mock our God, the King of glory. Those behind these evil schemes are doomed. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18).

Are you held captive by the lust of this world? Have you traded the celebration of the providential birth of the Son of God for the fantasies of the world? I urge you today to turn away from falsehood and flee to Christ, lest the wrath of God come upon you. The Father Himself promises in Psalms 89:23, “I will crush his foes before Him and strike down those who hate Him.” To borrow the words of Jeremiah 13:15-16, “Hear and give ear; be not proud, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the twilight mountains, and while you look for light He turns it into gloom and makes it deep darkness.”

Destruction will strike all those who dishonour God. Christ first came in humiliation to save the world; He is coming back soon as judge in the fullness of his glory with his armies of angels. He will destroy all those who hate Him, those who give idols the glory and praise due to Him. I urge you to turn away from your sins and to put your faith in Jesus. Turn away from your idols and throw yourself on the mercies of Christ, the King of glory. Every day that passes brings us closer to his return. But this time He is not coming to save the world but to judge it. All those who reject Christ, all those who trample down his precious blood will be condemned to eternal destruction. For thus says the Lord in John 3:18, “Those who believe in the Son are not judged; but those who do not believe have already been judged, because they have not believed in God’s only Son.” Anyone who worships santa or any other idol is under God’s curse. They will be thrown into a burning sulphur where they will spend eternity in conscious torment.

Christ is the Redeemer, the King of Peace, the Saviour of the world. He is the way to salvation, the means by which sins are forgiven. To Him alone belong all glory, honour, praise and thanks. Amen. As the Apostle Peter says in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Christ came into the world to save sinners, to save those who humble themselves and cry out to Him for help, those who recognize that Christ died for their sins and that He alone can cleanse them of their filths. It is only through Christ that we can receive eternal life. Christ alone can lead us to the Father. He is the only way to eternal glory. For our righteousness is like a filthy rag in the sight of the Lord. Isaiah 64:6 says, “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” But in Christ “We have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.” (Ephesians 1:7).

If you are not a believer, I urge you to repent of your sins today and believe in God’s Son, the only Saviour, the Redeemer. And you will have peace with God. For Christ will clothe you with his own righteousness and you will be treated by God as righteous. As for us who, by the mercy and love of God, have become recipients of God’s grace, may the Lord give us more grace that we may honour the birth of his Son and exalt his holy name. May our God help us to continue to give Him all glory and praise for the wonderful gift of salvation given to us in his Son Jesus Christ, and for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us and sanctifies us daily.