Recently, the American Bible Society measured the largest decline in "Bible users" in its history. According to its 2022 State of the Bible report, only 39 percent of Americans report reading the Bible at least three to four times a year outside of church—down from 49 percent the previous year. Biblical literacy is plummeting, but should we be surprised? Scripture is constantly maligned and attacked in the media and in society. If you want to be dismissed, just begin a sentence with "The Bible says . . ."
Jesus came because we needed Him—desperately.
Despite this dismal outlook, the Christmas season stands out like a faithful witness to the authority of God’s Word and a counter to its critics. Centuries before Jesus’ birth, the prophet Isaiah wrote, "For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, . . . he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace," and, "The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel" (Isaiah 9:6 and 7:14, respectively). With Jesus’ arrival in Bethlehem, God fulfilled these miraculous prophecies. It is through Jesus’ incarnation, or first advent—the fulfillment of God’s promise to provide a Savior way back in Genesis 3:15—that we grow confident in the Truth of Scripture, including the promise of our Lord’s second advent. Let’s look briefly at both these arrivals.
HIS FIRST ADVENT
At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation of the Creator of the universe—the humble birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. You’ve likely heard the expression "He is the reason for the season." I disagree. Rather, you are the reason for the season! He came for you, and He came for me. He came because we needed Him—desperately.
First, we needed Jesus to show us what God is like. For centuries people looked up to the heavens, at the stars and planets in motion, and wondered, "What is God like?" But, since that first Christmas Day, we no longer need to wonder. Jesus Christ stepped out of the heavens to show us the Great I am.
Second, we needed Jesus to show us how to live. Most people don’t really live; they just exist. They get up in the morning, go to school or work, come back and watch television, and then go to bed. They wake up the next day and do it again. They just twiddle away their lives. They live for 60, 70, or 80 years and then die. But Jesus said, "I have come that you might have life and live it to its fullest!" (see John 10:10). God doesn’t want us to simply exist but to live the abundant life. Jesus did not come to make some of us religious. He didn’t come to improve our lives. He came so all who receive Him—all who believe in His name—might become children of God and co-heirs with Christ of the heavenly Kingdom (see Romans 8:17). That is a Truth that breathes abundant life into a soul here and now and forever.
Third, we needed Jesus to forgive our sins and assure us of heaven. Only Jesus can forgive our sins because He alone paid for the wages of our sins. And your sin and my sin cost Him everything. To save us He left the majesty and splendor of heaven for a life of poverty (see John 6:38; Luke 2:7, 24; Matthew 8:20). He had to live a human life with all its limitations and difficulties (see Philippians 2:7). And ultimately, after living a perfect, sinless life, He had to die a gruesome death on the cross and suffer the full wrath of God the Father—His just judgment of our sin.
Christmas reminds us of our need. Religion will not get you to heaven; a code of ethics will not get you to heaven. Neither a moral life nor charity work will get you to heaven. Only the one who paid the debt and penalty of your sin can get you to heaven. And He has told us He is coming again to take His followers there. This is the promise of His second advent.
HIS SECOND ADVENT
"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am" (John 14:3). Our Savior promised to come again. The world is content to celebrate Christmas with a cute, helpless baby in a manger. The world is content to eat, drink, and be merry. But it is incumbent upon us who know the Lord Jesus Christ, as we see the day drawing near, to tell people the full story of Christmas. We must share how the baby whom they exalt only at Christmas is not just a baby; He is the risen Lord Jesus, the Lamb who was slain, the Lion of Judah, the First and the Last.
We must share the story of Christmas not as an inoffensive, bland children’s storybook. The real message of Christmas is not just a baby in a manger born of a virgin, historic as that may be, but that the baby grew up and died to pay for your sins and mine. The real message of Christmas is that this Lord Jesus Christ was resurrected and ascended into heaven. The real message of Christmas is that He is coming again both "to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him" and to judge every man and woman on the face of the earth (Hebrews 9:28; see also Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 22:12). That is the full message of Christmas.
You see, at His first advent, Jesus took on flesh in the form of a baby, but at His second advent, He will come unveiled for all to see. On His first advent a star marked His arrival, but at His second advent the stars will fall from the sky. At His first advent, wise men and shepherds brought Him gifts, but at His second advent He will bring blessings and gifts to His friends. On His first advent there was no room for Him, but I want to tell you that on His second advent the whole world will not contain His glory. At His first advent few knees bent to greet Him, but at His second advent every knee shall bow "in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:10-11). On His first advent He may have been a humble baby, but on His second advent He will come as the sovereign King of kings to sit on the throne of God.
THIS CHRISTMAS, LOOK TO HIS COMING
This Christmas season is the right time to ask, "Am I ready for His second coming?" The first Christmas stands as a faithful witness to Christ’s promised return. And Scripture powerfully reveals the faithfulness of God and the assurance of salvation found in Christ alone—our hope that does not disappoint. So may we read and cherish God’s promises and look for Jesus’ coming, for our full redemption. For, this time He will not become like us. We will become like Him. As John wrote, "[W]e know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2). Are you preparing to see your Lord? Are you, like the wise men and shepherds of old, sharing the Good News of Christ’s advent—both the first and the advent yet to come—with those around you?
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