The ABC's of Christmas
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There is an old Christmas song that isn’t sung too much these days. It goes like this...
"C" is for the Christ Child born upon this day;
"H" for herald angels in the night.
"R" means our Redeemer;
"I" means Israel;
"S" is for the star that shone so bright.
"T" is for the three wise men,
They who travelled far.
"M" is for the manger where He lay.
"A" is for all He stands for;
"S" means shepherds came,
And that's why there's a Christmas Day.
That was a popular Christmas song from a much simpler time in our country. A time when the true message of Christmas was understood by most people.
I took the time to re-write that song to better reflect the day and age in which we live.
"C" is for the craziness seen within the mall;
"H" the hurry of the crowds you see.
"R" means rest - or lack thereof;
"I" means "I want it all;”
"S" for shopping still needing to be done.
"T" is for the time spent in those traffic jams,
"M" for managing the credit cards.
"A" is for all the wrapping;
"S" means spending more,
And that's why we can’t wait till New Year’s Day!
I believe that we would all agree that life is anything but “simple” these days; Christmas is anything but “simple!” It seems as though everything is more complex today than it has every been.
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
While we may never get back to that “simpler time” in our country, Christmas is simple and what could be more simple than the “A, B,C’s?!” And, since Christ IS Christmas, I would like to share with you this morning the “A,B,C’s” of Christmas.
A - All Have Sinned
A - All Have Sinned
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
This is the central theme of Christmas: “…Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners...”
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Christ Jesus came into this world to save you because you are a sinner; Christ Jesus came into this world to save me because I am a sinner.
Paul declares that all have sinned.
Regardless of how rich, or how poor a man is, he is a sinner. Regardless of how cool, or how fantastic a person is, he is still a sinner. No matter who you are; no matter where you live; no matter how religious you are; you are a sinner. All means simply that - ALL.
Scripture concludes that all have sinned.
But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.
After all of Scripture is wrung out into one final drop, that final conclusion of every verse of Scripture from Genesis to Revelation is that you are a sinner. To deny that is to call God’s Word a life!
Death proves that all have sinned.
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
As an adult I have been interested in my ancestry. And, here recently, I’ve been doing more digging and researching into my family background and that of my wife’s. Do you know what I have found that is consistent with each generation that I find? They all were born and they all died.
Why do people die? Because of accidents? Because of disease? Because of sickness? No!
Why do people have accidents, get diseases, grow sick and old? And why do these things cause death? In other words, why is there such a thing as death? What is the real cause of death? According to Romans 5:12 men die for one reason only - because they are sinners! Before Adam sinned there was no such thing as death. Death entered the universe because one man - Adam - sinned.
Now, how many people have to die? Romans 5:12 says that death has passed upon all men. Therefore, how many people are sinners? Romans 5:12 says that all have sinned.
The fact that we grow old and die is proof that we are sinners. Every tombstone, funeral home, hearse, and ambulance should be a reminder to us that we are all sinners headed for the grave!
You must accept it.
Paul declares it. The Scriptures conclude it. Death proves it. And you must accept it! To refuse to admit this fact will doom your soul to an eternity in hell and the lake of fire. Young person, teen, adult, you need to realize right now the very real fact that you, like everyone else in the world, are a sinner and therefore, are condemned to die and suffer forever in the lake of fire.
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
The first letter of the Christmas alphabet is...
A - All Have Sinned
A - All Have Sinned
The second letter of the Christmas alphabet is...
B - Behold the Lamb of God
B - Behold the Lamb of God
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
Imagine how a person, dying with cancer, would feel if a doctor rushed into the room and excitedly announced, “Look, here is the cure for your cancer!” Such is the good news that we can announce at Christmas - and at any time - to a world that is lost and dying in sin.
“Behold. Stop. Look. There is a Lamb. The Lamb of God. And this Lamb can actually take away the sin that is dooming you to death and hell.”
Who is the Lamb?
Who is the Lamb?
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:
The Lamb is a person; it is Jesus Christ!
Peter did not say that the Lamb was a church. No church can take away your sin! You can join all the churches in the world, but they cannot remove one single sin from your life!
Peter did not say that the Lamb was good works, or baptism, or any of the other things that people trust to get them to Heaven.
Only the shed blood of Jesus Christ remove your sins that have condemned you to death!
Why is He called the Lamb and how can He remove our sins?
Why is He called the Lamb and how can He remove our sins?
“Lamb” is an odd name for a person. The term lamb comes from the Old Testament. Throughout Old Testament days when men sinned they had to die for their sin. However, God provided an escape. They could offer a substitute. That substitute had to be a young, spotless lamb. (Leviticus 4) Thus, when a man sinned, either he died or a spotless lamb died in his place. For hundreds of years this practice continued. Millions of lambs were offered for men’s sins. Finally, God chose to send His own Son to be the perfect Lamb for all the sins of all men over the whole earth.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, And carried our sorrows: Yet we did esteem him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, Yet he opened not his mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, So he openeth not his mouth.
Thus, He is called God’s Lamb because He died for our sins. Instead of us dying and going to hell, He died for us.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
This is what we celebrate at Christmas: He was born to die! As one songwriter put it...
Born to die upon Calv’ry,
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive;
Born to die upon Calv’ry,
He was wounded that I might live.
He took our place when He shed His blood on the cross. We should have died on the cross, but Christ became our substitute “Lamb.”
I should have been crucified
I should have suffered and died
I should have hung on the cross in disgrace
But Jesus, God's Son, took my place
Therefore, there is no reason for you to go to Hell! Your hell has been paid for by the Lamb.
B - Behold the Lamb
B - Behold the Lamb
What is left to do? That brings us to our last letter...
C - Come Unto Me
C - Come Unto Me
During this time of year people receive a lot of invitations: Invitations to parties, invitations to family gatherings, and many others. However, there is one invitation that as been given to any who will hear:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
“Come unto Me!”
Notice what Christ did not say. He didn’t say...
Do the best you can.
Join the church.
Get baptized.
Become a better person.
He simply said, “Come unto Me!”
Notice the logic behind this invitation.
Men are sinners.
They must die and suffer in hell for their sin.
Christ took man’s place and died for him.
Man need only accept what Christ did for salvation.
This invitation has been given to those who “labour and are heavy laden.” Are you tired of trying to earn God’s favor? Are you tired of trying to be good enough?
Do any of you, on Christmas morning, demand that your children “work” for their Christmas gifts? No. You freely give those gifts to your children because you love them.
God’s greatest gift - the forgiveness of sins and eternal life - is a gift that cannot be earned or worked for.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
God’s greatest gift is a gift that He freely gives to those who will simply respond to His invitation.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Will you act upon what God has done and said? Will you receive His free gift of salvation? Simply - by faith...
Admit right now that you are a sinner headed for hell.
Believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins. Believe that He will save you right this minute is you will simply trust Him.
Call upon the name of Lord to save you.