(Note: this is the content of a tract that can be printed
out for sharing.)
No, this is not about the crisis some people feel regarding
how to greet others during the Christmas season. It doesn’t matter whether
people say, “Seasons Greetings”, “Happy Holidays”, or “Merry Christmas”. It is
just a holiday after all.
Rather, this is about the crisis every one faces when
confronted with the question: What must I do about the Christ?
You see, the Christ is a person, not a season. Even though
the historical event of the Christ coming into our world took place two
millennia ago, everyone living today still needs to know what we must do in
relation to him, and what he did for us while he was here.
No matter what we think of Christmas, the root of the
designation is “Christ”. Christ is a title, similar to King, or Queen, or Prime
Minister, or President. The title describes the roll, or the job this person
fulfills.
However, every person who holds a title also has a name.
After each election, our country knows which specific individual is our Prime
Minister. We know the reigning monarch of England has the personal name
Elizabeth and the title of Queen. As soon as we refer to Queen Elizabeth we
know this Elizabeth is distinct from all the other Elizabeths in the world.
The same is true of the one who came as the Christ; he also
has a name. Do you know what it is?
There is only one person who has ever fulfilled the title of
the Christ. His name is Jesus of Nazareth. The title, Christ, refers to the
person God promised would come and deliver his people from their sins.
Hundreds of years before Jesus came, the prophets wrote: “For to us a child is born, to us a son is
given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”[1]
Only months before Jesus came into the world, God’s angel
announced: “She will bear a son, and you
shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”[2]
On the night when Jesus was born, the birth announcement to
local shepherds was: “Fear not, for
behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”[3]
Why was the birth of Jesus the Christ “good news of great joy”? Because he came as the “Savior,” specifically, “Christ the Lord.” He was the one and
only Savior who would save God’s people from their sins.
How would the Christ save people from their sins? By laying
down his life as the sacrifice for sin, making full payment for our sins, and
so opening the door for us to be forgiven.
Why is this so important? Because God says that all of us
have sinned against him.[4] He
also says that, “the wages of sin is
death,”[5]
meaning that each of us would die as the condemnation our sins deserve.[6]
However, with all of us earning the judgment of God against
our sins, securing our everlasting death, God offers us something very
different in his Son. He says, “but the
free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”[7]
The crisis we face to this day is all about our response to
the Christ. Receiving his gift by faith is life; rejecting his gift leaves us
under the condemnation against our sins.
When Jesus asked his friends, “Who do people say that I am?”[8] the men gave the popular answers.
However, when he asked, “But who do you
say that I am?”[9]they
replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of
the living God.”[10] Jesus
was indeed the Christ that was promised by God, and he indeed was the very Son
of God himself.
Knowing this, then, that Jesus is the Christ, what are we
supposed to do with him? God’s invitation is: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right
to become children of God.”[11]
The crisis every Christmas, in fact, every day for that
matter, is whether we receive what God says about his Son, the Christ, or
reject it in favor of our own will. At the return of Christ, we will be judged
on the basis of our answer, and the exam will be final. That makes today’s
decision about the Christ a crisis indeed.
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
PS: for a printable tract
version of this post, please follow the links in footnote.[12]
[1]
Isaiah 9:6
[2]
Matthew 1:21
[3]
Luke 2:10-11
[4]
Romans 3:23
[5]
Romans 6:23
[6]
See also John 3:18,36
[7]
Romans 6:23
[8]
Mark 8:27; Matthew 16:13
[9]
Mark 8:29; Matthew 16:15
[10]
Matthew 16:16
[11]
John 1:12
[12]
This is designed to fit on both sides of letter size paper, quarter-folded to
make a card. To download a pdf file, pick from these links. Choose either side
1 A or 1 B based on whether you have contact info to add, and side two which is
the same for both (Print side 1A or 1B on one side of the paper, and side 2 on the other side):
~ Side 1 A (cover + first part of tract) – includes my
contact info, John 3:16, and John 1:12 ~ https://www.dropbox.com/s/n0ue1708pf9c201/The%20Christmas%20Crisis%20-%20Cover%20A%20%2B%20Inside%20Covers.pdf?dl=0
~ Side 1 B (cover + first part of tract) – includes my
contact info, room for your contact info, John 3:16 (John 1:12 removed to make
room) ~ https://www.dropbox.com/s/yhp1bbh4yjwihz8/The%20Christmas%20Crisis%20-%20Cover%20B%20%2B%20Inside%20Covers.pdf?dl=0
~ Side 2 (inside) – same for both covers ~ https://www.dropbox.com/s/k4ysv6c26sic8oa/The%20Christmas%20Crisis%20-%20Main.pdf?dl=0
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