Monday 23rd - Sunday 29th Dec. 2024

 

THE REASON FOR THE SEASON

 

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins. (Matt. 1:21)

 

As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we congratulate the global Christian community for grace to be alive to witness Christmas 2024. In view of the merriment and celebrations that accompany Christmas, it is good to remind ourselves why Christ came.

 

There are different perspectives on the purpose for which God gave His only begotten Son. Those perspectives are defined by individual needs and expectations. However, the purpose for which Christ came is clearly enunciated in Matt. 1:21: "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." The primary purpose for which Christ came was to save from sin those who believe in Him.

 

When we call Jesus Saviour, we need to understand what He saved us from. On this matter also, opinions differ. There are Christians who believe that Jesus came to save them from poverty. Others believe He saved them from witches, and there are young wives who believe the Son of God came to save them from their mother-in-law. From the perspective of heaven, Jesus is “Saviour” because He saves from sins.

 

It is absurd many Christians who proclaim Jesus Lord and Saviour still live sinful lives. Their concept of Christ as Saviour is inconsistent with the purpose of God for sending His Son. Can a Christian claim Christ as Saviour while being unsaved from their sins?

 

Our worst enemy is neither Satan nor demons, even though they are malevolent foes. Our worst enemy is our personal sin, which opens the door to Satan.

 

Jesus boldly proclaimed, ..."for the prince of this world cometh, and hath found nothing in me" (John 14:30).  The first aim of any believer, who desires to live a victorious Christian life, is to overcome sin in their life,  because sin gives Satan legal grounds to operate. Where there is no sin, Satan is helpless.

 

In John 8:36, the Lord promised, "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed". Free from what? Verse 34 gives the answer: free from sin. Jesus did not promise to make us free from Satan but from sin. Anyone free from sin is free from the powers of darkness. Satan is not the taskmaster. Sin is. Satan is merely the executioner. Without sin, Satan has nothing to execute.

 

In 1 John 3:8, the Scriptures declare that the "purpose" for which Jesus came was to "destroy the works of the devil," referring to "sin". Therefore, when Christians commit sin, or find excuses to remain in sin, they seldom realize that they are handing themselves cheaply over to Satan and his demons to oppress and destroy them. The only entities that profit from the sin an individual commits are devils and demons. The individual committing the sin does not gain anything, no matter the pleasure they seem to derive from the sin; the "fleeting pleasures of sin" that attract eternal punishment. The forces of darkness would usually do everything possible to seduce, entice, provoke, and stimulate someone to commit sin. Once they do, it's a mighty victory for the devil.

 

To appropriate fully the purpose and the work of Christ, we need to understand the two-fold victories that Christ purchased for us at Calvary. First, through His blood, Christ secured the “forgiveness” of sin for humanity, while through the cross, He gave us “deliverance” from sin. Unfortunately, many Christians appropriate the “forgiveness” from sin but do not press further to receive “deliverance” from sin.

 

The blood of Jesus will atone for every sin that is confessed, but it does not stop the person from repeating the sin. Only the cross can do that. To be “delivered” from sin, one must go to the cross. Only the cross provides deliverance from sin. Unfortunately, in this generation, not many preachers and church members like to talk about the cross, because of its demands. When a pastor does not teach the cross, he denies his members victory over sin, which ultimately implies the victory of Satan over those members.

 

Churches often ring with shouts of “the blood of Jesus”, but one rarely hears similar cries of the “cross of Jesus”. Meanwhile, it is the cross that Jesus commanded that His followers should carry. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me" (Luke 9:23). When Christians neglect the provision God has made for a victorious Christian life, what else do they expect God to do? Deliverance from sin, which should be the goal of every Christian, is found in the cross. Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin". The problem of man is a nature of sin referred to as "the old man", which is also called “the Adamic nature”, or “the sin nature”.

 

The book of Romans distinguishes between the sin of man, and sins  of man. The “sin nature” is likened to a factory that produces a product, while the “sins” are the various products. To stop the products from entering the market, the factory must be shut down. The sin is the principle while the sins are the conducts, the manifestations of the principle ruling the life of the individual. We all inherited the same sinful Adamic nature, but our expression of “sins” differs. That is the reason “sin is sin” before God. What matters is the principle guiding the life of the individual. Is it the “old man”, or the “new man” created in the image of Christ? The conduct of the individual reveals the principle that is at work in their life.

 

The provision God has made to destroy the Adamic nature is to crucify it. Our old man was crucified with Christ, and we must live in this reality. This calls on Christians to adopt the “crucified life”. As Christians, we must affirm Galatians 2:20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

 

As we celebrate Christmas, we should remember that Christ came to atone for our sins and deliver us from the sin nature so that we can reclaim the glory of God. When Adam sinned in Eden, he and Eve lost the glory of God. The first consequence of their sin was that they realized they were naked. They lost the glory that clothed them.

 

Whenever a Christian sins, he loses glory. He does not lose his life, nor lose his job, neither does his house go on fire. Yet, something terrible happens to him. Every time one sins, one loses glory. "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

 

Let us persevere and live the crucified life, the life of self-denial, so that we can attain to the fulness of the glory of Christ. Rom. 8:18 says, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us".

 

Christians are called to be glorified with Christ. There is nothing in this world that can be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." (Rom. 8:29-30). We are called unto glory. Sin is the enemy.

 

Merry Christmas.

 

1. Eph. 1:3-5

Thank God for blessing you with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places. Thank Him that you are predestined to be adopted into the family of God.

 

2. Rom. 6:14

Decree that sin shall not have dominion over you.

 

3. Rom. 6:6

Pray to crucify every manifestation of adamic nature in your life to the cross of Jesus. Pray for the power of the cross of Jesus to grant you total deliverance from the sin nature.

 

4. Luke 9:23

Pray for grace to live the crucified life and to exercise self-denial for the sake of Christ.

 

5. 1 John 3:8

Pray that every work of the devil in your life and in the Church shall be destroyed, in the name of Jesus.

 

6. Eph. 4:11-15

Pray for revival and restoration of sound doctrine in the Nigeria Church.

 

7. 1 Tim. 2:3-4

Intercede for salvation of souls.