Christ—The True Joy of Christmas

Christmas is such a joyful time of family, fellowship, and most of all the celebration of our Savior’s birth. But, actually, it’s only because of what Christ has done that we can have any real joy at Christmas or any time of the year. You see, without Christ we are hopeless. In Genesis we read that God created a perfect world, free from any death or suffering (Genesis 1:31). But the first people, Adam and Eve, rebelled against God, and the penalty for their disobedience was death (Genesis 2:17). Things were pretty bleak. But in Genesis 3:15 we read that God had a plan to redeem and restore His broken creation: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.”

All throughout the Old Testament God brought forward this plan of redemption into fruition through ordinary people like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. And, finally, in the New Testament we see this plan unfold when the virgin gave birth to the God-man, Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Creator of the world, born into the world He’d made and was laid in a manger.

He grew up, but unlike the first Adam, Jesus did not rebel against God. He lived a sinless life, doing what Adam didn’t do, and completely fulfilling the will of God. He was then murdered when guilty men put their Savior to death on the Cross. In dying, Jesus took the penalty that we deserve (because of our sin) upon Himself. But He didn’t stay dead! He rose from the grave, conquered death, and now He offers salvation freely to all who will trust in Him and in what He did for them on the Cross. Instead of getting death and separation from God for all eternity, (the punishment we deserve), we are able to receive eternal life in heaven with Christ.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. (John 3:15–17)

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)

We can have real joy and hope this Christmas because of what Christ did for us 2,000 years ago. As the Apostle Paul wrote,

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

“O Death, where is your sting?
O Hades, where is your victory?”

The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:54–57)

This Christmas, be sure to take time to thank the Lord for His marvelous gift to us. And share this gift with others—use Christmas as an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus Christ with your family and friends. And, again, Merry Christmas!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.