December 25 I Wednesday

Zephaniah

Revelation 16

“For to us a child is born…He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and for ever.”   

—Isaiah 9:6-7

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels announced to the shepherds out in the fields, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; He is the Messiah, the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
Why would this news bring us great joy? This is only good news if we need saving and we do.

We need saving from the wrath of God, whose justice demands the consequences of sin. Although sin is a problem, it is not a problem for us but a problem for God because He is just. God’s justice needs to be satisfied. We would be content with a nod and a wink that says, “I understand, I forgive you” but that is not sufficient. God’s justice needs to be satisfied.

Recently, I was speaking at a conference attended by a thousand people. I asked, “When you confess your sin to God and seek His forgiveness, do you appeal to His justice or do you appeal to His mercy?” I think it was about two people who raised their hands to say they appeal to His justice and the remaining 998 or so said they appeal to His mercy. The correct answer is that we actually appeal to His justice.

If God forgave us because He is merciful and that was the only reason, then the cross of Christ would have been unnecessary. Christ has done what He did on the cross to satisfy the justice of God. Our forgiveness of sin is not on the basis of mercy but on the basis of justice. John tells us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

This is why in the announcement of Jesus’s birth, it highlights that He is a Saviour––because we need saving! Jesus was born two thousand years ago and He has to be “born again” into our life. Being a Christian is not about trying to follow Christ, it is about receiving Him into our life, to save us from ourselves, to live His life within us and accomplish His purposes through us.

Some of us may have never received Jesus as our Saviour and surrendered to Him as our Lord. Why not make this decision today? Christmas is not just an event in history, but can be repeated in our experience as Jesus Christ is born again in us as our Lord and Master.

Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank You for being born as the Saviour of this world. I ask that You be born again in my life. Open the door for me to share what You have done with others around me.