The Truth Will Set You Free; But You Have To Know It!

One Christmas Eve at church, a brother and sister were singing the closing song as the candles were lit. The boy loudly finished the first verse of "Silent Night" with the words, "Sleep in heavenly beans." "No, silly," his sister corrected, "not beans! Peas!"

There is a great deal of Christmas misinformation floating around our culture. In a tongue-in-cheek effort to correct some of it, several years ago I came up with a Christmas Quiz, which became a regular feature of Advent at our church. Various editions of the quiz have between 20 and 25 questions, and the first year I gave it, only one person got more than half right. Here are three samples from the quiz, along with the correct answers and the scripture references

1. When the angels came to the shepherds, what were they singing?

A. "Glory to God in the highest"

B. "Peace on earth, good will to men"

C. "White Christmas"

D. "Fear not, I bring you good tidings"

E. "The Hallelujah Chorus"

F. None of the above

answer: F; Luke 2:13 (The key word is "singing." The Bible doesn’t say they “sang.”)

2. When the shepherds finished their visit to Jesus, what did they do?

A. They settled down for a long winter's nap.

B. They met the little drummer boy going to play for Jesus.

C. They asked Herod for further information.

D. They saw three ships come sailing in.

E. They had a praise and worship session.

F. None of the above

answer: E; Luke 2:16-20

3. The wise men brought their gifts to Jesus while He was in a . . .

A. manger.

B. stable.

C. house.

D. Holiday Inn.

E. good mood.

F. none of the above.

answer: C; Matthew 2:11a

It’s important to get it right. The truth will set you free, Jesus said, but only when you actually know the truth. It’s also important to answer the other crucial questions right about Christmas. Questions like this one, which Jesus Himself raised during His ministry: “Who is He, really?”

Buddhists say He was a great teacher.

Muslims say He was a prophet, almost as great as Muhammad, but not quite.

Many in our culture see Him as a religious leader.

They are all wrong.

The truth is that He is the only Son of God. He lived in eternity past with the Father, became a human being through the miracle of the virgin birth, lived perfectly and taught the will of God fully, died as a ransom for your sins and mine, then literally came back to life and rose from the tomb in which He as buried.

Any other understanding of Jesus is incomplete. Jesus asked His first followers this crucial question, “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Today, He continues to ask the same question, and the answer determines eternity for your soul: “But what about you? Who do you say that I am?”

Jesus Himself is waiting for your answer.

THAT CULTURALLY SUBVERSIVE PHRASE

This Sunday marks the start of the pre-Christmas preparation time known in the church as Advent. The word Advent means "coming" or "arrival." The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ in His first coming, and the anticipation of the return of Christ the King in His second coming.

It’s at this time that we properly commence saying things like “Merry Christmas!” But, this year, you better watch out, because that phrase is at the center of controversy as school boards, municipal governments, and even shopping malls become arenas for battle in one of the most active fronts in the culture war.

Yes, Virginia, there is a war on Christmas.

I recently checked the web-site of one well-known national retailer that has instructed its employees to cease greeting customers with “Merry Christmas.” Sure enough, the word “Christmas” is almost completely expunged from the web-site: they’re even selling “Holiday Trees”! However, there are loads of references to Hannukah and Qwaanza! I guess when it comes to religious holidays, everything’s okay but the Christian one.

Why is the culture okay with a secularized, watered-down version of Christmas, but seems increasingly alarmed about the genuine article?

A couple of obvious reasons come to mind.

The first reason goes hand-in-hand with the increasingly-common misinterpretation of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights currently making headway in our culture. There are some who think that the Founders dreamed of a nation where each individual would never be offended. I’ve read the Constitution and its amendments, and while they guarantee us many rights, nowhere are we assured the right to never have to hear words that offend us.

The second reason is more far-reaching. The fact is, the true message of Christmas poses a menace to anyone and anything prone to worship itself. Every Herod in every age, reigning with usurped power, loathes the Advent of the real King. What Christmas says is that God has invaded planet earth in His Son, intending to establish His Kingdom in our hearts. This is a real threat to the world’s system of self-enthronement.

The bottom line? Christmas has become politically incorrect precisely because the season is inevitably and irreducibly connected with Jesus Christ: it’s the day for celebrating His birthday, after all! Those who demand the right never to be confronted with Christian truth, can’t stand at this season to hear "Merry Christmas”! How long will it be until "Merry Christmas" is labeled as "hate speech?"

We Christians cannot take this sitting down!

So, please enlist with me for the next few weeks in a not-so-subtle army of cultural subversives, spreading Christmas blessings even to those who expect the tolerance police to show up at any minute. And when people say, “Happy holidays!” let’s reply, “And a merry Christmas to you!” For every “Season’s Greetings!” you hear, say “May God bless you with a merry Christmas too!”

Life and Love in the Body of Christ

Recently, I was reminded of a little ditty that cleverly sums up relationships as they sometimes are in the church:

To live above, with saints we love,

Will certainly be glory;

But here below, with the “saints” we know:

Well, that’s another story!

Indeed, life and love in the Family of God can be challenging. The quirks and failings of fellow Christians, the immaturity of some and the stodginess of others, produce enough inconvenience that a few saints prefer a more unspecified format for their faith, where all relationships are casual, and all commitments short-term.

Yet, it remains true that, if we are going to have revival, it is required of us to grow in love. The Spirit of God speaks clearly through the Apostle John, “If you don’t love your Christian brothers and sisters, whom you can see, you obviously don’t love God, Whom you can’t see” (1 John 4:20).

That’s pretty plain: if your love for God increases, so will your love for each other.

However, before you can grow in love, you have to want to. If you focus only on love’s inconvenience, it will always be a struggle to love. However, if you focus on love’s rewards, it’s easier. The best reward for loving your fellow Christians is this: it’s one more assurance that you are born again. God speaks through the Apostle John again: “Beloved, we must love each other . . . because if you love, it shows that you are born of God and that you know God” (1 John 4:7).

Once you determine that you want to grow in love, you have to learn to see people like Jesus did. When Jesus looked on the crowds who followed Him, His heart was filled compassion. That same motive must inform your view of the Church. How you feel about your fellow Christians must be transformed by how Jesus feels about them. The fact is, you don’t have to approve of what they do, but you do have to be patient with their weaknesses and merciful with their sins.

Finally, it’s just a matter of opening your heart to the flow of God’s love. Fortunately, He doesn’t expect you, out of your own resources, to generate love for others. You simply need to seek His heart and let His Spirit flow, because He has more than enough love to go around. God speaks through Paul to remind us that “God’s love is poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, Whom He has given to us” (Romans 5:5). He is the source of love. You only need to be a vessel.

Don’t try to manufacture love for “the saints you know.” Instead, seek His love for them!

Ask Jesus to show you how He sees the others in the church, especially the ones who tend to bug you. Then ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with God’s love until you overflow.