Lines of Grace
Lines of Grace is a monthly column written by pastor David Phillips to encourage Christians in our community and to extend the teaching ministry of Paris Bible Church.
Christmas for Real
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1: 14
What is Christmas truly about? Of course, most Christians would answer strongly that it’s about Jesus. And they would be right. But let’s be more specific: Christmas is about the Creator and Sustainer of the Universe coming to live among men in the form of a man--and to show all men Who God really is.
I wonder about churches doing such silly, shallow, empty things at Christmas time. Some spend many hours rehearsing pageants and preparing performances. They would say that they do all of this so that people might worship--but could it be that worship would be more pure without all of the hype and show?
I wonder if sometimes Christians spend all their thought and energy on creating something that is much more like entertainment than like worship . . . and forget all about Christ!
Consider the Word: “[God] has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged out sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Hebrews 1: 2-3
When Jesus was a baby, lying in a manger with Mary and Joseph watching, He was at that very moment holding the universe and all created things together by His power. When he was a child, He was the very image of God and the very brightness of the glory of the Godhead. When He ate with His disciples, He was heir of all things. Let us think on the pre-eminence of Christ, on His majesty and sovereignty.
Some may say that Christmas plays make Christ accessible, so that it’s easier to have a relationship with Him. But if we try to make Him less than He is, then we have a relationship with a little god, instead of with the Mighty God that Isaiah prophesied. Let us, this Christmas, worship Christ for who He is, rather than what men would like to make Him.
Comfort in Doctrine
Years ago, someone I know said, “There is no comfort in doctrine.” At the time, it didn’t sound right to me. Now I know that there is certainly great comfort in the doctrines of Christianity.
In John 17, the high, priestly prayer of Jesus, our Lord says seven times that those who come to Him by grace through faith are the gift of the Father to the Son. He says this in verses 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 24. That should be a great, deep comfort to every saint.
There are those who teach that we can lose our salvation if we do something wrong--or if we do many wrong things. But that could only be true if we somehow earn our salvation. According to the prayer of our Lord Jesus, not only is salvation a gift, but Christians are a gift.
Paul says in Ephesians 1: 4-6 that we were chosen to be a gift “before the foundation of the world.” He also says in this choosing, God adopted us into His family and that it pleased Him to do so, that it is to His own praise, and that we have been accepted in the Beloved--Jesus Himself.
Even more, in the next chapter Paul tells us that our Father does this for His own glory: “that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” 2: 7.
The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is at the very core of the Protestant Reformation. The Catholic church of the Middle Ages used the fear of losing one’s salvation to manipulate members and make them afraid even to read the scriptures. Reformers like Luther, Calvin and Knox fought to make the Bible available in the language of the common people so that they could read the wonderful passage quoted here and understand that it is the God who created the universe who calls us to Himself and secures our salvation by the sacrifice of His own dear Son and by the effectual calling of the Holy Spirit.
This is doctrine. There is no greater comfort for the one who has come to Jesus in repentance and faith than this: Our salvation is secured, not by OUR faithfulness, but by the faithful Creator and Ruler of earth and heaven.