Christmas is a holiday of great contrasts. Myriads of bright lights pierce the cold
darkness of winter nights. While many
are joyfully decorating their homes, others mourn after a year of trouble and loss. Some are merrily singing “Peace on Earth,
Good Will Toward Men” while others remember family members or friends serving in
the Armed Services in harm’s way. Still
others are praying for peace and reconciliation with family members or beloved
friends. Regardless of where we find
ourselves within these contrasts, we can hope and pray for the Comfort and Joy found
a meaningful celebration of Christmas.Three Christmas Contrasts
I’m thinking of two Christmas contrasts that stand out, and a third one which
is more subtle. All three have immense
implications for humanity.
The first contrast is rooted at the heart of this holy celebration. It is the infinitely great contrast of the Eternal
God who determined in eternity past that His only begotten Son, Jesus, would empty
Himself of heavenly radiance and glory and be clothed in human flesh to be born
in a dark stable and then live in a corrupted, fallen world. Jesus, the Savior of the world, who for
the joy set before Him endured the cross, despised the shame of
bearing our sin and dying in our place, and has sat down at the right hand
of the throne of God (Hebrews 12: 2).
This infinite contrast stands at the heart of the Gospel, the “Good News
message” of salvation to all who will come in humble faith to the Christ of
Christmas. This fact brings us to a
second great Christmas contrast.
Most people who celebrate Christmas do so with lights—beautiful, colored lights,
and the more the better. But in sharp
contrast, while multitudes of people are attracted to Christmas lights they ignore
or turn their backs on Jesus Christ who is the “Light of the World” (John 1:
4-5 and 9: 5). At the same time,
multitudes celebrate Jesus’s birthday by exchanging gifts while they ignore or
reject God’s greatest Gift.
The Gospel of John, Chapter 1, explains that Jesus Christ, the Word of God
(literally meaning “Reasoning for Life” Click HERE.), came
to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him (v. 11). Later, in John 3: 19-21 (emphasis added), John
explains that the Verdict is this: The Light has come into the world,
but men loved the darkness rather than the Light because their deeds
were evil. Everyone who does evil hates
the Light, and does not come into the Light for fear that his deeds will be
exposed. But whoever practices the
truth comes into the Light, so that it may be seen clearly that what He has
done has been accomplished in God.” [To learn more, click HERE.]
The Bible gives us the detailed account of a loving God pursuing mankind who is
caught in sin, fear, and darkness. The
contrast or gulf between Holy God and sinful man; and, between born again child
of God and the lost person facing judgment are infinitely large. Thankfully, God’s Son became the sacrifice
for sin in our place, providing a “bridge” across the gulf to God for all who come
to the Light. The Apostle John wrote, …as
many as received him, to them he gave power to become the sons of God, even to
them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1: 12-13).
Later, in John 3, the Apostle explains that Jesus did not come into the
world to judge the world (v. 17) but that the world might be saved from
eternal judgment through faith in Him (v. 18).
When the sinner repents and turns from dependence upon his or her own merits to
trust the finished work of Christ on the Cross, God does the rest. The God who
pursues us through His Spirit says His Word is near you; it
is in your mouth and in your heart, that is, the word of faith we are
proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and
believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be
saved. For with your heart, you believe and are justified, and with your
mouth you confess and are saved (Romans 10: 8-10, emphasis added).
Condemnation for sin is cancelled and the believer receives the righteousness
of Christ (Romans 1: 17). Without the
convicting power of God’s Spirit and Word (John 16: 5-15) we remain dead in our
trespasses and sin (Ephesians 2: 1). But this stark contrast is followed by
a third more subtle contrast. So
subtle that especially Christians may either underestimate its importance or be
completely unaware of it. The remainder
of this article will be addressed to professing Christians, those who profess
to have been saved by faith as described earlier.
Real Faith Works!
The subtle contrast to which we now refer is between what we as Christians claim
to believe and what we actually live out as our profession of faith
and practice. James, half-brother
of Jesus, described a “profession of faith in action” as an active faith that
is visible through good works in contrast to a “dead faith.” According to James 2: 14-26, a “profession of
faith” is only genuine and real when it is expressed in both our words
and works.
The seriousness of this subtle contrast cannot be underestimated for two
reasons. First, while we are saved by
faith and not works, we should question the sincerity of our profession if
there are no works, or “fruit” in our lives (See 1 John 3, 4). Second, if we profess to be a Christian but
are not really “born again” as God’s child and have no desire to obey and
please God, we walk about the world as idolaters in that we do not represent
the one true God. Instead, we are
“walking false idols” whose words and actions are those of a false god. Many Christian leaders have remarked that the
greatest threat to Christianity and to the spiritual condition of the Church
worldwide is not the attacks from pagan or secular forces from outside. Instead, it is from those within the Church
who profess Christ but poorly represent Him by their lifestyles. I write this with fear and trembling at the
thought of how much I can easily slide into this pattern.
Many who are outside the community of the Christian faith place their “faith”
in “good works” to justify their acceptance by God or another higher
power. Meanwhile, genuine Christians
understand that it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and
this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that
no one can boast. For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to
do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life (Ephesians
2: 8-9). We are saved by faith in the
work of Christ, not by our own works.
But there’s more! Once we are
saved, God’s Spirit works within us to give us the desire to live pleasing to Him. Otherwise, we can become spiritually and
emotionally weary like a person who is too tired to put up Christmas
decorations and finds no joy in turning on the lights. There are times that I identify with this
condition. Has this ever described you?
Real Faith Is Alive in Us!
Christ-followers can drift into dark corners in mind, body, and spirit when we
fail to abide in fellowship with our Savior and Helper through time in prayer,
in His Word, and in fellowship with other believers. We can all have our “sloughs of despond” like
Christian in Pilgrim’s Progress, but our salvation by faith ought to be real
and evident because we continually yield to God’s Word and the indwelling
Spirit who produces the fruit of Love, Joy, Peace, etc. (John 15:
Galatians 5: 22-23) and good works (James 2: 26).
The Apostle Paul reinforces this notion in Philippians 2: 12b-13 (Amplified
Bible, emphasis added), that Christ-followers should continue to work out
your salvation [that is, cultivate it, bring it to
full effect, actively pursue spiritual maturity] with awe-inspired fear
and trembling [using serious caution and critical self-evaluation to avoid
anything that might offend God or discredit the name of Christ]. For it is [not your strength, but it
is] God who is effectively at work in you, both to will and to work
[that is, strengthening, energizing, and creating in you the longing and the
ability to fulfill your purpose] for His good pleasure.
These powerful words written by Paul as a prisoner of Rome and “prisoner of
Christ,” describe the life of a true disciple of Christ. Do these words strike a resonant chord within
your soul and spirit? If so, thank God
for evidence of the Life of His Spirit within you.
The Apostle Paul mentally understood that the call of Jesus Christ meant
to deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Christ (Luke 9:
23; 1 Corinthians 15: 31). This
self-denial is possible as we yield our will to God’s Spirit who works within
us as our Teacher (John 14: 26) to illuminate the “living, powerful Word of
God” (Hebrews 4: 12). When we “abide in”
(yield to and obey) God’s Word in this way, the Word of God becomes incarnate
and visible in our manner of life. As
Paul testified, it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me
(Galatians 2: 20). Although we have
this treasure in earthen vessels (2 Corinthians 4: 7), the Light of the
World, Jesus Christ, will shine through our lives into a dark world as the
character of His life becomes evident in our words and deeds.
Real Faith Realizes
“Costly Grace”
Unfortunately, there is abundant evidence that more and more professing
Christians have become lukewarm and are “dimming their lights.” Indications all
around suggest that our culture is growing spiritually darker and corrupted for
lack of the witness by us who claim to be Christ-followers. We need to regularly remind ourselves of the
Grace of God that saved us, and be reminded by our time in God’s Word, and in
times of being challenged from the Scriptures by our friends in Christ, and by
strong preaching of the Word from our pastors.
Fortunately, there are a number of modern prophets today who are sounding the
alarm. For example, Eric Metaxas has
become a contemporary voice of reason to the Church as an author, speaker, and
radio/TV host. Metaxas has studied the
life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and has written his biography, Bonhoeffer:
Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Thomas Nelson, 2011). In this book and in a more recent follow-up
book, Letter to the American Church (Salem Books, 2022), Metaxas draws
alarming parallels between Christianity in Germany that allowed the rise of
Adolph Hitler to power in the 1930’s and the trends in American Christendom and
our culture today.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a German
pastor who had become a Christian in 1931 near the time when Adolph Hitler was
leading the Nazi take-over of Germany.
Bonhoeffer is famous for his preaching, writing, and testimony as one
who took seriously the call to discipleship.
To Bonhoeffer, we are saved by faith which is a “gift of God” (Ephesians
2: 8) but our salvation by grace is only genuine when we recognize the great
costliness of that grace! God so loved
the world that He gave the costliest Gift imaginable—the very Life of His Son
(John 3: 16).
While He was teaching His real-life “discipling class,” Jesus said to His
disciples, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the
third day.” Then, Jesus underscored
what the “cost of discipleship” would be upon them, saying (emphasis added): If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will
lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will
save it (Luke 9: 23-24).
Jesus’s call to discipleship embodied in these Scriptures, is the basis of
Bonhoeffer’s powerful teaching on “costly grace” contained in part in his book,
The Cost of Discipleship. He is
quoted as saying, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. …we [surrender] our lives to death. Thus, it
begins; the cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy
life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ.”
Let’s Don’t “Dim Our
Lights”
If you are still reading, thank you for staying with me. By now, you may be on a guilt trip and
feeling as if you are a failure. But
fear not, because you are not alone.
God’s Spirit who has been leading me in recent reading and in the
writing this blog is convicting me of by these very same words. If our hearts are numb to the sharpness of
God’s Word, we have reason to fear. Either we are not His child, or we have simply
become distracted by other priorities and our ears have become dull of hearing.
As a professing Christian, do you feel numb, complacent, and preferring a dark
corner; or do you feel convicted that your light is dim and your heart is
lukewarm toward God? If we feel
convicted, we should be glad we are spiritually alive enough to “feel” God’s
Spirit cutting away at our complacency and numbness; and, then causing our
hearts to warm and resonate with His truth.
Jesus said, …he who practices the truth comes to the Light,
so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God (John 3:
21).
What a great Christmas contrast: Hearts
and homes of Christ-followers glowing with the Grace and Truth radiating out into
a dark world in which people are lost and stumbling in the darkness and even
hating the Light. Jesus calls His
disciples “the light of the world” in Matthew 5: 14-16. He added that no one lights a lamp without
placing it in a prominent place to light its surroundings. Likewise, we who have received the Light of
Truth ought not to dim our lights, but rather, to honor Christ as Lord in
your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to
give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence
(1 Peter 3: 15). May our lights burn
brightly this Christmas and our Hope be encouraging and winsome.
Christmas Gift
Suggestion
In spite of this prophecy of Christ coming as
the Light of the World, the lights of Christmas are still surrounded with so
much darkness and so many lonely people.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow lamented the contrast between the promise of
“Peace on Earth, good will to men” and the reality of the dark world in which
he lived. And so, Longfellow expressed
his lament in his poem, “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,” with the
following lines:
And
in despair I bowed my head:
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”
As I have suggested in this article, Longfellow’s lament is still appropriate
for our day. But what is my “Christmas
gift suggestion?” While purchase of a
DVD of the Sight and Sound movie, “I Heard the Bells,” would be make a good
gift, an even better gift would be a copy of Eric Metaxas’s book
Letter to
the American Church, mentioned above.
As I conclude, let me whet your appetite for reading it if you haven’t
already.
Metaxas believes that America, while not intrinsically exceptional, has been
sovereignly chosen by God to “hold the torch of liberty for the world, and that
the Church is central to our doing this.”
1 However, Metaxas’s thesis in Letter to the
American Church is that the silence of the Church in America in the face of
moral and cultural decline places the Church on the same path to tragedy as the
Church in Germany that failed to stand against the rise of Hitler and the
horrible reign of his Nazi regime.
In Letter to the American Church, Metaxas gives four teachings of the
Bible that are misunderstood by many professing American Christians. I have summarized each of them below.
“Costly Grace” or “Cheap Grace”
Do those of us who claim to be Christians affirm the genuineness of our faith
by “working out our salvation” with the motivation and passion of God’s Holy
Spirit (if He is) living and active within us, producing much fruit and so,
proving to be Christ’s disciples?
“Idol
of Evangelism”
Have
we accepted the call of the Church to evangelism while diminishing the
importance of discipleship, including the “costly discipleship” of
responding to the call of Christ to “speak the truth in love” even at the risk
of offending family and friends, or out of fear of losing the favor of church
members or potential converts? [Do we
truly love if we withhold the truth?]
“Be
Ye Not Political”
Does
the biblical call to preach and share the Gospel of Christ and “make disciples
of all nations” require that Christian pastors and laypersons avoid addressing
political issues?
“Religious
at All Cost”
Are
there situations in which we are biblically justified in disobeying one of
God’s commands in order to promote a larger moral or ethical goal? For example, telling a lie or participating
in peaceful civil disobedience?
In conclusion, if you would rather not be provoked to think more deeply about how
Christ would have you respond to His call to be salt and light in an
increasingly confused and darkening world, please don’t read Letter to the American
Church. As Rev. Erwin Lutzer
concluded, “This book is like a bucket of cold water thrown into the face of a
sleeping church.” If you choose to read, I hope you will be challenged to
prayerfully think more deeply about the cost you are willing to pay to be an
obedient disciple of Christ.
Care to Comment?
If you have questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you. I am particularly interested in how you
respond to the concerns raised by Eric Metaxas after you have read his book. Just post a “Comment” below or e-mail to
silviusj@gmail.com
Maybe you are left with a sense of confusion, uncertainty, and even fear. If you have never encountered the “Good News”
or Gospel, let us help. The “Good News”
is summarized in an outline called “Steps to Peace with God” (Click HERE.). It explains God’s love, our predicament (sin
and separation from God), what Jesus has done to address our predicament, and
what you can do by faith to receive God’s righteousness (right standing with a
Holy God).
1Footnote:
Metaxas
is quick to add that “when God chooses anyone [whether a nation or individual]
…it is never something to be celebrated, as though the one chosen has won a
contest. Quite the contrary: it is a
grave and fearsome responsibility…[a] most solemn duty [that] should make us
tremble.”
