Dec 11
27
Christmas Questions
During this festive holiday season, everyone is compelled to think about the fact that Jesus Christ once lived in this world, walked among men, and died as a cursed felon upon a Roman cross. I am thankful for that fact. Here are four questions which every thoughtful person ought to seek satisfactory answers.
WHO IS JESUS CHRIST? Men everywhere talk about Jesus. They write songs about him, make movies about him, and write books about him. But who is he? For the answer to that question we must look to the pages of sacred scripture. Jesus Christ is himself the eternal God. The scriptures of both the Old and New Testaments proclaim that Christ is God (Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1; Romans 9:5). He is God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is God our Savior. While He was upon the earth, our Lord claimed to be God; and His apostles worshipped Him as God. Jesus Christ is God the Eternal Son–equal in power, wisdom, glory, and Being with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Let others deny His divinity, if they dare. Every true believer knows that “in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.” We have this witness in our hearts which we cannot deny (I John 5:10). And our Savior is the perfect man. He is the God-man, our Mediator. We do not pretend to understand the mystery of the incarnation. But we do believe it and rejoice in it (Philippians 2:6-8). As a real man, our Lord lived upon the earth in perfect righteousness, died, rose again, and ascended into glory.
WHY DID THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, COME INTO THIS WORLD? He came to do His Father’s will (Hebrews 10:7). He came to save His people from their sins (Matthew 1: 21; I Timothy 1: 15). He came to lay down his life for His sheep (John 10: 11, 14,19). The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Son, came into the world to die as a substitute in the place of chosen sinners, delivering us from the curse of the law (Galatians 1:4; 3:13).
WHAT HAS THE SON OF GOD DONE? He has finished the work committed to Him by His Father. He has accomplished His Father’s will. He fulfilled everything required by the righteousness and justice of God for the salvation of sinners (John 17:4). The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished perfect righteousness for us. He died in the place of sinners, satisfying the claims of justice, the penalty of the law, and the wrath of God for us, putting away our sins. In a word – He “obtained eternal redemption for us.”
WHERE IS THIS CRUCIFIED SUBSTITUTE NOW? The God-man, our Savior, is exalted to the right hand of the majesty on high (Hebrews 10: 11-14). Today, Jesus Christ sits in heaven as the High Priest in Zion, making intercession for His people. He sits upon the throne of sovereign dominion, ruling all things as King of kings and Lord of lords for the salvation of God’s elect. In sovereign serenity the King sits upon His throne awaiting the fulfilling of all things, the salvation of all His people, and the defeat of all His enemies. Do you know this Christ, this Savior, this King, this God? Do you trust Him?
Don Fortner