At the end of Matthew’s Gospel we read the command of Jesus to His disciples: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
🙏 Heavenly Father, when I read Your Word, I am stirred, yet overwhelmed. You blessed Adam and Eve and commanded them to be fruitful and increase in number… to fill the earth and to subdue it. Yet the barrier of sin prevented mankind from being in Your presence. And still, You desire to fill Your Kingdom with Your children. Surely, Jesus’ command was not only to those eleven disciples, but to extend to the disciples they are commanded to make! And as the generational teaching of the Gospel message continued throughout our history, I recognize that as a recipient and believer of that glorious message, this is now a command that has extended to me.
But I find myself stumbling and completely incapable. So today I praise You for the beautifully written words of Alistair Begg that I read in his Advent study, Let Earth Receive Her King. I ask You for the wisdom to recognize the opportunities to share Your message of salvation and reconciliation with those You have placed around me. Requesting this mighty privilege in the Name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus – to Him be all the glory, honor, and praise. Amen.
In Paul’s epistle to Titus there is treasure! The Gospel message in 11 words. [See Titus 2:11]
The grace of God has appeared, offering salvation for all people.
This IS the story of Christmas. At God’s perfect timing in human history, God, Himself, appeared to mankind in human form, as a newborn baby. His purpose? To offer Himself as the sacrifice required to atone for sins – our sins. With this great exchange, we are made righteous and can again, enter the presence of Holy God, our Creator.
Alistair Begg writes: ‘God’s grace – His undeserved kindness – appeared when Jesus was born as a Savior because this is a world in need of salvation. He appeared not because of our great performance but because of our great need. Even there on that first evening, as baby Jesus was asleep in that manger, the shadow of the cross was already over the cradle.
Jesus was a man with a mission. He was the bridge over the troubled waters of our alienation, emptiness, rebellion, and indifference. The Christmas story is a great story because it is the gospel story – the good news of what God, in His overwhelming and undeserved kindness, has done to save His people. It is a beautiful story. It is a compelling story. And it is a life-changing story. So why doesn’t everyone believe it?’
From his experience of pastoring churches and teaching Scripture, Begg offers four common sentiments, or viewpoints, which prevent men and women from embracing this gift of God’s grace. Along with each perspective, Begg offers a way to tailor the focus of our conversations with an individual. All the while, we know that as we are faithfully planting the seeds of truth into someone’s heart, it is only God, who can cause that seed to grow. These sentiments include:
First – we are just not honest with ourselves or with others.
We are prone to run from questions or concerns that are deeper than surface level. We can get fixated on our self-worth – we want to be boosted, not humbled – and challenging that worth has become one of the great social heresies of our age. So, the idea that an individual is, as the Bible says, a rebel against God’s rule, guilty in His sight, and facing condemnation does not go down well. Salvation only makes sense if it is for people who need rescue, but this does not fit with our modern sense of ourselves as basically good and fundamentally able to solve our problems.
To this individual our message is: there is one who died for you, in part to show you just how much you are worth to Him – a sense of worth that you will never muster up from yourself, but one that lies in being humble.
Second – our understanding of tolerance has become unmoored from how the Bible sees it.
It is important to practice tolerance, patience, and love so that we can live peaceably with those who oppose our thinking. We never know when God might use our kindness to woo someone to Himself. But it is a quantum leap from that type of tolerance to the contemporary wisdom which suggests that all views are equally valid and that no one can speak with certainty concerning truth or moral absolutes.
To this objection we inform them: there is one who has said and proven that He is ‘the way, and the truth, and the life,’ bringing clarity to the biggest questions of our lives, and therefore, peace as we make our biggest decisions.
Third – many of us buy into the lie that we can work it out.
We think we can work with God as though He’s a business partner – any success is down to both of us. Or we think we will earn His favor through our good works – any achievement is down to us. ‘The grace of God has appeared’ will not have the slightest semblance of meaning to those who are relying on their own efforts rather than His kindness.
For anyone still struggling under their own failing efforts, we say: There is one who has said, ‘It is finished’ as He completed the work only He could do, so that you do not need to wonder if you have done enough for God, and veer between pride and anxiety.
Fourth – we mistakenly think that God will forgive us because it’s His job.
Fueled at Christmas time by sentimentalism and the fact that Santa always does come with presents, however naughty a child has been, we take the view (perhaps unconsciously) that God is obliged to love us and accept us. Forgiveness is what He does. But while forgiveness is freely offered, it must be received. God demands nothing but that we accept who He is and who we are and who is therefore to be calling the shots in our lives – that we repent. We cannot receive forgiveness into our hands if we keep our rightful Ruler at arm’s length.
For those who presume God’s forgiveness we remind them: There is one who has offered a forgiveness to all – if we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that He is the risen Lord of all, including of our lives.
[see supporting scripture John 14:6, John 19:30, and Romans 10:9}
As a Christian who desires all that I know and love, even those I randomly meet, to spend eternity with me in God’s Kingdom, I find these reflections helpful. Sometimes, to be honest, it is difficult to engage with others at Christmas time, for the season seems to have been trivialized.
While Christmas is certainly not the only time to reflect on the magnitude of the grace of God, for me, this is a very specific time, to reflect on the greatest moment in the history of mankind – God entering His creation in order to save His creation.
No one fully understands the joy of Christmas until they understand the necessity of Christmas – A. Begg
Merry Christmas to all my friends and family – I thank God everyday for putting you in my life to remind me of how much I am loved. I pray for you all. May the peace of God be with each and every one of you. ✨
Thank you for that! People must know…and His people must go…and His people must show…(Sharing and living out the Gospel)
Such simplicity yet so profound.