Preached
Villa Rica 12/22/02
Gal. 4:1-7 Now I
say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a
slave although he is owner of everything, 2but he is under guardians and
managers until the date set by the father. 3So also we, while we were
children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world.
4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of
a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those who were
under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6Because you
are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts,
crying, “Abba! Father!” 7Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son;
and if a son, then an heir through God.
Easter is important
in the Christian calendar but it has never caught on as a celebration
like Christmas. At Christmas we put up trees and decorations and
exchange gifts. The Christmas tree ought to remind us of the cross, but
it doesn't. We make the tree look as festive and attractive as we can.
And many people who are not Christian at all celebrate Christmas. We
wish each other a merry Christmas. It's a time of family gatherings and
sentimental remembering. The only sad and lonely people at Christmas are
those who miss being where they have been on Christmas' past, or who for
one reason or another cannot celebrate Christmas with those they love
and associate with Christmas.
But important as
family fellowship is and the spirit of festivity and merriment that we
all enjoy at Christmas, we need to remind ourselves of the true meaning
of Christmas. Let's look first at…
I.
THE WHEN OF CHRIST'S COMING.
The Word of God
tells us in Eccl. 3:1-2 There is an appointed time for everything. And
there is a time for every event under heaven— 2 A time to give
birth and a time to die;
A time
to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
Our text
reads: 4But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son,
born of a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those who
were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
A. It's as though
time had reached ripeness, the perfect right time for Christ to be born.
You gardeners know when it's right to plant and then right to harvest.
There is a season, a month, sometimes even the right day for things to
be done if you want the desired result. If that is true in horticulture,
it ought not surprise us that God choose the most propitious time for
Christ to come forth. I can think of several things that made the first
century the right time.
1. First, Rome was
riding the crest of her golden age. Julius Caesar had firmly established
the power of Rome.
His successor,
Caesar Augustus transformed Rome from a city of brick huts to a city of
marble palaces. Roman law stabilized the whole civilized world.
Roman power
established law and order throughout the empire. Even the conquered
nations enjoyed greater security against domestic feuds and foreign
invasion under Rome than under their own governments. What was called
the Pax Romana enabled whole provinces to engage in tremendous building
enterprises. Herod rebuilt the temple at Jerusalem on an extravagant
scale. Treasures from all parts of the empire flowed to Rome. Roads,
highways and aqueducts were built to the glory of Rome.
The facilities and security of travel during the reign of the Caesars
was unequalled until the 19th century.
"We may travel,"
said a Roman writer of the day, "at all hours, and sail from east to
west." It was this fine system of roads that enabled the gospel to be
spread so easily during the first century.
2. Secondly, Greek
culture permeated the empire. The Romans may have been unexcelled in
political science and the art of war but they couldn't match the Greeks
for culture. During the time when Christ was born Greek had become the
universal language and their philosophers were influencing the whole
world. Greek art, poetry, sculpture, rhetoric, architecture and
philosophy became the common property of the empire. A Hellenic culture
was superimposed upon the Roman Empire. The Greek language was ideally
suited to the writing of scripture. It is considered the most exact and
precise language for expression of thought. Greek tenses give the full
picture of the action presented.
3. Thirdly, the
Jewish religion cradled Christianity. While the Romans contributed
political stability and aggressive leadership in the world, and with
Greek culture providing the highest level of culture that unregenerate
society has ever attained, it must be said that the Jews gave the world
Old Testament law and taught that one day a Messiah would come to
establish a kingdom of righteousness.
The Jews, since the
Babylonish captivity, had been scattered over the entire world. They
were as dispersed in the Roman Empire
in the first century as they are now throughout Christendom. There was
no country that didn't have Jewish settlers and citizens. We read this
plainly in the book of Acts in the account of the day of Pentecost.
There were Jews present on that memorable day from all over the world.
Thus, the Jews had
carried the doctrines of their religion into all parts of the world.
Many Gentiles had learned the Law of Moses. Many knew of the Jewish
expectation of a coming Messiah. Thousands of Gentiles, especially
women, came to accept Judaism either wholly or in part. Some adopted
only the basics without actually becoming proselytes. These people were
the most susceptible hearers of the Gospel. They formed the nucleus of
many of the first Christian churches. The Roman centurion of Capernaum,
Cornelius of Caesarea, Lydia of Philippi, Timothy, and many other
prominent disciples were in this category. God used the dispersion
of the Jews to prepare the hearts of many Gentiles for the Gospel that
was revealed after the coming of Christ. They were a definite factor in
God's timetable.
B. But in spite of
the fact that civilization was in its greatest age, it was unable to
meet the deepest longings of the souls of men. Only God can satisfy the
soul of a man. The cry of the human heart is for peace with God.
It was in the
fullness of time, when the grandeur of Imperial Rome was at its
height, when the blooming flower of Hellenistic culture was just
beginning to show signs of withering, that God sent forth His Son.
II. THE WHERE OF HIS
COMING
A. We might note
that where Christ was born is important. He came from glory to an
insignificant town called Bethlehem. Unless Christ had been born there I
doubt that we would have ever heard of Bethlehem.
The place of your
birth is important. It tells something about you. It identifies you with
a nation, a region, a county, city or town.
In Christ's case it
identified him with the Jews. Bethlehem was also the ancestral home of
king David, and it links him genealogically with David and the tribe of
Judah, the ruling tribe, the kingly tribe.
III. THE HOW OF HIS COMING
A. And even more
significantly, he was born of a virgin. No other person throughout all
of history has been born of a virgin. God's choice was no accident.
Also, the Virgin Mary was of the tribe of Judah, of the line of David,
which is another fulfillment of scripture.
B. But this blessed
one born of a virgin in Bethlehem was also born in a very humble place,
a really unusual place, a manger; the place where animals were kept, not
exactly a birthing center for humans, certainly a most inglorious place
for the King of kings and Lord of lords to be born. Is not the how of
His coming most significant and instructive?
IV. THE WHY OF HIS COMING
A. Everything about
the Lord Jesus is important and worthy of study and evaluation. But the
why of his coming is what makes his coming personal and life
transforming. 4 When the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His
Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5so that He might redeem those
who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
The Lord Jesus did
not come simply to investigate the world, or to see what it was like to
live like a man. He came to be a Redeemer. Man is in hock. Man has lost
his fellowship with God. Man is in a terrible plight. He is a sinner and
he is hell bound. Adam sinned and plunged the whole human race into sin.
Man is a servant of sin and a bond slave to Satan.
He lost his freedom. Outside of Christ a man is in bondage to his lusts
and selfish desires. Although outwardly he may appear to be free,
inwardly he is drawn to appease those lustful and sinful desires. And Satan can
tempt him rather easily. Satan takes him captive whenever it pleases him
to do so.
B. Christmas is
about redemption, although we do not hear that stressed during the
season. The angel told the shepherds, Luke 2:10-14 “Do not be afraid;
for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the
people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born
for you a Savior,
who is Christ the Lord. 12“This will be a sign for
you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the
heavenly host praising God and saying,14“Glory to God in the
highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
He came
to save us. He came to redeem us from the power and penalty of sin. We
don't always picture that when we think of him as an infant. The
cross-involved a man, not a baby. But there had to be a baby before
there could be the man.
Dwight L. Moody
tells this story: "An old man got up in one of our meetings and said, 'I
have been forty-two years learning three things.' He said he pricked up
his ears at that. He thought if he could find out in three minutes what
a man had taken forty-two years to learn, he would like to do it. The
first thing he said he had learned was that he could do nothing toward
his own salvation. Moody thought, that's worth learning. The second
thing he found out was that God did not require him to do anything.
Well, that was worth finding out too. And the third thing was that the
Lord Jesus Christ had done it all, that salvation was finished, and that
all he had to do was take it.'
Dear friends, I
don't know how many Christmases you have been through. But have you
learned the true meaning of Christmas?
We know who
the baby's birth is we celebrate. The angels told the shepherds a
Savior, who is Christ the Lord. We know when he came, in the
fullness of time. We know where he came, to a manger in
Bethlehem. We know how he came by a virgin mother named Mary of
the tribe of Judah of the house of David. But do we celebrate why
he came? Only you can answer for yourself. The baby in the manger can
only be your Savior and Lord if you understand and believe that he grew
to be a man and that he alone can satisfy the justice of God for your
sins by dying in your place and then rising from the dead to return to
heaven as king of kings and Lord of lords.
Don't miss the
greatest Christmas gift of all. Receive him today and rejoice in your
salvation by joining and singing our closing hymn.
Hymn #207 "Good
Christian Men, Rejoice"
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The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word.