Jesus Was Born For This
Rev. Greg Schermerhorn
– December 25, 2013
Merry Christmas! The angels declared the good news of the
birth of our Savior to shepherds in the fields
surrounding Bethlehem about 2000 years ago.
Jesus' birth is the cause for great celebration, today and every day. But I want us to look past the presents and
"seasonal" things to look at the true gift of Heaven by looking into
what Jesus was really born to do and accomplish in His earthly existence.
Ephesians 2:8–9 (NKJV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and
that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast.
Now, please allow me to present
this passage to you from the Amplified translation of the Bible. Read to what God’s Word says with the nuances
of the original Greek text expanded into English:
Ephesians 2:8–9 (AMP)
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that
you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s
salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of
your own doing, it came not through your own striving], but it is the gift of
God; Not because of works [not the fulfillment of the Law’s
demands], lest any man should boast. [It is not the result of what anyone can
possibly do, so no one can pride himself in it or take glory to himself.]
It is hard to look at Christmas
without looking toward the cross. The
virgin birth of Jesus is absolutely important and we gladly celebrate it with a
willing world. BUT, Jesus grew up! In His humanity, Jesus grew into an adult to
fulfill His role as the rejected Messiah of Israel so that He could become the
Savior of the entire world. This is the
Jesus that our society rejects.
Jesus stepped out of heaven
and submitted Himself to the humiliation of becoming a human. Yes, I said Jesus subjected Himself to the
humiliation of wrapping Himself in human flesh.
Philippians 2:5–7 (AMP)
Let this same attitude and purpose and
[humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in
humility:] Who, although being essentially one with God and
in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God
God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or
retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful
dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became
like men and was born a human being.
Jesus willingly became weak
and frail. He willingly took on all of
the physical limitations you and I live with every day. Jesus, the one who created the universe
subjected Himself to becoming an infant.
He willingly became helpless and dependent upon others for
everything.
As an adult, Jesus would
serve others instead of being served Himself.
He would demonstrate His love for others through His actions, right up
to His final human act of willingly sacrificing His life through the cruelest form
of death the world has ever known, called crucifixion.
Philippians 2:8 (AMP)
And
after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself
[still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the
death of the cross!
Jesus was crucified after
being nearly beaten to death with a Roman scourge. And He did it without so much as a word of
complaint or regret.
Passersby mocked Jesus while
He hung on the cross. They taunted Him,
daring Him to save Himself and come down from the cross. What a temptation that must have been for
Jesus! One of the greatest miracles
Jesus ever performed during His earthly life is that He stayed on the cross. One thought or, one word from Him, and a
legion of angels would have come to His aid, if He had desired it. The miracle is that Jesus loved us more! As John 3:16 says:
John 3:16 (AMP)
For
God so greatly loved and dearly prized
the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that
whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish
(come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.
Jesus loved us so much that
He was willing to endure the torture, the pain, and bear the shame of our
punishment to stay there on the cross and complete the task that He was born in
human flesh to do. Jesus was born to
die! The just for the unjust!
1 Peter 3:18a (AMP)
For
Christ [the Messiah Himself] died for sins once for all, the Righteous for the
unrighteous (the Just for the unjust, the Innocent for the guilty), that He
might bring us to God.
But, PRAISE GOD! This is NOT the end of the story! On the third day after His death, Jesus rose
from the dead, ALIVE! You know the day I
am telling you about. We call it Easter
Sunday!
Jesus fulfilled His task in
becoming human.He lived a sinless life.
For the first time in human
history, mankind was reconciled before God because of the sacrifice of Jesus'
blood. Salvation is open to ALL men,
women, boys, and girls of every nationality, everywhere. The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ
says that if you have faith to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who lived
a sinless life, died, and rose again from the dead to pay the penalty for your
sins and that He alone can give you the free gift of eternal life, if you
simply trust Him for it. Then you shall
be saved!
This is what Jesus was born
to do! He was born to die for me and for
you! Christmas is a celebration of the
gift of heaven. The reality of the gift
of heaven is the free gift of salvation that Jesus has earned for you! Jesus has done all of the work because you
would never be able to do enough good to get to heaven on your own.
Romans 3:23 (NKJV)
for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God
Jesus is the only sacrifice
that God has found acceptable to pay for the sins we have committed in our
lives. John 14: 6 says:
John 14:6 (NKJV)
Jesus
said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me."
None of us will ever be
worthy to enter heaven on our own merit or good works, no matter how good we
are or how much we do to try to earn entrance.
We simply cannot earn our way to heaven.
We can only enter heaven through Jesus' righteousness. That is His free gift to us.
Romans 6:23 (NKJV)
For
the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Do you remember where we
started this Christmas message?
Ephesians 2:8-9 (AMP)
For it is by free grace (God’s unmerited favor) that
you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s
salvation) through [your] faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [of your own doing, it came not through your
own striving], but it is the gift of God; Not because of works
[not the fulfillment of the Law’s demands], lest any man should boast. [It is
not the result of what anyone can possibly do, so no one can pride himself in
it or take glory to himself.]
Eternal Life is the original
Christmas present! Jesus was born for
this...to seek and to save that which was lost.
Luke 19:10 (NKJV)
for
the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.
I am going to ask you some
questions for you to answer to yourself.
Have you already received the gift of heaven? Do you have a personal relationship with
Jesus as your Savior? Do you know FOR
SURE that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven? If you can’t
answer “YES” to these questions, don’t despair because I’m speaking to you
right now. You CAN have a
personal relationship with Jesus and you CAN KNOW FOR
SURE that you will spend eternity with Him in heaven. It really is as simple as having the faith to
believe that Jesus is God’s Son, who lived a sinless life, died, and rose again
from the dead to pay the penalty for YOUR sins and that HE ALONE can give you
the free gift of eternal life, if you will simply trust Him for it. If this is the intent of your heart, pray
this sample prayer to the Lord:
Lord Jesus,
I know I'm a sinner and do not deserve
eternal life, but I believe You stepped down from Heaven, lived a sinless life,
died, and rose from the grave to pay the penalty for my sins and purchase a
place in Heaven for me. Lord Jesus, I
ask forgiveness of my sins. I am placing
my trust in you alone for my eternal salvation, and I accept Your free gift of
eternal life. Lord Jesus, I want you to
come into my heart and into my life as my Savior and Lord. Thank you for saving my soul. - Amen
If this prayer was the
sincere desire of your heart, hear this promise of Jesus in John 6:47:
John 6:47 (NKJV)
Most
assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
If you have made a decision to
receive the gift of Heaven, please share it with us so we can rejoice with you
in your new relationship with Jesus. Also,
so we can pray for you in your new walk of life. If you don't know Jesus in a real and
personal way as your Savior and Lord, please don't leave the gift of Heaven
untouched under your Christmas tree this year.
It is truly a matter of eternal life or death.
Merry CHRISTmas to you and
your family!
