Archive for the 'Christmas' Category

GM…🎄

What last minute things are you adding to your wishlist? pic.twitter.com/CqVzGxQfKD

— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) December 24, 2023

Merry Christmas to my loyal readers. I wish you the best for this Christmas day.

Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

Merry Christmas from me and my family to yours.

I want to tell you two stories today.  They are both true, factual, and happened in time and space.

First, I recently listened to a sermon which I consider among the top ten worst, most horrid, most theologically inept sermons I’ve ever run across in my life.

The pastor mentioned the advent of the Son of God, Jesus, who is the Christ, once or twice, and then quickly pivoted to the second coming, the thing we truly are here to celebrate, and His reign of peace on earth, lasting 1000 years, in which He will be the supreme political ruler, issuing edicts that everyone will obey.  As I said, he mentioned the advent of Christ only in passing to set up his favorite topic, the eschaton according the dispensationalist, premillennial theology.

As I said, I consider it to be one of the worst sermons I’ve ever witnessed, mostly because considered topically, it completely missed the whole point and the reason we were gather together to celebrate Christmas.  I wish I hadn’t heard this sermon.  It was just that bad.

No, no, no, no, no, no, and a thousand times no! The advent isn’t about the second coming, stupid pastors notwithstanding.

Now to the second story.  It occurred in time and space, some 2000 years ago, and it is true and factual.  Gab sent out a post on the miracle of Christ’s birth, stating that it is “arguably the single most important event in human history.”  No, there is no argument.  It is without a single doubt the most significant event in history, human history and redemptive history.  My former professor, Dr. C. Gregg Singer, taught repeatedly that in order to understand history, one has to understand the history of the church.  Not the institutional church, but the body of believers through history.

Before the idiot pagan historians tried to change it (to BCE and CE), history is dated as BC and AD (Before Christ and Anno Domini), history was seen as revolving around, based on, and centered about one event in history, i.e., the advent of our Lord.  Years decreased as the time got closer, and years increased after that momentous event, as if a funnel through which God poured out His blessing.

The Pharisees expected that their savior would come as a king and political appointee, bash the ruling Roman empire, and set himself up on a throne and once again make the Jewish nation grand.  Jesus disappointed those expectations.  He was born in a stable (literally, a cave), because there wasn’t a home to which He could go to be born.  To keep Him from freezing to death, Mary had to wrap him in the rags used to clean the feed troughs and clean the shit out of stalls.  The picture of Jesus wrapped in clean, white clothing is a sanitized lie.  He was chased literally from the day He was born by wicked rulers who wanted to kill Him.

He was God come in the flesh, abominable to the mind of the Pharisees.  The whole thing was a scandal.  A miracle yes, but a scandal.  This was the beginning of what theologians call the “Humiliation of Christ.”  His birth was among common men, his life was one of the carpenter, making things with his hands, He had no respect for the religious leaders, He didn’t come up through their “pipeline,” He carried His cross, and He perished over crimes He didn’t commit (but because He took the since of His people with Him to the cross).

Scandalous.  Not robed on gaudy tapestry, not hobnobbing with the religious leaders, but hanging with tax collectors and whores.  Scandal.  But it was He who would sacrifice His own life to appease the wrath of the Father.

²¹ She will give birth to a Son; and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” ²² Now all this took place so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled: ²³ “Behold, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they shall name Him Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”

In addition to saving His people, that is, all who believe in Him, the point of His birth of lowly means was to demonstrate to the religious leaders of the day that they didn’t understand sin and the fallen nature of man, the law of God, their need for a savior, or the nature of His kingdom.

His kingdom, you see, is in the hearts of men with whom He is well pleased (Luke 2:12-14).  The dispensational premillennialists make the same mistake the Pharisees made.  They think that God is going to make it all happen in an instant for us all, ruling on a political throne, with us as the bystanders.  You are aware, no doubt, that the dispensationalists, heavily Zionistic in emphasis, see this period of history as the great “uh oh” by God.  His original plan was to do just that, set up a political throne.  When He was rejected by the Jews, God had to revert to another plan (quite the inept God, yes?).

That second plan was to focus on the church, which they name the “Parenthesis.”  You and I are living in the “parenthesis” period of history according to them, where God gets a mulligan, a do-over because His first plan screwed up.

In reality, God became man living among us, died for His people, and commissioned them to go about making disciples and taking dominion for His glory.  Yes, I am a Christian reconstructionist, and always will be (viz. R. J. Rushdoony).  You see, God hasn’t told us He is going to snap His fingers and do this for us.  He sent His Holy Spirit as a helper and He has given us all the tools necessary for victory, and even ordained and decreed our eventual victory.  But He will watch with joy as His children are gathered to Himself and the world is taken for His glory.

This is no parenthesis in history.  It is history, His Story.  Everything is as intended, and there are no surprises to Him.  He had decreed it all, and it will all redound to the glory of His Son, fully God and fully man.  This is the advent, the most important and monumental occurrence in all of history.  The angels sang great songs to His praise upon His birth.  The heavens couldn’t keep silent.  The shock and glory and wonder of the sovereign of the universe taking on bodily form to save His people was too awesome for them.  Wise men came and worshipped Him.  Rulers wanted Him dead because of the threat He posed.

It was revealed to Simeon that he would not pass until he had seen the advent of the Lord’s Christ.  He did so, and could then pass away a joyful man (Luke 2:25f).  Celebrate this momentous event with your heart and soul.  This isn’t about Santa Claus.  This isn’t about the second coming.  This is about the most important event in all of history.  God is with us.

Enjoy this by Diane Bish and The King’s Brass.  Little known to most people, I once played trombone on an amateur basis, and got a chance to play along with The King’s Brass when they rolled through my city.

All religions, denominations or sects that teach that Jesus worked His way to being the Son of God, or that there was a time when He wasn’t the Son of God, or that the Father saved Him because of His works, or that He was a mere teacher, or that His purpose in the incarnation and life was to exemplify behavior that would be pleasing to God, are false religions and cults.  If you are in any such cult, get out of it.  Your soul is in jeopardy, as well as the souls of your family.

Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  He is very God of God, and there wasn’t ever a time when He wasn’t God.  He was God from all eternity, and will always be God.  Mankind cannot save himself with any amount of good works.  God doesn’t grade on a curve.  As for His final judgment, He doesn’t care about you trying to make yourself better and that will not save you.  You will stand in judgment for your sins, as I will for mine.  There is no ledger with negatives and positives.

Jesus had to come to earth and take the physical form of a man because man couldn’t save himself by any actions.  As it was put by C. S. Lewis, “The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God.”  We are sons of God by adoption, not by works.  Standing before God in final judgment won’t involve speaking on your own behalf, arguing, bargaining, or answering charges.  Our mouths will be sealed closed, and we will be prostrate before Him.

The evil one will bring charges and lay claim to you.  He is called the accuser.  Jesus will speak on our behalf, and will remind the Father that you are one of the called, if you belong to Him, chosen from before the foundation of the world, adopted into the family of God because of the birth, life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.

What does this all have to do with Christmas?  Theologians customarily begin the “humiliation of Christ” at His advent.  The incarnation was humbling, as was His life, as was His death on the cross for the sins of His people.  God had to take the form of man because that was the only way to save man.  This is the scandal of the gospel.

Why do men object so to the gospel, the name of Jesus, and to the Holy Scriptures?  Because accepting its truth means acceptance of the scandal – the scandal that he cannot do anything to please God, and that he needs a savior.

Pictures of the manger scene usually show Jesus wrapped in “swaddling clothes,” all white, clean and unused.  Truthfully, those rags were used to clean animal dung.  God was born into the world in humble circumstances, of humble beginnings, and for a specific purpose.

This is the Christmas story.  Know it.  Understand its import.  Teach it to your children.  It is because of this that His people have life.

“And she will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins … Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, “God with us.”

Matthew 1:21, 23

“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.  Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’.” (Matthew 1:21-23).

From an earlier post, “Don’t Google the history of Christmas.  Google will return all manner of bunk.  Here is your source.  When I studied church history, historical theology and systematic theology under Dr. C. Gregg Singer, who was one of the foremost church historians of his era, he relied heavily on Philip Schaff, “History of the Christian Church,” all 8 Volumes.  Oh, he used hundreds or thousands of other sources, some primary, some secondary.  But Schaff was the authority.  So be it for me too.

In Volume III, Schaff outlines the history of the celebration of the incarnation in the early Christian church.  I’ll let you read it for the details, but around the time of the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), where the deity of Christ and the trinity was affirmed by Athanasius and the church council conta the heretic Arius, Christmas was being celebrated by the churches as a festival of food and gifts.

If you celebrate Christmas with feasting, the giving of alms, and the giving of presents to children, you stand squarely on the shoulders of the church fathers circa two millennia ago.  Enjoy it, Remember what you’re celebrating.

The manifestation of the deity, God with us.  That’s what you celebrate.  Do it well.  Have a great festival.”

For a bit of Christmas music, I chose The King’s Brass, a wonderful group under the direction of Tim Zimmerman (who also arranges music for them), and with whom I’ve had the chance to play trombone (albeit only for a couple of songs, and when the players were different)

“And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will who will save His people from their sins.”

Matthew 1:21.

And “His people” are all those who believe in Him, believe that He is the only Son of God, very God and very man, that He came to earth, was a vicarious atonement for our sins, the Word of God, and who call upon His name.

Merry Christmas 2018!

I had wanted to make a much longer post on Christmas, but I’ve been so busy it’s been impossible.  Too busy.  I’ll follow up more later, but for now, Merry Christmas to my valued and important readers.

Christmas is a celebration of the incarnation.  From Matthew 1:21-23: “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.  Now all this took place that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, ‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which translated means, ‘God with us’.”

It always seems to be a tactic of the detractors to charge Christians with co-opting pagan holidays and calling them their own.  This removes the joy of the Christian as he celebrates what no one else can, i.e., God becoming man.

True enough, celebrations of Santa Claus and Frosty miss the point.  But as for real celebrations of the incarnation in church history, a bit of fact telling is in order.  Don’t Google the history of Christmas.  Google will return all manner of bunk.  Here is your source.  When I studied church history, historical theology and systematic theology under Dr. C. Gregg Singer, who was one of the foremost church historians of his era, he relied heavily on Philip Schaff, “History of the Christian Church,” all 8 Volumes.  Oh, he used hundreds or thousands of other sources, some primary, some secondary.  But Schaff was the authority.  So be it for me too.

In Volume III, Schaff outlines the history of the celebration of the incarnation in the early Christian church.  I’ll let you read it for the details, but around the time of the Council of Nicea (325 A.D.), where the deity of Christ and the trinity was affirmed by Athanasius and the church council conta the heretic Arius, Christmas was being celebrated by the churches as a festival of food and gifts.

If you celebrate Christmas with feasting, the giving of alms, and the giving of presents to children, you stand squarely on the shoulders of the church fathers circa two millennia ago.  Enjoy it, Remember what you’re celebrating.  Football isn’t it.  Santa Claus isn’t it.  Frosty isn’t it.

The manifestation of the deity, God with us.  That’s what you celebrate.  Do it well.  Have a great festival.

It’s good to give gifts on Christmas.  It’s also good to be given them.