Christmas is Real

Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. (1Tim 3:16 ESV)

Yes, great indeed is the mystery of the incarnation, the Second Person of the Trinity voluntarily emptying Himself of His eternal glory and coming to earth to seek and save the lost.

In the beginning was the Word [Jesus], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made... The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. (Jn 1:1-3,14)

Yet, as much as it is a mystery, it is every bit as real. AW Tozer writes:

The birth of Christ was a divine declaration, an eternal statement to a race of fallen men and women. The Advent of Christ clearly established:

First, that God is real. The heavens were opened and another world than this came into view.

Second, that human life is essentially spiritual. With the emergence into human flesh of the Eternal Word of the Father, the fact of man's divine origin is confirmed.

Third, that God indeed had spoken by the prophets. The coming of the Messiah-Savior into the world confirmed the veracity of the Old Testament Scripture.

Fourth, that man is lost but not abandoned. Had men not been lost no Savior would have been required. Had they been abandoned no Savior would have come.

Finally, that this world is not the end. We are made for two worlds and as surely as we now inhabit the one we shall also inhabit the other!

How can it be otherwise when twentieth-century Christians refuse to acknowledge the sharp moral antithesis that God Himself has set between the Church, as the Body of Christ, and this present world with its own human systems?

The differences between the churchly world and the followers of the Lamb are so basic that they can never be reconciled or negotiated. God has never promised His believing people that they would become a popular majority in this earthly scene.

I wonder how many believers would join me in a clear-cut manifesto to our times? I want it to be a declaration of our intentions to restore Christ to the place that is rightfully His in our family situations and in the fellowship of the churches that bear His name.

Are we willing to demonstrate the standards of godliness and biblical holiness as a rebuke to this wicked and perverse generation?

So many people are searching for meaning, for reality in these turbulent times. It is sad that the answer lies clearly in the true meaning of Christmas. Yet, inserted in the Apostle John's introduction to his beloved gospel is a haunting statement.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. (Jn 1:9-11)

Just as most of the people in Bethlehem that day were oblivious to the divine event occurring in their midst, most people today are equally unaware. We must take up Pastor Tozer's challenge to be shining examples for unbelievers, while we continue to pray and share the Good News.

Giving Christ His Place

From AW Tozer:

Christianity at large and the Church generally speaking, are afflicted with a dread, lingering illness that shows itself daily in the apathy and spiritual paralysis of its members.

How can it be otherwise when twentieth-century Christians refuse to acknowledge the sharp moral antithesis that God Himself has set between the Church, as the Body of Christ, and this present world with its own human systems?

The differences between the churchly world and the followers of the Lamb are so basic that they can never be reconciled or negotiated. God has never promised His believing people that they would become a popular majority in this earthly scene.

I wonder how many believers would join me in a clear-cut manifesto to our times? I want it to be a declaration of our intentions to restore Christ to the place that is rightfully His in our family situations and in the fellowship of the churches that bear His name.

Are we willing to demonstrate the standards of godliness and biblical holiness as a rebuke to this wicked and perverse generation?

Too many modern churches believe that they can reach the world by becoming more like it. This might initially attract a few curious seekers, usually for misdirected reasons such as their quest for increased prosperity, better health, worry free living, or other goals stemming from promises contained within the "tickle the ear" messages coming from the church. The vast majority of unbelievers however, will generally reject church members attempting to assimilate into the world. Their most common reaction will be to rightly accuse the member of being a hypocrite. "See, I knew you didn't really believe all that Christian morals, ethics and stuff". If the unsaved can't see any difference between us and them, what incentive do they have to join us?

The church cannot transform the world if we are too busy assimilating into it. It is only when the church bends the knee and confesses Jesus as Lord to the glory of the Father (Php 2:10-11), and remains faithful to the Biblical teachings that the unbeliever will see something worth responding to. Returning to Pastor Tozer, he offers this prayer:

Lord, though the Church and the world often collide, I pray that each member of the Body of Christ will be so full of integrity that many unsaved people in the world will be pointed to Jesus Christ.

Yet Shall He Live

One of my spiritual heroes is AW (Aiden Wilson) Tozer.  He served as pastor of several churches for about 45 years, including the Southside Alliance Church in Chicago for 30 years.  He then became pastor of Avenue Road Church of Toronto in 1959 before dying suddenly of a heart attack in 1963.

Pastor Tozer never went to college or seminary, and had no formal religious training, yet by spending hours upon hours with an open Bible before God, he was able to speak and write with such conviction that he became one of the most often quoted Christians of the past 50 years.

Here is a short except from one of his sermons about death, based up the Scripture verse, He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live (Jn 11:25- KJV).

This may sound strange-but it is a fact that death is not the worst thing that can happen to a believing Christian.

I can recall the first time I heard that statement, in a quiet conversation with Harry M. Shuman, for many years the president of the international Christian and Missionary Alliance. He was a soft-spoken yet forceful man of God, rich in the wisdom of God’s Word. We were talking of the serious issues of life and death. When he had something especially important to say, Dr. Shuman had an unusual way of lowering his voice and tilting his head just a bit. I can see him yet as he looked out from under his shaggy brows straight into my eyes.

"Remember, Tozer," he said, "death is not the worst thing that can happen to a person!".

For the Christian, death is a journey to the eternal world. It is a victory, a rest, a delight. I am sure my small amount of physical suffering has been mild compared to Paul’s, but I feel as Paul did: "I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far!" (Php 2:23)

Pastor Tozer is speaking, of course, of physical death.  All people, both believers and nonbelievers, will experience physical death unless we’re still alive here on Earth when Jesus returns.  However, only nonbelievers (those without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ) will experience the second death - an eternity in hell separated from God.  This eternal state is also known as "eternal death" or "spiritual death".  This should not be confused with the state of being "spiritually dead", the current condition of a nonbeliever, and the former condition of believers prior to being regenerated (made alive in Christ) by the grace of God (Eph 2:1-10).

Many of us have heard the old saying, "Born once, die twice; but born twice, die once".  Christians have been born twice, that is “born again” or “born from above” (Jn 3:3-7), so only Christians will die only once (physically), while unbelievers will experience both physical and spiritual death.  It has rightly been said that "one can't kill a Christian - but can only change his or her address".

For those wanting more info on how to avoid the second death, please read our How to Be Sure You’re Going to Heaven article.

A few years ago, we also wrote a related article on the Differing Views of Death between believers and unbelievers.  We welcome you to check it out.

His Cross is my Cross

From a sermon by AW Tozer:

To take Jesus Christ into your life without reservation is to accept His friends as your friends and to know that His enemies will be your enemies! It means that we accept His rejection as our rejection. We knowingly accept His cross as our cross.

If you then find yourself in an area where Christ has no friends, you will be friendless, except for the one Friend who will stick closer than a brother. I made up my mind a long time ago. Those who declare themselves enemies of Jesus Christ must look upon me as their enemy, and I ask no quarter from them! And if they are friends of Christ they are my friends, and I do not care what color they are or what denomination they belong to.

If the preachers would faithfully tell the people what it actually means to receive Christ and obey Him and live for Him, we would have fewer converts backsliding and foundering.

Preachers who are not faithful one day will stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer to a faithful Savior why they betrayed His people in this way!

We must pray for and encourage those who are living and serving in those areas that are not friendly to Christ. What shall we say however, about professing Christians (not just preachers) who live in lands still relatively from from persecution? Many have compromised their beliefs and become so entangled with this present world that their faith is barely recognizable. Christians used to view the world as a battlefield, but too many now consider it a playground instead. Rather than holding to the historical doctrines of the Faith, many have now embraced a hybrid creed, interbred with worldly ideology.

We as the Church are called to be holy and set apart, to stand firmly on biblical principles when confronted with moral, ethical and spiritual issues; whether in the social, political, religious or any other realm. We can not remain neutral. We must choose whom we will serve, a choice that leads to either life or death (Dt 30:19). We must say with Joshua, "as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Jsh 24:15).

We are called to transform the world, not to assimilate into it.