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One of the greatest causes for joy at Christmastime is the celebration
of the arrival of Grace. Prior to the coming of Christ, people’s
relationships with God and with one another were governed by the ever-present
demands of God’s perfect law. God’s law
was engraved in stone, inscribed on scrolls and etched on the various
accessories and accoutrements of the religious community. The pervasive presence of the law of God
served as a continual guilt reminder of man’s inability to live up to the
righteous demands of a Holy God, who alone
“dwells in unapproachable light,” and in whom “is no darkness at all.”
In the Apostle John’s account of the coming of the Promised One, we
finally encounter the first breath of fresh air in several millennia, as we are
let out of the cursed confinement of the prison house of the law. He writes: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” The Apostle Paul explains it this way: “we were held prisoners by the law, locked
up until faith should be revealed.” “The law was put in charge to lead us to
Christ.” Now that Christ has come, “we are no longer under the supervision of
the law.”
The joy that Grace evokes often is expressed best by those who have
suffered the agonies of slavery or the unbearable confinements of harsh and
unjust prison conditions. These souls truly
can appreciate the fresh air and freedom that comes upon release from bondage. John Bunyan suffered imprisonment over a
period of more than twelve years for being a preacher of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ. (He boldly told his prosecutor
on one occasion "If you release me today, I will preach tomorrow!") He is best known for his book “The Pilgrim’s
Progress,” but in 1666 he wrote a book entitled “Grace Abounding to the Chief
of Sinners.” Writing from prison (which
he called his “Lions’ Den”) to his congregation that had been deprived of his
pastoral ministry, he says in the Preface:
“In this
discourse of mine, you may see much; much I say, of the grace of God towards
me: I thank God, I can count it much; for it was above my sins and Satan’s
temptations too. I can remember my fears
and doubts, and sad months, with comfort . . . They bring afresh into my mind,
the remembrance of my great help, my great supports from heaven, and the great
grace that God extended to such a wretch as I.”
God promised many centuries before Jesus appeared, that His old
covenant with His people (the Law) would be replaced with a new covenant (Grace of Jesus
Christ). Jeremiah described it this way:
“The time is coming," declares the
LORD, "when I will make a new covenant . . . "I will put my law in
their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be
my people.” Ezekiel elaborated on
this: “I will give you a new heart and
put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give
you a heart of flesh. And I will put my
Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my
laws.”
The good news of the new covenant is that the external demands of the law for the people of God would instead become
their internal delight. The grace and truth that comes into our
lives, upon receiving Jesus into our lives, is that Jesus lives His life in and through us! The Spirit of Jesus Christ indwelling us
leads us (and compels us!) to live according to the light and life of God in a
way that the law never could. “For what the law was powerless to do . . .
God did by sending his own Son . . . in order that the righteous requirements
of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful
nature but according to the Spirit.”
Indeed, one of the greatest causes for joy at Christmastime is the
celebration of the arrival of the Grace
of Jesus Christ!
In Jesus our King,
Pastor Scott
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