Why we celebrate Christmas

Pastor Don Porter

As we are approaching the Christmas season, I think it is important to ask ourselves why we celebrate Christmas. I am sure we have all heard that ‘Jesus is the Reason for the Season’ but why is this so? Why was the birth of a baby in a small town in the remote area of the world in a humble stable over 2,000 years ago so important? To answer that question we must not look at Jesus’ birth but His death. Jesus’ death is important because He died for a reason. To understand the reason we must look at His birth, ministry and words as told to us in the gospels in the Bible. First, Jesus was God’s Son born of a virgin. His birth was foretold by the prophets, announced by the angels, witnessed by the shepherds and His heredity and deity were proclaimed by the Wise Men. But why is this so important to us? It is important because Jesus was born with a mission. What was Jesus’ mission? Since the downfall of Adam and Eve all mankind is born with a sin nature and all have sinned. God has declared that punishment for sin is death. But God had a plan. It can be seen from the very first sermon that He preached. In Matthew 4:17 it is recorded that Jesus proclaimed “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand (or near).” Repent means more than regret or sorrow. We may be sorry that we did something and not be repentant. A person who gets caught is sorry but the question is, will the regret lead to change? Real sorrow, according to the Bible, will lead to repentance or change and that is what Jesus’ ministry and preaching constantly told His listeners. However, you can realize your need for repentance or change and still not do it. The Bible says if you choose to live that way, you don’t know God. Some people have refused to accept Jesus’ teaching that we need to change our lives. Some have accepted Jesus with their mouths but not their lives. We will talk about those who reject Jesus later but those who confess Jesus as their Lord but don’t change their lifestyle are like the Pharisees Jesus taught about. They don’t realize that Jesus wants to be the Lord of every aspect of their life. He wants to be the Lord of your actions, words, business, time and relationships. He wants to be Lord of All.There are people who say God loves you and everything is fine. You can do anything you want or think is appropriate and live however you want to live. Let’s just love one another and have a great time. But this was not Jesus’ message or mission. Yes, God loves us. Yes, God receives any person who comes to Him but God asks them to repent. He asks us to repent from our sins. If we are not willing to do so, then we are not experiencing biblical faith. Thus, we are not going to receive what the Bible describes as salvation. Never build a case for God’s forgiveness on the basis of His love for us, for this contradicts God’s holiness and the truth about God as revealed in the Bible. Never allow yourself to be deceived that Jesus stands with us and against God. Jesus’ teachings clearly show us what kind of life He intends for those who want to be His followers (called Christians) are to live. But our repentance and our changed lifestyles are not enough to get us into heaven. That is why God’s plan also called for a sacrifice to be made in atonement for our sins. The sacrifice would require the death of a man who was without sin. That is why God sent his Son to be born of a virgin in a stable. It was so that His Son, who lived a life without sin and who did not have a sinful nature (since Jesus was God’s Son and not related to Adam); therefore, could willingly offer his life on a cross as a sacrifice for all mankind. The death of Jesus is the fulfillment of the very mind and intent of God. There is no place for seeing Jesus as a martyr. His death is not something that happened to Him — something that might have been prevented. Jesus’ death was the very reason He was born. God forgives sins only because of Jesus’ death on the cross. Jesus’ death is a gift to us and to all who will accept it and it is not too late for those who have rejected it. That is why we celebrate Christmas!