Oh, if you are one of the kiddos that's supposed to go to the back, now's the time to do it.
Okay?
Takes me just a second to get, man, listen to you.
I love that.
I was in Psalms this morning in devotions.
Psalm 27.
I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy.
I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
I like singing about our Savior, don't you?
Well, I suppose you tire a little bit of hearing me talk about how long I've been at this, but bear with me.
One of the things that comes with preaching around holidays and times where I think it's appropriate to focus your thoughts scripturally in particular
around things that relate to what's going on around you.
It so happens that when you come to Christmas year after year after year, it's not like you can choose a new passage.
There aren't that many.
And the tendency is, is we are very inclined to kind of lock in on the idea, I've heard that before, and kind of tune out.
And I would appeal to you that that is not why God has you here this morning.
I do want you to look at a passage that you may not normally connect with Christmas.
Turn in your Bibles to Mark chapter 10, and we're going to pick up in verse 35.
Mark chapter 10, verse 35.
And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said to him,
Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.
And he said to them, What do you want me to do for you?
By the way, just stop for a second.
Do you think Jesus didn't know what they were going to ask?
No.
But sometimes it's appropriate to go ahead and let a person fully reveal what's inside.
How many of you have learned that the hard way, right?
Sometimes you think you know what somebody else is going to say.
Jesus did know.
But giving them an opportunity to talk about it brings it right out in front.
And so Jesus asked them, Say, Hey, what would you like me to do?
And verse 37, they said to him, Grant us to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your glory.
How noble.
How thoughtful.
How like an apostle, right?
I mean, hey, you know, we're willing to wait.
But eventually, we would like brothers, one on your right, one on your left.
Jesus said to them, You do not know what you're asking.
Are you able to drink the cup that I drink?
Or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?
They said to him, We are able.
And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink you will drink.
And with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized.
But to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to grant,
but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.
And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John.
Don't you like righteous indignation?
How many of you have ever had righteous indignation at other people's frailties and failures?
You ever been there?
It's like, I can't believe it.
You know, it's like, not me.
Yeah.
Well, here they are.
They're indignant.
And Jesus called them to him and said to them,
You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their great ones exercise authority over them.
It shall not be so among you,
but whoever would be great among you must be your servant.
And whoever would be first among you must be slave of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life a ransom for many.
It's very easy for us to get caught up in a very natural mindset of what's in it for me.
Christmas is a time that I found myself asking some of our younger children this morning,
So what are you getting for Christmas?
And I was surprised at how often kids actually know.
I mean, you know, after all, they make a wish list, right?
And they let their parents know.
But I know some children, some devious little ones,
that go around shaking packages.
How many of you have had your children shake packages?
I see the look, you know.
How many of you go ahead and pay attention to not only what you're getting,
but what you think your brothers and sisters are getting,
kind of put it all together to kind of be sure there's equity,
propriety.
Everything's done, you know.
It's like, hey, what's in it for me?
What's in it for me?
That is a natural and normal pattern of thinking.
Wouldn't you agree with that?
And we do pretty good at thinking about what's in it for me.
There are all kinds of little things I hear people say that indicate that that's where their thinking is.
One of the best ones I really like is,
I didn't sign up for that.
How many of you ever heard that phrase?
I didn't sign up for that.
Really?
By the way, who signed you up?
If you're thinking you signed up for it,
you may not understand that there is a father in heaven that is in control of some of the fine print on your contract.
And I want us to think this morning in a completely different way.
And to recognize that when we come to the matter of Christmas,
it's important for us not to get caught up in the world's thinking.
So let's ask ourselves the question, what is Christmas really all about?
What is Christmas about?
If you were to ask retailers, they would tell you what?
Christmas is all about them having the best possible opportunity of making money
because between Thanksgiving and Christmas, guess what?
You hope that people blow the wad and buy everything that you have managed to think was important to them
and that you end up being fat and happy and everything works well.
Workers tend to look at Christmas and think,
huh, it's a holiday.
It's a time to rest.
I remember talking with someone out in Colorado,
a man that's moved from here to there,
and he was talking about the fact that from something like the,
yeah, this Sunday on to the end of the year,
they have no work.
They're on vacation for the next basically two weeks.
That's pretty nice, right?
So Christmas is about relaxing.
Kids, you know what they think Christmas is about?
How many of you remember being kids?
Some of you are older here, but I remember that Christmas is where I finally got to get what I thought I was getting.
And with ambition and anticipation, you know, Christmas Eve, I was thinking tomorrow I'm going to get what, you know,
and it was all about.
And my parents, that was the one day in the year that my father as a surgeon did not get up early.
I don't know how it worked out, but he actually slept in, you know, 7, 730.
And it was probably the only day in the year that I wanted to get up early.
And so there was kind of that fine balancing act between making enough noise so they knew we were up
and not making too much noise that you'd really get in trouble for being obvious.
How many of you understand that kind of gentle midpoint?
Well, when we think about the matter of Christmas,
we have to recognize that Christmas really isn't something that is focused on us and our thoughts,
but it is focused on the purposes that God has in our salvation.
And if there's any passage that puts this clearly in front of us,
it would be one such as this that make it very, very clear that Jesus came to save us,
and more specifically, he came to die for our sins.
And I think that's important for us to get our head around and recognize that the fact of the matter is this,
is that Christ's coming was principally to address the issue of sin in our life
and to care for it in perspective of the matter of salvation.
And so when we think about Christmas and we think about his birth,
it's important for us to step beyond the matter of presents that we're getting
and think about what is the value of what Christmas means in the larger scope of our own eternal destiny.
See, Christmas is about God sending his son to live a perfect life and die on the cross to pay the penalty for us.
I appreciate that song that John picked out and we sang just before,
reminding us of the purpose of Christ's coming.
You see, this theme of Christ being our Redeemer and the one who made atonement for our sins
runs right through Scripture, kind of a central thread and one that we shouldn't lose sight of.
Beginning all the way back in the book of Genesis, and I want you to turn,
we're going to kind of spot ourselves in a couple different passages
just to firm up our thinking about the matter of the centrality of Christ's sacrifice for our sins
running from beginning to end.
In Genesis chapter 3, let me read the passage to you just for a moment.
Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, here is God speaking after Adam and Eve had sinned
and God comes to address the issue.
Look at what he says in verse 15.
I will put enmity between you and the woman, talking to the serpent,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.
There is what is called by some theologians there the proto-evangelum.
In other words, it's the first indication of the gospel that we find in the Scripture.
Here is God speaking to man who, after he had sinned, is told,
I have a plan and it will be my son that will die for your sins,
and he, by his death, is going to break the bondage and the power of sin over your life.
It's interesting when you stop and really think about it.
Here is God who earlier had said to man,
the soul that sins, it will what?
It will die.
God had made it clear that there is a penalty for sin.
And yet Adam and Eve, unwilling to listen and believe,
had gone ahead and committed the sin.
And God says, I have a remedy,
and it will be through someone who is born who is going to address the problem.
We find this theme of God's provision flowing throughout the Scriptures.
Let me have you look at another passage as well.
Over in Isaiah chapter 53,
Isaiah chapter 53, as Isaiah is writing about the coming of our Lord Jesus,
he makes it very, very clear that his coming is in relationship to sacrifice and to our sin.
Let me read just for a portion here in Isaiah chapter 53, verse 4.
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was wounded for what?
What was he wounded for?
Our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
Let me stop just for a moment.
How many of you recognize that sin is something that, truthfully,
we are far more comfortable with than we should be?
Do you recognize that?
Let me stop and have you think just a little bit further in that.
There may be some of you here that in the last week have said some things you really wish you hadn't said.
Anybody out there that can identify with that?
I'm waiting.
Oh, good, good, good.
How many of you have not only said some things that you were really sorry you said,
but also have done some things that you really wish you could take back?
Let me kind of work your way through this so you can understand.
The things we act on generally have more traction than the things we say.
Agreed?
The things we think are at the far end of the food chain,
and we're really not all that bothered by the things that we think often that are absolutely ungodly.
Would you agree with that?
But the truth of the matter is is that all sin is equally offensive to God.
And we need to recognize that the fact that he was willing, coming back here to verse 5,
he was wounded for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities,
we tend to think, well, what was so bad that he had to suffer like this for our sin?
It is because all sin is equally and supremely offensive to a holy God,
and when we engage in sin, it has to be remedied.
And so as you work your way through this passage,
one of the things that you see very, very clearly
is that God was willing to send his son, the Lord Jesus,
to make atonement for our sin, to pay the penalty for it.
All we like sheep have gone astray, we've turned everyone to his own way,
and the Lord has laid on him, what?
The iniquity of us all.
The Lord put, the Father put on Jesus the weight and the penalty,
the consequences, the wrath of God against sin,
he put it on Jesus instead of on us.
It's not just in the passage in Isaiah that we see the truth
of Jesus being our sacrifice.
We find over and over again as you work your way through,
it appears over and over.
In Matthew 1, verse 21,
when the birth of Jesus is announced,
it says,
for he shall save his people from their sin.
In John 1, verse 29,
when John the Baptist saw Jesus coming,
he said,
behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
He was looking at the Lord Jesus,
and he made the announcement,
there is the one who is going to satisfy
and deal with the sin problem that we have.
It's amazing when you ask people
what is the biggest problem that they have,
the kind of answers that you get.
If you're in a hospital,
a person thinks to themselves,
well, man, I'm having health problems.
I'd really like something done about that.
If the person is in financial difficulty,
guess what?
I really need more money.
If the person is two days away
from the absolute most important exam of their life,
guess what they're thinking about?
Oh, man, I really need help passing this exam.
The truth of the matter is,
none of those things are worthy of being compared
to the matter of our sin.
And the matter is,
is that God sent the Lord Jesus to be the sacrifice
and the satisfaction for our debt and our sin.
I want you also to think with me
of what Jesus is saying here in Mark,
and let's go back to that passage just for a moment.
Mark chapter 10, verse 45,
for even the Son of Man,
he's talking to his disciples,
and the disciples' interest is,
so what am I getting out of this?
What am I going to receive?
And let me tell you something.
When people go into marriage
with the attitude of,
hey, what am I getting out of it,
guess what they're going to discover?
They're going to discover
that their dissatisfaction
and their misappropriated interest
is going to cause them heartache
that will only grow
until they come to grips
with the selfishness
and the darkness of their own heart.
What happens when we go into ministry
or into church
or into any kind of relationship
where the only focus we have
is on what am I going to get out of it?
It's going to be heartache.
And here is Jesus, on the other hand,
saying, let me tell you something.
Instead of having that mindset,
I want you to think about
the attitude and heart that I have,
and here it is.
For even the Son of Man,
sinless, perfect, holy, wonderful,
even the Son of Man
came not to be served,
but to serve and to give His life
a ransom for many.
And so as you think about
what this passage tells us,
it makes it very, very clear
that the Lord Jesus Christ,
in His coming,
came principally to do this,
to satisfy the debt
of our sin
and to have it wiped away.
I wonder this morning
whether or not
that really strikes you,
whether it really makes
a difference in your thinking,
whether you stop this morning
and think,
man, I am so very thankful
that the focal point of Christmas
is not the gifts that I get,
but the fact that Jesus came
to be my Savior
and to die for my sins.
Well, let's come to another
practical question
as we think about
the matter of this verse.
And I want you to think with me
about why the atonement
is so important.
Why is the atonement
so important?
One of the things
that is sadly missed
in our contemporary culture
is the fact that
right and wrong
is largely missing.
I remember thinking to myself,
well, now that the election
is passed,
all the political wrangling
and jangling
is going to kind of
diminish a little bit.
How many of you
have been stunned
to realize that's not the case?
I mean, every time
you turn on the news,
they're just flapping their gums
about one thing or another
in relationship to politics.
And it just reminds me,
politics is really
just a conflict of worldviews.
And here we have people
that are all wrapped up
in believing that
one side or another
is really the key
to the whole thing.
And in the middle of all that
is the reality that
the majority of people
involved in what we see
going on today
really have no moral compass.
I was intrigued to realize
that Facebook
is going to work
to prevent,
what is it called,
fake news?
How many of you figured out
that it's all fake news
more or less?
You know,
I'll never forget
when Paul David Tripp
said this,
everybody has an agenda.
Everybody has an agenda.
And as you listen
to people today,
you recognize
that their agenda
is self-serving.
And so here we live
in a world
where the issues
of right and wrong
are largely kind of
pushed over to the side
and the question is,
does it work
and does it accomplish
my end and my objectives?
It's amazing
when you stop and think
that rational,
intelligent individuals
who would never
for a moment
deny the laws of gravity,
who would admit
that thermodynamics
and all the laws
related to that
are absolutely essential
and cannot be violated.
At the same time,
think that the same God
who put those laws
into place
and also made moral laws
that you can get away
with violating moral laws
while you can't get away
with violating laws
such as the law of gravity.
You know,
if I were to step off
this platform,
how many of you recognize
what the immediate
consequence would be?
If I stepped off,
what happens?
I go down.
By the same token,
the God of this universe
also made a law
in which He says this,
the soul that sins,
it shall,
there is a consequence
for sin.
And that consequence
cannot be overlooked.
There's no way around it.
By the way,
we tend to wish
God dealt with other people's sins
fairly rapidly.
Do you realize that?
We tend to believe
God doesn't deal with ours
the same way.
And why I say that is this,
is that I'm amazed,
I'm amazed
to be around individuals
on occasion
who are fully persuaded
that their sins
will not have
eventual consequence.
But they do.
God is not mocked.
What a man sows,
that a man will,
he'll reap.
And so I want you
to recognize this morning
when you think about
why Jesus came,
He actually came
to make atonement for us.
And why is that?
Because the truth,
the righteousness,
and the justice of God
must be satisfied.
God can no more
overlook sin
than we can overlook breathing.
His nature requires
that sin be dealt with
and He can't violate
that nature.
When there is sin,
it must be atoned for
or it must be punished.
He cannot overlook
the rebellion
and the harm that sin does.
And though He is
long-suffering and patient,
we know for one,
or for several reasons,
His long-suffering patience,
for one,
is designed to lead people
to repentance,
gives them time
to repent.
But let me tell you
another thing.
God's long-suffering patience
also allows individuals
to be fully hardened
in their sins
so that when He does judge,
they can't say,
I didn't mean it
and I was just careless
and not thinking carefully
about the outcome.
When we sin,
we do so intentionally
and we do so with intent
that has been developed
in our heart.
And so I want you
to recognize this morning
that God's nature
is such that
when sin takes place,
there's consequences for it.
And the significance
of His judgment against sin
is proportionate
to His glory
and His significance,
not to ours.
Let me give you
an explanation,
maybe identify with.
I remember when I was growing up,
my parents took us through,
we were traveling back from India
and we came through Rome
and we went to St. Peter's.
Great place.
Phenomenal.
And I remember at St. Peter's
actually having the privilege
of going on a,
I'd never seen one of these things
in India,
but you stood on the thing
and it just kind of,
what's it called?
Not an escalator.
A moving walkway, yeah.
In order to walk past
the Madonna and Child,
this carving by Michelangelo,
they put you on a moving walkway.
Do you know why that was?
So that everybody
had an equal chance for him.
There it was.
You know,
you kind of went by.
And just imagine that,
you know,
there I was
and I decided,
you know what,
I want to do something spectacular.
So I took out a little hammer
and dinged that thing.
That would be a pretty
offensive act,
wouldn't it?
Direct,
if I smashed a clay cup,
no big deal,
but putting a ding
in the Madonna and Child
because of the significance
of that statue
would be something
that would be offensive.
When we sin against God,
we violate His holiness
and our sin
is amplified
and magnified
by the significance
of the one we sin against.
And so what's the penalty
for that?
The Bible makes it clear.
The soul that sins,
it shall die.
And God's goodness
and His wisdom,
God's holiness
is of such infinite value
that there is no remedy
for that sin
apart from death.
And what happens in death
is that after death
there is judgment
that lasts forever.
And so when you think about that,
I want you to understand
that when Jesus died
on the cross,
He died to make atonement
or substitute
to satisfy God's judgment
against us.
Let me bring several verses
to your attention this morning
to have you think about.
Turn in your Bibles
from Mark
over to Hebrews chapter 9.
Hebrews chapter 9.
Looking at verse 26
and then 28.
Let me explain it this way.
The infinite penalty
for a sin
against an infinite God
requires an infinite remedy.
Do you got that?
The infinite sin
against an infinite God
requires an infinite remedy
and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Look at verse 28.
So Christ,
having been offered once
to bear the sins of many,
will appear a second time
not to deal with sin
but to save those
who are eagerly waiting for Him.
Interesting,
earlier in the week
I had an opportunity
to talk with an individual
and ask them the question,
so what's going to happen
when you die?
I don't know.
I said,
do you have any idea
where you're going to go?
Well,
I suppose I'm going to heaven.
Oh,
okay.
Why?
Because I'm a pretty good person.
I like being around
pretty good people.
So I said,
how good are you?
And,
well,
that's when things
began to break down
a little bit.
You know,
it's like,
how good are you?
Well,
I really am pretty.
At least I'm better
than my neighbor.
You know,
and here's the fact
of the matter.
Sin is supremely offensive
to God
and He is not going
to overlook
a single piece of it.
And so when you stop
and recognize
that what the Scripture says,
Jesus had to die
for our sins
to satisfy the debt.
And so here we are
looking at that passage
and reminding ourselves
of the fact
that Jesus died
for our sins.
Don't ever buy
into the idea
that you may satisfy
the debt of your sin
by your own behavior
and your own efforts.
Why is that?
Because even
in our own best efforts,
we are really looking
to do what?
You know?
To serve ourselves,
bring glory to ourself,
and we're self-focused.
Only Christ
can satisfy
the debt
of our sin.
Let me have you look
at one other passage
in relationship to this
over in 1 Peter 1.
1 Peter 1,
verse 18 and 19.
Again,
reminding us
of Christ's coming
and purpose.
1 Peter 1,
verse 18.
Knowing that you were
ransomed
from the feudal ways
inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things
such as silver or gold,
can you imagine that?
Going to a religious leader
and saying,
okay, I've sinned.
What do I need to do?
Well, you need to burn
X number of candles,
and you need to give
X number of dollars,
and you need to do
such and such,
and that will accommodate
your sin.
No, no, no.
You were ransomed
from the feudal ways
inherited from your forefathers,
not with perishable things,
but with the precious blood
of Christ
like that of a lamb
without blemish or spot.
I want you to understand
this morning
as we think about
why Jesus came,
recognize this.
Jesus came to take
the full weight
of my sin
and your sin
and to die
in my place.
What He did
was He atoned
for our sin
by stepping in
and taking our place
and satisfying
the penalty
for our sins.
So how does that
fit my life?
How does that
fit your life?
Every person
that is here this morning
is in one of two conditions.
Only one of two conditions.
You are either here
as a person
who has come
to realize
by the grace of God
that you stand
condemned
before a holy God
and that Christ Jesus
came to pay
the penalty
for your sins
and realizing
that you're a sinner
you've cried out
and said
I confess
that I'm a sinner
and I deserve judgment
but God sent His Son
to be my sacrifice
and substitute
and I believe
in what He has done
for me.
Or you are here
this morning
thinking about Christmas
and thinking
about yourself
and failing
to recognize
that the day
is coming
where you will
give an account
for your sin
to God
and you
having overlooked
what God
has done for you
will endure
eternal judgment
because you've denied
God's plan
and His purpose
in sending Christ
to be the Savior
of the world.
Periodically
when I ask individuals
the question
so why should God
let you into heaven
and they tell me
well I'm working hard
at making my way
my answer
or a question
that follows up at
and particularly
around this season
is hey
so why would God
send His Son
to die on the cross
if you could get to heaven
by your good works?
Do you follow that?
No.
The reason God
sent His Son
is because we cannot
save ourselves
by our own good effort
and here's the fact
God having sent
His Son
and we turning around
and saying
I don't need His help
and I don't need
His sacrifice
and I don't need Him
as my Savior
is a supremely
offensive thing to God
and I would appeal
to you this morning
if you are here today
and you do not know Christ
don't walk out of here
this morning saying
I really don't care
about this matter of sin
because the day of judgment
is coming
and I would appeal to you
that you don't walk
out of here saying
listen
I really don't care
why Jesus came
He came to be your Savior
and the day is coming
when you will stand
before Him
and give an account
and I would plead with you
today is the day
of salvation
now is the hour
to repent and confess
and believe on Jesus
let's close in prayer
our Father God
this morning
as we
remind ourselves
of why Jesus really came
we're so very thankful
that He came
to be our sacrifice
to make atonement
for our sins
and this morning
as we
bring this service
to a close
we remind ourselves
that Christmas
is about more
than gifts
that we receive
it's about the gift
that you gave us
of salvation
through the Lord
Jesus Christ
and I pray Lord
for those that are here today
that know Jesus
as their Savior
that their life
reflects their thankfulness
for their salvation
I pray also
for those that are here today
that do not know
the Lord Jesus
that today
they would not
walk out of here
resisting and refusing
the offer of salvation
through the finished work
of Christ
you work
that you might be glorified
and we ask this
in Jesus name
Amen
let's
pray