Christmas is so close! Can you believe it? It’s already the final week of Advent, so we will be discussing the fourth theme: Love.
The love of Christ is the foundation of Christianity. Perhaps the most well known passage of Scripture is found in John 3:16 KJV which states, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” At the beginning of John 3, we read that Jesus was addressing a Pharisee named Nicodemus when He spoke these words. Nicodemus was one of the most respected Jewish priests, and came to Jesus by night so no one would discover his discipleship to Jesus.
I mention the context because nothing in the Bible is mentioned simply for the sake of mentioning it. Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus accompanied by His most memorable explanation of His purpose on earth, displays the personal relationship Jesus came to establish with us. Jesus didn’t announce to a large crowd the plan for salvation, but in a setting resembling that of a close friendship.
God’s love for you is so great and immense that He allowed His sinless Son Jesus Christ to be the perfect sacrificial substitute as payment for our sins through His death on the cross. However, this wasn’t the end of the story. If Jesus simply died, how could believers be assured of life after death? Romans 8:29 NKJV says, “For whom [that’s us] He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Jesus is the firstborn of the generations of believers who would come after His resurrection. When we believe in Jesus’ death and resurrection, we are given the gift of everlasting life.
Paul explains in Romans 6:3-4 how believers are “baptized into [Christ’s] death,” and just as Christ was raised from the dead, we are to “walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:5-6 follows this by stating “if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection. . . that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” Paul was explaining in his letter to the Roman Christians that believers have essentially been given a second chance at life; when we believe in Jesus, He clears our record of wrongdoing by justifying us before God in the face of His holy and righteous judgment. We are forgiven of the sins of the past, and have now begun to live a new life dedicated to loving and serving God and others, following the example of our big-brother Jesus.
I pray above all that this Christmas–even this very moment–will be the beginning of your new life in Christ. Jesus loves you so much! May God bless you and yours this Christmas season, and as always, Merry Christmas! ❤️💚
Books, Coffee, and Jesus 