by Mitchell Skelton

Bill Keane's comic strip, Family Circus, has communicated a beautiful truth about Christmas. As the children were setting up their nativity set, little Dolly held up the baby Jesus and declared, "Here's the star of Bethlehem!" /1

As we approach Christmas, and while the majority of the "Christian" world will be thinking about Christ during this season, I want us to consider "The star of Bethlehem." It would be careless if we ignored the reason placed upon this season and failed to teach Christ to a lost and dying world.

Paul proclaimed to the Corinthians, "When I came to you brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Cor. 2:1,2). The very fact that Jesus did come to earth and became human is the very cornerstone of our faith. For Jesus to die, he had to become human. For Jesus to endure the cross he had to be born of woman. While we certainly must admit that we do not know the exact day of Jesus' birth we certainly must admit that he was indeed born. Instead of ignoring Christmas, let us embrace the season as an opportunity for evangelism.

J. G. Dailey, wrote a timeless hymn asking a very poignant question, "Why did my Savior come to earth, and to the humble go? Why did he choose a lowly birth? Because he loved me so! Why did He drink the bitter cup of sorrow, pain and woe? Why on the cross be lifted up? Because he loved me so! He loved me so, He loved me so; He gave his precious life for me, for me, because he loved me so."

We must never forget that for all the trial and persecution that Christ endured since his birth, he had no sin. Christ lived a sinless life to be a perfect sacrifice (1 Pet. 2:22). Christ's sinless perfection paved the way for our future perfection. "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). The fact that Christ did live a perfect life means that we can attach ourselves to Christ's sinless perfection, and this is the Christian's hope.

Christ did not stop at living a sinless life as a man. Christ went further and became sin for us. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). God, being just, could not overlook sin. The penalty for sin had to be paid. "Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death. For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people (Heb. 2:14, 17).

It is in Christ that we become the righteousness of God. In Christ, we become new creatures. "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him (Rom. 6:1–8).

Why did my Savior come to Earth? "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" (Jn. 3:16,17). God's love is wide enough for the whole world! If you are included in the world then you are included in God's love. Jesus came to earth to die on the cross. The cross is where God forgave His children without lowering His standards. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (2 Cor. 5:21).

1 Houston Chronicle, Family Circus, Dec. 23 1988

by Jimmy Jividen

The city of Corinth was filled with immorality. Paul preached there about Jesus. He told them that their sins would damn their souls.

"Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9b,10).

The listeners did not try to excuse or justify their sins. Instead, they repented. Paul described their change, "such were some of you." This reflected two things:

First, the demands of repentance. They gave up those sins which would have damned their soul. The fornicators did not blame the culture. The homosexuals did not blame their genes. The thieves did not blame their environment, and the drunkards did not say they had a disease. They simply repented — quit practicing sin.

Second, the magnitude of grace. This catalog of sin describes a pretty raunchy bunch of people. The good news is that these sinners were washed, sanctified, and justified in and by the blood of Christ.

God's grace is sufficient to save the most de-spicable sinner, if that sinner is willing to repent. In this case, their change of heart in repentance brought about a total change in their life-style. This brought a change in their relationship with God.

Hearing God's message and being moved by it to obedience will do the same for us today as then — it will save our souls.