The Real Meaning of Christmas

    
   I hear those songs we just sung together and heard played so beautifully, and when I hear those familiar scriptures read that tell of the birth of the Christ child on a cool dark night over two thousand years ago, do you know what one word comes to my mind.  It is not joy, it is not victory, it is not peace, it is not even salvation, it is humility.

            Lost in the familiarity of the Christmas carols, and of nativity scenes, and certainly amongst the modern commercialization of Christmas and the drive to give and receive presents is the reality that the babe in the manger was God.  As John 1:1 tell he was the eternal God, as Colossians 1:16 tells us He was the creator God yet He humbled Himself to the point of taking on human flesh.  That is the real story of Christmas.  It is not a quaint tale of a boy born in humble circumstances who would grow up to be a great teacher and a wonderful example, it is the record of the most high and only true God coming to dwell among us, among sinful men, to live a perfect life, and die a sacrificial death so that whoever would repent of their sins and look to His cross trusting that His atoning sacrifice was the only way to be reconciled to  God, would not perish but would have eternal life.

            I know we have read a lot of scripture, but I want to read to you my favorite account of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.  It is not found in any of the Gospels, but rather is found in Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  Read Philippians 2:4-11.  

  4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

           This wonderful passage gives us the whole picture of who Christ is.  Too often at Christmas time our focus is only on the birth of Christ child, but trying to understand the meaning of Jesus’ appearance by focusing on that one event is like trying to read a map without unfolding it.  You need to understand who Christ is, and that is almighty God. 

          There is a passage in the Old Testament that gives a detailed description of the pre-incarnate Christ.  Read Isaiah 6:1-5

6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

                  “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
                  the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!”  

      We know that is a vision of Christ because John 12:41 explicitly tells us that Isaiah saw a vision of Christ.  Jesus didn’t come into existence 2000 years ago, He humbled himself and stepped off of His throne departing the company of the worshiping angles to be born in human flesh as a helpless babe.  Becoming a servant.  As Jesus said in Mark 10:45 the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.  

            Jesus, almighty God not only humbled himself to the point of being born, but to be a servant.  And not just any servant but the suffering servant foretold in Isaiah 53. Read Isa 53:4-6, 12. 

      4       Surely he has borne our griefs
      and carried our sorrows;
                  yet we esteemed him stricken,
      smitten by God, and afflicted.
            5       But he was pierced for our transgressions;
      he was crushed for our iniquities;
                  upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
      and with his wounds we are healed.
            6       All we like sheep have gone astray;
      we have turned—every one—to his own way;
                  and the LORD has laid on him
      the iniquity of us all. 

      12       Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
      and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
                  because he poured out his soul to death
      and was numbered with the transgressors;
                  yet he bore the sin of many,
      and makes intercession for the transgressors.  

      He was obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross, because that was the only was to reconcile sinful man to a holy and just God.  Sin must be punished, but Christ, the divine babe born 2000 years ago grew into the God Man who went to the cross to bear God’s wrath against sin.  That is the very reason Jesus was born.  Not to teach us to love one another, not to bring peace among men, but to bring peace between men who repent of their sins and place their faith in Him and God.  Read John 3:16-18  

 16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.

          Yes God loves the world, and He has shown that love by sending Jesus to live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death, so that all who truly place their faith in Him for salvation would not perish, but have eternal life.  But He also warns that those who reject His love by rejecting Christ are already condemned.

            Yes Jesus humbled himself to be born, to live and die as the lamb of God, but he also rose again from the grave in victory over sin and death.  He has been highly exalted by the Father, and given the name above all names.  That means that he reigns supreme over all of creation.  That babe was King of kings and Lord of lords from His birth and His name is above all names, and as Acts 4:12 says there is salvation found in no one else, there is no other name by which man must be saved.

            And saved from what?  Saved from the righteous wrath of God against sin.  Jesus came once in the humble form of a servant, born as a helpless babe, but He is coming again, not as a servant, not as a savior, but as a judge.  And this time not just wise men and shepherds will know of His arrival, this time as Matthew 24 says all of the tribes of the earth will see Him Coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory and all those who are not His people through repentance and faith will mourn.  And when He sets foot on the mount of Olives in Jerusalem the very stone will split in two.  Every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Those of us who love Him, keep His commandments because they love Him, and trust in His sacrifice to atone for our sins, will confess and bow out of love.  But those who reject Him will confess and bow in utter defeat and they will be judged according to their deeds.  

            But before he comes as a judge, he came as a savior.  Born as a helpless babe, in the humblest of circumstances, he lived a perfect life, and died a sacrificial death as the spotless lamb of God to bring salvation to God’s people, and rising from the grave again not only in victory over sin and death, but demonstrating the Fathers acceptance of His sacrifice on our behalf.

            So tonight we celebrate not just his birth, but also his sacrifice on our behalf.  As we come to the Lords Table we remember not just what the Lord has done, but we also proclaim the good news of His death and resurrection.   

Angus Jones, Two and a Half Men and Real Filth

It is pretty rare that one remark from a celebrity lights up both the mainstream media and the Christian blogosphere, but Angus T. Jones managed to pull it off, when in a youtube video he said if you watch his show 2 and a Half Men (he is the ½) that you should stop, and stop filling your mind with filth.

I couldn’t agree with him more on that point. A couple of years ago, while visiting a relative’s home over Christmas, I saw about 4 minutes of the show and was literally stunned at how raunchy it was.  The sexual innuendos and hearty thumbs up to sexual immorality that were packed into those few minutes were shocking and saddening to me.  Shocking that something like that could be broadcast during prime time (or any time for that matter) by a major network and saddening because I was aware that at the time it was the most popular show on television.  I agree with young Angus, if you are watching that show you need to stop, and repent and stop filling your mind with that kind of filth.

Predictably scores of Christian blogger types have applauded Angus’ stance (he even rated a brief and highly qualified mention on Al Mohler’s The Briefing) and the secular media has lit into him for criticizing the show.  One Fox News piece called his statement a Charlie Sheen style rant, although there was no brandishing of machetes or porn stars, mentioning of tiger blood or being a warlock or banging 8 gram rocks (of cocaine) because that’s how he rolls.  (Given that Fox News’ parent corporation counts both Christian publishing and the distribution of pornography as major revenue streams the moral ambiguity and equivalence is hardly surprising, but that is a whole other topic.)  

Lost in all of this is what Mr. Jones actually said.  In two youtube videos published a episodes of a series called the Forerunner Chronicles, Jones gives his “testimony.”  I have to admit that I was interested and kind of excited to watch the video, although thirty minutes seemed like an awful long time to relate a conversion experience, especially for a new Christian.  I was curious as to what I would actually see.

And what I saw was 30 minutes of slickly edited and produced rambling conversation that was sadder than any filthy sitcom could ever be.  What was so sad was that his “testimony” contained no testimony of conversion.  None of the sinful behaviors he describes as characterizing his (very recent) past are ever identified as sin or spoke of in any way that indicates he understands them to be morally wrong.  Nor is the word or concept of repentance ever touched upon, much less emphasized as essential for true saving faith.  In fact nothing in the entire 29+ minutes of testimony indicates an understanding of man’s sinfulness, God’s holiness or the atoning work of Christ on the cross.  There is one point in the testimony where Jones describes when he thinks he might have first “invited Jesus into his heart.”  He describes a moment when he felt as if he was “being hugged by your most favorite person ever.”  That hardly sounds like being broken over your sins before a holy God does it?

As the video wound on, it became clear that what Angus was being taught was not consistent with the teaching of scripture.  Which to be honest wasn’t that surprising, after all many “evangelical” churches refuse to teach the content of the bible for fear of offending sinners.  Late in the video he begins speaking about the changes in his life since his “conversion” and the reason for the lack of talk of sin, repentance and the atonement became crystal clear.  He describes one of the key changes in his life as him now taking the Sabbath seriously.  From sundown Friday till sundown Saturday he doesn’t fool around.  Jones hasn’t become a Christian, he has become a Seventh Day Adventist.

Now let me be clear I do not know the condition of Angus Jones’ heart and my sincere prayer is that he would come to saving faith in Christ is he hasn’t.  And I also believe that there are genuinely saved people in the SDA church.  They are exposed to the living and active Word of God and through that God may choose to save some.  But they are saved in spite of the teaching of the church not because of it.  You see the SDA church does not teach the true Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They teach a Gospel+ approach to salvation that negates the grace of the Gospel.

They teach that the way to salvation is the gospel + keeping the Old Testament Law, especially the observance of the Sabbath and the dietary laws.  This is an approach to Salvation that the Apostle Paul addressed directly in the Epistle to the Galatians.

 

Paul wrote His epistle to the Galatians to combat the influence of the Judaizers, a sect that taught that in order to become a Christian, a gentile convert must first become a Jewish proselyte and undergo circumcision (which was an outward sign of being part of the covenant community of Israel).  Paul didn’t see this as a minor doctrinal difference to be tolerated in the “big tent” of Christianity.  This is the opening salvo of his inspired and inerrant letter to a group of churches that had adopted a Gospel+ approach to salvation.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.  As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. (Galatians 1:6-9)

That doesn’t sound like adding a minor requirement in addition to faith in Christ for salvation is acceptable to the Holy Spirit writing through the pen of Paul does it?  In chapter 5 of Galatians Paul bottom lines it for them:

 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.  You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.

And you could substitute keeping the Sabbath, or observing the dietary laws, or wearing clothing of mixed fibers or any other aspect of the Old Testament Law for circumcision in that passage.  Paul is saying that if you think any of it is required, then all of it is required for you, because only someone separated from Christ would think that attempting to keep the Law would justify them, or add anything to their justification or establish conditions that would make their justification possible.  

That is not to say that there are no standards of behavior and conduct for Christians.  Those however are found in the New Testament and flow out of a transformed heart that seeks to live a life pleasing to God out of gratitude for what He has done for you.

And Angus is right, a truly god fearing person cannot be on a show like 2 ½  Men and should not watch it either.  One of those New Testament commands says “But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving.”  That would kind of rule out watching Two and a Half men, wouldn’t it?  I agree with young Mr. Jones, if you are watching it, stop, and stop filling your head with filth.  

But more importantly than that, if you are going to a “church” where you are taught that keeping the Sabbath and the dietary laws are essential, or any other kind of Gospel+ road to salvation is promoted.  Stop going, because that kind of a gospel, is really no Gospel at all and that  is the real filth.

A Christian Primer on Mormonism

There has been a lot talk recently about Mormonism, what with Mitt Romney's failed presidential bid. Specifically there has been a lot of talk about how the Mormon Church was really the big winner in the 2012 election.  Sadly many Christian leaders in misplacing their hopes in a political candidate instead of the sovereignty of God have compromised on a proper biblical evaluation or Mormonism.  Billy Grahm removed the LDS from his list of Cults and sadly his son Franklin president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association declared that Mormonism will never again be considered a cult.  

In the interest of a proper understanding of the LDS church by the body of Christ I offer the following brief history and evaluation of the LDS church.

Cult, a definition:

“A group of people gathered about a specific person or persons misinterpretation of the Bible.[1]

The Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints and the Jehovah’s Witnesses are two of the fastest growing churches in America, and have shown exponential growth in the 20^th century.[2]

The Church of Jesus Christ, Latter Day Saints (Mormons)

Seeking to appear as a mainstream Christian faith the Mormon Church seeks to hide its unusual beliefs and embarrassing history.

·         Founded on April 6, 1830 by Joseph Smith Jr.

o   Originally named Church of Jesus Christ…renamed in 1837.

o   Currently approximately 13,000,000 members.

o   Fourth Fastest Growing church in the U.S.

Founding and Early History

Joseph Smith, Early Life.

·         Born December 23, 1805 in Sharon Vermont

·         Parents were of dubious reputation and not well liked by neighbors.[3]

·         Moved to Palmyra New York in early teen years.

·         In 1820 while praying in the woods Smith had a vision of God and Jesus.

o   Told him that no contemporary church was correct in its teaching.

·         1823 Smith claims that the angel Moroni appeared at his bedside.

The Book of Mormon

·         1827 Smith Claims to find Golden Plates engraved with the Book of Mormon.

o   Smith had a history as a “treasure digger”.[4]

§  Including the use of mystical means of finding treasure.[5]

o   The engravings on the plates were in Reformed Egyptian hieroglyphics.

§  Egyptologists are unanimous in declaring that there is no evidence of such language.[6]

o   Found with a large pair of “supernatural” spectacles that enabled Smith to translate the plates.

·         Smith began translating plates immediately with the help of itinerant scholar Oliver Cowdery.

o   Some Mormon scholars now claim that the Book of Mormon is a conceptual document rather than an accurate and complete translation of the plates.[7]

o   Smith claimed to know more languages than “all the world put together.”[8]

·         Plates related the story of vast civilization in the new world peopled by Israelites. (Who became the American Indians.)

o   No evidence to support his claims either archeologically or genetically.

·         Only 3 others were alleged to have viewed the plates.

o   One, Martin Harris later claimed to have seen them with his spiritual rather than bodily eye while the others later variously claimed to have never seen the plates at all or to have only seen them while covered with a cloth.[9]

o   It is widely held that the book of Mormon rather than a translation of an ancient engraving are a plagiarism of an unpublished work by retired Pastor Solomon Spaulding.[10]

§  Smith dictated his translation to recording secretaries from behind a drawn curtain.[11]

§  Handwriting analysis of an authenticated copy of an original manuscript of the translated Book of Mormon has indicated that the handwriting is that of Solomon Spaulding.[12]

Early Church Period

·         Smith began do gather disciples AKA saints to him in Fayette New York.

·         The church was formally organized on April 6, 1830 and most members moved with Smith to Kirtland Ohio.

o   Practice of polygamy instituted at Kirtland, and confirmed by a subsequent prophetic vision.[13]

·         1833 Smith publishes a collection of his early revelations as The Book of Commandments.

o   Later suppressed and republished in 1835 as Doctrine and Covenants.

·         After being driven by persecution from Ohio the saints settled in Jackson county Missouri on 63 acres of land purchased by Smith.

o   Acreage included exact spot where Smith declared new temple where Jesus would rule would be built.

o   Armed conflict erupted between the Mormons and other Missouri residents known as the Mormon War

§  21 Mormons and 1 non-Mormon died.

§  Governor Lilburn Boggs ordered Smith and his nearly 10,000 followers to leave Missouri.

·         Smith leads his followers in Illinois and establishes city of Nauvoo.

o   Nauvoo becomes the largest city in Illinois.

o   Nauvoo is charted as a city state and maintains its own military force. 

·         June 7, 1844 the Nauvoo Expositor publishes its first and only edition, critical of practice of polygamy and other immorality among Mormon Leadership.

o   Published by dissident Mormons.

o   In retaliation Smith and city council members destroy publishing office and equipment.

·         Joseph Smith and his brother Hyman arrested and subsequently killed in their jail cell on June 27, 1844.

The Move to Utah

Brigham Young.

·         Born June 1, 1801 in Whitingham Vermont.

·         Joined Mormon Church in 1832.

·         Traveled to Canada and England as Mormon missionary.

·         Ordained as apostle of Mormon Church February 14, 1835.

·         Became Leader of Mormon church following death of Smith.

o   Others claimed leadership including:[14]

§  Joseph Smith III, followers known as Reorganized LDS.

§  Sidney Rigdon, followers known as Bickertonites.

The "Saints" arrive in Utah

·         Led by Young many Mormons crossed the Great Plains, arriving in the Great Salt Lake Valley in July 1847.

·         Young and his company settled in what is now Salt Lake City Utah.

·         Belief that SLC was the new Zion confirmed when a flock of Pelicans

ate a swarm of locusts sparing the Mormon’s first crops in June 1848.[15]

·         Polygamy expanded in Utah (AKA Deseret).

o   Young himself had 20 wives.[16] (See Illustration at right).

o   Polygamy rescinded by 4^th President of LDS Wilford Woodruff on September 24, 1890.

Mountain Meadows Massacre

·         Mormons opposed the settlement of non-Mormons in the Utah Territory.

·         In September 1857 John D. Lee and a group of Mormons attacked a wagon train crossing the Utah Territory at Mountain Meadows.[17]

o   Approximately 120 Settlers from Arkansas were killed.

o   17 Surviving children were adopted by local families.

§  Removed and reunited with relatives by US Army forces.

o   Massacre drew national attention.

§  See depiction on Cover of Harpers magazine at right.

o   Attack was a result of climate created by church leadership.[18]

o   Lee believed within the will of Young though unordered.[19]

§  Lee excommunicated and executed on March 23, 1877.

§  Reinstated as member posthumously in 1962.

Doctrines of the Church

Although claiming to be a mainstream Christian church the Mormons embrace many heretical beliefs.[20]

·         The LDS is a restoration of the true church and all other churches are false or in error.

·         The Book of Mormon is equal in authority to the Bible.

·         There are many gods.

·         The god of this world (heavenly father) was once a man.

o   The heavenly father walked the earth as Adam.[21]

·         Jesus is not divine, but the heavenly father’s first born spirit son.

o   Conceived by sexual union between god and Mary.

o   Jesus is the spiritual brother of Lucifer.

·         Humans are pre-existent being born first as spirit beings in heaven.

·         The fall was good and necessary as it gave Adam and Eve the ability to produce physical offspring.

·         Sin is merely wrong judgment.

·         General Salvation is merely the ability to rise from the dead as a result of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and is universal.

·         Individual salvation is based on works including pre-birth and postmortem works in spiritual realm and can result in elevation to god status.

·         There are three kingdoms of glory.

o   Celestial…reserved for faithful Mormons who can become gods.

o   Terrestrial…for moral non-Mormons and lax Mormons.

o   Telestial…for the immoral who must first endure a time in hell.

·         Man can commit sins too grave to be forgiven.[22]

·         Black and brown skinned people are cursed and excluded from worship.

o   Reversed per prophetic revelation in 1978.

Current state of the LDS

·         LDS still dominates the state of Utah.

·         60,000 missionaries garner 300,000 converts per year worldwide.[23]

·         The Church receives $4.3 billion dollars a year in contributions.

·         The LDS enjoy a measure of respectability in American Society, being admired for there strong family values and clean living habits.[24]

·         There are numerous Mormon Splinter groups including:

o   Fundamentalists who practice polygamy.[25]

§  30,000+ mostly in Utah and Arizona

o   Strangites who observe Mosaic Law and practice animal sacrifice.

§  Small in number with most living on island in Lake Michigan.

o   Hendrickites who own ground designated as new temple site by Joseph Smith.

Conclusion
In light of this information, we can confidently conclude that not only is Mormonism a cult, it is a lie from the pit of hell.  Frankly I think that anyone willing to embrace mormons as brothers and sisters in Christ would do well to evaluate their own salvation.  If they can't see that the Jesus of mormonism is not the Jesus of the bible, and unable to save, I have to question whether they have ever truly looked to the cross in repentance.  If they can't recognize a false Christ, how can they recognize the true Christ.

Bibliography

Anderson, Roger. “Joseph Smith’s Early Reputation Revisited Part 2.” Journal of Biblical Counseling. Volume 4, Number 4. 1980.

 .

Davies, Douglas J. An Introduction to Mormonism. Cambridge University Press. New York, NY. 2003.

Goedelman, Kurt. “The World’s Most Dangerous Book.” Journal of  Biblical Counseling. Volume 3, Number 4. 1976.

Kirban, Salem. Mormonism; Doctrine of Devils. Moody Press. Chicago. 1971.

Larson, Bob. Larson’s Book of World Religions and Alternative Spirituality. Tyndale House Publishers. Wheaton IL. 2004.

Martin, Walter. The Kingdom of the Cults. Revised Updated and Expanded Edition. Bethany House. Bloomington MN. 2003.

Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, MI. 1992.

Rhodes, Ron. The Challenge of the Cults and New Religions. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 2001.

Scott, Lataye Colvett. The Mormon Mirage; A Former Mormon Tells Why She Left the Church. Zondervan. Grand Rapids, MI. 1979.

Vlachos, Chris Alex. “Adam Declared God by Brigham Young.”  Journal of  Biblical Counseling. Volume 3, Number 2. 1979.

Vogel, Dan. “Is the Book of Mormon a Translation?” Journal of Biblical Counseling. Volume 5, Number 3. 1982.

Walters, Wesley. “The Spalding Affair.” Journal of Biblical Counseling. Volume 2, Number 1. 1978.

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[1] Martin 17

[2] Noll 465

[3] Larson 333

[4] Martin 197

[5] Anderson 76

[6] Larson 333

[7] Vogel 76

[8] Scott 41

[9] Rhodes 55

[10] Martin 223

[11] Larson 335

[12] Walters 133

[13] Martin 203

[14] Scott 147

[15] Martin 204

[16] Rhodes 58

[17] Martin 206

[18] Ibid

[19] Ibid

[20] Bullet points culled from Rhodes 59-68 and Kirbin 31-51 unless otherwise noted.

[21] Vlachos 97

[22] Davies 157

[23] Larson 332

[24] Ibid

[25] Scott 148

[26] Rhodes 78

[27] Rhodes 81

[28] Watch Tower Society (WTS) 66

[29] Goeldman 104

[30] Rhodes 84

[31] Ibid

[32] Ibid

[33] Rhodes 87

[34] WTS 123

[35] Rhodes 88

[36] Ibid

[37] Ibid

[38] Ibid 89

[39] Ibid90

[40] Botting 144

[41] WTS 159-171

[42] WTS 193-197

[43] WTS 183

[44] Bergman 83