Biblical Christmas – Page 2 – Semper Reformanda

Peace, Love, & Joy | Secured from False Preachers | Christmas Special | Devotional Series | Part 24 of 27 | December 23, 2019

“‘Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.’” – John 10:1-2 (ESV)

Perhaps, this was Jesus’ retort to the false preachers of that time. But I don’t want to delve into the controversial topic such as that. And I suppose, Jesus’ intent in subtly laying the truth was also a way to reach His elect, while condemning the rest, while avoiding unnecessary confrontation. Because further down, He is also quoted as saying – the difference will be laid bare when His sheep follow Him (and not them), because they know His voice. (Jn 10:4)

Matthew Henry writes, “The Pharisees supported themselves in their opposition to Christ with this principle, that they were the pastors of the church, and that Jesus, having no commission from them, was an intruder and an impostor, and therefore the people were bound in duty to stick to then, against him. In opposition to this, Christ here describes who were the false shepherds, and who the true, leaving them to infer what they were.”[1] I found these words very powerful. How crystal clear is the elucidation. The false preachers of that time demanded to hold monopoly over the truth. And their claim for such authority was that ‘they were the pastors of the church’. The end conclusion being, trust them, their false preaching, and turn against Christ – because He speaks differently, and because His truth defies their claim.

Christ warned that there were still many of such preachers to come. Pastors who will try to enter the sheepfold not through the door, but by climbing the other way. These are pastors who will not preach the word (scripture), and these are pastors who will not come through the door (Christ). These are pastors will come claiming miracles, material prosperity, judgement-free Christianity and whatnot; just because they hold a theology degree and a formal career in the pastoral office. It is interesting how Christ’s warning (Mt 7:15) also comes after Him describing the two gates (Mt 7:14) – the narrow which leads to heaven, and the wide which leads to condemnation. The former being Christ (narrow gate).

But why are we discussing a topic so morbid and controversial during the Christmas Season? It is because, only when Christ came – we were given the first hand account of the truth. In the Old Covenant, the truth was delivered to us through the prophets. And there were much room for being lost in translation. The situation so demanded further perseverance. There was also much room for speculation, and much room for being misled. But when Christ came, all opportunities of speculation were laid to rest. Because in the New Covenant (through Christ), we share a much intimate relationship with Him. We do not need a (humanly frail) third party to teach us, or intercede for us. Because in the New Covenant, it is the Holy Spirit that personally illuminates the word for us. (1Jn 2:27) And that is something worth celebrating during Christmas.

How fortunate are we, that Christ (apart from granting us salvation), also secured us from the seduction of false preachers. Truly, “nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 8:39, NLT)

[1] https://www.christianity.com/bible/commentary.php?com=mh&b=43&c=10

Read previous entries in this Series:

(i) Introduction: What Christ wants this Christmas (ii) December 1: Prepare the Way (iii) December 2: Mary’s Magnificent God (iv) December 3: The Confidence of Redeeming Hope (v) December 4: A Big God for Little People (vi) December 5: What He Willed to do (vii) December 6: Peace to those with whom He is pleased (viii) December 7: Messiah of all (ix) December 8: Christ is Central in Christmas(x) December 9: Two Kinds of Oppositions (xi) December 10: Our Treasure (xii) December 11: Why Jesus came (xiii) December 12: Replacing the Shadows (xiv) December 13: Christ, the Real Thing, the Perfect Priest (xv) December 14: Making Transformation Real (xvi) December 15: Abundant Life (xvii) December 16: An Unlikely Route to Victory (xviii) December 17: Freedom & Joy Secured in Him (xix) December 18: Pass Me Not (xx) December 19: Overcoming the Power of Death (xxi) December 20: Salvation Unites Us (xxii) December 21: LOGOS (xxiii) December 22: The Importance of Awe

Peace, Love, & Joy | Christ, the Real Thing, the Perfect Priest | Christmas Special | Devotional Series | Part 14 of 27 | December 13, 2019

“Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.” – John Piper (pg. 27)

In the Old Covenant, the justification of our sin was carried over by ‘types of Christ’ that God ordained periodically, for our sake. But in the New Covenant, these types of Christ (shadows) were once and for all done away with the incarnation of Christ Himself (the real thing). Christ ministered, no longer in human sanctuary, but in a tent that God Himself pitched. (Heb 8:2) The scripture says, “For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf.” (Heb 9:24, ESV) And unlike the Levites, the supplication that Christ presented for us, was not temporary, but an absolute one. “Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.” (Heb 9:25-26, ESV) Therefore, the writer of Hebrews goes on to establish that Christ is the perfect priest – far greater than any priest that had been established on earth. What that means is that – whatever we ought to know of God and salvation, has been revealed through the personhood of Christ.

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.” (Col 1:15, ESV) YHWH did away with all previous ‘types of Christ’, and gave us Christ Himself for our salvation. The scripture says, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us.” (Jn 1:18, NLT) I want to put an emphasis on that – “Christ has revealed God to us”.

But why are we emphasizing on the reality of God, and Christ’s priesthood this season? The point is this. In the complete revelation of Christ, we know the full extent of our depraved nature, and our need of a saviour. And secondly, we learn of His all sufficiency, and His unmatched competence as a perfect priest for us. But that is not all. Apart from all these amazing things we learn from His revelation, there is one more, that is of great importance. And that is – He alone is the mediator between God and men. The Apostle Paul writes, “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1Tim 2:5-6, ESV)

Christ is the great revelation of this season. He is the perfect priest, and the full extent of the glory of God. He is the absolute reality. And how amazing is that – this God chose to incarnate in the human form to bear our sin and die for us. Indeed, such revelation should urge us to seek His mercy evermore.

Note: All of Piper’s quotations are from “Good News of Great Joy“

Read previous entries in this Series:

Peace, Love, & Joy | Replacing the Shadows | Christmas Special | Devotional Series | Part 13 of 27 | December 12, 2019

“Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.” – Hebrews 8:1-2 (ESV)

The Old Testament had men riddled with a rigid legal system to attain holiness. It was ordained by God, and ministered by men. In other words, the priest who interceded for the masses was a human being. And so, he had limitations. He would first offer sacrifices for his sins, and then the sins of the others. Moreover, he would repeat this process every time he seeks the presence of the Holy God. The Book of Hebrews wonderfully emphasizes, how Christ (by His death and resurrection) has not only fulfilled these legal requirements, but He has also ended it. He is therefore, a priest not in the order of a flawed humanity, but in accordance to His own righteousness and holiness. Indeed, how hope inducing it is that the scripture says, “(He) is a minister… in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man” (Heb 8:2, ESV)

I am reminded of the joyful, hope-inducing conclusion the Apostle John drew. And I quote: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth… For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” (Jn 1:14, 16, ESV) How wonderful is that. The glory of God, in its fullness has been revealed to us through His son Jesus Christ. And the fullest extent of His grace for our complete salvation, in His death and resurrection. What Christian, born-again in the Holy Spirit will not rejoice over that? It is indeed impossible. Let us ponder upon the immaculate inception of Christ this season, through whom we could not just witness, but received the fullness of life.

As a way of concluding, I want to leave you with a wonderful illustration from Piper – this is the joy of seeing the fulness of Christ (that we associate with this season).

“Here’s an Advent illustration for kids (and for those of us who used to be kids and remember what it was like). Suppose you and your mom get separated in the grocery store, and you start to get scared and panic and don’t know which way to go, and you run to the end of an aisle, and just before you start to cry, you see a shadow on the floor at the end of the aisle that looks just like your mom. It makes you really happy and you feel hope. But which is better? The happiness of seeing the shadow, or having your mom step around the corner and seeing that it’s really her? That’s the way it is when Jesus comes to be our High Priest. That’s what Christmas is. Christmas is the replacement of shadows with the real thing.” (pg. 26)

Note: All of Piper’s quotations are from “Good News of Great Joy“

Read previous entries in this Series: