What Is God Saying To The World At Christmas? Part Two
Christmas is the time of the year when God is clearly telling the world that he exists, he loves us, he wants to know us personally, and he wants us to live eternally.
We discover these truths in John 3:16, which reads:
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
We discover in this verse that God loves everyone in the world.
There is not a place on earth where God does not love people.
There is not a person on earth who he does not love.
No matter who a person is or what someone has done, God loves each person.
Not only does he love us, but he “so loved us.”
This reveals the depth of God’s love for us all.
God passionately loves all people in all places.
His love for us moved him to give Jesus so that we would not perish but have eternal life.
What does perish mean in the Bible?
As we read through the Bible, we see many references to perish, where God will one day remove all sin and sinners from the earth.
Those who remain will live forever with him where there is peace and joy.
Those who remain are those who are righteous.
Righteous means not guilty of sin…innocent of having committed a sin internally or externally.
This creates a problem for all people because we all have sinned, and therefore, will be removed from the earth when God removes the unrighteous from the earth.
Yet what is a problem for us is no problem for God.
Because God loves us so deeply, he sent Jesus to take our sin upon himself at the cross (see 2 Corinthians 5:18-21).
Jesus took upon himself all sins of all people for all time when he died on the cross.
This means that Jesus took our guilt upon himself at the cross, and through faith in Jesus, we receive his innocence.
God now offers to us all the gift of righteousness that is received by faith (believing) (see Romans 3:21-24; 5:15-17).
God’s gift of righteousness to us is called grace.
It is by this grace that has come to us through Jesus that enables us to have eternal life.
Romans 5:20-21 states this plainly.
But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
And this brings us back to John 3:16,
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
God loved us so much, and continues to love us, that he gave Jesus so we would not perish when he removes all sin and sinners from the earth but so we would remain on the earth and have eternal life, a life of peace and joy on the new earth (Revelation 21-22).
If you have not believed in Jesus for salvation, for righteousness…for eternal life, you can do that now.
Below is a simple prayer you can say to express your belief in Jesus.
God, thank you for your love for me. Thank you for sending Jesus to take my sin upon himself at the cross. I believe Jesus not only died on the cross for my sins, but I believe Jesus rose from the dead and will one day return to establish peace on earth. Today I believe in Jesus for salvation, for righteousness, and for eternal life.
If you believed in Jesus today, we would love to know. You can let us know by sending us a message through the CONTACT US page.
Click below to read What Is God Saying To The World At Christmas? Part Three.
