It’s wonderful to see the anticipation on the students' faces at our Christian academy. The joy of Christian education as a ministry of the local church is the constant presence of children on the property. Yet on Monday this place will be a ghost town. Today is the last day of school for 2010. The kids go on their Christmas break. As a dad with five boys, I’m looking forward to the joy and happiness that will fill our living room on Christmas morning. Giving and receiving gifts is a wonderful blessing. As a pastor, I’m reminded that if people do not have the gift of eternal life in their hearts at Christmas, they will never find it under a tree. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Cor 9.15)!
Last night at our Kindergarten and 1st Grade Christmas program, I reminded everyone that the Bible teaches us that there is a big difference between two concepts that are universally applied to mankind. The first concept is called the offense in Romans 5.15. The offense is the trespass of Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam rebelled against God by overstepping the boundaries set for him. God told Adam to not eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam disobeyed and plunged the human race into the dark void of sin. This trespass is universally applied to all of us because we are all children of Adam. It is evident that we are children of Adam because we ourselves lie, cheat, steal, take the name of God in vain, and commit many other sins of word, thought, and deed.
The second concept only has the potential for universal application. The grace of God through the finished work of Christ is described as a gift. Romans 5.15-18 describes Jesus' gift as the free gift of righteousness to all men. But not all men receive this gift. God loves the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son as a free gift of righteousness to all men. He did this so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Our dependence and trust must be upon the Lord Jesus Christ as He is revealed in the Scriptures.
People today remain without the righteousness Jesus provides because they choose to be without that righteousness; that is, they refuse to respond to God's free gift. Romans 6.23 tells us that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Eternal life is in Christ ...safe, secure, and satisfied for all eternity. Ephesians 2.8-9 states that we our saved by the gift of God through faith (dependence and reliance upon Christ alone). God's act in saving us is the gift. God's act in saving us is not something we deserve or earn. It is not within us to save ourselves. Salvation is the gift of God, not of works or deeds of righteousness which we do. If it were because of our own perceived goodness, we would have room to boast. But salvation is all of God through Jesus Christ.
The Apostle Paul was overwhelmed by a church's desire to give a large offering to meet the needs of poor and destitute believers in Jerusalem. He realized that all of these believers had been made rich by God (2 Cor 9.11) for the purpose of enriching the poor and destitute. Overwhelmed, he proclaims, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!" Paul cannot fully communicate or describe this gift of salvation and all that pertains to it. Any good things that Christians do, like giving gifts and offerings at Christmas, are a response to the gift of salvation made possible through Christ.
We have to leave the foundation of our own dead works (Heb 6.1 ff.) - even if we consider them to be good. We must turn away from these works and by faith look toward the finished work of Christ and rely upon that to receive the indescribable gift! Once we do, we will be those who have tasted the heavenly gift; those who are now partakers of the Holy Spirit. We cannot have that gift taken from us; we are kept in the firm grip of God's grace (John 10).
James Edwards writes of an incident that poignantly illustrates what I'm trying to say. In August 1957 four climbers were climbing the 6,000 foot near-vertical North Face in the Swiss Alps. Two climbers disappeared and were never heard from again. The other two, exhausted and dying, were stuck on two narrow ledges a thousand feet below the summit. The Swiss Alpine Club forbade rescue attempts in this area (it was just too dangerous), but a small group of Swiss climbers decided to launch a private rescue effort to save the climbers. So they carefully lowered a climber named Alfred Hellepart down the 6,000 foot North Face. They suspended Hellepart on a cable a fraction of an inch thick as they lowered him into the abyss.
Here's how Hellepart described the rescue in his own words:
"As I was lowered down the summit … my comrades on top grew further and further distant, until they disappeared from sight. At this moment I felt an indescribable aloneness. Then for the first time I peered down the abyss of the North Face of the Eiger. The terror of the sight robbed me of breath. …The brooding blackness of the Face, falling away in almost endless expanse beneath me, made me look with awful longing to the thin cable disappearing about me in the mist. I was a tiny human being dangling in space between heaven and hell. The sole relief from terror was …my mission to save the climber below."
That is the heart of the Gospel story. We were trapped, but in the person and work of Jesus Christ, God lowered himself into the abyss of our sin and suffering. In Jesus Christ, God became "a tiny human being dangling between heaven and hell." He did it to save the people trapped below—you and me. Thus, the gospel of Jesus Christ is God's love gift. Christianity is not another religion telling us how to be good in our own power. It tells us the story of God's costly, sacrificial rescue effort on our behalf. All we can say is, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
James R. Edwards, Is Jesus the Only Savior (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2005), pp. 160-161
Perhaps you are struggling with knowing whether or not you have received this gift. If you’ll take the time to pray using the requests below, God will give you the gift of eternal life. You must receive the gift. May God bless you and Merry Christmas!
Prayer:
· Dear God, I know now that Heaven is a free gift. I simply receive it; I cannot earn it; I don't deserve it.
· I understand that I am a sinner by birth and by nature. I cannot save myself.
· I am thankful, God, that you love me. I understand that if your are to be a righteous, just, and fair God, something must be done about my sin.
· Again, I am thankful that you provided Jesus Christ. I now know that He paid the penalty for my sin and purchased a place in Heaven for me. I know that He has the gift of eternal life.
· Right now, I trust in Your Son, Jesus Christ. I trust in your love gift to me. I trust in Him alone for my eternal life. I thank you for this free gift and ask that you would enable me to show my gratitude the rest of my days. In Jesus name, Amen.
If you prayed this prayer, come and join us at Heritage Baptist Church. Introduce yourself to me. We can get to know how valuable this gift is together with other like-minded believers.
