Christmas is a time of gift giving. We love to receive them, and we love to give them. I’m not sure what you are hoping for this Christmas.
I did a little bit of research and discovered some unusual, and some might say distasteful, Christmas gifts.
REGIFTING
Jerry Seinfeld coined the term years ago, and apparently it has taken off. It is now a permanent entry in the Webster’s Dictionary. Regifting occurs when you get a present you don’t like, and then you decide to regift it and give it t...
Christmas is a time of gift giving. We love to receive them, and we love to give them. I’m not sure what you are hoping for this Christmas.
I did a little bit of research and discovered some unusual, and some might say distasteful, Christmas gifts.
REGIFTING
Jerry Seinfeld coined the term years ago, and apparently it has taken off. It is now a permanent entry in the Webster’s Dictionary. Regifting occurs when you get a present you don’t like, and then you decide to regift it and give it to someone else, usually someone you don’t particularly like!
The danger, of course, is that you are discovered as a regifter. So you need to be very careful about who you regift too, and what the gift is. Personalised, monogrammed or person specific gifts are deemed to be especially unsuitable for regifting.
THE THREE GIFTS OF CHRISTMAS
Matthew 2:11
And going into the house they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh.
At the first Christmas, the wise men brought 3 gifts for baby Jesus. But this morning I want to talk about a different 3 gifts this Christmas.
1. THE GIFT OF GOD’S SON
The greatest gift ever given is God giving the gift of His Son. So why is this the greatest gift?
The reason this gift is so important goes right back to creation, when Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, were in the Garden of Eden. They were made perfect, without sin of any kind, but they also had a free will.
God doesn’t want robots, He didn’t create robots. He created us with a free will, the ability to choose to love Him, choose to do right, or choose to be rebellious or evil. Adam and Eve were tempted to rebel, and they gave in to that temptation, setting the precedent for all mankind ever since.
The Bible says,
Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
That’s me and you, every single one of us. You might say, “Well I’m a good person and I haven’t sinned,” but I would challenge that! Have you ever told a lie? Ever had a bad thought about someone? Ever sworn, ever stolen, ever felt lust, ever said anything that has hurt someone else?
Of course you have, and so have I. We are all sinful, and because of our sin, we are all separated from God.
And so, the penalty for sin, any sin, every sin, big or small, is death.
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We deserve death, every one of us. We get it physically, all of us, but we also get it spiritually. The Bible says that men and women live once, once only, and after that face the judgement of God. Eternal death is eternal separation from God, in a place called hell. I will touch on this in a moment.
But that’s where this free gift comes in.
God loves you and I so much that He doesn’t want to see us die and He doesn’t wish for us to be separated for Him forever. In fact, the Bible says it is not His will that any should perish, so He provided the way back to Himself. God gave His Son to this sinful world to die in our place.
The most famous verse in the Bible says this…
John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
JUSTICE
If God just said He was going to ignore our sin and let us into heaven regardless, then heaven would be hell! All the sins, hurts, misery, prejudice and barriers of this life would be with us in heaven. God is just and perfect… and that means He cannot overlook sin or just ignore it. If He just overlooked our sin, He wouldn't be just, He wouldn't be holy and, frankly, He wouldn't be God. He cannot just ignore your sin! And Remember, we all sin, and the wages of sin is death.
So God’s solution was to still pass the same judgement on us, and still carry out the same sentence. But instead of us dying and going to hell, He decided He would pay the required price for us.
Imagine a judge judging your life. He looks at you and asks if you are guilty of any sin, any sin ever. You quietly reply, “Yes, I am guilty Your Honour.” So he passes judgement on you, say $50,000 that you don’t have. You’re expecting to go to gaol because you know you cannot pay the price, but to your amazement, the judge then pulls out His wallet and pays the full amount, setting you free.
That’s what Christmas is about. The first gift is God giving His one and only Son to die in your place. Christmas is not about a baby, it's about a Saviour!
2. THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE
The first gift opens the way for the second gift to occur.
I mentioned before that the penalty for sin is death, and eternal death means hell. I talk to some guys and they say that hell won't be too bad. My mates will be there, we will break out a pack of cards, have a few beers and have a great time. Sorry, but no you won't!
What's heaven like? I'm not entirely sure, but I do know it's full of God. So heaven will be everything God is. Heaven is light, joy, peace, friends, fellowship, singing, laughter and love.
Hell is just the opposite. God is not there, so none of the things we love and enjoy are present in hell. Hell is darkness, fear, separation. Loneliness, pain… hell is not fun, and it lasts forever.
Don't believe that God wants this for you or anyone. The Bible says
2 Peter 3:9
but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
God wants to give you the gift of eternal life this Christmas. He's already sent His first gift, so now He can offer this second gift to you, free of charge.
The penalty has been paid for your sin and my sin, and the result is the gift of eternal life, the chance to live with God in His heaven for ever and ever.
And Jesus says,
John 14:2
In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?
At Christmas time we are reminded that God not only gave His Son to die in your place, but He also opened the way for you to receive the gift of eternal life. If you ask Jesus into your life, Heaven awaits, and every day before then can be life and life to the full because God gives His HOLY SPIRIT to help you live powerfully day by day.
Which leads me to the third gift of Christmas…
3. GIVING YOUR LIFE TO JESUS
While God offers you these incredible gifts, you won't get them if you don't agree to receive them. If you hand me a gift, my role is not passive, it's active… I need to accept and receive that gift.
And how can you receive God’s gifts and give Him your life in return? It's as simple as A, B, C…
- Accept that you're a sinner. Accept that you need a Saviour to bring you back to God. Accept that Jesus God’s Son came to earth that Christmas Day to die in your place on a cruel cross.
You have the chance today to believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died for you.
- Confess… Confess your sins, confess your need and the Bible says…
Romans 10:9
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL
Why not make this Christmas the most significant ever? Will you accept the gifts God offers you this morning? I'm going to pray a prayer and if you want to repeat this after me, together we can make this the greatest Christmas of all, by accepting the greatest gifts of all!
