Friday, December 16, 2016

The Purpose of Christmas

"But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ." Galatians 3:22

This isn't your typical Christmas story that I'm about to share. The other day, I just flipped through my Bible and asked God to let it land where He wanted me to read.
It stopped on Galatians 3. I had a couple of Scriptures highlighted in this chapter, so I've read it before.
What I love about the Bible is that it is God's Word and it is alive, so when you read it one time, it might not really touch your heart. Then you read the same thing later, and it really means something different.
I think that God uses His Word this way so that we will continue reading it. 
Anyway, Galatians 3 has a title of "The Law and Faith in Christ" in my NLT Bible I love called "The Way". 
Jesus came to fulfill the law. The Galatians were turning back to their old ways, so Paul had to write them a letter. the very first verse he says, "Oh, foolish Galatians! Who has cast an evil spell on you? For the meaning of Jesus Christ's death was made as clear to you as if you had seen a picture of His death on the cross." 
Here is the part I like, verse 2, "Let me ask you this one question: Did you receive the Holy Spirit by obeying the law of Moses? Of course not! You received the Spirit because you believed the message you heard about Christ."
Now, before you open another tab to email me, let me explain. Living by the 10 Commandments is a good thing. Living by other things written in the Bible is a good thing.
However, living the way Jesus did is better. Letting Him be our example, and following His path is what He came for. He did away with the 618 rules the Jewish people were trying to keep every day.
Can you imagine? What a defeated life they must have lived. I mean, I know how bad I feel when I don't finish my "To Do" list for the day. If I had 618 rules to follow every single day, I would just feel horrible.
The purpose of Christmas is that Jesus came to this world, to live, walk, and experience life as we have, then to die, be buried, and resurrected for our sins. 
So, let me show you what the law was given for, this is straight out of the Bible:
Galatians 3:19, "Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave His law through the angels to Moses, who was the mediator between God and the people."
There you have it folks!
Here is another example, verse 24, "Let me put it another way. The Law was our guardian until Christ came, it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that the way of faith has come we no longer need the law as our guardian."
It is my prayer that you realize the truth of the purpose of Jesus birth. Because this is it:
Salvation, release from the Law, and relationship.
When you are afraid of someone, you can not have a right relationship with them. Jesus came to show us that God wants a PERSONAL relationship with us. 
Let that sink into your heart today. Share it with someone else. Maybe you'd never really read this Chapter either. Go read it, and let me know what you think.
God bless you today and always!

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