To Win – Part 2

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

This verse opened my eyes to the reality of our spiritual blindness as a result of sin, but also the remedy to the condition and much, much more in redemption, forgiveness, salvation, regeneration of the spirit, reconciliation to the Father, adoption into the family of God, and eternal life. But, if not by buying it, earning it or deserving it through our own effort and good living, then by whom and how? Jesus gives Nicodemus and the rest of us the answer in John 3:13-18 “No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Once we grasp the reality of Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”, we understand the severity and just consequences of sin against the holy and sovereign Creator Father God, and see that there is no possible way to earn anything, except the wages deserved. Then, Believers can put the spotlight on the gift of God, by His love and grace alone, in the blessed Redeemer, Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 2:1-10 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Christ the Savior is born. This is the reason for the season. What’s so significant about the birth of that particular baby is that in this birth we have the incarnation of God Himself. Jesus Christ, Immanuel - Hebrew: עִמָּנוּאֵל‎ meaning, "God with us". Jesus is the Savior of the world and your personal Savior. In that way, every Believer wins. Now, that is what is merry about Christmas.

In Christ, Brian