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Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax, hominibus, boni voluntatis, laudamus te, benedictimus te, adoramus te, glorificimus te. You're thinking, what in the world? That's Latin, but this is not a Latin mass.
I have been taking Duolingo Latin, and so I know some of those words, and I think you do too, but if your Latin is lacking. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of goodwill. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you.
And the song goes on to say, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus, only begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world.
It's a very, very famous song called Glory to God in the highest. Sometimes it's called the great doxology. And those words are from our passage today, and so please turn your Bible to that passage. Luke chapter 2.
We are in the book of Luke, the gospel of Jesus according to Luke. And by the way, this is not just a gospel about Jesus and his salvation that he brings, it's true. But within that, it contains all kinds of songs.
It's the gospel of songs, songs all over this book. Forty percent of this book is not found elsewhere, like parables and stories. Some parables and stories, but also songs. And today we're going to look at a song written that should thrill your heart.
Everything in the gospel of Luke, according to the doctor, Luke is driving you to have certainty about faith, to make sure you understand who Jesus is and what he has come to do. He, Jesus, takes away our biggest problem, and that is sin.
The biggest problem you'll ever have in your life is, since you and I are sinful and rebellious, we need a savior. And so last week, we were in Luke chapter 2, verses 1 through 7, and I think I'll read that again, because our passage today is in Luke 2, verses 8 through 14, and we're just marching through the gospel of Luke.
So let me read Luke 2, verses 1 to 7, to set the table for where we are today. And you might be thinking to yourself, our outline last week of this is historical. You see God's sovereign hand, you see prophecy fulfilled, and you see the true humanity of Jesus.
Luke 2, verses 1 to 7. In those days, that's how we talk about historical things, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who is with child.
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
And you could tell from last week's message if you were here, or even if you weren't here, that there's a historical account. We're talking about Jesus, a real man in real history. A real place called Bethlehem, a real governor, a real man named Caesar Augustus.
And this Caesar Augustus could care less about the Bible. He could care less about prophecy. He could care less about the God of the universe. But God is so sovereign, even over kings, that He has a plan to get Caesar Augustus to move Mary and Joseph, probably eight months pregnant, 70 miles north of Bethlehem, and get them down to Bethlehem.
Because Micah 5 .2, remember it says the Messiah would be born in Nazareth. No, Bethlehem. If one prophecy's gone, everything's gone. And so how do you time that? How do you time it so it's perfectly set up to get Mary and Joseph down there to be born in Bethlehem?
I mean, that's a pretty small window, don't you think, to get the couple there? I mean, for us as parents, Kim and I, I think Haley, Luke, Maddie, and Gracie were all 10 to 14 days late. I mean, what if somehow God didn't know the future, and He sends them down there too late or too early?
But everything works out perfectly, and there's a decree behind the decree. Caesar Augustus has a decree, but God has decreed that Mary is going to bear a child, Jesus, in Nazareth. I'm sorry. Scott, I thought it was your time to say things.
Sometimes when pastors think of something and don't say it, it's a good thing. And I just thought of something and I didn't say it. I love Psalm 135. I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods.
Whatever the Lord pleases, He does in heaven and in earth, in the seas and all the deeps, and in Nazareth and in Bethlehem indeed. I remember Daniel. No one can look at God and say, What have you done?
What are you doing? Well, he's perfectly working things together, and this little baby Jesus is born in Bethlehem to fulfill Micah 5 .2, and to show you the condescending love of the Savior, the eternal Son of God, now born, the text says, what an inn, although that's not really a good translation.
It's more guest room. He's born in a guest room. There's no room available for Him. I mean, there's no room in the guest room, and He is born in a place where the animals are, and He's laid down in a little manger.
Can you imagine Mary's nursing Jesus, and when she's done burping Him, she lays Him in a little food trough? The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks the question, Where did Christ's humiliation consist?
Answer, being born in that low condition. I mean, later, remember, Jesus will have nowhere to lay His head, and so Jesus, of course, it's the cross before the crown, and now Jesus is born. So we saw that last week.
Chapter 2, verses 1 through 7. So we come to our passage today, and I try to give you outlines so you can kind of track through. It's not as hot this Sunday, so you maybe don't have to track as difficult as you did last week.
I don't know how many people will approach me today with turning on switches and turning on my microphone, but I'm ready for all comers. Let me ask you a series of questions designed to help you, A, understand this passage, and B, then, think about the eternal truths as they relate to your life.
So I want you to understand the passage, and I want you to see that these truths transform, that theology matters, and theology is very practical. All practice is theology, and all theology is practice.
So a series of questions designed to help you think through this correctly. Question 1. Why was the message given to the shepherds? We're in Luke 2, verses 8 through 14. Question 1. Why was the message given to shepherds?
And let's take a look at chapter 2, verse 8 together. And in the same region, there were priests ministering daily in the temple. Oh, sorry. And in the same region, there were scribes refilling the ink for their parchments.
Oh, excuse me. In the same region, there were Sadducees coming up with schemes to deny life after death. In the same region, there were Levites doling out their incense. In the same region, there were Pharisees spying on the people, making sure the Sabbath was honored.
In the same region, there was a king named Herod coming up with a devious plan. And the answer is no, no, no, and no, and no. What's the text say? And in the same region, there were shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock by night.
I mean shepherds. If a king's son is going to be born, if a king's going to be born, I mean, shouldn't the announcement be made to great people? High up people? Those kind of mucky-muck people way up there?
I mean, we're going down to the low of the low here. Shepherds. I looked online yesterday. Most despised jobs today. It had things like lawyers, IRS agents, car mechanics. It had a whole list of things.
Politicians. If you had to come up with a list back in those days, the most despised profession, it would be shepherds. I mean, they have to watch their sheep on Sabbath. So they're always unclean. They can't do Sabbath laws.
They can't do the Pharisees' extra laws. They are lower than the low. I guess there's one class of people that are lower than shepherds back in those days. And that would be lepers. The announcement of Jesus' birth.
The most tremendous announcement in all the world. Can you think of a more grand announcement in all the world? I pronounce you husband and wife. That's a grand announcement. It's a boy. It's a girl. You've been promoted.
There's all kinds of announcements. But this is the announcement of the announcements. And you show up to lepers? Well, not quite. You show up to shepherds. I mean, these unclean shepherds. They couldn't even be testifying in the court of law.
They were like thieves. I mean, they don't even stay in their own property. Because they have no property. They're just wandering around and they're letting these sheep and these goats eat wherever they want.
How despicable. I mean, we might as well show up to a gambler or to a tax collector. It couldn't be. I don't know this for certain. But could it be that these very shepherds have some of the lambs under their care?
Some of the sheep under their care that are going to be used for the Passover slaughter soon to be? If you look at chapter 4 of Luke, answer the question, why the shepherds? This gives us some insight.
When in Luke 4, 17, 18, and 19, we see something that would certainly be in harmony with this. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to Jesus. And he unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written, Luke 4, 18, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind. To set at liberty those who are oppressed. To proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. Back to Luke chapter 2. I simply love it that the first people that get to know about the birth of Jesus are shepherds.
Jesus, who is going to be called the Good Shepherd, the Great Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, shows up to the shepherds. I ask again, why was the message given to the shepherds? Answer, because that's exactly the way God works.
That's how God works. He always works this way. In ways that you don't think should be the right way. Because you see, God's thoughts are higher than what? Our thoughts. His ways are higher than our ways.
God doesn't do things the way we do. And he sends the announcement to the shepherds. Turn a few words to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. I'm going to make this as practical as I can. Here we have in the same region, shepherds are out in the field.
They're keeping watch over their flock by night. And the announcement goes to them we're going to see very soon. Why would God do this? These shepherds, these people of low rank, humble rank. These people that account for nothing.
They're not even probably going to show up for the census. For the registration. Why would God use people that don't amount to anything in the world's eyes? Oh, now we're getting close. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 20.
Paul writes, Where's the one who's wise? Where's the scribe? Where's the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? Interesting. Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
For since in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. Verse 25, For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
And now to make this very personal. Dear Christian, for consider your calling. Not many of you are wise according to worldly standards. Not many were powerful. Not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.
I think about my own salvation and yours. I think about God showing up to the shepherds, using the shepherds. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise. God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.
Verse 28, God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are. For what's the grand purpose for all this? So that no human being might boast in the presence of God.
And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, that is righteousness and sanctification and redemption. So that as it is written, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord. Back to Luke 2.
This is just the way God works. He works it with these shepherds, and the great announcement from the angels that we'll see. He works it with our own salvation. This is just the way God works. And might I say that grace isn't for good people?
Did you know that? Grace isn't for righteous people. Grace isn't for people who are perfect. Grace is for sinners. Grace is for outcasts. Grace is for the unrighteous. Grace is for shepherds. And grace is for you.
And grace is for me. Question 2. The first question was, why was a message given? Secondly, why were the shepherds frightened? Verse 9, And an angel of the Lord, Luke 2 .9, appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
When you see that word appeared, you ought to be thinking heavenly appearance, vision, something going on that's spectacular. And the angel of the Lord shows up. He's not identified. Probably still Gabriel from chapter 1.
Doesn't have to be Gabriel, but that's my guess. And there's this glory. The word for glory in the Old Testament means heavy or weighty or something with gravitas. The word for glory here means something that's bright and shiny and full of radiance.
I don't know how dark it was. I don't know if it was a full moon. I don't know if there was no moon out. But if they're at night, they're watching their flocks. Maybe talking. Maybe looking around. Maybe trying to take turns taking a little nap.
I have no idea. And we go from darkness to light. And for all of us that know the Old Testament, Isaiah chapter 9, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. I have a question for you, dear congregation.
When Zechariah was visited by Gabriel, was he afraid? Luke chapter 1. Yes. When Mary was visited by Gabriel, was she afraid? Yes. When these shepherds are visited by an angel, were they afraid? What's the difference?
Glory cloud for Zechariah? No. Glory cloud for Mary? No. Glory cloud for the shepherds? Yes. All of a sudden it's dark and there's this huge glory cloud. I'm trying to think of some way to try to explain what it must have been like.
Remember God's presence. Pillar of fire. Cloud by the clouds. And all of a sudden, these shepherds are engulfed in, they're just put into this huge glory cloud. A visible manifestation of God and His presence.
And they are afraid. As a matter of fact, it says they were afraid with a lot of afraidness, with mega-afraidness. It's like when the kids say, Dad, I'm scared. No, no, you're either afraid or you're scared.
No, this is double. I'm scared. I'm so afraid I'm scared. It says they had a phobia, phobia, mega. They were so afraid. This was mega-fear right here. This is like all of a sudden, I'm so frightened.
All of a sudden the glory cloud shows up. This is the glory cloud that was on top of Sinai. Fire devouring on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people Exodus. This is the glory cloud that was in the tabernacle in Exodus 24.
This is the glory cloud that Ezekiel describes, what God looks like and he says, I fell on my face. God is there. And why would God show up here with the angel when He didn't necessarily show up to Zechariah or to Mary?
I mean, He sent the angels, but now to make sure they understood. This message is from God and these shepherds are enveloped with this visible, brilliant glory of God. Calvin said that they might receive the discourse which was addressed to them as coming from the mouth of God Himself.
So afraid. I ask you the question, in a practical aspect, what makes people afraid? What really frightens them? When I was 12 or 13, I worked at Haunted House in Omaha, Nebraska and we just dressed up and stood in rooms and tried to scare people.
It's kind of fun to scare people, isn't it? I wasn't a Christian then, I know. I wasn't a pastor at 12 years old either. We loved to scare people. And when I was a janitor at Grace Community Church, I was a Christian then, we also would scare people.
We'd work the midnight shift and sometimes it'd be late and it was in a bad part of town. And I remember one time, we've got these big trash cans that you can roll around. And I said, let me go inside the trash can.
Put like a little bit of trash on my head. And then when my friend Russell comes over to move that trash can, at midnight, I'm going to jump out. He died that day. He went down so fast. He yelled so loud we got in trouble because the boss heard us playing around.
When you're in the presence of God, who's holy, holy, holy, you realize you're sinful, sinful, sinful. And there's a fear. Remember Isaiah, probably the most holy person in all the earth, sees the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up.
And the angels chanting, holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. And what did Isaiah say? High five, God. He said, woe is me, I am undone. I thought I had integrity. I have no integrity. Peter's in the boat and he realizes who Jesus is because Jesus did something supernatural and only God can do something supernatural.
And how does Peter respond? Depart from me, for I'm a man of sin. Finite fallen men are always frightened by the sight of the invisible realm now become visible. When you get to heaven, by the way, dear Christian, glory is going to be there.
Do you think you're going to be afraid? I think that's a really good question. Will you be afraid when you cross the river Jordan and you die? Now, you might be afraid as you're crossing. Many saints even struggle with that.
But when you get to heaven, will there be any fear? Will there be awe? Of course. No fear because the sins dealt with, they're glorified. No fear in heaven. I love that. Ultimate glory. Ultimate heaven.
You won't be afraid. Question three. What was the message from the angels? What was the message from the angels? The message was given to shepherds because that's how God works. The shepherds were frightened because they're sinful and they're in the presence of the glory cloud.
God was there. Number three, what was the message from the angels? Option one, duck. Option two, flee. Option three, you're toast. Option four, the angels said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This is what I call angel evangelism. I think I should write a book on it. I think I could get rich. Remember, Heaven is for Real came out years ago.
A boy that supposedly went to heaven. He never did, but he said he did. I thought, you know what? It was such a shame that Lazarus didn't write that book. He missed out on a lot of money. Because he really did go up to heaven and come back.
Unlike the kid from Nebraska. When you see the word behold that you see right there, fear not for behold, you ought to be thinking, something bad's coming or something really good is coming. And here, something good is on the way.
And this angel says, fear not. He didn't say I shouldn't have any awe, but he says fear not. It's like the mitigation of the terror. I know you're terrified, but I'm going to mitigate that. Like with Isaiah, once Isaiah said, woe is me, I am undone.
Remember, the seraphim flew to him and touched his lips and cauterized it and his sin was atoned for. Or like Jesus after Peter said, depart from me for I am a sinful man, O Lord. He comforts Peter. And here, the words fear not offer reassurance.
Gospel according to the angels. Yes, right there, do you see it? I bring you good news. I evangelize you of great joy. The Gospel is great joy to you. By the way, this is the word good and proclamation is where we get our word messenger, our angel.
You, angel. You, good. A good message. A good proclamation. How lovely are on the mountains are the feet of Him who brings good news. Who announces peace and brings good news. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news.
I mean, darkness. No Savior. We've been waiting, waiting, waiting. First Adam plunged us into sin. When will the second promised Adam ever show up? And this angel says, He's here. The Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
1 John 4 .14. Satan's head is going to be bruised soon. And when you hear the word Gospel, strictly speaking, you ought to be saying to yourself, This is a word that forgives, that justifies, redeems, saves, assures, comforts.
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. There's a theologian called Caspar Olivianus. And so I always call him Caspar the Friendly Olivianus, just so I can remember who he is. There's pagans galore in this place, isn't there?
I know what you're thinking. At least the young people hopefully don't. Ask your dad at home. He said, in the Gospel, God does not demand, but He offers. And He gives the righteousness that the law requires.
God does not forgive us our sins in the Gospel on the conditions that we keep the law. Rather, even though we never have kept it, nor will ever be able to keep it perfectly, He still has forgiven our sins and given us eternal life as unmerited gift through faith in Christ Jesus.
He said, you know what? You used to have mega-fear, and now in the Greek it's literally I'm giving you mega-joy. From mega-fear to mega-joy. What is a greater announcement than that? The world's biggest problem now has a solution.
And what's the contents of this good news? Verse 11. As I'm reading it, I want you to notice, there's no demands. There's no demands. There's no if-thens. It's a promise from God. It's good news delivered freely, graciously.
For unto you, shepherds, and of course, eventually for all of us, yes, is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. I want you to know that the good news doesn't have qualifications.
It is a proclamation of good news. And don't miss it. Every word's important, one scholar said, and I agree. Born this day in the city of David. Why is that important? Why is the city of David important?
Well, He is Jesus, the descendant of David, promised in 2 Samuel 7. Long ago, now finally born. And now we see some wonderful things said about the Lord Jesus. Savior, Christ, and Lord. By the way, dear Christian, that's the Christmas message.
If you ever wanted to tell somebody the Christmas message is Christ, Savior, and Lord. And you can explain those things. Next time you evangelize, and you're out with Jonathan evangelizing, and you don't know what to say, you talk about Jesus as Savior, Lord, and Messiah.
This is who Jesus is. And it's all good news. The good news is a person. These titles help us. Let's look at the first one, Savior. If you're not lost, you don't need to be saved. But He's the Savior.
Here, it summarizes all of Luke. Come to seek and save the lost. It doesn't say judge. It doesn't say executioner. It says Savior. Now, if I ask you to repeat John 3 .16, I bet almost everyone here could.
But could you repeat John 3 .17? I never like to read 3 .16 without 17. Here's why. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. It was a seek and saving mission to rescue. I once got asked to do a funeral for someone that was an unbeliever.
And I had a bunch of other unbelievers there. I think I was probably the only believer in my passage that day. It was John 3 .17. God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world. Here, Christ is called Savior.
Wait a second. I thought they called Caesar Savior. They did. They do. I thought they called Augustus Savior of humankind. They did. They don't any longer. It's almost like Luke is kind of digging. You think they're the Savior?
How are they going to save you? They might save you from taxes or oppression or enemies, but they can't save you from sin. Because let's face it, every one of us one day will die and stand before God.
And then what? What happens then? When we close our eyes, if the Lord doesn't come back in death, then what? Eternity is a very, very, very long time. And God is very, very holy. But God is also very good, and so what does He do?
He could condemn the world. He condemned the fallen angels. No opportunity for salvation, but God has spiritual deliverance for His people. I mean, I know how to put a suit on. I know how to act properly.
I know how to have some good etiquette. I know how to act like I'm from Nebraska and have some good work ethic. But deep down, we're unrighteous people. We're self-righteous people, and we need Savior.
Because we need to be perfectly righteous. And so Jesus comes to save. You can almost imagine when you're evangelizing people, that's kind of the rub. You mean to tell me, dear preacher, that I'm so awful, wicked, sinful, and rebellious that Jesus Christ, the Eternal Son, the glorious Son of God, would have to be crucified for me because I deserve to be crucified naked in hell forever?
You mean to tell me that's how bad I am? Because compared to other people, I'm pretty good. But that's exactly what we're telling people. That's why it says it's the offense of the cross. It's a stumbling block.
People don't want to hear it. But it's true. And thankfully, the Lord Jesus is a Savior. We know that because He died and He was raised from the dead. Not only that, He's called Christ. You see it in your text.
You know this. This is obviously not His last name. Jesus is His name. The angel gives. His name is Jesus, but His title is Christ. Caesar is a title. Christ is a title. This is the word for Messiah, the Anointed One, the one that the Old Testament talks about.
And He's also called what? Lord. Now does this mean He is sovereign? Yes, of course. But did you know in chapter 1 when you see the word Lord, I think 12 times it's always about God. Here, Christ and Lord are put together.
Jesus, in fact, is God. The word Lord is God. Jesus says the baby born is God. How does that work? You mean to tell me it's been 500 years since the glory of God was on the earth and now the glory of God is around these shepherds and the message is there's a little baby who's born over there in Bethlehem.
He's the Savior. That's exactly what I mean. That's exactly what God wants you to think. The application here is simple. Do you believe Jesus is Savior, Messiah, and Lord? Is that how you proclaim Him?
Question four. Is there any law in the Good News proclaimed by the angels? Is there any law in the Good News proclaimed by angels? Well, there's no verse here because there's no law given. The answer is no, but I want to make sure you realize that the Gospel and the law are two separate things.
The Gospel is a proclamation of what Jesus did. The triune God does in Christ Jesus. Law is something we do. Again, look back at 2 .11. There's nothing for people to do. Oh yes, the response will be faith.
That's certain. We'll get to that in a little bit. But I want you to know that good advice is not good news because good advice tells you you have to do something. Good advice is law. That's not practical.
I have no idea what you're talking about. Okay, an unbeliever comes to you and says, I recognize based on God's holiness and His law that I'm sinful and I'm going to go straight to hell when I die. Do I have to stop sinning in order to come to Christ?
What do you tell them? Do I have to stop sinning in order to come to Christ? What do you tell them? If you tell them yes, you're giving them law. That's not good news. You mean I have the nature of an unbeliever and I'm dead in trespasses and sins and I'm ungodly and now I have to get better in order to come to Christ?
Never say to an unbeliever, you have to stop sinning in order to come to Christ. What do you tell them? Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved. And then when the Spirit of God indwells them, will they begin to stop sinning?
Answer? Yes, but sola fide, faith alone, is for a reason. Galatians 2 .16 -15. We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. The law simply shows a disease and then we get the cure from the Gospel.
Nothing before faith. After we believe, certainly there are good works. Romans 4 .5. And to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.
God justifies the ungodly. That's why when you meet somebody and you think they're super sinful, how could they ever come to Christ is because they don't have to clean up their mess first. They need to be saved by Christ the Lord.
Let me put it another way with the hymn because if you can't convince people with Bible verses, you use a hymn because then you'll believe the hymn. The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.
That's what we sing about. So you meet people that are super ungodly, they don't have to clean themselves up first. That's not the message. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joys.
This will be for all people. For unto you this day is born in the city of David a Christ who saved you, the Lord. As long as you obey the law, keep the commandments, do good and be better. See, it's not that at all.
It's a gift the Gospel is. I read this week when the law came along in Exodus 32. Remember the Israelites were all in idolatry and Moses throws the law down. 3 ,000 people died. And when Peter preaches the Gospel in Acts 2, how many people came to faith?
3 ,000. And I thought the law kills and the Spirit makes alive. The Gospel is, a baby is born for you. It is all grace. It is all God. And the only response you have is believe. And even belief is a gift.
And belief says I have nothing and I'm recognizing the object of my faith. Is this good news? As we comply with the ordinances of baptism and confirmation and continue in faith and prayer, the power of the Savior's atoning sacrifice covers our sins.
Good news or bad news? That's really bad news. You get the atoning sacrifice as long as you keep obeying. That sounds kind of like modern evangelicalism. Except it was from Ezra Taft Benson, a Mormon.
I don't want to be flippant, but don't be a Mormon. Because it's not faith and works to get you there. You're saved by faith alone. And then after you're saved, that faith won't be alone. But we never want to take law, we never want to take works, we never want to take obedience and jam it over here.
Because then it's not good news. You just have to surrender your life to Jesus. I do. How much do I have to surrender? I don't know. More. I just have to yield my life to Jesus. How much do I have to yield?
I have no idea. Just keep yielding. But instead we say things like this. Believe. If you want to say repent, please do. But repent does not mean change your life. Fruit of repentance. It means to think rightly about sin.
Think rightly about the Savior. One of my favorite things to do is to ask religious people or anyone, what's the good news? When Kim works at Lowe's and people come in with habits on, she always says to them, what's your good news?
Mark Kranz and I were having lunch the other day at a little Mexican place in Lemonster and we were talking about Sunday school and I was trying to correct Mark's theology about putting law into the gospel and it was a long lunch.
Just kidding. Just kidding. Now Mark knows. And somebody came up and they handed me a little card. And it said rejoice on it and a couple other things. And I assumed that they were Christians, but sometimes Christians don't know and I don't know what kind of person this is.
So I just said, could you tell me what the gospel is? If you had to tell me what the gospel is, what would you tell me? Mark, what did he say again? It's about Jesus? It's about Jesus. Okay. So far so good.
At least he didn't give me any law. That's a good question. People, knock on your door. Dear friends, open it up. Don't run and hide and put the curtains down. When you see the bicycles show up or you see the two people with literature, open your door.
Because you have a reason for the hope in you. 1 Peter 3, verse 15, do you not? And when they open the door, you say, hello? Do you have any good news? Well, yes. You read these things and you do these things and you show up, 144 ,000, do this, become a little god.
And I go, you know what? I tried that. I just can't do it. No, no, then you have to do this. I said, you don't know how bad I am. I said, do you know I'm a murderer? And then one person is like, I better stand back a little bit.
There's a murderer here. I said, I've never murdered anybody with my hands, but I have in my heart. Is there any hope for me? Because if your message is, just be good from now on, I still murdered somebody.
That's still back there. I'm just not going to say, you know, the judge has somebody in court. Well, you know, as long as you don't hurt anybody anymore. Right? The young kids just saw the 64-year-old bicyclist in Vegas and it's all on film.
They said, let's run him over. And they run him over and he's dead. True story. Well, as long as you don't run anybody else over, you're going to be fine. No, no, you have to pay for that. So one of the best things you can do is ask people, what's the good news?
And by the way, for Christians, it's a good question too. When you contemplate your standing with God and think I've sinned this week so much, do you think you need good news too? Of course you do. When you see the end is near, you're going to be in your deathbed, do you need good news as well?
Do you know it's all God? All grace? Have I done enough? Have I loved enough? Have I been obedient enough? The answer is no, no, and no. Because good news puts the spotlight back on Jesus. Did Jesus pray enough?
Yes. Did Jesus love enough? Yes. Did Jesus evangelize enough? Yes. Did Jesus memorize the Bible enough? Yes. The answer is yes, yes, and yes. I'm quite certain that if somebody asked you the question, really struggling in my Christian life, how can you help me?
That some of us would give the right answer and some of us would give the wrong answer. The wrong answer... Well, let me tell you what the right answer is. If somebody said, what's the one thing I need to do to help my Christian life because I'm struggling?
What would you tell them? Pray more? Read your Bible? Fellowship? Serve? The answer is fine for all those. I'm not against those. But those are called means of gratitude. Do you know the number one way God builds His church, strengthens the believers?
It's Lord's Day worship. Hearing a proclamation of the good news. That's why communion and pulpit ministry from this church, I was going to say, until I die. And I thought, well, who knows, that might be sooner than later, but that's not true.
But seriously, as long as I'm in this pulpit with the other men here, it's going to be a Gospel message because Christians need the Gospel too. Your holy living isn't what's going to get you through Judgment Day.
Did you hear that? Your holy living is not going to get you through Judgment Day. Christ is His holy living, and you're in Christ. And when you start despairing, and you start thinking badly, and you start being depressed, and you think, honestly, I'm not living up to what I'm called to do as a Christian.
That's why it's a pulpit ministry. It's a proclamation ministry from the communion table. It's Jesus outside of us, and He loves Christians. You're saved by grace. You're sanctified by grace. Saved through faith.
You're sanctified through faith. I thought I was going to get through this message. I didn't quite do it, so let's do one more. No, let's do this instead. A couple comments. And this will be a sign for you.
Kind of the Lord. How am I going to find this baby? The shepherds must be asking. Wrapped in swaddling claws. Those claws that just keep the baby nice and tight. Lying in a manger. Well, that should be easy, because it's going to be outside.
At least if there's a roof, we can still walk in. In a food trough. It's going to be where the animals are, so let's go find those. Suddenly, there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom He is well pleased.
Wasn't it good of the Lord, A, to give a sign to these shepherds, and B, what if these poor shepherds got the glory cloud with all the hosts of heaven to start? If they had mega fear, they feared with mega fear with one glory cloud, with one angel, how about a glory cloud and all the other angels?
The text says, with a heavenly host. You can't number that. That's where they get the word strategy, army. All of a sudden, all these angels show up. I wonder what that must have been like. If I could go back in time to one point in time, that might be the time.
And they start saying. Some say they chant. Some say they sing. The text says, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom He is pleased or well pleased. Glory to God in the highest.
That's the response. And on earth peace among those with whom He is well pleased.