This is the time of year that we replace a “Good morning” or “Good afternoon” with … With what? That is the question, or the confusion. Do we exclaim, “Happy Holidays.” Or it is better to state, “Merry Christmas?” What do you say when you go into a gas station or grocery store and greet the one behind the counter? Or anyone else for that matter?
You can get me on a technicality. Perhaps you go with “Happy Advent” since we are still in that stretch of the church year. But that ends today. As we close out Advent, we look ahead to Christmas. We turn to the beginning of Paul’s letter to the saints in the city of Rome. Through him God sends Christmas greetings—revealed by his people and received by his people. We read from …
Romans 1:1-7
Dear Saints of God through our Savior from God,
Christmas greetings come in different forms.
Some still keep the post office in business and address envelopes and apply stamps. There is a card with a form letter inside or just fancy paper with commentary. A few opt for a postcard with pictures.
Others attach a lengthy document to an email for mass distribution.
And if you are really busy, I suppose that you could text an “MC” to all of your contacts. (There is an abbreviation for everything. Why not for “Merry Christmas.” You might even spice the message up with a tree emoji. I am guessing there is one. I just don't know how to find it.)
God chose the epistle approach. And while this writing to the Romans is not exclusively for Christians at Christmas, it does allow us to consider why we celebrate Jesus’ birth.
God Sends Christmas Greetings
1. Revealed by his people (1-5)
2. Received by his people (6,7)
1. Revealed by his people (1-5)
I doubt that there is an anonymous Christmas card. I can’t think of a reason for one. Even the generic ones which you buy leave some room for you to sign your name. And even write a quick note if you like. (I don’t think that many will take you up on a “wish you were here” with the temps that have a negative sign in front of a double digit number.) It is through Paul that God sends Christmas greetings. They are revealed by his people.
In fact, that is the first word that we come across. “Paul” (Ro 1:1). Back then that was the standard form when composing a letter. The author would identify himself right away. I always compare it to an email. There is no guesswork whom it is from. It is obvious when you check it after you log in. And Paul goes on to describe himself in a number of interesting ways:
“A servant of Christ Jesus” (Ro 1:1). That might strike us as negative—being a servant, or really a slave. That calls to mind the idea of not being able to do what you want, when you want. But it is positive (cf. Je 7:25). That is because of to whom Paul belonged—Christ Jesus his Lord. Paul was more than happy bend his will and lend his ear to his Master. It is not below us or beneath us to be under the control and care of Christ Jesus our Lord. We serve him who is not cruel, but kind.
“Called to be an apostle” (Ro 1:1). An “apostle” is “one who is sent out for a specific purpose and on an official mission.” I don’t think that we would have chosen Paul for such a high honor. Remember how he was a great persecutor of Christ (Acts 9:4)—not content to hunt Christians down simply in Jerusalem, but headed out to remote areas. It was on the road to Damascus that Jesus recruited him to be a grand preacher of Christ (Acts 9).
“Set apart for the gospel of God” (Ro 1:1). [Slide 10] Recall the reaction (or better, reservation) of Ananias when the Lord sent him to Paul as he was suffering from blindness after the encounter with the bright light on the highway. It is a bit of a paraphrase, but something along the lines of “I don’t know if you have heard. Paul is not really that nice” (Acts 9:13). To which the Lord responded: “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). It is like you grab a shovel to clear you driveway of 5-27 inches of snow. Paul was the tool God selected. We don’t have that call, but the same commission to proclaim the gospel (Mt 28:19).
Then Paul steps away to explain that “gospel,” the good news. And it was not something new. It stretched back to the Old Testament, “the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son” (Ro 1:2,3). God was certain what he would do when sin made its ugly appearance into the world. He would send a Savior—born in Bethlehem to bear our guilt on Calvary, punished in our place (Mi 5:2; Is 53:4-6). Prophet after prophet prophesied and promised such a One in God’s pure and perfect writings. God used them to reveal his plan to his people.
We listened in as God was willing to grant wicked King Ahaz a sign, any sign, to support the claim that Judah would be safe from its enemies. When he declined out of mock humility, the Lord supplied one anyway. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel” (Is 7:14). [Slide 13] Matthew highlighted that as he records the angel’s reason for Mary’s shocking pregnancy (surprising to Joseph, at least, since he was not the father)—conceived by the Holy Spirit in fulfillment of Isaiah’s revelation 700 years earlier (Mt 1:20,22). It wasn’t unfaithfulness on her part, but faithfulness on God’s. As we make our way to the manger again in the coming week, there he is, “God with us.”
God’s one and only Son is certainly unique (Jn 3:16).
He is true man. Paul shares that: “who as to his human nature was a descendant of David” (Ro 1:3). Jesus became man in time. He took on human flesh and blood (Jn 1:14; He 2:14). He had a family tree—tracing it back to his forefather and famous ancestor, King David (Mt 1:20; Lk 1:32). He humbled himself in such a way to head to the cross—for us (Php 2:8).
He is true God. Paul shows that: “who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead” (Ro 1:4). Jesus is, was, will be God—eternal. And also almighty. That is evident in every miracle Jesus preformed—making the blind see and the deaf hear, and every other one that comes to mind. God designated Jesus his Son in no weak way by bringing him out of the grave. Jesus died. But the tomb could not hold him. He lives, having paid the price to free us from sin, redeeming us and ransoming us. God accepted his sacrifice for us and exalted him above all (Php 2:9). We are not getting ahead of ourselves, skipping over Christmas and shooting to Easter. But those things go hand in hand. Jesus came to live for us, die for us, and rise for us.
So we confess him and call him …
“Jesus” (Ro 1:4). Jesus signifies “Savior.” That is what we mean every time that we mention his personal name. The angel announced it to Joseph: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). The Lord saves. Jesus rescued us.
“Christ” (Ro 1:4). He is the “Anointed One,” the promised Messiah.
“Lord” (Ro 1:4). He is above us and over us (Eph 1:22). But in a good sense. We are his.
And there is one word that makes all the difference: “our” (Ro 1:4)—our Jesus, our Christ, our Lord.
That is the gospel Jesus picked Paul to pronounce to all: “Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith” (Ro 1:5). Paul revealed Jesus to Jews and Gentiles. That was a gracious gift from Jesus to him so that others might know and believe. God used his energy, not to destroy the church, but his efforts to declare the Christ.
We have God’s Word and God’s workers—prophets, pastors, parents, even the children with the program yesterday. They reveal God’s Christmas greetings to his people—to us. Like the angels on Christmas night: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Lk 2:11). We accept it as true and trust that Jesus has come to bring us “clean hands and a pure heart” (Ps 24:4). He has rid us of the grime that was once there. Jesus did that that—true God and true man, our Savior. That makes Christmas merry.
2. Received by his people (6,7)
You open your mailbox or inbox (on your computer or phone) to read highlights or happenings in other’s lives in the past year. People send them to spotlight that. God does that through Paul. God sends Christmas greetings. They are received by his people.
The Roman recipients were case and point: “And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ” (Ro 1:6). Like you invite company to your house, God has done that for you and me to be part of and included in his family. “To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Ro 1:7). That is striking for all involved. Saints? Yes. God has declared us to be holy and dedicated us to him. That is a high honor. And that is who we are—always dear to him.
And then finally Paul gets to his customary salutation. But it is far from simple—more than a “hey, how are you?”. It is significant: “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” (Ro 1:7). We are also on the receiving end of those substantial blessings that originate from the Father and the Son. They are familiar and ought not be forgotten.
“Grace” (Ro 1:7). That is God’s undeserved kindness like if your mail carrier were to give you a Christmas gift out of the blue instead of the other way around. Grace is the quality that makes God willing, even eager, to give to us the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of heaven. That is the cause of our salvation.
“Peace” (Ro 1:7). That is the result of our salvation. Everything is right between us and God. We are not at odds with God anymore. “Glory to God in the highest” (Lk 2:14).
Paul’s prayer is that that grace and peace might continue to be theirs. God sends Christmas greetings received by his people—by us, called, loved, saints with grace and peace from God. That makes Christmas merry.
Four Sundays of preparing for Jesus’ coming—as a baby and a judge—concludes today. We are ready. Whether it is with your voice or with your pen or with your cell, use the opportunities and correspondence to showcase Jesus, Immanuel, God with us. We know how to greet people in those forms of communication. That is because God sends Christmas greetings—revealed by his people, by us, and received by his people, by us. Christ is born. That is the gospel message. Grace and peace are ours. “Happy Advent” now becomes “Merry Christmas.” Amen.
To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen (Ro 16:27).
December 18, 2016
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