The Gift We Have In Christ

It has been said a lot that Christmas has become less about Christ and more about everything else. So for those who want to be spurned on to make it about Christ… take this sermon into consideration. Martin Luther gave a sermon in the mid-1520’s about Christ’s resurrection.

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But there are certain points that spoke to me that God has been convicting me of lately – and it has spurned me on to keep my eyes focused on the King of kings… my Savior… The gift from my Heavenly Father – who loves me so (and YOU too!)

Ever struggle with your past sins? You know you are forgiven – that the blood of Christ has washed you clean – but the earthly consequences of our sins can sometime haunt us. Make us feel as though we are not forgiven – sometimes, we don’t forgive each other… but look at this passage from Martin Luther’s sermon;

If Christ has taken away death and our sins by his resurrection and has justified us, why do we then still feel death and sin within us? For our sins torment us still, we are stung by our conscience, and this evil conscience creates the fear of hell. To this I reply: I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be apprehended by reason and the senses, which may be heard, seen, felt and known by the outward senses; For this cause feeling is opposed to faith and faith is opposed to feeling. Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of faith: "Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen." (Hebrews 11:1) For if we would see Christ visibly in heaven, like the visible sun, we would not need to believe it. But since Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, we cannot see it nor feel it, neither can we comprehend it with our reason. Therefore we must disregard our feeling and accept only the Word, write it into our heart and cling to it, even though it seems as if my sins were not taken from me, and even though I still feel them within me. For although we feel that sin is still in us, it is only permitted that our faith may be developed and strengthened, that in spite of all our feelings we accept the Word, and that we unite our hearts and consciences more and more to Christ.

This is the meaning of the words by St. Paul: "Christ was raised for our justification." Here Paul turns my eyes away from my sins and directs them to Christ, for if I look at my sins, they will destroy me.

HALLELUJAH! Praise God for this!

So what does forgiveness look like? Look at what Christ did for us – so that our sins were paid for – in essence, forgiven…

Therefore I must look unto Christ who has taken my sins upon himself, crushed the head of the serpent and become the blessing. Now they no longer burden my conscience, but rest upon Christ, whom they desire to destroy. Let us see how they treat him. They hurl him to the ground and kill him. 0 God; where is now my Christ and my Saviour? But then God appears, delivers Christ and makes him alive; and not only does he make him alive, but he translates him into heaven and lets him rule over all.

THAT is where my confidence comes from… Jesus is who I cling to… for if it were not for the birth of my Savior who came for me, I would be clutched into the hands of death – destroyed and tormented… But CHRIST has saved me from such wrath!

But since Christ has taken my sins upon himself, has died for them, has suffered himself to be slain on account of my sins, they can no longer harm me; for Christ is too strong for them, they cannot keep him, he breaks forth and overpowers them, ascends into heaven, and rules there over all throughout eternity. Now I have a clear conscience, am joyful and happy and am no longer afraid of this tyrant, for Christ has taken my sins away from me and made them his own.

So what happens to my sin? The consequences don’t go away… loved ones are hurt… consequences can be seen and felt for years… maybe a lifetime… Martin reminds us: But they cannot remain upon him; what then becomes of them? They must disappear and be destroyed. This then is the effect of FAITH.

Hebrews 13:6 “So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”

Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

We may never see the promises God has made to us – but we are called to continue to live by faith, and in faith we are called to celebrate the birth of the one who came, lived, was crucified, died, and rose again!

In this season the promise began… and in Him it is finished!

The Sermons of Martin Luther, published by Baker Book House