Merry Christ-Mas

I am one of those who wishes everyone a merry Christmas. I tend to pronounce it Christ-Mas, not Chris-Mas. My goal is not to offend. I smile and say thank you if someone wishes me a Happy Chanukah, and I would do the same if someone wished me a happy Kwanzaa or asked me to have a great Winter Solstice. They have their beliefs and I have mine. Mine are just different. I feel that mine are of greater import due to the significance of who Jesus Christ was and what He stood for.

This is for all who want to tell me about the pagan origins of Christmas; save your breath. I know Christmas tradition is steeped in Paganism. That is not a news flash to anyone who is slightly educated. It was discovered when conquering people if they could keep some of their rituals they tended to be less likely to revolt. Constantine knew this. He took Pagan celebrations and gave them Christian identities and names.

I also hear that Jesus was not born on the 25th of December. That news is pretty stale, also. It is the date that is used to represent the day he was born. It is not the only commemoration of something that occurred in history celebrated on the wrong day. The United States declared independence on July 2nd of 1776 and the declaration of independence was signed on August 2nd of 1776. It is rumored that the last signature was not added until 1777, yet we celebrate July 4th, 1776 as Independence Day. As good a day as any.

I still feel some hesitation in celebrating Christmas, because of all of the Pagan customs it contains. Trust me, Saint Nick and presents to each other are about as far from the true meaning of Christ's birth as we can get. Then you add mistletoe and we get further and further away from Christianity. Therefore I use December 25th as a day to enjoy the company of loved ones as we celebrate the birth of Christ, not as His actual birthday. The birth of Jesus is such an amazing event for what Christ's birth, life, death and resurrection represent.

Christ's Birth

So what is the significance of Christ's birth. For starters, it showed that God cares about us. He is not some absentee God who created us then left us alone. Instead, He loves us very much. He cared enough about us to send His only begotten son to Earth. He was born to live, suffer and die as a human. He knew the outcome, yet came to fulfill what was written in the Old Testament.

Christ's Life

Christ life was used to prosthelytize about the importance of doing the will of God and believing in Christ. We receive the message of salvation thanks to the life of Christ. Jesus says it best in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth and the life." Without Christ we do not receive the message of salvation. He let us know that we are not worthy of forgiveness, and that there is nothing we can do to earn it. 

Christ's Death

Jesus was born to die on a cross for our sins. His death was the sacrifice that took the weight of all of our sins, period. The crucifixion of Christ is how grace came into our life. Grace is unmerited favor. It is the death of a perfect man as a sacrifice to wash away the sins in our life. He atoned for our sins and gave us the ability to live for eternity in Heaven.

Christ's Resurrection 

Christ's resurrection is significant for several reasons. First, it shows that Christ is the Son of God. Only God has power over the grave. We also have reason to believe all that Christ said, since He was risen. In 1 Corinthians 15:17 Paul says that if Christ was not resurrected, our faith is in vain and we are still accountable for our sins. Since Christ was resurrected, we now have faith and know that our sins are forgiven.

In closing, the birth of Jesus is important. "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but will have everlasting life," John 3:16. That is a pretty good reason to celebrate!  Jesus birth did not happened on December 25th, but we remember it on that day. It is a day to remember Jesus, and to share our faith with the family and friends we are around during the holidays.

God Bless you, have a very Merry Christ-Mas!!!!

Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics Chapter 1 - What is Apologetics?

For this series we will be looking at Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics by Doug Powell. Each week we will examine a chapter of the book and look at what I have learned. My hope is that you will receive a little education and at the same time want to learn more. That thirst for knowledge will lead you to purchasing not only this book, but many more and through studying them and the Bible you will become an Apologist. That is my hope!

You may be wondering what is an Apologist. An apologist is one who delivers a defense. A Christian Apologist is one who delivers a defense of Christianity through Apologetics. What is Apologetics? That is the question of Chapter 1, which tackles that very question. 

Imagine you are in an emergency room seriously ill. The doctor says that unless you get the right antidote, it is always fatal. He than says that all who receive the antidote have a perfect recovery. Perhaps you do not like to take pills or get shots. Your preference is not relevant. The doctor is telling you that the sickness you have only has one remedy and only one way to administer said remedy. Your only choice is whether you live or die, based on your answer to the doctor.

Being misdiagnosed here is deadly. Getting the wrong medication is fatal. Not liking the treatment is not going to change anything. I had a colonoscopy because they I was having some internal issues. It was painful, inconvenient and quite offensive. That said, it was what I needed. Just because it was uncomfortable and drinking the stuff the day before was a huge inconvenience made it no less necessary. 

Christianity is an antidote if it is properly understood. It is not a life style choice or a religious view, but an antidote. It may be inconvenient, socially unacceptable, offensive and even painful at times. But above all if these, it is necessary. Whether you choose to believe it or not, the truth is the truth. You do not have to believe it to make it true. That is why we need to gain an understanding of the situation to understand the antidote's necessity. Doug says, "Jesus is not a cherry flavored cough syrup that works just as well as the lemon flavored Buddha. Belief in Jesus is an extremely invasive heart procedure that brings people to life. And it is the only procedure that will work."

As humans, we have trouble sometimes going to the emergency room. We may have misconceptions, barriers, biases, preconceived notions and objections. "It is the goal of Christian apologetics to remove the hindrances that stand between a person and the cross of Christ." Apologetics is seen by some as pre-evangelism preparing the soil for the gospel and others see it as deeply entwined with the gospel. Regardless of how it is seen, apologetics is a great way to equip the Christian with the tools to answer the tough questions about Christianity. Listed below are a few assumptions you can argue with apologetics:

1. Jesus never lived.
2. Miracles don't exist.
3. There is no proof Jesus was resurrected.
4. Why were books left out of the Bible?
5. Christianity is not reasonable.
6. All religions basically teach the same things.
7. If God is love how can He allow evil?

These are several of the myriad of assumptions and arguments that apologetics will equip you to answer. There are two things that need to be clear about apologetics. First, the goal is not to win at all costs. It is possible to win yet lose by behaving badly. We are to speak truth yet speak it with love. Second, the Holy Spirit saves people, not us. We are to bear witness. The Spirit can then use our witness to open the mind and heart of those who listen. 

To begin our apologetics training, we start by making no assumptions. We can't even talk about Christianity yet. We must first be able to PROVE the existence of God. If we can prove God exists, then we can begin to see which religion has the most accurate description of Him. That is where we will pick up next.