WHY EVERY CHRISTMAS SHOULD BE MERRY
If someone were to ask you, “Is God pleased with you?,” how would you respond?
The joyful, astounding truth of the Christmas message is this:
God is pleased with you!
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased,” (Lk. 2:14)!
Note carefully. God the Father is pleased with you not because of you. He is pleased with you because you are united to His Son! And this is what He says about His Son, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” (Matt. 3:17).
Through the gospel and faith, the Holy Spirit brings a sinner into union with Christ. Once a man is united to Christ, whatever God the Father says about His Son, He also says about His adopted son! God the Father has blessed us in the Beloved (i.e., His Son; Eph. 1:6).
Regrettably, many believers think that God is displeased with them. They think they are unworthy to be in such a privileged status (i.e., of God the Father being pleased with them and of being united to Christ).
“Is God pleased with you?”
Many, through unbelief think consciously or unconsciously thoughts like, “Such an announcement is just too good to be true. I mean, how could God be pleased with me? Look at me! I am a wreck!”
However, consider carefully the following counsel by Walter Marshall,
“Now, you might think that you are unworthy to have such a great gift as union with Christ. Remember, however, Christ shed his precious blood to redeem you. That precious blood will enable you to miraculously advance in holiness through your union with Christ. Union with Christ is not a privilege you earn by your sincere obedience, or by your own attempts at holiness. Your union with Christ is not a reward of your own good works. Rather, union with Christ is a privilege that God gives to every Christian when they first become a Christian! Right when you enter into the kingdom of God, you also enter into union with Christ! This union with Christ is the foundation for all of your obedience to God. All of your good works as a Christian flow out of your union with Christ. All of your sincere obedience to the law is the fruit of your union with Christ,” (Gospel Mystery, p. 41).
This is indeed Good News!
The Good News of Christmas is that your privileged, favored, status with God (i.e., justification, adoption, union with Christ, etc…) is not dependent on your sanctification. Your status as a fully, beloved son with whom God is well pleased is not dependent upon your performance. Rather, it is solely dependent upon God’s promise to you through His Son!
The angels’ announcement to the shepherds speaks of the source of peace and blessing that is ours, namely that God has been pleased to bestow His undeserved favor upon men with whom He was formerly in deadly opposition. Peace, favor, justification, adoption, union with Christ, and all spiritual blessings that are ours flow from the divine favor of God.
God loves us more than we love ourselves. What an overwhelming joy it is to know that God’s favor rests upon me, an unworthy sinner!
Do you believe God is pleased with you?
The good news of great joy announced by the angel to the shepherds is that because a Savior, Christ the Lord has been born, a holy and righteous God is now pleased with you.
Glory to God in the highest! Rejoice!
