Scripture References: Luke 2:1-20

He Came To Free Us – Continued

The two ultimate tragedies of life are sin and death, and these are the two great forces that so tragically enslave us. Christ has come to set us free from both. Paul could, with confidence, say: “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2). The Christmas angel said a Savior had been born who was Christ the Lord. He is the only one who can deal with our sins. He has gotten beneath the terrible load of our shame and has, on His cross, borne our guilt far removed from us. He can speak a free forgiveness to us.

He is the only man who can deal with our death. He has broken the power of death on Easter morning. He has left His tomb empty against a daybreak. He won the battle we would always lose, and He won, not only for Himself, but for all of us as well.

There’s a story of Murdo McDonald, one of the leading preachers of Scotland today. He was taken a prisoner of war by the Germans, and because the American prisoners of war didn’t have a chaplain, he stayed with them in their camp which was close by the English camp. Those in the English camp kept in touch with the outside world through an underground radio. A Scotsman, who spoke Gaelic, met daily with McDonald and across a barbed wire fence, told him about the news received from the BBC. McDonald relayed the news to the men in the American camp. Early one morning somebody awoke McDonald, shouting in his ear: “The Scotsman wants to see you, it’s terribly important!” McDonald put on his clothes as quickly as possible and ran to the barbed wire fence where the Scotsman spoke two words in Gaelic . . . “They’ve come!” It was D day. The word spread rapidly. The reaction was incredible. Men shouted for joy, hugged one another, leaped into the air, and rolled on the ground with abandon. Freedom and deliverance were on the way.

The message of Christmas is not that they’ve come, but that He’s come. And He has come to set us free.

In the first chapter of Revelation there is the most beautiful of all doxologies: “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:5-6).

This doxology tells us much about the worship of the early church. You can still feel its joyous and lilting quality. They worshiped as those who had been enslaved but were then free. “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”

He Came To Save Us

Not only has Christ come to free us, He has also come to win us. He has come to win us back to God, the Father, to Himself, and to each other.

Back to God, the Father

God has made us, loves us, and cannot give us up. We belong to Him. Yet, we have rebelled against God and sought a counterfeit freedom. In rebelling against God, we have cut ourselves off from the spring of life.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, ESV © 2016 by Crossway Bibles.
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