The Birth of Christ: A New Beginning
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The Promise of Newness
The Promise of Newness
Jeremiah 31:31
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
The Old Covenant
The Old Covenant
We see here that God had promised a new covenant, which would replace the old.
The old covenant was based on God’s laws. It demonstrated God’s righteousness by the standard that it set forth.
At the same time, it demonstrated man’s sinfulness by our inability to keep those standards.
Simply put, it was and is impossible for man to completely keep God’s law.
This system of laws proved that if there were to be any salvation, It would have to come by God, because mankind was completely incapable of living up to God’s standards.
Henceforth, the law became a tutor, one which would point us to, and highlight our need for a savior.
Galatians 3:24
Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
The Birth of the New Covenant
The Birth of the New Covenant
This is where the new covenant comes into play. This new covenant was ushered in by the birth of Jesus Christ.
Luke 2:1-7
And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
According to Scripture, Jesus is that new covenant.
Matthew 26:28
For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
This new covenant is not simply a proclamation, it is the God man, Jesus, and being perfectly sinless He fulfilled the law which is the old covenant.
The Gift of Newness
The Gift of Newness
Once the terms of old covenant were fulfilled, The new covenant could take over, providing the opportunity for a new beginning.
This new beginning is a promise to all who accept this gift in faith.
So, unlike the old covenant written on tablets of stone, the new covenant is completely transformational.
Where the law only cleans then outside, leaving our hearts untouched, the new covenant produces conversion and change from within.
The new covenant is not external, but internal. It is written on the heart and mind. God is intimately involved in this relationship.
Finally, this new covenant brings about true and complete forgiveness.
No longer do we have to live in bondage to the law.
No longer do we have to be enslaved to sin.
No longer do we have to live with guilt.
No longer do we have to live in fear.
No longer do we have to live with doubt.
Christ has brought with Him the gift of newness.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
Galatians 6:15
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation.
The implications of this are huge. Jesus may have been born in a manger in a tiny town, though He may have looked like just any other poor child, looks can be deceiving. Especially to those who don’t know what to look for.
Jesus was more than a baby, He was God wrapped in the body of a baby. A baby who was born to die.
He would eventually face death, but not just any death. His was a sacrificial death.
It was a death of unequaled pain and suffering on our behalf, to provide permanent and eternal forgiveness. the just for the unjust.
Just like God, He took something small and used it to perform the greatest miracle in all of history, the miracle of salvation.
This is the true wonder of the nativity!
This is why we celebrate the birth of our Savior.
He was born under the law, in Bethlehem, and He completed the old covenant to perfection.
He is the “new” of the new covenant. For in him is the life that makes all … things … new.
When He returns, He will make all of creation new!
2 Peter 3:10-13
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Accepting Newness
Accepting Newness
In the here and now, Christ can make you a new person. He offers eternal salvation for all who call upon His name.
Romans 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:13
For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
If you have not yet accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior, if you cannot say with certainty that heaven is your eternal home, then understand that you need Jesus. Without Him you are hopeless.
There is none righteous.
All have sinned.
The wages of that sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.
If you are a born again believer, maybe you need to rededicate your life to Christ.
He offers us newness, and what better time to accept that gift, than with the start of the new year.
As we celebrate the birth of Christ, we can likewise look forward to His next appearance. Let’s do it in the newness of Christ!
PRAYER
Dear Lord, thank you that I am an heir of the new covenant—inaugurated by the death of our Savior. This Christmas, help me to remember to reflect on Jesus’s birth that led to his death, burial, and his glorious resurrection. Thank you for new beginnings. You, God, entered my realm through Jesus Christ, in order to move me from old to new. Thank you! In Jesus’s name, Amen.