Dear Prayer Warriors, I don't know if you have been doing an Advent Project for yourself or family but if not let me suggest you begin this Sunday. I will be posting questions concerning Christmas each day. You can use these for your personal edification but even better begin or end the evening meal by asking the questions and then looking up the answers. In addition beginning Sunday there will be an "idea of the day" in terms of keeping Christ in CHRIST-mass. (The "Christmas Test" can be found in it's entirety along with other helpful Christmas resources at http://gciweb.org/2011/07/holidays-resources/
“Now The Birth Of Jesus Christ Was As Follows...” Matthew 1:18 Or The Gospel Of Jesus According To Hallmark
How much of what you believe about the scripture is based on truth and how much is based on Hallmark greeting cards? You might be surprised to find out the answers. Take a trivia test on the birth of the Savior. Match wits with your friends, family and coworkers. Better have a Bible with you to prove you’re right. Some beliefs about Christ’s birth are so strong, yet so wrong that you will become an instant expert when you point them out. Good luck, have fun and remember, before Christmas pageants, before mini-series, before Hollywood, before Hallmark Cards... there was the Bible.
A Word From The Author: Before you begin the exciting journey of learning once and for all what God the Holy Spirit has revealed to man concerning the event surrounding the birth of Christ please allow me as the author to suggest some creative uses for this tool.
Family Devotionals: You will find your children (of all ages) intrigued by what the Bible actually says concerning the birth of Christ. They will be fascinated to discover that they believe many erroneous facts. They will be excited to learn new and eternal truths. By taking two or three questions each evening at the evening meal you will find a lively discussion often ensues. I would strongly suggest that the father read the questions and master the answers as your children will more and more desire the deep spiritual truths of the Incarnation of Christ rather than the stories and fables which are so often fed to them. This is an excellent tool to begin your family in daily evening devotionals. Having finished the Christmas Test you will want to continue reading the Bible each evening at the dinner table and discussing the content of what is read with your children.
Personal Edification: Last but not least the test with the answers and Scripture are presented for your personal edification. Many immerse themselves in the questions and Scripture simply for their personal spiritual benefit that they may speak confidently and truthfully concerning the Incarnation of Christ – both the Historical Revelation and the Doctrinal Truths.
“Now The Birth Of Jesus Christ Was As Follows...” Matthew 1:18 Or The Gospel Of Jesus According To Hallmark
How much of what you believe about the scripture is based on truth and how much is based on Hallmark greeting cards? You might be surprised to find out the answers. Take a trivia test on the birth of the Savior. Match wits with your friends, family and coworkers. Better have a Bible with you to prove you’re right. Some beliefs about Christ’s birth are so strong, yet so wrong that you will become an instant expert when you point them out. Good luck, have fun and remember, before Christmas pageants, before mini-series, before Hollywood, before Hallmark Cards... there was the Bible.
(T = True; F = False)
According to the Bible...
1) _____ In the style of all great heroic epics of the Greco/Roman period the Christmas story begins with the birth of a god-man, a superhero, conceived of the gods and imbued with both human traits and divine power.
2) _____ Of the four Gospels only one, the book of Luke, gives an account of the actual birth of Christ.
3) _____ Jesus was born on December 25th.
Answers... 1. F – Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5 - 11; Romans 5:17 & 18 (In the style of all great heroic epics of the Greco/Roman period the Christmas story begins with the birth of a god-man, a superhero, conceived of the gods and imbued with both human traits but divine power.) The immaculate conception of Mary and the Incarnation is not the story of a man conceived of the gods who becomes a heroic figure worthy of the great mythologies of the day. Jesus Incarnation differs from these decadent tales of mythology in a number of ways. First: Unlike the Greek and Roman mythological figures such as Hercules and others conceived of the gods, God the Son did not come into existence at His Incarnation. God the Son pre – existed His birth. Jesus Christ did not become the Son of God at His birth, rather God the Son came to earth at His birth. He was eternally God the Son before His birth, He was God the Son during the time of His Incarnation and earthly ministry and after His earthly ministry was finished He remains God the Son throughout eternity. (John 1:1-5, 14, 30; 8:58; Colossians 1:15 – 17; Hebrews 13:8) Second: The immaculate conception of Mary is not the story of the lust of the gods but rather the Incarnation of God the Son. No sexual liaison is hinted at. In fact just the opposite is true. Mary was a virgin at her Immaculate Conception and remained a virgin till after the birth of Christ. The birth of Christ was not that of a violated human at the hands of the gods but rather the divine birth, the Incarnation of Christ via the Immaculate Conception of a virgin the birth of Christ by the virgin Mary. Mary was virgin both in conception and in birth. (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35; John 1:14) Third: Both God the Son, God the Holy Spirit and God the Father were pure and sinless throughout the Incarnation, life, death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Unlike the debased and perverted mythological tales of the time the Incarnation of Christ is one of purity, truth and salvation. Also unlike the mythological heroes of the time Jesus Christ was not part man and part God – He was fully man but at all times fully God. He never ceased to be God nor was he ever separate from God. The unity of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit was never broken and remained three, yet one, throughout the entire earthly ministry of God the Son. (John 1:14 – 18; 5:30; 8:28; 10:30; 14:9; Colossians 2:9) Fourth: Christ came not to model the hero-warrior but to live the sinless life so as to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sin. He did not come to offer a pattern, that if followed, one might also spiritually evolve from man to god. Christ came to offer Himself a sacrifice for man’s helpless race thus providing salvation apart from works. (Mark 10:45; Ephesians 2:8 & 9; Philippians 2:5 – 11; Hebrews 9:23 – 26) Lastly: All mankind lies under the curse of the imputed sin of Adam. Man is sinful not because he sins, but rather man sins because he is sinful. Man is born with Adam’s sin and Adam’s curse imputed into him. Man is born helpless and depraved, unable to offer works or remedy for his sinful condition. Christ, born of a virgin, was born with His perfect nature and not the imputed sin of Adam. It was absolutely necessary for Christ to be born of a virgin and this birth lies at the heart of the great doctrine of Imputation. (Ephesians 2:1 & 2; Romans 5:15 – 19)
2. T – (Of the four Gospels only one, the book of Luke, gives an account of the actual birth of Christ.) Only the book of Luke gives an account of the birth of Christ (Luke 2:6 & 7) “And it came about that while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”. The book of Matthew covers the period before (Matthew 1:18 – 25) and after (Matthew 2:1 & 11) but does not actually give an account of the birth of Christ. The book of Mark (Mark 1:1 – 4) begins with the adult ministry of John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus. The book of John begins with the doctrine of the Incarnation (John 1:1 – 14) but does not cover the actual historical events of Christ’s birth. Like Mark, the Historical Revelation of Christ begins in the Gospel of John with the ministry of John the Baptist, his testimony concerning Jesus; Jesus testimony concerning Himself and the beginnings of His discipleship ministry (John 1:15 – 51). Isaiah 7:17 gives us the prophecy “"Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.” But this passage is prophetic in nature an not an actual account of the historical events of birth of Christ. Only Luke covers the actual birth of Christ and the events of that night (Luke 2:1 – 20).
3. F – (Jesus was born on December 25th.) The Bible does not fix a certain day, month and year for Jesus’ birth. There are historical events which the divine revelation refers to that can fix the approximate time in history (for example: the death of Herod and the governorship of Quirunius) but, as Unger’s Bible Dictionary points out, “the modern chronologist is confronted with no inconsiderable difficulty at the very outset to fix the exact date of the nativity of Jesus Christ.… This is due to the fact that he is compelled to base his computation on dateless documents written in a remote antiquity. For neither sacred nor profane authors in those time were at all accustomed to record historical facts under distinct dates. All demands were satisfied when known occurrences were referred to definite periods, as within a certain generation, or under a specific dynasty, or within the reign of a given ruler already familiar to the contemporaries addressed; for our modern method of historical notation according to the calendar was something altogether unknown to the ancients.” (Unger’s Bible Dictionary, page 197; Moody Press.) We can therefore accurately fix the era and even an approximation of the year but not the day. Christmas, then, is celebrated as the remembrance of the birth of Christ and not as the exact date. It is the celebration of an historical event, not of an historical day. In Luke 1:1 – 5 and Matthew 2:1, we learn it was set in the general period of the lifetime of Theophilus, during reign of Herod; in Luke 2:1 – 6, we learn it was during the census of Caesar Augustus, under the governorship of Quirunius. Beyond this Deuteronomy 29:29 tells us that the “secret things belong to the Lord, the things revealed to man…” and God has kept this date secret and we should leave it at that. (Authors note: This should also lay to rest once and for all the pseudo scientific extrapolations of the positions of the stars, planets and constellations on the day of Christ’s birth in an effort to give some sort of scientific or astronomical credence to the appearance of the star. This also applies to astrological mystics who seek to do the same. Since these dates - the appearance of the star, the birth of Christ and the arrival of the Magi, are withheld from us by God, all such speculation is meaningless as the data necessary to make them is purposefully hidden from us by God.)
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