Good News DECEMBER 2023 A4

CONTENTS
A Christmas Gift
THE GOOD NEWS
D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 3
Why is it we give gifts at Christmas
time? The root of Christmas is
about a gift given to the world 2,000
years ago, but this gift has largely
been forgotten. Why do we celebrate
the birth of a baby from Israel? Who
was this baby and what significance
does His birth have for us today?
There is a notable
Christmas passage
from the bible which
says: “She will give
birth to a Son, and you
are to give Him the name Jesus, because
He will save His people from
their sins” (Matthew 1:21).
This verse speaks about Mary
giving birth to Jesus and the reason
why He was born. The difficult part to
understand is the phrase, “He will
save His people from their sins”. What
is sin, and why do we need to be
saved from it?
The definition of sin is
“lawlessness”, or in other words, disobeying
God’s commands. God is moral,
which means He hates evil and
loves what is good. He handed down
ten commandments to show what is
right and what is
wrong. For a long time,
our civil laws were
largely based on them.
They’re even written
on our hearts, our conscience
bearing witness
to them. So what are they?
1 — You shall have no other
gods before Me. (Have you always
loved God above all else?)
2 — You shall not make yourself
an idol. (Have you made a god in your
mind that you’re more comfortable
with, a god to suit yourself?)

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3 — You shall not take
God’s name in vain. (Have you
ever used God’s holy name as a
swear word?)
4 — Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy.
5 — Honour your father
and mother.
6 — You shall not murder.
(God considers hatred to be as
murder).
7 — You shall not commit
adultery. (“Whoever looks upon a
woman to lust after her has committed
adultery with her already
in his heart”; this includes sex
outside of marriage).
8 — You shall not steal.
(Have you ever stolen anything,
no matter the value?)
9 — You shall not lie. (Have
you lied even once?)
10 — You shall not covet.
(Have you ever jealously desired
what belongs to others?)
These sum up God’s moral
law. If we’ve broken any of them,
we’ve made ourselves enemies
of God. Breaking God’s law
comes with serious consequences.
Because God is holy and righteous,
His punishment is hell. In
fact, He won’t only judge our actions,
but our words and
thoughts too.
The bible teaches that “the
wages of sin is death” (Romans
6:23). In other words, the reason
there is death in the world, and
we will all one day die, is because
of sin. The payment for our sin is
death, both physical and eternal
death. That is what God requires
because of our sin.
Many people think that
they can make up for their sin by
doing good deeds. But once
we’ve committed the crime, it’s
too late. No good judge would
release a serial criminal just because
they try to do nice things
once in a while. After all, the payment
God requires for our sin is
death, not good deeds.
Some believe that if they
simply stop sinning or repent,
that God will overlook their past
sins. But again, no good judge
would let a criminal go free...

...just because they were sorry and
promised not to do it again. Of course
they should be sorry and of course they
shouldn’t do it again, but justice must
still be served.
So how can you escape God’s
judgement? “For God so loved the world
that He gave His one and only Son, that
whoever believes in Him shall not perish
but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
This is why the story of Christmas
is so powerful, because despite our
helpless and lost state before God, He
sent His Son Jesus Christ into the world.
He was born of a virgin, and lived a
perfect and sinless life. He then gave up
His life as a payment for sin when He
died on the Cross. He was buried, and
three days later He rose from the grave.
His resurrection was witnessed by hundreds
of people.
“But God demonstrates His own
love for us in this: while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Remember how the bible teaches
that “the wages of sin is death”, well Jesus
had never sinned, and yet He died.
Why then did He die? Because He was
dying for the sin of the world.
Man, He was able to taste death for everyone.
The death and resurrection of Jesus
means God can forgive you and
grant you everlasting life. Wow, now
that is good news! How could Christmas
get any better than having forgiveness of
sin and peace with God?
To access this forgiveness, God
commands you to repent (turn from sin)
and put your faith (trust) in Jesus Christ
alone. Don’t trust in yourself or your
own efforts, instead trust only in what
Jesus did for you when He died on the
cross to pay the penalty for your sin.
“For the wages of sin is death, but
the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
“Salvation is found in no one else,
for there is no other name under heaven
given to mankind by which we must be
saved” (Acts 4:12).
Read the Bible to learn more
about God.
“For to us a child is born, to us a
son is given, and the government will be
on is shoulders. And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting
Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah
9:6-7).
Because Jesus was both God and

Acknowledge — “For all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of
God” (Romans 3:23). We have all broken
God’s laws (Exodus 20:1-17). This
makes us sinners, so we are accountable
to God, the Lawgiver. Romans
6:23 says that “the wages of sin is death
but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord”. Acknowledge
that you are a sinner who has broken
God’s commandments and that you
therefore need Jesus in your life.
Repent — “Unless you repent,
you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3),
“Repent...and turn to God, so that your
sins may be wiped out” (Acts 3:19).
Repenting means to change your mind;
a sincere turning away, in heart, mind
and action. God wants you to repent of
sinful values and living. God wants you
to follow Him and to make Jesus the
Lord of your life.
Confess — “If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”
(1 John 1:9). “If you declare
with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord’, and
believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you will be
saved” (Romans 10:9). God will forgive
any sin, because Jesus died for all your
sins, to set you free from the bondage
of all types of sin in your life.
Believe — “For God so loved the
world that He gave His one and only
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall
not perish but have eternal life” (John
3:16). Believe that only Jesus can restore
your relationship with God; Jesus
is the only way you can escape eternal
separation from God; Jesus died on the
cross for you and was resurrected from
the grave. “He came to that which was
His own, but His own did not receive
Him. Yet to all who did receive Him, to
those who believed inHis name, He
gave the right to become children of
God” (John 1:11-12). By faith, receive
Jesus as your Lord and Saviour, become
a child of God, be born again, restore
your broken relationship with God.
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