Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. - Luke 2:10-11
We all make choices in this life. While we wear the fragile mantle of humanity, we get to choose much of what life has to offer us. Of course there are always those situations and conditions that are thrust upon us regardless of our needs and desires. But belief in Christ Jesus remains not only within our reach but also our grasp. If we will only make that choice. “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:15.
There has always been the argument that we either have free will or we do not. Luther insisted that the human will was in bondage and not free at all, while Erasmus contended that the human will had “wiggle room” in opposition to God sovereignly predetermining what our choices would be. And while Scripture fully supports Luther’s contention that the will is indeed bound to our flesh, we must then turn to God’s “Unconditional Election” of the saints. The doctrine states clearly that God in His infinite sovereignty chose some of us for salvation before the foundation of time. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.” - Ephesians 1:3-6. If this is true, how then can we still boast of a free will? If God has already chosen some of us for salvation why do we still need to choose? Scripture answers us without ambiguity. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” - Hebrews 11:6.
With the intercession of the Holy Spirit, we are regenerated and are blessed with faith in God. “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.” - Matthew 7:7-8.
When should we ask the Holy Spirit for a life in Jesus Christ? “For He says: ‘In an acceptable time I have heard you, and in the day of salvation I have helped you.’ Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2.
As we celebrate Christmas this year and every year let us be grateful for the good tidings of great joy that come with the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! If you have not yet come to faith in Christ, “now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation.” Do not tarry a moment longer, for we “know not the hour of our Master’s return.”
Merry Christmas to all.
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