Good God It’s Christmas 1 | Good God, Bad Man

Thank you. We are approaching the Christmas season here at Cross Connection, and we're taking some time to look at the goodness of God as revealed through Christmas. We will be studying John chapter 3, specifically verse 16, which is one of the most famous passages in the Bible. As we examine how God expresses His goodness in the giving of His Son, we remember this truth when we celebrate the Christmas season.

So, open your Bibles to the Gospel of John and follow along with us. Amen. Do you guys like Christmas songs? He was rocking out and even broke a string! Look at you, man.

Now, would you open your Bibles to John chapter 3? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Please stand with me as we read John chapter 3.

John chapter 3 is a well-known passage, and we will begin with verse 16. You've seen it in the end zone: John 3:16. There, Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who believes not is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."

And this is the condemnation: that light has come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

God, we praise You this morning for Your goodness towards us. We ask, Lord, that You would make us more aware of Your goodness as we look into Your Word today. We pray that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds so that we would be able to display Your good and perfect will in this world. Lord, we thank You for this season that we're in, and we pray that You would stir our hearts.

As we consider how good You are, stir our hearts to declare that goodness to others, Lord. Help us to carry it to a world that is in desperate need of Your goodness, Your joy, and Your peace—all that comes with and in You, Jesus. So make us more like You, we pray, in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed and said, "Amen." You can be seated.

It's not uncommon here at Cross Connection for me to stand up here at the beginning of the service and say the words, "God is good." If you know that one, some of you, if you've been around for a while, then you know that that's the typical response. It was more common among Christians a couple of decades ago that sometimes someone would say, "God is good," and then the other would respond, "All the time." Then they'd say back, "All the time," and "God is good." If you've been around the church, you've heard those sorts of things; perhaps you've said them before.

In some ways, as things become common and we do things often, they become a tradition. Sometimes, when things become a tradition, you just do or say things without really thinking much about it. That's one of the dangers that can happen with repetitively doing things over and over again. There is a way in which sayings like that can become somewhat cliché, even to the point that I've had some people over the years say, "Why do you say that all the time? Don't you have something new we could say?"

Well, yes, maybe we have something new we could say, but I also think it's important from time to time to be reminded about simple truths. There are some simple things that we need to be reminded of often. This is why Jesus told His disciples to partake of the bread and the cup as often as you do it, to do it often so that we would be put in remembrance of something that can become easy for us to forget or overlook: the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord.

We can get so into other things in the faith that we forget. Sometimes we can spend time talking about a passage of Scripture, especially from the Old Testament, and fail to bring Jesus into it at all. We have to be careful that we do not fall into that, but that's sometimes one of the things that happens with tradition or with doing something repetitively.

I am reminded about this truth and other simple truths like it. I think this is why Peter said that it is good to remind you of these things, though you may already be established in the present truth. You may have known these things for a long time; perhaps you grew up in the church or have been a part of the church for a long time. You know that God is good, but from time to time, we need to remind ourselves that God is good all the time.

We live in a culture here in 21st century America that has, in many ways, disregarded the goodness of God. Not just that, but there are those who have disregarded the very existence of God. The late Christopher Hitchens, a social commentator, journalist, and author, wrote a best-selling book in 2007 called "God Is Not Great," in which he held an atheistic position. Many people have adopted that same position and have read that book. "God Is Not Great" speaks against religion and against God. Christopher Hitchens was an atheist who died of cancer a couple of years ago; I suggest he is no longer an atheist.

Many Westerners, not just in the United States but in Europe as well, have adopted this mindset. It is actually still a minority that classifies themselves as atheists or agnostic in our nation, but they are a vocal minority. They are fairly loud, and as a result, there is a perception among people that there are far more who have disregarded this truth than really exist. There are those who no longer believe in the goodness of God and no longer really believe that there is a God.

The interesting thing is that, in place of a knowledge or awareness of the goodness of God, man has replaced that with the idea that man is inherently good. 21st century Westerners, here in the United States and throughout Western Europe, both inside and outside the church, have pretty much set aside what is referred to within the church as the doctrine of original sin. Many people have disregarded this doctrine, which can lead to surprise when confronted with evil. This is not new; in fact, if you go back and look at some of the writings from the 1950s, you will find a number of social commentators addressing similar issues.

During the post-Second World War era, many recognized that the disregard for the doctrine of original sin, combined with the belief that man possesses advanced reason and is inherently good, would not lead to a utopian society. In the 1950s, several individuals were shocked by the revelations from Nazi Germany. They could not fathom that an advanced group of people, such as those in Germany at that time, could commit such atrocities.

An author and professor at Columbia University wrote a book years ago titled "The Death of Satan." In this book, he discusses Franklin D. Roosevelt, our former president who led the nation during much of the Second World War. For a long time, FDR refused to believe that the death camps truly existed because he could not imagine that people could do such things. He later acknowledged, in a conversation with a young theologian, that his disregard for the doctrine of original sin had led him to think that such actions were impossible.

Today, we live in a culture that has moved even further along this path, believing that man is inherently good. If you have had small children, you know that this is not true. If you haven't, I encourage you to work in children's ministry; you will quickly learn the reality. While some may argue that these are highly reformed children, the truth remains that we are not born inherently good.

People can be shocked by evil because they seem to think that we are good at the deepest level. The doctrine of original sin makes us aware that this is simply not the case; we are sinners, and we ought not to be surprised by evil. We are constantly confronted with wickedness. All we have to do is turn on the evening news to see lists of atrocities and the wickedness present in our own communities, our nation, and throughout the world. There is a constant display of wickedness before us.

It is clearly evident every single day. We were treated this last week to a not-so-rare display of man's wickedness in our own nation, as rioters did many of the things that they did in Ferguson, Missouri. You can argue the justice or the injustice of how things went legally in Ferguson, but the aftermath is very evident. The aftermath was a display of man's innate wickedness. We don't even need to get into the whole issue of justice or injustice; just look at what overflows from it. There is clearly a problem.

One of the other issues that sometimes happens within the Christian community, within the church, is that we can look outside from the church at the things that are happening in the world. We can begin to point the finger of judgment at those who are outside and say, "Look how wicked they are! Look how vile they are! Look how bad they are!" We need to be very careful in doing that.

The Apostle Paul addresses this in the Book of Romans. Early in Romans, in chapter two, he makes a case in chapter one about the wickedness of man—the open display of man's actions that are evil, only evil continually. Then he says this in Romans chapter two, verse one: "Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judges; for in whatever you judge another, you condemn yourselves. For you who judge practice the same things."

Paul says to exercise caution. He just listed out all these sinful behaviors and actions in the previous chapter, and he warns us to watch out if we begin to look at that and point the finger of judgment because we practice the same things.

In verse two, he continues, "But we know that the judgment of God is according to truth against those who practice such things." Only God can rightly judge wickedness in the world, even though we are tempted to do so. Do you think this, O man, you who judge those practicing such things and doing the same, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads to repentance?

Now we can be tempted within the church.

To point the finger of judgment at people outside who are openly practicing sin, like that which is listed in Romans chapter 1, we can begin to say that it is wrong and cast judgment upon it. Paul says here to be careful when you judge. Why? Well, point number one on your outlines: God is good, and man is not. Paul addresses that in verse two when he says that God's judgment is according to truth. He is the only one who is able to judge rightly. God is good, and man is not.

Now, if you're a Christian today, you probably don't have a problem with that statement—saying that man is not good, that man is evil. If you're not a Christian, especially if you were raised in Western culture, then I completely understand that you might take issue with that statement. However, let me point out that the non-believer, because of their rejection of the doctrine of original sin and the idea that man is inherently evil, has no basis from which to answer the question of evil or wickedness in the world, unlike the Christian.

The Christian has a basis from which they can address the issue of wickedness and evil in the world. It begins here in the same passage that we are already in, in Romans. If you look just a chapter over, in Romans chapter 3, verse 9, Paul says, "What then? Are we better than they? Not at all, for we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin." Would you underline those words? They are all under sin. All humanity, whether religious or non-religious—that is basically what he means when he says Jews or Greeks—are under sin.

He goes on to say, "There is none righteous, no, not one" (verse 10). There is none who understands; there is none who seeks after God. They have all turned aside; they have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good, no, not one. The passage culminates with this in verse 23: "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

We saw in verse 9 that all are under sin. We understand that there is none righteous. In verse 23, we see that all have sinned. I don't think you could get any more all-encompassing than that; we're all in the same boat here, sold under sin. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Now, you may remember that verse, Romans 3:23. It may have been something you looked back on in your early development of coming to Christ, because many people use this passage, Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23, moving on through Romans, often called the Romans Road to Salvation. We start with this recognition that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

We go to chapter 6, verse 23, which states that the wages of sin is death. The wages of sin is death. All have sinned, and this sin is not just something that we do; it is something that is deep within us.

Turn over to chapter 5, Romans chapter 5. Paul gives us the origin, the source, in verse 12: "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because all sinned." Through one man, sin entered the world, and it spread to all humanity.

The Christian has an answer; they have a basis from which they can answer the question of wickedness and evil that is very clearly evident in the world. It all goes back to the very beginning. It all goes back to the Book of Genesis. You can turn there as well; it's an easy one to find—the very first book of the Bible.

Genesis, in chapter 1, says that in the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth. At the end of the passage that describes the creation in Genesis 1, we read this: the very last verse of Genesis 1, verse 31. "And God saw everything that He made, and indeed it was very good."

So, Genesis 1:1 begins with God creating the heavens and the Earth, and Genesis 1:31 wraps up the first account. There are two accounts of creation: one in chapter 1 and another in chapter 2. But the conclusion of the first account of creation is found in Genesis 1.

God saw everything that He had made, and indeed, it was very good. It was very good. Something happened, though, because it starts very good, but it's not very good today. Paul, in Romans, tells us that all of creation is under a curse. It's all under a fall; it's all groaning together for a coming day in the future when God will bring restoration.

In the beginning, He created it very good. Seven times in the first chapter of the Bible, God says, "It is good." As He beholds His creation and looks at all that He had created, it is very, very good. It was pleasant, it was right, it was excellent. Then God made man, and even after He made man, it was still very good. The first negative is given to us in chapter two, but it's not given in the sense that something is evil or wrong; it's just that it was incomplete.

In His goodness, God completes it by bringing man a gift—the gift of a woman. All the ladies say Amen, right? That's a gift! The Bible says so. Proverbs tells us, "He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord." So here, God brings to man woman as a gift. Not only did He give to man woman as a gift, but God created, as we read in the early chapters of the Bible, a garden. He called that garden Eden and placed man in this garden.

In Genesis chapter 2, verse 16, it says, "And the Lord God commanded, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat.'" God says, "Here's a great gift that I'm giving to you: this garden. It's for you, and of every tree of this garden, you may freely eat." But He also gives a command in the very next verse, Genesis 2, verse 17: "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."

Now, to this point in the story in the Book of Genesis, man has known only good. The creation was good, God was good in giving this garden to humanity, and He was good in giving woman to man. All he has known to this point is good. Then God introduces, in the middle of this, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and with this tree comes the...

The opportunity for the knowledge of evil is presented in Genesis. God had already created a good world with a good creation, a good God, and a good gift. However, with the tree of the knowledge of good and evil comes the opportunity for the knowledge of evil. As the story progresses into Chapter 3 of Genesis, we see the temptation of the enemy following the gift of the woman.

In Genesis Chapter 3, verse 1, it states, "Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made." He said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'" The woman responded to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat of it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

In the opening words of Genesis Chapter 3, the serpent plants a question in the minds of Eve and her husband, who was likely with her. He subtly introduces doubt about the goodness of God. The serpent's cunning nature is highlighted as he questions, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of all the trees?'" While God had said they could eat from every tree except for the one in the midst of the garden, Eve adds, "You shall not touch it."

The serpent continues to undermine God's goodness by suggesting that they will not die. He implies that God is withholding something from them, saying, "God knows that in the day you eat of it, you will be like Him, knowing good from evil." This question against God's goodness becomes the impetus for sin.

If you boil it down, the essence of the question is this: God is holding you back. He is keeping you from what is really good. His command is holding you back, and isn't that the impetus for sin so many times in our lives? We seem to think that what is offered in this world is better than what He is saying to us, and that He is keeping us from what we are really going to enjoy and like.

As a result, we see in this passage what John describes in one of his letters in the New Testament. All that is in the world is the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. We see it there in verse six. When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and that it was desirable to make one wise, she experienced the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life. Then she took of it and ate, and she gave it to her husband also, and he ate with her.

Well, you know the outcome. If you've studied through the Book of Genesis before, you know that from this we read in verse seven that the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

In an instant, innocence was lost. Their eyes were opened, but in the opening of their eyes did not come this great knowledge that God was holding them back. Instead, it brought a knowledge that brought fear and shame. In that instance, they were shamed as they looked at each other. Something was different in their understanding and perception. Genesis chapter two, the very last verse, says that man, Adam, and his wife were together, and they were naked and not ashamed. But now, all of a sudden, the conditions are the same, yet their eyes are opened to something new, and shame enters in.

Not only did they feel shame about their nakedness, but now they also felt fear because they heard the voice of God walking in the garden. They went and hid themselves from Him. Thus, shame and fear entered in through what we call the fall of humanity. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death through sin, and death spread to all men because all sinned. The knowledge of evil is introduced, and so the Christian has the answer to the question of evil. We understand its origin and its source.

It's something that wells up from within us because of this transference of sin down through the ages, starting with the very first sin committed by Adam. Though we have the answer to the question and we know this as Christians, I think it's good that we at least be honest with ourselves enough to recognize that the longer we walk with Jesus, the further we get from our testimony.

Some of you have been Christians for many years, so you're fairly far removed from the day that you put your faith in Christ. You're far removed from the day that you turned away from the path you were headed on and chose to follow along the path with Jesus. The further you get away from that testimony and the longer you progress in your walk with the Lord, the less you begin to think that the concept of original sin and the idea that man is not inherently good, but actually evil at heart, applies to you anymore.

One of the things that happens the longer you walk with Jesus is that you start to think, "Well, I'm actually pretty good." You may begin to believe that it's those people outside who are wicked, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—those are the ones to whom all of this applies. We begin to think that we are the ones who are good.

It is true what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "If anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. All the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." So it is true that God has brought a transformation in us. Ezekiel 36 prophesies the day when God would give a new heart to humanity, which is a prophecy of the coming of the Gospel to humanity.

If you're a Christian today, you have a new heart from God. Yet, you still bear with you the old man, the old nature. That old sin nature is still there, and we see it all the time in our lives as Christians. There is none righteous, no, not one. We are still subject to vanity; we are still subject to immorality in the heart and in the mind, and sometimes it even comes out in our actions. Those words, "There is none righteous, no, not one," are still descriptive of you, even if you've been a Christian for a long time. We still need the Gospel in our lives.

Daily, and many times throughout the day, we need to remember and realize the grace of God. Somewhere along the line, though, we begin to think that we are actually pretty good and deserving of all the blessings that God has given to us. No, we are not. We are still just miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Anything that we have is of grace, not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any of us should boast. There should never come a point in our lives, as we walk with Jesus, where we begin to boast and think that this is because of how good we are. However, there is the temptation for that to take place.

I love to see the progression in the Apostle Paul's life as you study through his writings in the New Testament. If you look at them chronologically, you realize that early in his life as a Christian, he makes the statement that he is less than the least of the apostles, not worthy to be called an apostle, as stated in First Corinthians chapter 15. He says, "I am one of the least of the apostles." But then, as time goes on, in another one of his letters, he expresses the progression of his life by saying, "I am less than the least of all the saints." So, he is not the lowest of the apostles; he is at the low of all Christians.

In his last letter, his letter to Timothy, Second Timothy, he says, "I am the chief of all sinners." That is a great progression, and I think it is right. As we move along in our walk with the Lord, we begin to recognize just how great His grace is towards us. We are not worthy of all the good things that He has given to us.

Now, anytime that we open the Bible and study a passage of Scripture, we always need to look at it in context. If you have been around this church for a while, you know that we like to take not just a single statement or a single verse, but to look at all the verses that surround it so we understand what is being said.

It is interesting when you look at the verses that we opened with in John chapter 3, verses 16 through 19. When Jesus says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life," He is speaking to arguably the most religious person of the day. There is this guy, Nicodemus, who comes to Jesus by night in John chapter 3. He was a very zealous religious man, a Pharisee among the Jews, and he comes to Jesus to talk with Him. Jesus just blurts out, "You must be born again or you will not see the kingdom of heaven." Now, everybody in Nicodemus's day would have...

Considered to be a morally good guy, Nicodemus probably looked at himself as a pretty morally good person. He was very religious and zealous, keeping the traditions of his fathers and the law of Moses. He lived according to all of those things, separated from anything that might defile him in this world. He went through all the ceremonial cleansings, making sure that he didn't partake of anything that would be unclean or from a vessel that would be counted unclean. He stayed away from all dead things, rigorously going through purification rites, ritually offering sacrifices at the temple, and living in Jerusalem. He checked off all the boxes every single day.

Then Jesus says to this morally good guy, "You're not good enough." That's essentially what Jesus says, and Nicodemus seems, as you read through John chapter 3, to be completely blown away by this. He starts asking a whole bunch of questions, and Jesus responds, "Don't think it's strange when I tell you this: You must be born again." It brings it right to him, and at the essence of it is just this: You're not good enough, Nicodemus. Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3:3).

From the human perspective, Nicodemus had it all going on religiously, but he still needed the new birth at the heart level. He needed to be made right with God and could not make himself right. Like religious Nicodemus, if you're a Christian today, we need to lay hold of the truth that we are in need of His grace perpetually and continually. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and whether you've been a Christian for 30 minutes or 30 years, you still fall short of the glory of God. You are not righteous in and of yourself.

Jeremiah, the prophet, hits on this about 2,500 years ago in Jeremiah 17:9, where he says, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?" One of the things that we sometimes fail to realize is that even though we know ourselves probably better than anyone else in this world will ever know us, we still don't fully comprehend the depths of the depravity of our own hearts. Sometimes, maybe you've experienced this yourself.

I have experienced this a number of times. I am sometimes surprised by the things that come out of my heart and proceed out of my mouth. There are moments when I say something and think, "Where in the world did that come from?" I wonder how that was in there. God says, "Yes, that was in there." I respond, "No, no, no, that can't possibly be." But it was in there. God knows our heart because Jeremiah 17:10 tells us that He is the one who searches the heart of man. He knows it, but we do not fully understand the depths of the depravity of our own hearts.

In Mark 7:21, Jesus speaks to this issue. He says, "For from within, out of the heart, proceed evil thoughts." From those evil thoughts, He describes a series of actions that follow. So, from within, out of the heart, come evil thoughts, and from that arise adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All of these things come from within.

When we look at the world, at the news, and at the things people entertain themselves with on television today, we see all of these wicked and evil actions. We witness adulteries, fornication, murder, theft, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, greed, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. Where did they come from? Is it just that society has imposed this upon us? No, it came from within our hearts. That is where it originated. Our hearts caused our minds to conceive these thoughts, and then we brought them forth into the world.

So, point number two on your outline is that from the heart come evil thoughts and evil actions. In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, during the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, and every bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit." He is speaking about the actions of humanity, which do not come from things imposed upon us by society but arise from the seed of our hearts. Out of the root of the depths of who we are come evil thoughts, and all of these actions—adulteries, murders, fornications, and so on—follow.

Come from the heart, and so we live in a broken world that is filled with all of this sort of stuff because of lawlessness. The lawless thoughts and lawless actions of our lives bring forth all these things into the world. Some people don't like to talk about that little three-letter word: sin. They don't like to bring it up because it seems to bother people and offend people.

I think one of the reasons that a lot of people shy away from the term sin is because they don't always know quite how to explain it. Simply put, sin is lawlessness. It is using what God has given to you in an improper way or in a way against what He intended and planned.

I see a number of people here today using their phones or tablets as their computers. When you buy a tablet, a new cell phone, a smartphone, or a camera, you receive a little booklet that outlines its intended uses. This is how you can use it while still under warranty, following the proper use that the manufacturer intended. If you use it in a way that is against the proper use described in that manufacturer's handbook, then you void the warranty. You are using it in a way that is against the intended or planned use.

If you use it improperly, what will probably happen to that device? You're going to break it, right? You're using it against the way that the manufacturer intended you to use it, and so you have broken the proper use. You've gone against the law, if you will; you have been lawless. That's what sin is: it's simply going against God's intended use for what He has given you.

He is the manufacturer. That's what Genesis chapters one and two say; He manufactured you and me. Psalm 139 says that He knit us together in our mother's womb. He put us together, and He has an intended and planned use for us. In fact, it's given to us in Genesis chapter one because He said, "Let us make man in our image." We were created in the image and likeness of God. We are the image bearers of God. When people see us, they should see Him reflected. That's the right use.

Anytime we do something that is against His intended use, then we are not reflecting His image. We are disregarding what He created us for.

Lawlessness is sin, and that brings about brokenness in the world. We live in a broken world, and we are constantly confronted with broken people because of sin. People who do bad, immoral, and wicked things are only acting out of their brokenness. The awesome thing is that God is still good. This world is broken because of sin and what is deep within us, which has brought brokenness to us and to the world in which we live. However, God remains good, and the goodness of God, along with the absence of goodness in us, reveals one of our greatest needs.

In my opinion, the best gifts, or the gifts that are the most fun to give, are those that address a true need. We've all heard the statement before: it's really hard to find a gift for the person who has everything. In America, that is often the case; we have so much stuff that we just don't know what to buy for people. This is why we have stores like Brookstone, where you can buy a whole bunch of items that nobody actually needs. There isn't a single thing in that store that anyone truly needs. Instead, it’s a place to go when you want to buy something for someone who really doesn't need anything.

Those little trinkets, which I call "does nothings," are just there. What is this? I don't know; it does nothing. It's just there. I got you a gift to show that I spent some money on you, so you better feel good about that because I couldn't figure out what to buy for you.

The best gifts to give are those that truly address a need, and God has the perfect gift for the need that we all have. Point number three on your outline: we are in desperate need of the goodness of God. We need what God has. However, having a need for something that someone else has does not necessarily mean that you will receive what you need. You may have a need, and someone else may have the goods to meet that need, but just because they have what you need does not guarantee that you will ultimately get it.

Unless there's something else present, one of the other things that we learn about God in the Scriptures is that not only is God good, but God is love. He doesn't just give love; He doesn't just have love. According to His very nature, 1 John 4:8 tells us that God is love. Therefore, God, compelled by His love, brings us the very thing that we have need of that He has and we don't.

John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." God so loved the world, compelled by His love, that He gave to humanity His only begotten Son—the very thing that we have need of—so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Point number four: compelled by love, God has extended His goodness to a needy humanity. He did so by giving a gift, and not just any old gift, but the greatest gift for the greatest need. More than anything, I think point number five is that Christmas reveals the goodness of God.

Christmas reveals the goodness of God, but it certainly can get lost in all the clutter of the season. It can get lost in all the trappings that now surround it. In our nation, there are a lot of things that surround this holiday that happens to fall on December 25th: parties, gifts, food, travel, Christmas bonuses, time off, and all the shopping. All these different things that lead up to December 25th can cause us to lose sight of the most important thing that Christmas reveals and speaks of—the goodness of God.

Then the year seems to go by so fast. I wonder if any of you have experienced the same thing that I find myself experiencing every year. Right around the end of December or the end of November, I just go, "Good God, it's Christmas! It's already here! How did it just..."

We're in December tomorrow; there are 25 days until Christmas. It's here, and you just go, "Good God, it's Christmas!" I was thinking about that about a month ago. Good God, it's Christmas! Then it hit me: Good God, it's Christmas! He is good, and He wants us to recognize and realize that Christmas reveals and expresses His goodness. It expresses the very thing that we have need of, that all of humanity is in need of.

Even after you've received the gift of grace in Jesus Christ, you're still in need of the goodness of God. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God; there is none righteous, no, not one. Christmas reveals His goodness, and if we miss the goodness of God in Jesus Christ at Christmas, then I suggest that we've missed one of the most important aspects of this time and this season.

Christmas addresses man's greatest need by providing that which only God could give. If you're not a Christian today, it's my hope that at the very least you will understand that we all have a very deep need. It's something that we cannot fill on our own; it's something that we cannot use money to purchase. It's something that we cannot gain through self-denial or religious effort. It's something that we can only receive as a gift imparted to us because no human being has the thing that we have need of—only God has that.

Thankfully, compelled by His very nature, God is love, and He has extended this gift to us. Now the question is whether or not we'll receive it. I would suggest that you're a fool to not receive that gift that you have the greatest need for. However, there are a lot of people who make a decision to not receive that gift. God, because of His nature, has given you the opportunity to decide to choose that. I think it would be a foolish thing to choose not to receive it, but He has given you that opportunity.

At the very least, we need to recognize our need. He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him freely give us all things? If you're a Christian, I want to encourage you, while we still have time until December 25th comes, while there's still a lot of Christmas shopping that's going to happen— and that's great! It's wonderful and joyful and happy to give gifts to people. I think that this should be a merry time; it should be a happy time. But in all the merriment and all the...

The happiness of December leading up to Christmas reminds us, as Christians, that Christmas reveals the goodness of God. In this season, God compels us by His love to extend that gift to others. You are probably going to give a number of gifts to people this holiday season. On average, it is expected that the average family will spend just under a thousand dollars on Christmas gifts this year, 2014. This amount is up over last year by eight percent.

As you give trinkets, sweet things, and fun gifts, make sure that in all the gift buying, giving, and receiving, you do not fail to give the greatest gift for the greatest need of all humanity: Jesus. We all have friends, family members, neighbors, and co-workers who may not even realize yet that they have this great need. You have the gift, and God has made us ambassadors.

If you would, turn in your Bibles to the book of Second Corinthians, right before the book of Galatians and just after the book of First Corinthians. In Second Corinthians chapter five, I previously mentioned verse 17. It states, "For if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

The Apostle Paul, who wrote this passage, goes on to say in verse 18, "Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ." He has brought us near to Himself and restored the separation—the death that was there between humanity and God that came through the fall of Genesis chapter three. He has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ and has given to us the ministry of reconciliation.

That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us this word of reconciliation. Now then, because of this, we are ambassadors of Christ, as though God were pleading through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: be reconciled to God. For He, God, made Him, Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

So quickly, let me break this down. God loved the world and gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life. If you today have received the gift of grace in Jesus Christ and put your faith in Him, you have everlasting life. Now, you have been given the very same gift, not to hoard, but to give out to other people. He has given to you the ministry of being a gift giver to the world for the very thing that all the world needs.

As we have 25 days until Christmas, may we take advantage of this time. You see, the awesome thing that happens every December, which sometimes I think we fail to see, is that we are given a wide open door because people are already thinking about happy things and good things. Christmas is about the coming of Christ, the birth of Christ. Yes, there will be Christians who say, "Well, He wasn't born on December 25th." Well, you and I don't really know that, but it doesn't matter; we are celebrating His birth.

A very large segment—billions of people in the world—celebrate Christmas. Even people who have no idea about Jesus celebrate Christmas. This opens a wide door for us, who know what it's about, to extend the gift of God's grace to those who don't. People let their guard down this time of year, and it gives us an opportunity, an open door. I say seize that opportunity. Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? God, I thank You for the gift of grace that You've given to us. It is a gift that none of us deserve, but it is a gift that every one of us needs, and we need it every day.

Not just one time in the past, but every day in the future, we will need Your continual grace in our lives. We thank You that You are a good God and that, compelled by Your love, You have extended Your goodness to us through the gift of Your Son.

Lord, would You now compel us, as we prepare to leave this place, by the same love to extend that good gift to those we know who don't yet recognize their need? We ask this in Jesus' name.