Đức Chúa Trời và Con Người Đã Hòa Giải Chưa?
The tile of the message is taken from a very well-know, familiar Christmas hymn “Hark the herald angel sing”: Hark! the herald the angel sings. Glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild. God and sinners reconciled.
The lyrics explain that the baby Jesus in the manager was indeed God’s only Son, the King. His birth brings peace, grace, and truth. More importantly his birth brings peace, reconciliation between God and man, sinners.
In the program, there is a detail that is missing on the title of the message. It is the question mark. The question mark changes the meaning of the message. Instead affirming that indeed God and man (sinners) have reconciled, I want to discuss two important question: 1) Why God and sinners need to reconcile with one another? 2) Is God & man really reconciled to one another?
WHY GOD AND MAN (SINNERS) NEED TO RECONCILE?
Most Vietnamese believe in God, believe that there exist a god, a creator of all things. God is also the creator of mankind. Deep down inside each of us, in our heart and soul, we recognize that there is a god out there.
The Bible writes that God created all things. The first verse of the bible is In the beginning, God created the heaven and earth. Then He created man and woman (Genesis 1:27-28) [Starting of the bridge to life illustration]
Sins have caused a seperatation between God and man (Isaiah 59:2). This is the reason that mankind needs to be reconciled to God
Aware of the gulf caused by sins, man try many things to gap, to rebuild the broken bridge of relationship with God. However, all the things man have tried fail (e.g. good works, morality, education, philosophy, etc.). Their efforts cannot bring them back to God (Romans 3:23-24)
God saves you not because of your good works, but by his grace (his gift that you don’t deserve) through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9)
The true meaning of Christmas is in John 3:16
It is we who are in need of reconciliation to God because we have sinned against Him. Yet by God’s love and mercy, through the birth and death of Jesus Christ, God has given us a way to restore our relationship with Him. The birth of Christ tells us about God’s love, truth, and the way for us to be reconciled to God, to have a restored relationship with our Father. How?
By seeing clearly, honestly that I am indeed sinning against my Creator, my God. And repenting of my sins.
By accepting the salvation offered by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. His is the only way to God.
By opening your heart and soul to Christ and invite Christ to come into your life be your Savior and Lord.
IS GOD AND MAN REALLY RECONCILED?
Not all people accept the gift of Christmas that God through Christ has given. In many places around the country, there are billboards from the atheist groups: In the beginning, man created God; You know it’s a myth.
They reject, deny, dismiss the existence of God and His role in their lives. Belief in God is a product of superstition, against science and reason. And if God does not exist, why bother to think of Him, lest to talk about reconcilation to Him. Many still have not reconciled to God, and see no need of it!
Atheism has been around for a long time. Our Vietnamese people has experienced it through communism. Karl Marx, the father of communism, pronounced that religion is the opium of the people. Marx did not just talk about any religion. He talked about Christianity.
The irony is that in atheistic societies like in communist countries, people cannot rid of the longing for God. In fact, during the rule of the Chinese communist, the number of Christians in China growed by leap and bound. Where an atheist puts his hope and faith when all hopes are lost? Today, communism is considered dead. But for more than 2000 years now, every year in December, billions of people in hundred of countries around the world still celebrate the birth of Christ, our Savior. Just because man dismiss God then He becomes non-existent. Like a man who declares that the sun will no longer rise in the morning or the moon at night! No many have not reconciled to God, and see no need of it!
At the end of the 19th century, a philosopher named Friedrich Neitzche declared that God is dead! 300 years ago, Voltaire, a French philosophy, pronounced that 100 years after his death, the Bible would no longer exist because no one would read it. Today both Neitzche and Voltaire are dead. Their bodies are rotten in the ground. Yet God is still alive, more alive than ever, in the lives of billions people around the world. And the Bible? It has been translated into more than 2000 languages and dialects. And it is still the best selling book.
Early in December, on December 02, a massacre occurred in San Bernardino, CA. Two radical muslims killed 14 people and severly injured 22 others. The day after, the New York Daily News’ front page flashed in bold “God isn’t fixing this.” The first line of the article is “prayers aren’t working” No, many has not reconciled to God, and see no need of it!
More than 2000 years ago, the Son of God came to earth, died for our sins, offered mankind a bridge back to God, a way to reconcile to Him. Yet, 2000 years later, and 2000 years from now, still there are many refuse to reconcile to God, and see no need of it!
Today many not only dismiss God but they put Him to trial. Some even want to kill God outright. Today God is in the dock and man is in the judging seat. Man interrogates, accuses then executes God. They rid Him off not just their own lives, but also from the public square as in school, at work, in art and politics. Many refuse to reconcile to God, and see no need of it!
Many put God in the dock when there are natural disasters, flood, fire, earthquake. When there are wars, massacres like the one in San Bernardino early this month. When there are famine, plagues; when jobs are lost, business failed. When family is in disarray, when divorce comes, when children go bad…
But man could never live without gods. Modern man worship many different gods: the god of money, of success, of fame, of beauty, of intelligence… If there is a need for reconciliation, there it must be with nature, with science and technology, not with God. Absolutely not with the God of the Bible! Modern man of the 21th century who are accelarating their scientific knowledge, technnology, medicine and social advances no need for God, lest the need of being reconciled to Him.
Even man rejects God, He still loves man. When Christ came to earth, God says to man: I love you, I love you enough to give up my own Son to save you, to bring you back to me. When Christ died on the cross, God says to man: I have redeemed you and your sins so you can have the originally intended relationship with Me, so that you will be in heaven with Me forever.
The Bible says clearly that: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17-18) Christians are called to bring the message of reconciliation between God and man and between man and man.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of[g] your evil behavior. 22 But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation (Colossians 1:21-22)
The story of Christmas were recorded in two books in the New Testament (two gospels, gospel = good news): Matthew and Luke. Do you know that both records mentioned kings. Luke wrote about the Emperor Caesar Augustus of Rome. Matthew wrote about Herod, King of the Jews.
Augustus decreed a cencus so all people in his vast empire must return to their ancestry place. Joseph and Mary had to go from Narazeth (nort of Judah) to Bethlehem (south, near Jerusalem). And because there are many in that little village, there was no room for them when Jesus was born. He was born in a manger where the dirty, smelly animals lived.
When the magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews (Matthew 2:1) Herod and all Jerusalem were troubled. The word trouble here means greatly disturbed, no peace. Why was Herod greatly disturbed? Because there has been born a new king. Then what did he do? He ordered all children under two in Bethlehem and the surrounding killed, which was about 20-30.
What are the stories about these two kings meant to us? Two things.
First, in live, all of us are under some gods, some kings, some rulers, no matter what we say on the contrary. These rulers have much authorities in our lives. They could be the government, or the materials, the jobs, the luxuries, the comforts, the marriage, the retirement that we are seeking.
Second, those gods, rulers, kings in our lives always want to rid of the true God, true King, true Ruler. They never want us to reconcile to God, to Christ. They tell us that there are absolutely no need to reconcile to Christ. Life without Him is just as fine, as good. Worse, these gods want us to kill God, kill Christ in our lives, just as Herod attempted to kill Jesus when He was born.
All of us have gods and rulers in our lives. No deny. The question is that who. Either God or gods. Either Christ or stuffs. Yes God has already reconciled man to Himself through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Are you listening to Him? Do you see the need to be reconciled to Him?