I love the Christmas season.
I enjoy the anticipation.
The decorations.
The sweet treats and the glow of candles.
The hustle and bustle, and the quiet and tender.
It seems that my thirst for pondering time is unquenchable during this time of year.
Pondering the amazing reality of a baby born to die, that I might live.
But my pastor recently preached about another reality that I tend to overlook.
Jesus wasn’t a baby born only to die; He was a baby born to live.
He was born to live a perfectly sinless life.
A completely righteous life.
And this is a critically important aspect of the Gospel.
3 Reasons to Ponder Christ’s Sinless Life
Without Christ’s sinless life, God would be a liar.
The Old Testament is clear that when it comes to sacrifice for sins, the lamb offered must be without blemish or defect (Exodus 12:5, Leviticus 22:24, Deuteronomy 17:1).
The blood of a lamb could never atone for sins; even before Christ came, salvation was through faith, as God’s people looked ahead to the sacrifice He had promised to provide. The perfect lamb He demanded for such sacrifice was a representation of the Messiah’s perfect sinlessness.
Without Christ’s sinless life, Jesus could not defeat sin.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:56-57).
By living a sinless life, Jesus demonstrated complete dominance over sin, and by overcoming every temptation, He demonstrated complete authority over Satan.
Had Jesus yielded to the power of temptation and committed even one sin against a holy God, His sacrifice would’ve been impotent, His death meaningless.
Without Christ’s sinless life, I could not be counted righteous.
For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
In Him we become the righteousness of God. What a stunning truth. That the God of the universe would make a Way to turn the filthy rags of our very best efforts (Isaiah 64:6) into the very righteousness of a perfectly sinless Christ is mind-boggling.
Jesus lived a sinless life so that when His death, burial, and resurrection were accomplished, His righteous life could be applied to my account, by grace through faith.
So as we celebrate Christmas, let’s celebrate the baby born of a virgin and laid in a manger.
Let’s celebrate the baby born to die for your sins and mine.
And let’s celebrate the baby born to live a sinless life, so that we might be clothed in His righteousness.
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Elça Martis Clemente says
Wonderful! I love your posts. Thank you very much! Merry Christmas!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much for stopping by, and for sharing how you’ve been blessed here! 🙂
Rising Tswana says
Lovely! Love the last one about we wouldn’t receive righteousness! Beautiful reminder
Jennifer says
Thanks so much for reading, and for taking the time to share this word of encouragement! I’m glad this post blessed you. 🙂