“For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people. It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
I’ve heard these verses before, but didn’t realize they were connected… I always thought “Vengeance is mine” was a verse I could quote when someone wronged me, and God would “sic em” for me… Apparently, it’s directed toward those who trample His grace… Which, at times, is me.
It’s followed by another verse I’m familiar with because of Jonathan Edward’s famous sermon “Sinners in the hands of an Angry God” … Again, a verse that lands closer to home when I examine its origin.
As we begin the season of candy canes and reindeer, we must remember why Christmas exists… God sent His Son because His justice demanded payment for our sin… His holiness is terrifying, and the demand was one we could not meet.
Christmas is “step one” of a rescue mission, the importance of which cannot be overstated. The massiveness of the debt we owed is only outweighed by the enormousness of the price God paid when He allowed the sacrifice of His Son. It is the Cross that keeps us from falling into “the hands of an angry God” and the road to Calvary begins with Christmas.
This holiday reminds us of our inability to save ourselves… it obliterates the arrogance that tries to convince us that we can earn our own salvation. Jesus’ birth has made a way for us to avoid our self-earned destruction.
What brought “Joy to the World” was the catastrophic collision of God’s love and His holiness, which resulted in Christmas… I must grasp the terror of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God to rightly appreciate the importance of the birth of the sacrificial Lamb. Christ’s birth opened the door to the amazing Grace of the Cross. Only Jesus’ death and resurrection pays my debt and credits me with the perfection required to live eternally with my Heavenly Father.
As you anticipate Christmas morning, remember there will be nothing under the tree this year that holds a candle to the gift God gave us on that first Christmas. Joy to the World… we have been redeemed!
“My righteousness is just as good as Jesus' righteousness, because it IS Jesus' righteousness!” ― E.W. Kenyon
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