Christmas: The Historical Reality of Christ's Birth

Now there are two main wrong attitudes to this at the present time. The one is there's nothing new about this, of course, but I have to mention it because it is still being repeated as if it were something new. The one is to deny the facts altogether and to say that these are fairy tales or what they now call myths, by which they mean not so much that they didn't happen at all and that there's nothing here as that these are just stories which are meant to convey some great and profound truth. [00:02:14]

But there is a second attitude, and to me, this second one is even worse than the first. The first is, in a sense, ridiculous because secular history itself recognizes and acknowledges these facts, as I'm going to show you in a moment. But this second attitude, I feel, is worse, and it is the attitude that says this: it doesn't matter whether these things did happen or not. [00:03:03]

You see, the first view says that they didn't happen. The second view says it doesn't matter whether they happened or not because they say whether these events literally took place, and we've got to dismiss the stories of the birth in Bethlehem in the stable of the inn and so on, whether it matter or happened or not really doesn't matter at all because we still have this wonderful teaching, and this is the thing that matters and that counts. [00:03:28]

Well, now that, of course, is, as I say, the very worst form of denial of the Christian faith. To start with, it's got no answer at all to those who reject the whole of Christianity in terms of psychology. It plays straight into their hands. It likewise has no answer to give to the cults that are around and about us at the present time. The cults can do people a lot of good, and they do it simply in terms of suggesting a certain teaching. [00:05:02]

Now, the fallacy, of course, behind all that kind of attitude is this: that it reduces the Christian message to a teaching, to an elevating teaching, an uplifting teaching, a very noble teaching, but after all, it's nothing but a teaching. That's their attitude, that what we've got here is a point of view with regard to life, an attitude to life, an excellent attitude, and that this is the thing that the world needs. [00:05:56]

We are here this morning to celebrate a fact, to celebrate an event. In those days, there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus. This is a history book. It's as much a history book as any other history book, and here we are reminded that we're in the realm of concrete facts and events. And what I want to do now, very briefly and hurriedly, is to give you a number of thoughts or ideas or principles, if you like, which you can think out for yourselves and work them out at leisure concerning this whole matter of the relationship of the Lord Jesus Christ to time. [00:08:26]

Now, that's the thing that is emphasized by Christmas Day, that at a given point in history, the Son of God came into this world. Now, that's not an idea, that's not a psychological suggestion or teaching, that's an event, it's a fact. And you see, this record and the other records will insist upon our observing the detailed facts of history. They even tell us here this taxing was first made when Cenius was governor of Syria, and you can check that. [00:09:16]

The first thing it tells us about him always is that he was before time. In the beginning was the Word, and beginning there, remember, means before the beginning, when there was no beginning. It's before the beginning, that means eternity, that means that he always was, that there was never a time when he wasn't. Now, this is the fundamental proposition of the Christian faith. [00:10:42]

We are not here to celebrate the birth of a great man. It's all right to celebrate the births of great men and all concerning their lives and their activities, but that is not what we are doing. We are here to commemorate, to bring to mind, to think again of the coming of the Eternal Son of God out of the eternity into time. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. [00:11:21]

He came because of the state of the world, because of the state of mankind. He came to redeem. He said himself, the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. But the question that people often ask is this: why didn't he come earlier? You read the account of the creation of man, how he was made in the image of God and that he was perfect, and God put him into a perfect environment. [00:18:22]

The world has been trying to put itself better by means of teaching for so long, and patently it can't do it. And so if we are left this morning with nothing but an exhortation or a stimulus or the psychological suggestion of noble and wonderful teaching, well, the end is that we are still left to ourselves, and you and I have got to do it. We've got to take up this teaching, we've got to remind ourselves of it constantly, and we've got to be repeatedly putting it into practice. [00:07:10]

He will again enter into this world. He will again break into time. What will be his relationship to time then? Oh, he will come then to end time, and time shall be no more. He's going to wind up time, finish it, bring an end to the universe as we know it, and then he will reign from pole to pole, and all in Earth and Heaven and under the sea and everywhere will bow the knee to him and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. [00:33:57]