Our Advent series Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love kicked off on December 3. The ONE anchor idea from Sunday's sermon is HOPE IN CHRIST, and the short and powerful verse is 2 Corinthians 5:21.
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
In the middle of each week of December, a post will be connecting Sunday with one of the New City Catechism questions.
These four important Christmas words connected to the first four questions of the New City Catechism provide great reminders this Christmas time of who are GREAT GOD is.
Our hope is not in our situations and circumstances. We need to remember this, and 2 Corinthians 5:21 is an excellent reminder of where our hope needs to be.
Here are some specific quotes about the great truth of this verse.
“There
is no sentence MORE PROFOUND in the whole of Scripture.” Philip Hughes
“This
verse stands as the MOST PROFOUND and yet also the MOST COMPACT
ARTICULATION of the atonement in Paul’s letters.” M.V. Hubbard
“The GREATEST
GOSPEL VERSE in the Bible.” John MacArthur – 15 Words of Hope
“This
verse is called the ‘GREAT EXCHANGE.’
It is one of the most important verses in the Bible.” Steven Lawson
“What
is the Gospel? We have volumes of literature explaining the good news of Jesus
Christ. Still, we don’t need volumes in our arsenal to be prepared to ‘make a
defense to anyone who asks you for the hope that is in you’ (1 Peter 3:15).
What we need is A WELL-CRAFTED ARROW so we can aim for the heart in need
of Christ. We find that arrow for our bow in 2 Corinthians 5:21.” Fighter Verse devotional by Aaron Martin.
The biblical. hope, salvific hope found in this verse is full of certainty.
Why is there certainty?
Because of WHO our HOPE is in. God is the sovereign creator and sustainer of the world - HE MADE. Jesus is the sinless, perfect
Savior – HIM WHO HAD NO SIN.
Another reason why there is
certainty is because of WHAT our HOPE is in
A right relationship with the sovereign creator, God, because of sinless,
perfect Jesus Christ.
Becoming the righteousness of God. It is not about getting what I want or being
in the right place geographically.
At Christmas, we celebrate through song, Bible readings, and other things God's plan - the Incarnation, God in the flesh.
We also need to remember the reason Jesus came to earth. For God's glory, to die for our sins.
This quote from C.H. Spurgeon explains why Jesus had to die.
“See ye here the foundation-truth of Christianity, the rock
on which our hopes are built. It is the only hope of a sinner and the only
true joy of the Christian, [I WOULD ADD, THE ONLY TRUE JOY AT CHRISTMAS TIME
AND ALL THE TIME. SPURGEON GOES ON TO
SAY…] — the great transaction, the great substitution, the great lifting of
sin from the sinner to the sinner’s Surety [a person who takes responsibility for another's performance
of an undertaking, for example, their appearing
in court or the payment of a debt];
the punishment of the Surety instead of the sinner, the pouring out of the
vials of wrath, which were due to the transgressor, upon the head of his
Substitute; the grandest transaction which ever took place on earth; the most wonderful sight that even hell ever beheld, and the
most stupendous marvel that heaven itself ever executed, — Jesus Christ, made
sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him!” [Emphasis mine]
SERMON AND CATECHISM CONNECTION
With all this talk of Christmas Hope, think about Question 1 of the New City Catechism.
- What is our only hope in life and death?
- That we are not our own but belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
As followers of Christ, our only hope is in God, the sovereign creator and sustainer of the world, and Jesus, the sinless, perfect Savior.
PRAYER from New City Catechism
Christ, Our Hope, in life and in death, we cast ourselves on your merciful, fatherly care. You love us because we are your own. We have no good apart from you, and we could ask for no greater gift than to belong to you. Amen.
This Sunday, December 10, we will be looking at Peace.
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