Grace Baptist Church of Arlington

I’ve thought this for a few years now, but Jay Younts over that the Shepherd Press Blog says it better than I could.  His main point is that so often in the celebration of Christmas,  Biblical truth is combined with cultural myth.  When that happens, the heart of the Biblical truth is obscured and many are misled.  The truth of Christmas then becomes only a half truth, and as J.I. Packer would put it, “A half-truth masquerading as a whole truth becomes a complete untruth.”

Here are a couple of important paragraphs:

Luke 2:14: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

This proclamation from the heavens has commonly been recast to say that the goal of Christmas is peace on earth. This recasting of the truth conveniently leaves out the necessity of the gospel, and makes the temporal peace of man the highest good. This reinterpreted phrasing, peace on earth, dominates Christmas cards, product advertising, and Christmas-themed TV programs and movies. You will see Peace on Earth on billboards and bumper stickers. Peace on Earth is even politically correct. No one is offended by calling for world peace.

The problem is that man’s version of world peace was not what the heavenly host was proclaiming to the shepherds 2,000 years ago. That proclamation came straight from heaven. The first line of the proclamation ascribes glory to God who reigns in the highest of all places. That, of course, is not politically correct, because it implies that there is a God to whom all men must be accountable. It assumes that there must be someone above man, to whom praise and honor is rightfully due. The second half of the couplet proclaims that peace will come only to those with whom God is pleased. This statement is definitely not politically correct–it does not have the makings of a Hallmark moment.  Do you see how recasting this line to say only Peace on Earth strikes at the heart of gospel? This heavenly proclamation is one of hope precisely because the world (apart from Christ) is at war with God and hopelessly lost. There is no possibility of peace without a Savior.

Younts gives a strong warning toward the end:

Be aware of the culture’s attempts to mix the truth of God with the myth of man’s goodness.

And equally important Younts gives important counsel to Christians (like myself) who are tempted to be arrogant during this holiday season.  He counsels Christians to have compassion. Why have compassion?  Because apart from God’s work of opening your blind eyes (and my blind eyes), we would all believe that peace on earth were possible, and so be badly misled.

We must remember that, as Younts says,

“…true peace can come only from being made righteous by the forgiveness of sins through the blood of Jesus. Jesus was born to die and then to live again. He was born to make beautiful that which was ugly and dark. Only by embracing his life and finding forgiveness through his mercy can there truly be peace.”

That’s the good news of Christmas.  Let’s know and celebrate this Biblically-bold and eternally-wonderful peace this Christmas.

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Under Reflections, Theology