A Thrill of Hope

By Michael Youssef, Ph D.  12/23/22

At Christmas, we celebrate one of the most incredible events in all of history—God sending His Son Jesus to earth. But why was God’s sacrifice even necessary? Why did Jesus come from heaven?

Read Colossians 2:13-15. God tells us through Paul that before Jesus, we were dead in our sin. Praise God that, on the cross, Jesus bore our sins and died to ransom us, cancelling the charges that were held against us. In cancelling the legal charges that we faced, Jesus disarmed any claim Satan could rightfully have on us as the author of sin. We are forgiven for our sins, and the roaring lion has no grip on our lives. Jesus did all of that for us.

Even though that’s worth celebrating every day until He returns, that’s not all that Jesus did for us. God is lavish with His goodness. Paul goes on to explain in Colossians 2:13, “When you were dead in your sins . . . God made you alive with Christ.”

When Jesus died, our sinful nature died with Him. But, as Paul says, “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him” (Romans 6:8). When Jesus rose from the dead, He resurrected our hearts, too—to live a life to God. You have been raised to live a new life in Jesus! And to do that, we are to “count [ourselves] dead to sin but alive to God” (Romans 6:11).

Instead of doing whatever it takes to prove our own worth—because that’s all we could do in our sin nature—Jesus has freed us to live fully in God’s love. Instead of worrying about how our needs are going to be met and living a life of anxiety—because that’s all we could do in our sin nature—Jesus has freed us to live fully in the Truth that our Father God will provide for us.

Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the chains of sin that kept us captive have been broken. We can now live alive to God’s love and His goodnesPrayer: Father God, teach me how to live dead to sin but alive to You. Show me any areas where I am putting on old, broken chains. Thank You for raising me to new life. You are so good. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy” (Titus 3:4-5).