18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. 20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). 24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, 25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
— Matthew 1:18-25, ESV

Once upon a time, there was a little baby born who would start a great movement of God.  He was a Jewish boy, born to Jewish parents, though not in the normal way (His was a miraculous, virgin birth).  In those days, the Old Covenant between God and Israel had fallen into great disrepair.  A better, New Covenant was born with the child, who was, is, and always will be the promised Messiah, the Son of God, God Incarnate, Jesus Christ the Lord.  

While God the Father offered His Old Covenant only to and through Israel, God the Son would make the New Covenant available to the whole world.  And throughout the world it spread, the gospel of Jesus Christ, saving souls and establishing churches everywhere, with the center shifting from Jerusalem in Israel, to Antioch in Syria, to Rome in Italy.  Once Rome had this religious power, however, the New Covenant fell into disrepair, badly damaged by legalism, superstition, and politics.  Something had to be done.

And so, once upon another time, a little baby was born who would start another great movement of God.  It was not as significant as what Jesus Christ had done, but still important and necessary to make Jesus Christ truly known.  He was a German boy, born to German parents, in the normal way.  His earthly father put him on the path to become a lawyer, but his Heavenly Father made other plans.  He became a Catholic priest, then a Protestant preacher, and provided the spark that ignited The Great Reformation.  

Though Martin Luther’s original intent was to remodel the behemoth that had become the Roman Catholic Church, he wound up building brand new subdivisions of houses of worship known as Protestant churches.  Slowly and steadily, they appeared all over the world, in different stripes and colors and doctrinal emphases.  These churches, of which we are one, are built upon the five pillars of The Great Reformation:

Sola Scriptura: Our faith and practice are based upon Holy Scripture alone, not superstitions and manmade traditions often contrary to the Bible.

Sola Gratia, Sola Fide, and Solus Christus: Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.  God sovereignly saves by granting faith and repentance through the preaching and acceptance of the gospel, converting people into true followers of Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Bible is taught, the gospel is preached, and the church worships, serves, and does everything else for the glory of God alone.  

The great pillars of the Great Reformation are the guideposts of our Christian faith.  They undergird us as we approach the Bible with reverence.  They focus and enable us to see the gospel in virtually all of the Scriptures.  They exist to exalt God above everyone and everything else in the universe.

Today I want us to climb these pillars and gaze upon the first Christmas story, to see it from a Reformed point of view, and perhaps even reform the five pillars by suggesting a sixth.  

It is through Scripture Alone that we have come to know Mary, Joseph, and, most importantly, Jesus.  

Were you there when the angel Gabriel came to Mary to tell the virgin she would become pregnant and give birth to the promised Messiah, the Son of God?  Did you peek into Joseph’s dream and see the angel confirm this good news?  Were you one of the shepherds, or a magi, or any other eyewitness to the birth or early life of Christ?  Were you in the Temple when Jesus was twelve, questioning the teachers of the Torah and offering more answers than they had ever known?  Were you standing on the banks of the Jordan River when John the Baptist baptized Jesus and proclaimed him “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!”?  Were you one of the twelve Apostles who sat at Jesus’ feet, listened to Jesus’ teachings, witnessed Jesus’ miracles, and took with Jesus that last, long walk into Jerusalem and to the cross?  Were you there when Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate, when Jesus declared, “It is finished (paid in full),” and died?  Were you there on the third day when Jesus rose again from the grave?  Were you there when He walked, the resurrected Christ, with His disciples for forty days before ascending into Heaven?  Did you hear, personally, when Jesus proclaimed He is coming back to earth one day to collect all the elect of God and gather them together forever in a renewed Heaven and earth?

Then how do you know all of these things took place?  How have you come to believe, with your head and your heart and your holy life, in the gospel of Jesus Christ?  It is by Scripture alone!

Tradition says Mary was a perpetual virgin.  Scripture alone tells us she and Joseph had normal marital relations after Jesus was born and Mary gave birth to her and Joseph’s children.  Tradition says Mary is a co-redeemer with Christ.  Scripture alone tells us Jesus is the “one mediator between God and man.”  Tradition says a lot of things that never happened and are not true.  Scripture alone tells us the perfect story of the perfect person and work of Jesus Christ.  The word of God alone is all we need to get and give the greatest gift ever known, the gospel of Jesus Christ!

“All Scripture is breathed out by God” (ref. 2 Timothy 3:16).  All Scripture centers on this Christmas story, the story of how God came to be with us, for us, to save us.  Scripture is what you need to know God, who He is, what He has done, and what is required of you. 

It is by Grace Alone that God would visit us in the person of work of Jesus Christ.

Why would God do such a thing, anyway?  Why would He tri-vest Himself into Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so that the Father could send the Son into the world through the power of the Holy Spirit?  Why would God trouble Mary, upset Joseph, and most of all inconvenience (and that’s putting it mildly) Himself to do these things that are written in the Scriptures?

These things were done to “save His people from their sins.”  Who needs to be saved?  Sinners.  Who sins?  Everyone, except the sinless Lord Jesus Christ, aided as He was by the virgin birth, total sanctification by the Spirit, and a perfect, divine, sovereign, and free will.  

Salvation cannot be attained by human merit, not even Mary or Joseph could do so.  Salvation is won by God’s merit, God’s work, in the person and work of Christ.  Then God takes this work and offers it to sinners as God’s unmerited gift of grace.  Scripture alone tells us salvation is by grace alone.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (ref. Ephesians 2:8-9).  God initiated the Christmas story.  God initiated your salvation story, if you belong to Him.  God stepped up and God saves us, by His grace alone.

It is through Faith Alone that this story becomes our own, when we fully accept who Jesus is and what He has done.

I believe Mary and Joseph believed the Christmas story.  How could they not?   They were part of it.  They experienced it, personally, and it changed their lives forever.  This is faith.

Faith is encountering God (by His grace, at His initiative), experiencing God (through the revelation of the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ), and embracing God (His word, His will, His way) for the rest of your life.  

Mary and Joseph got to come to faith up close and personal.  We must come to faith from afar, at least in time and distance.  But come to faith we must, and it must be personal, if the Christmas story, the gospel story, is to become our own.

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (ref. Hebrews 11:1).   

You have encountered God, for He is omnipresent.  You have experienced God, every time you’ve ever heard the gospel or watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (the scene where Linus tells the Christmas story, verbatim from the Gospel of Luke).  But have you freely and fully embraced God, His gospel for your sin and salvation, His word for your Christian and eternal life?  To do so, you gotta have faith!  Faith alone connects you to the Creator and Savior of the world.

It is in Christ Alone that our sins are forgiven and our salvation is assured.

Not long after the good news unfolded in our text at hand, another hand was dealt that gave Mary and Joseph some bad news.  It was delivered by an Old Testament prophet who lived to see the dawn of the New Testament.  His name was Simeon, and this is what he said to Mary when she and Joesph brought the baby Jesus to the Temple in Jerusalem:

“Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed” (ref. Luke 2:34-35).  

This is a rather cryptic way of saying Jesus was born to die, and Mary would witness the whole thing.  She was there, at the manger in Bethlehem, when Jesus took His first breath.  She was there, at the cross at Calvary, when Jesus took His lasts breath.  And she knew, that the life and death of Christ, the perfectly righteous life and the satisfactory atoning death, is the only way of salvation.  By grace through faith in Christ, in Christ alone, we are saved and safe with God.

Simeon said those who do not believe will “fall” forever, while those who by grace have faith will experience the “rising” of salvation and eternal life.  The Scriptures are provided, grace is given, faith is received and expressed, all for the purpose of bringing Jesus Christ into our lives for salvation and spiritual life.  Finding Christ alone gives you life.  Following Christ alone gives you purpose in life.  

People be come confused or doubtful about their salvation when they obsess over what they have or have not done.  Assurance comes from focusing on what Jesus Christ has done.  Accept it, share it, and live your life for His name and fame.

It is for the Glory of God Alone that we worship God, follow Jesus Christ, and serve Him in the power of the Holy Spirit. 

The New Testament tells us to live it this way:  “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (ref. 1 Corinthians 10:31).  Everyone lives for glory, it is just the way we are wired.  Most live for their own glory.  Some live for the glory of another person, like a star, or a politician, sometimes even a preacher.  But the only way to live, and to live forever, is to live now for the glory of God.

But the five pillars point the way to a relationship with God that will last forever.  If you want to be saved and sure of it, you must build your life upon these pillars.  But you still need a motivating factor, or perhaps a sixth pillar, if you will.

Sola amore.  Love alone.  The original five pillars explain the “what” God has done.  He has given us the Bible, which centers on the gospel, so we can be saved by grace through faith in Christ, and live life to the glory of God.  But where is the “why?”

Why did Joseph stay with Mary?  He truly loved her.  Why did Mary gladly carry the great burden of giving birth to the Messiah?  She truly loved God.  Why did God come to us, personally and painfully, to atone for our sins?  God truly loves us, all over the world.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (ref. John 3:16).

Finally, our fourth Sunday of Advent theme!  It is love.  Joseph loved Mary.  Mary loved God.  God loves the world.  

What does this love look like?  It looks a lot like Jeff and Stacey Bonds, two of our finest church members.  They have helped to reform and refine the Christmas story for us this year.  

They are pillar people, with souls saved and lives staked on the five pillars of the Great Reformation.  But they have shown us what this sixth pillar looks like.  Sola amore is true agape, sacrificial, covenant love.

Just as they entered their third life (cats have nine, humans have three: childhood, adulthood, and retirement), they learned about three lives who were in trouble (Lute, Mary Jane, and Jack).  To make a beautiful story short, some of us had the privilege of sitting behind them in a court of law when the judge pronounced the legal adoption of these three children whose last names are now Bonds.  There is even a fourth one now (Tyler). 

When the judge announced her ruling, the oldest and strongest burst into tears of joy.  In the gallery, all of our hearts burst, too.  We had just witnessed what sacrificial, life-changing love looks like.  

It looks like this:  “When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son … so that we might receive adoption as sons” (ref. Galatians 4:4-5).  

The Bonds story is the Christmas story, and the Christmas story is a story of love, God’s love.  I hope you will experience afresh and anew the love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord this Christmas.  And I challenge all of us to share this love with others in the new year to come.