Lessons and Carols

Peace on earth, goodwill to men. Or as the translation we heard read earlier tonight says, peace on earth among those with whom God is pleased. These are the words of the multitude of angels praising God upon the announcement of Jesus' birth to the shepherds. And they hearken back to the words of Isaiah the prophet who foretold that Jesus would be the prince of peace. Peace on earth, these are words we're going to sing tonight in just a little bit. They're probably words that you've sung before time and time again this time of year. Peace on earth is one of those Christmas phrases we see everywhere. It's on greeting cards, store displays, it's on ornaments and decorations. And it's a phrase that ought to make us feel pretty good when we hear it. Because we all know we're supposed to want world peace, right? We know that if a genie ever shows up and grants us three wishes, we're supposed to be unselfish and use one of those to wish for world peace. And then everyone knows you're supposed to use one of those others to wish for unlimited wishes, right? But I think it's worth asking, why is peace such a big deal at Christmas? What kind of peace is it exactly that this baby Jesus is supposed to usher in? I think if you take a good hard look at it, Jesus's birth actually doesn't seem to be marked by peace much at all. First off, the Christmas story is a story about a young couple giving birth to a baby. And anyone who's ever had a baby would have to tell you their life probably didn't get very peaceful after they brought that baby home. And furthermore, Mary and Joseph had to deal with the fact that Mary became pregnant with the baby before she and Joseph were officially married. Now, we know how Jesus was conceived, but at that time and place, the virgin birth probably would have been a pretty tough sell for Mary and Joseph's judgmental Jewish neighbors. And we know that the period right after Jesus's birth was not peaceful. King Herod, the ruler of that area, he was jealous and fearful of news of a king that might rise up and replace him. So he ordered all male children ages two and under to be killed. attempting to kill Jesus. Thankfully, he did not succeed. Jesus' adult life was not peaceful. He was opposed by the religious authorities, and he was eventually put to death by them. At that time, he was betrayed and deserted by his closest friends. Many of Jesus's disciples after that did not experience peaceful lives. The early church was persecuted. Believers were jailed, beaten, and often put to death because they proclaimed the name of Christ. And since that time, the world at large doesn't seem to have gotten much more peaceful. In fact, most of the wars that those of us in this room know anything about happened many, many years after Jesus's birth. The only thing that's changed is the technology used in those wars is more effective at killing people than it was back then. Every day we can turn on the news and see a lack of peace. There are too many stories about terrorism and mass shootings. And here in our own town, Charlottesville, we've not felt peace this past year. Many of us remember the violent and hateful protests that occurred here this past summer when white supremacists came to our city. And those of us who visit the downtown mall regularly will not soon forget the young woman who was killed there when someone drove a car into a crowd of people. So I think with the great lack of peace that we see throughout history and that we see now, there are two possible conclusions we can draw about the angels' proclamation of peace on earth. One possible conclusion is that the angels were wrong about Jesus. Jesus didn't bring peace to earth. The other possibility is that the peace they were talking about is something different than you or I might think. See, when we think about peace on earth, we usually think that it means everyone getting along. And it's true that we do have a problem getting along with each other. But we have a bigger problem. And that bigger problem is that every one of us here in this life lacks peace with God. That's because we've all disobeyed God and thereby made God our enemy. We've all, through our actions, essentially told God that he is wrong, his ways aren't right, our ways are better. Most of you are probably familiar with the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments aren't the only guidelines God gave to us in the Bible for how to live, but they do sum up most of the other commandments pretty well. And according to the Ten Commandments, God says that it's a sin to bear false witness against our neighbor. In other words, we're supposed to tell the truth. Yet, how many of us have ever lied or deceived someone in order to gain something for ourselves? If you've done that, you've disobeyed God and you're his enemy. The Ten Commandments also tell us we should not steal. And many of us have stolen something or cheated someone at some point in our life. But even if we hadn't, all we have to do is look two commandments later to see God say, you shall not covet. That means we're not even supposed to long after the things that other people have. So even if we don't actually steal the things we're coveting, we're still breaking God's commandments. And how many of us can claim to be blameless in this? We're also told that we aren't to commit adultery. Some people might meet the bar on this one. But when Jesus came and taught more about what God's law meant, he explained that even if we've looked at someone with lustful intent, we've committed adultery in our heart. I could go on and on along these lines. The point is that we've all done things that go against God's ways. His standards are extraordinarily high. And we can't meet those standards. We're incapable, as human beings, of being perfect like God calls us to be. And because we're not perfect, we can't have peace with God, who is perfect. All of us, everyone here, in our sinfulness, stand in line to face punishment from God. See, God isn't blind to the evil that takes place here on Earth. None of the people who wreck the peace of this world through violence and hatred, none of those people will live forever. Eventually they're going to die. And when they die, they will have to face God and answer for what they did. Now in one sense, this is a great comfort to us because we know that the worst people in history, regardless of whether they ever had to face justice here on earth and pay for their sins here on earth, one day they're gonna die and they're gonna have to face up to God, be accountable to him for the evil they've committed. That's a good thing. But that comfort fades quite a bit when we consider that we too have opposed God in our sin. God has seen everything we've ever done, even the things we've kept secret from other people. And he knows everything we've ever thought. And in the end, we too are going to be held accountable to him. And this is where the peace of Jesus comes in. Because of what happened when Jesus, who was God made flesh, came to earth as a human being, we can have peace with God against whom we've sinned. And to understand that, we have to look ahead past the events of Christmas to the events that we normally celebrate at the time of Easter. And that's when Jesus, the only human being to ever live a sinless life and to actually deserve to have peace with God, willingly gave up his life by dying on the cross. You see, death is meant to be the natural consequence of sin. It's God's penalty for those who oppose him. Yet on the cross, a sinless Jesus took that penalty on himself completely undeservedly. And in that action, a wonderful transaction has taken place. On the cross, God says to us sinners, you who deserve only punishment for the sinful things you've done, said, and thought, you don't have to pay that penalty. Jesus has paid it for you by dying on the cross. And therefore, I, God, count none of your sins against you, and you can enjoy eternal peace with me. We are no longer enemies. Through Jesus, sinners and God are reconciled. They become friends. Praise God for this wonderful gift. It's a gift that none of us deserves, but it's been freely offered. And in order to accept this gift, a person must simply repent and believe. A person must repent, that is, acknowledge to God that they have sinned against Him and resolve to turn away from that sin. And a person must believe, that is, to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, resting your standing with God only on what Jesus has done for you, not on what you have done yourself or on what any other God or belief system says about you. Gaining peace with God is not something that any of us can earn on our own. But if we turn to Jesus, confess our sins to Him, ask Him to help us turn away from those sins, and then follow Him, He will transform us into people fit to spend eternity with Him. Now, if you're already a believer in Jesus, this message tonight is a reminder of what He's done for you. And may the hearing of God's word tonight spark in you a renewed thankfulness and praises in your heart, as well as a renewed desire to continually repent of sin and turn toward Jesus. We as Christians are continually doing this. It's not a one-time thing. But if you've not yet put your faith in Jesus or you aren't quite sure about him, well, tonight and this season of Christmas is an opportunity to consider where you stand with God. If you met God today face to face, would it be a peaceful meeting or would your sin still stand in the way? This gift of eternal peace is open to you regardless of what bad things you have done or think you might have done. And that's because it doesn't depend on you to earn it for yourself. For those who have received the salvation, tonight's songs are merely a preview of the day we will join with the multitude of angels, singing praises to God and saying, glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace among those with whom he is pleased.