The Alex McFarland Show-87-Is There Room in Your Life for a Savior?

The spiritual condition of America, politics, culture, and current events, analyzed through the lens of Scripture. Welcome to the Alex McFarland Show. Some of the greatest words ever heard by human ears, ever pondered by the human heart, are the words found in Luke 2.11, For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. Welcome to the program with those words. I wish you a Merry Christmas.

Alex McFarland here. And we're going to talk about Jesus. Jesus is coming into the world. And some reactions to the arrival of Jesus. You know, as I record this program here in the first week of December, for December of 2023, yet another major American city has decided that they will not have the Christmas tree, not the lighting of the Christmas tree. Gavin Newsom in California has said there in Sacramento, in the capital of California, that they will not have a Christmas tree, nor the lighting thereof, because they don't want to stir up dissension or offend Palestinians. And I think about the rejection of Jesus coming into the world, or even the acknowledgment of his birth.

It's nothing new. You'll recall in Luke 2.7, it says, There was no room for them in the end. Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem because of the census, and Mary was about to deliver a baby, the Son of God. And there was no room in the end.

The reaction was a refusal. And of course this begs the question, is there room in your life for the Savior? Jesus asks each person for entry into their life, and one day each person will ask Jesus for entry into heaven. You know, also as I record this, I think about, you may have heard in the news, and I hate to even give airtime to this, but it's worth talking about, Norman Lear, 101 years old, died the first week of December, and how is that significant even? Well, for those of you that are maybe as old as me, you'll remember in the 1970s there were shows like All in the Family and Maude. And the first acknowledgment of abortion on TV in the show Maude with Bea Arthur.

And they were pushing the envelope. And shows that questioned family. And in All in the Family, Carroll O'Connor, Archie Bunker, was a bigot, and he was supposedly a Christian and a patriot. And the wise voice of reason was Michael Stivick, the atheist. And so Norman Lear put together shows that pushed the envelope and the boundaries in terms of, he was wrong on everything. He was against God, against America, against marriage, child-rearing. He was for abortion, for homosexuality. He was wrong on everything. Well, he also championed an organization, a very misnamed organization, called People for the American Way. And what that really means was it was his nonprofit people to get God out of American life. I debated one of his business colleagues. I debated an atheist, a member of the California State Bar, who claimed to know Norman Lear and was a part of helping to found People for the American Way. And I debated this person. But I think about the people that leave this world, and they go to, as the old saying goes, they go to their reward.

And folks, all that's going to matter, not the money, the fame, the alleged accomplishments, all that matters. Did you have any room for Jesus? Herod, the end was a refusal, but Herod, resentment and resistance. Now, King Herod was half Jewish.

He was a Roman appointed procurator over Judea since 47 B.C. And scholars tell us that Herod gloatingly called himself, quote, the King of the Jews. So you can imagine the consternation when the wise men came from Persia, one of the few world empires that had never been conquered by Rome. And they come and they say, where is he that is born King of the Jews? And the action is almost like, you know, Herod is like, hey, there's a king of the Jews and you're looking at him.

He was probably very concerned that Persia was about to throw its support behind this new Jewish king. And so there was resistance. So let's talk about the reactions to Jesus's arrival. But let's also think about what it says in Matthew two, verse three, that when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, it says Herod was troubled and all of Jerusalem with him.

Isn't that something? The coming of of God onto the stage of human history. It bothered some people.

It disturbed some people. And the Jewish hierarchy, the religious elites, you know, is this man going to disrupt what we've got going on? I've got my life arranged as I want it. Maybe you've even thought about that. If I really get serious about the Lord, is that going to interfere with the plans I have for myself?

I've shared this many times. I love this quote by Garrison Keillor of A Prairie Home Companion. Garrison Keillor said that God's will for your life is what you would have wanted for yourself if you had only been wise enough to seek it. Jesus is maybe a disruptor. I know in youth ministry I've had incredible events that, you know, hundreds of sweaty kids would pack into the fellowship hall of the sanctuary.

And there have been a few times that people reprimanded me for bringing in speakers and a sound system and a band, and who are all these kids and they're wearing t-shirts and sneakers in the sanctuary. And sometimes when God works, folks, we have to let God define what that looks like. And yes, the coming of Christ, we postmark our letters, the date on every check, the turning of the calendar, acknowledges the coming of Christ onto the stage of human history. Jesus disrupted, but in a wonderful way, to save the world. Have you let Jesus in? Is He the King of your life?

Is there room in your heart for Him? Was Jesus' coming a blessing or did it bother you? First learning about the gospel and our need for Christ, were you troubled or were you rejoicing? Now when we come back, I'm going to talk about the incarnation, because hands down, Mortimer Adler acknowledged it, Will Durant, so many people, Toynbee and others. The most consequential life in human history, the most significant birth in history.

Jesus, the most important life that was ever lived, because it was God incarnate, and we celebrate it at Christmas. As the Christmas carols say, veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail the incarnate deity. When we come back, we'll talk about God and His coming into the world, putting on a human body that we might be saved. Merry Christmas, Alex McFarland here saying stay tuned, we're back after this. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. Christian author and speaker Alex McFarland is an advocate for Christian apologetics. Teaching in more than 2200 churches around the world, schools and college campuses, Alex is driven by a desire to help people grow in relationship with God. He arms his audiences with the tools they need to defend their faith, while also empowering the unchurched to find out the truth for themselves. In the midst of a culture obsessed with relativism, Alex is a sound voice who speaks timeless truths of Christianity in a timely way. With 18 published books to his name, it's no surprise that CNN, Fox, the Wall Street Journal and other media outlets have described Alex as a religion and culture expert. To learn more about Alex and to book him as a speaker at your next event, visit alexmcfarland.com or you can contact us directly by emailing booking at alexmcfarland.com.

He's been called trusted, truthful and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show. Welcome back to the program and Merry Christmas.

On behalf of our staff and our board and volunteers and all the people that make Alex McFarland Ministries and Truth for a New Generation and Viral Truth Clubs and all that we do possible, we extend our sincerest Christmas wishes to you all. And we're talking about reactions to Jesus's arrival, the refusal at the end, the resistance from Herod and the rejection on the part of Jerusalem. For a moment, I want to talk about what an amazing thing the incarnation is. I've shared this quote many times, but G.K. Chesterton, 100 years ago, they were talking about what they called comparative religions. And there was the assumption that all belief systems were equal because, you know, people have sincerely held convictions. But Chesterton said that the incarnation of Christ, God taking on a human body, coming onto the stage of human history, he said, quote, it makes dust and nonsense of the concept of comparative religion. In other words, the assumption that all beliefs are equally valid, equally true, they're just different, but they're all the same based on the sincerity of the person holding the view. Chesterton said Christ coming onto the stage of human history, God incarnating himself into a human body to be our savior. It makes dust and nonsense of comparative religion.

No one else has any good news for the simple fact no one else, said Chesterton, has any news. Now, this is an amazing thing because no other belief system can really claim what Christianity claims, that Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man in one person, born of a virgin, showing that it was possible for the union of full deity, that's God, with full humanity, but not fallen humanity. And as we've shared many times in Galatians 4, 4 and 5, that at just the right time, in the fullness of time, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, to redeem those that were under the law. And so the humanity of Christ, we often talk about the divinity, or the deity of Jesus, but the humanity of Christ, that he would feel pain, he would understand rejection, he would understand, I believe, loneliness, because Hebrews 4.15 says that he was tempted in all points like we, yet without sin. So you can know, you can be absolutely sure Jesus understands and sympathizes with anything that you might ever be going through. Because he was human, and he felt the pain, and he understood what it was, he was tempted, and yet he never sinned. And the incarnation, it's amazing, and as I've said many times, in that Bethlehem manger when Mary delivered the baby Jesus, Satan, death, the grave, sin, all the demons, God would defeat the devil and everything about sin with a baby.

Isn't that amazing? And Jesus came into the world, John 1.14 says that he took on human nature. Let me share Hebrews 10, 5-7, and this is amazing. And the book of Hebrews is all about how Jesus is the Messiah, the Savior, better than Abraham, Moses, better than any of the others that came before, pointing the way to the coming Savior.

But Jesus is the full expression of God, and the one who was able and willing to die on the cross for us. Hebrews 10, 5-7 says this, when he came into the world, he said, quoting the Old Testament, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast prepared for me. In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God.

What does this mean? Okay, when Jesus came into the world, sacrifice and offering would not suffice. There had been centuries of lambs slain, the blood as a temporary covering for sin, the blood of Jesus would be a permanent eradication of sin. It's not sacrifice and offering. That's why Peter wrote, you were not redeemed with corruptible things, but with the incorruptible blood of Jesus, a body that was prepared for me.

And this is just amazing. Hebrews 10-7, I said, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me to do thy will, O God.

Now Jesus had said in John 5-39, search the scriptures, for they testify of me. And at one point he told his disciples, my sustenance or my meat or my nutrition or my strength is to do the will of the Father. So in the incarnation, we see perfect obedience to the will of the Father. We see the miracle of Jesus coming into this world and his deity, the full godhood of Jesus was necessary because only one of infinite righteousness could bear the full penalty of the sin for all believers. And someone who was truly God could be the mediator between God and man. That's 1 Timothy 2-5, that Jesus is the mediator between God and man. Now let me explain what happens when we become believers, because Romans 8-29 says that the believer is predestined to ultimately be conformed to the image of Christ.

There are traits or characteristics or attributes of God that become part of the life of a believer, but then there are things about the nature of God that will never be part of our existence. It's important to note that when a person becomes a born-again Christian, they do not, when they die and leave this world, become God or part of God. Now they're with God, but we don't turn into God. Furthermore, we don't turn into angels. We turn into something wonderfully designed for born-again humans. We get a glorified body and we are with Christ forever in heaven.

Now when we come back, we've got a brief break. I'm going to talk about the attributes of God, what we share, and what belongs to God alone. Scholars, as scholars so often do, have a big fancy word for this, and the word is communicable. In other words, something that can be imparted or transferred. There are communicable attributes of God.

There are incommunicable. And when we look at Jesus, that's part of what makes him so unique. As the old song says, Jesus our brother, kind and good, was lowly born in a stable rude, and the friendly beast around him stood, Jesus our brother, kind and good.

In the 50s and 60s, liberal theology, they loved to think of Jesus as our brother, the perfect man. But he's more than that. He is the God-man. And we'll talk about that and what it means when we have him in our life when we return.

Stay tuned. Fox News and CNN call Alex McFarland a religion and culture expert. Stay tuned for more of his teaching and commentary after this. The Bible, Christianity, and how to know Jesus personally.

Hi, Alex McFarland. I want to make you aware of my book, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask About Christianity. You know, we interviewed hundreds of children and parents and families to find out the questions that children and people of all ages are longing to find answers for. In the book, we've got practical, biblical, real-life answers that they have about how to be a Christian in this modern world.

My book, The 21 Toughest Questions Your Kids Will Ask, you can find it wherever you buy books or at resources.afa.net. He's been called trusted, truthful and timely. Welcome back to The Alex McFarland Show.

Welcome back to the program and Merry Christmas again. We're talking about reactions to Jesus's arrival and the nature of God and the reality of the incarnation. Let me just say that the attributes of God, as we were alluding to before the break, there are things about God that we do not share. God's eternality. God had no beginning or end.

No one created God. God is eternal. And that is something that we are not.

There was a time when you and I did not exist. We will live everlastingly, but we are not, in a strict sense, we're striving for linguistic precision here, we are not eternal. Only God is really eternal. What about omnipotence? Now we have some power, but God has all power. The Bible also tells us that God is omnipresent. God is everywhere. God is not limited by space or time. But really, according to Psalm 139, you know, if I ascend to the highest heavens or go to the lowest depths, God is there. God is present at every point of space in the entire universe. And we are not omnipresent like that. God also is said to be immutable, unchanging.

Malachi 3 says, I the Lord, change not. And Hebrews 13 says that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now there are, though, attributes that God has given to us or lent to us as his creatures. And the most fundamental is the attribute of existence. God exists. And because God created us, we, at least for a while on this earth, and then eternally in heaven, we exist. God has given us the attribute of being.

Now the fancy Greek word for that is ontos, O-N-T-O-S, but being. And one of the reasons that I would encourage people to love God and worship God is because without God we wouldn't exist. And believe it or not, even though some days are stressful, maybe some days feel burdensome, existence is a great gift.

I mean, you think about that. You and I didn't have to exist, and yet God created us. And to live, to be alive, is actually a very, very great gift. God has all knowledge. We call that omniscience. And God, his communicable, in other words, can be transferred to us. God has given us mental capabilities. We have knowledge and wisdom, and we can know truth. God has all of these things.

The Bible says that God knows all things and sees all things, and that God is truth and that God is faithful. Those are some of God's moral attributes, God's faithfulness and goodness and love. It's been said that we can demonstrate a characteristic, but if it's a righteous, holy, good trait, God is that characteristic.

For example, let me say this. We can show love, but God is love. 1 John 4.8 says God is love.

You and I can show grace to somebody, but God is gracious. And so while we have characteristics, and the world, the flesh, and the devil, the bad ones, they're our own, but the virtues, the good things, peace, righteousness, love, goodness, mercy, those are the communicable attributes of God that have been imparted into our lives. And part of life's purpose really is to be more and more and more conformed to the image of Christ. And that begins at the moment of salvation.

It hopefully progresses all of our lifelong. When we get to heaven, Romans 8.29 says that God has predestined that we would be ultimately, pervasively conformed to the image of Christ. We will experience perfection. Now, not in the same sense that God is perfect, but we will exhibit a redeemed perfection.

See, God is perfect in all of his attributes. God is holy, but God will give to us redemption, glorification, blessedness, which really means happiness. The Bible says in 1 Timothy 6.15 that God delights in himself and delights in us. Do you know when you're happy and joyful and grateful and you're enjoying life and the blessings of God, as long as you remember where those blessings come from and God has favored you, do you know God delights in you? Maybe it's important to remember that if you feel beaten down or feel like you don't matter.

No, God delights in you, and that's never more visible than when we're following the leading of his Holy Spirit and being obedient. And this Christmas, as we've said, Winston Churchill said, Christmas is a time to remember and a time to reflect. And the Christmas story, which is historical truth. You know, there have been reactions to Jesus that were basically rejection. But think about the shepherds. They rejoiced and they received him. What a wonderful time to receive Jesus into your life and to say, Lord, once again, be my master, my leader, and I will be your follower. Luke 2.15. I love how the shepherds, when the angels made the annunciation of the birth of Jesus, they said, let us now go even unto Bethlehem.

Not later, and not only if it's convenient, but all the way to Bethlehem. And it says that when they saw the baby, they made known abroad the saying which was told them. Now what was told them? That he is the Savior, Christ the Lord.

And Luke 2.20 says the shepherds returned glorifying God and praising God for all the things they had seen and heard. You know, there's a very famous song. I know you've probably heard it. In the Bleak Midwinter by Christina Rossetti.

And it's a great song. In the Bleak Midwinter, the lyric says this. Our God, heaven cannot hold him, nor earth sustain. Heaven and earth shall flee away when he comes again to reign. In the Bleak Midwinter, a stable place sufficed, the Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ.

Do you remember the very famous chorus? Many children learn it from In the Bleak Midwinter. What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I'd give him a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part.

Yet what can I give him? I give him my heart. At Christmas time, let's make sure that our response is what it should be, which is to rejoice and believe and respond. You know, we've been helping people do that for 25 years, and I give God the glory.

I would ask you to pray for us. If you feel so led, we do events, publishing, broadcasting. We're in front of thousands of people a year in person.

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We've got much more this month. So keep us in prayer, tell others about the program, know that we are so grateful for you, and we encourage you, please tell someone about this program, but most of all, tell everyone about Jesus. You may also reach us at Alex McFarland, P.O. Box 10231, Greensboro, North Carolina 27404, or by calling 1-877-YES-GOD1. Thanks for joining us. We'll see you again on the next edition of the Alex McFarland Show. So visit the website alexmcfarland.com and look for the section that says, Ask Alex Online.