The whole point of Christmas is men needed a Savior. Dr. Tony Evans. Getting to the heart of the holiday. If you do not understand the need for salvation and you reduce Christmas to getting off of work and partying, you've missed the reason for the season.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. It's possible to follow every Christmas tradition and still overlook the truth those traditions point to. The lights, the gifts, the gatherings, all of it can distract us from the one thing God never wanted us to miss. Today, Dr.
Evans explains how the heart of Christmas is wrapped up in our need for a Savior and how embracing that message can change everything. Let's listen. In Luke chapter 2. He begins in verse 8 in the same region. There were some shepherds.
staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flocks by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy. Which will be for all the people. For today in the city of David, there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
This will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there appeared with an Angel a multitude of the heavenly host. Praising God and saying glory to God in the highest.
So on earth. Peace. Among men, with whom he is pleased. The first thing I want to share with you. As the reason for the season.
Is the need for a Savior? The whole point of Christmas. Is men needed a Savior. And if you missed the need for a Savior, You've missed the reason for the season. But if you do not understand the need for salvation, And you reduce Christmas to getting off of work?
Getting out of school. Eating as much as you can. And partying, you've missed the reason for the season. The whole point of the baby in the manger was there was the need for a savior.
Now why is there a need for a Savior? There is a need for a savior. Because of the problem of sin. You see, God is perfect. He cannot dumb down his standards just because he loves us.
In the same way that you want in an operating room, there to be no bacteria, no germs. You want a sterile environment using sterilized tools because you know a little bacteria can cause a major infection. Because God is perfect, a little sin becomes a major problem.
So Things need to get cleaned up. And therefore the need For a savior. The Bible says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
Some sinners are many sinners. Others are medium sinners, others are major sinners, but when it comes to God, all have fallen short of His holy standard. And to fall short of that standard, the Bible calls sin. Let me ask you a question. If a football player is just one inch.
From the goal line. Another one is one foot, another one is one yard, another one is ten yards. And it's the fourth down. It really doesn't matter how far short you fell. The point is, you didn't make The standard.
You didn't break the plane of the goal. The field goal kicker misses it by an inch or a mile. It doesn't matter. The three points are lost. If a basketball player misses the backboard, And misses the rim.
But somebody else shoots, hits the backboard, hits the rim, it rolls around the rim, but rolls off. Which one got the points? They were both in the same situation. If you're rushing to catch a plane, And you're 10 seconds late, or you're an hour late, but it's pulled off, your dilemma is the same. Your dilemma is you're not catching that flight.
And what many people do not understand. Is that God does not measure us by the amount of sin, but by the fact of sin. And all have sinned and fallen short. You may be better than your neighbor, but unless you're as good as God. You fall short.
And all have sinned and fallen short. of the standard, the glory of God. And so there was a need for a Savior. We need to understand how sin Flows. We start with original sin.
That was the sin of Adam. When he and Eve rebelled against God, and went independent on God. They did their own thing against the standard of God. That's called original sin. Original sin was imputed.
or credited to the whole human race. It's like when a lineman is offside. But the whole team is imputed the penalty. The lineman just doesn't move back 10 yards. The whole team, because of their connection, has to move back 10 yards.
Because the Bible says we are in Adam. When the original sin happened, it was imputed to the human race. When original sin was imputed, it became inherited. We inherited a sinful nature. We inherited a nature that is in rebellion against God.
So original sin led to imputed sin, which became inherited sin, which is why our children are sinners, because they picked up that gene from us. Our children just don't pick up our good looks. They pick up our sin nature. And that's why children often repeat the sins of their parents. And that's why you have to teach them not to lie and to be honest and not be selfish.
They borrowed that from you and me. Because original sin that became computed sin that became inherited sin became their sin nature. And when original sin becomes imputed sin, that's now inherited sin, it becomes personal sin. In other words, it's executed in our decisions. It's executed in our direction.
And so all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But God demonstrated his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners. Christ died for us. What God did was in the Old Testament He instituted a layaway plan.
Now if you're a baby boomer, you remember a layaway plan They don't do that too much today. But the layaway plan back in the day was when you couldn't afford to buy it outright. You purchased it on layaway. In other words, the store held it till you could pay for it.
So, you put a little bit on it, and a little bit on it, and a little bit on it, until you could pay it off, and then you could redeem it and claim it. If you go far enough back, some of us did our claims with green stamps. We went to the Green Stamp Redemption Center to get our stuff. But the Old Testament was a layaway plan. They would offer sacrifices to hold back the judgment of God for a year, a year, a year, a year.
Until it was time for Paid in for. That's where Christmas comes in. Jesus Christ comes to earth to make the full and final payment. for the sins of the whole world. The Bible says he is the propitiation for the whole world.
He has made every man and woman savable by his sacrifice on the cross because men and women need to be saved. God cannot dumb down his standard. And guess what? And we can't save ourselves. Nothing you can do can make up to perfection.
Because, as good as you are, as good as you try to be, nobody can meet the standard of perfection.
So what God came up with is a new plan of imputation. He imputed Adam's sin to us. But Jesus came so that Jesus' righteousness could be imputed back. In other words, he changes your spiritual credit score. The beautiful thing about Christmas is that that baby in a manger What's said here to fix the sin problem, to impute righteousness so that men could stand before a holy God as though they've never sinned, even though they're sinners, because Jesus gave us his credit score.
There was a man one day, and he was on a steeple of a church. And he slipped and fell. off of the highest steeple. As he fell, there was a lamb walking under him. And he hit the lamb as he fell down and crushed it to the ground.
The lamb was killed by the fall of the man from the steeple. When the man got his strength back. He climbed back up. And he inscribed a picture of a lamb. on the front of the steeple.
Because what he was trying to say is anybody who comes in this church has to come through the Lamb. Because the lamb breaks the fall of people who have fallen. You can't be a savior unless you recognize you fallen. But if you fall in, there is a lamb. Because John said, behold the Lamb of God.
that taketh away. The sin of the world. The first thing. That should engender your response on Christmas. Is salvation.
If you miss that, you've missed Christmas. If you leave the holidays not knowing Jesus, you've missed the reason for the season. But there's something else that ought to be part of your Christmas experience. If you're going to really get the message. It's stated in verse.
And suddenly there appeared with an angel a multitude of heavenly hosts. Praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest. Salvation ought to lead to adoration. If you've met Jesus Christ. Oh, come let us adore him.
It ought to be a big deal. That God became a man in order that you might be related to God. More from Dr. Evans on what Christmas means when we continue in just a moment. First, though, he's here with this word for us.
Well, folks, we hope this has been a blessed year for you. It's certainly been a blessing for us to be able to come your way and minister to you on a regular basis. I hope you've been encouraged by the challenge that we brought from God's word. As we come to the end of the year, this is the most important time for our ministry. Our ministry will flourish or not flourish based on how God encourages our friends to join us and to support us for the end of this year.
Would you be part of it? of that provision through your generous year and contribution. Would you close out the year by endorsing what we have been doing with you and for you all year long? We can't do it without you. Thank you for your support.
Please visit us at tonyevans.org or give us a call at 1-800-800-3222. And let us know we can count on your help.
Well, as we've been hearing today, Christmas isn't just a date on the calendar. It's the starting point of God's plan to redeem our lives and bring us back into relationship with Him.
Now, if your heart has been longing for a closer link with the Lord, Dr. Evans' new devotional book, Messages from the Manger, can help guide you there. Each reading helps you see the Christmas story with fresh eyes. how God was working long before Bethlehem. How he still meets needs today.
how He Directs Your Steps, and How He Will speak Hope into a waiting heart. Along with this powerful prayer guide and devotional book, We're also pleased to offer Tony's nine-message Christmas compilation when the King came to town. This audio collection is filled with practical truth about who Jesus is and why His coming still changes everything for us as we turn the corner into 2026. These resources are a rich combination of encouragement and insight. And we'd love to send them to you, and thanks for your donation to help support the Ministry of the Alternative.
To take advantage of this offer, you can make a donation and get all the details when you visit tonyevans.org. Or call 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222-1. or online at tonyevans.org.
Well, let's return now to Dr. Evans for the second part of today's lesson. I know. At Christmas. We recognize him as a baby.
But the question is, how can something that small Matter so much. One of the reasons Jesus came was to end conflict. One of the reasons Jesus came was to bring calm in the midst of chaos. One of the reasons that Christmas exists It's to bring harmony. In the midst All the Diversity.
Jesus came so that Peace would override The divisions that affect us. But it says one of the reasons for Christmas is reconciliation. Bringing harmony where there is confusion and discord.
So the question is, if that's what Jesus came to do. Then look at the situation in which he was born in. When Jesus was born, he was born in chaos. He was born where Herod wanted to kill All the boys under two years of age. He was born in a time when Rome was oppressing Israel.
He was born in a time when there was religious antagonism and conflict. He was born in the midst of chaos and he says, I'm born peace on earth. Not just peace in the sweet by and by, but peace in the nasty here and now. He says, I have come to bring peace. I've come to be your savior.
I'm worthy of your adoration. And now I want to do some healing where there has been a breakdown. I have coma. to give you Peace.
So the question is, how do we get this peace? Peace to live with ourselves, peace to live with others, and peace to affect the harmony in the spheres of our influence.
Well, he actually tells you. Because he says, peace on earth. goodwill toward men with whom he is pleased. He says, if you want to see me to reconcile things that look irreconcilable, you got to make me happy. I've got to be pleased with you.
I've got to be the source of your pleasure. When I'm the source of your pleasure, you get my peace. When I'm not the source of your pleasure, you'll look for your own peace, which means you'll live in perpetual conflict. He says, I must be your pleasure. A hundred pianos.
Tuned to the same uh pitching or tuning fork. will automatically be tuned to one another. Even though there are 100 different pianos, if the tuning fork is what they're all focused in on, they will line up and be tuned to one another. Jesus says, I must be your tuning fork. That is, I must be your point of reference.
no matter what your conflict is, if you want me involved in bringing harmony where there is chaos, conflict, and discord.
So you know why we have all this confusion today? He's not well pleased. That he is not the source and the point of reference for how decisions are made, so that he can become involved in bringing things that don't get along and putting them in a place where they can be in sync with one another. As many of you know, I only eat sandwiches with mayonnaise. I only say I'm not a mustard kind of guy unless it's on a hot dog.
But if I'm just eating a sandwich, I'm a mayonnaise kind of guy.
Now mayonnaise is made of two ingredients that don't get along. Mayonnaise is made of oil and water. And you know, oil and water won't mix. No matter how much you stir them together, they're going to break apart. because they're constitutionally different.
And because they're constitutionally different, they don't want to hang out with one another. They will ball up the oil and pull itself away from the water. You try to mix them. Come on, let's get along. Come on, y'all.
We can make this work. And they will curl up and back up because oil and water don't mix. except when I want my mayonnaise sandwich. Because when I want my mayonnaise sandwich, a process called emulsification is introduced to it. An emulsifier is a substance that reaches out to other substances, pulls them together, and integrates them in a way where they can produce something new.
So the reason that I can enjoy my mayonnaise sandwich is because egg is introduced to the making of mayonnaise. And when egg is introduced, one part of the egg reaches out and grabs the oil. The other part of the egg reaches out and grabs the water. And the egg says, come on, y'all. Tony Evans wants a mayonnaise sandwich.
Let's all get along up in here.
So the egg grabs the oil and the egg grabs the water, pulls them together. They're stirred together and no longer apart to create something new. We live in a world that wants to keep ripping us to our corners. Jesus Christ says, I am the emulsifier. If you will let me be in the center of your division, if you will let my perspective govern your guidance, then you can see me pull things together that are constitutionally variables, that are constitutionally separated.
And you'll see I can create something new. I can create a new relationship, a new marriage, a new parent-child relationship, a new unity among the races, a new cooperation among the genders, a new walking together with the culture. But you got to make sure I'm well pleased. And if you're trying to please yourself, your race, your culture, your gender, your community, and you're not trying to please me, all you're going to do is be oil and water separated, and you'll never get around to the new thing that I want to produce. I must be well pleased because I'm here to be the reconciler for you and for people who will take me seriously.
Jesus came for salvation. He came for adoration and he came for reconciliation. You know, if you've ever seen an orchestra. You've been to an orchestra and you see all the instruments, they're warming up before it's time to present their cantata or whatever they're doing. And they're worn and warming up, and it sounds erratic.
Everybody's doing their own thing. But in the middle of that, Out comes the conductor. The conductor comes and he stands before the orchestra. He takes his wand. He taps the wand.
All of a sudden, there's silence in the room. He raises it. And all of a sudden, a harmonious sound. comes out from the orchestra where there was Distant sound and discordant sound before the conductor arrived. But when the conductor arrived, And all eyes were on the conductor.
The sound harmonized. The instruments weren't the same. But they were all operating on the same sheet of music. The instruments were different and unique. But the sound was beautiful.
The reason we don't have a beautiful sound is because we don't pay attention to the conductor. Jesus says, I'm the conductor. And if you want the sound of unity and the sound of reconciliation, you better listen pop, pop to my tap. And if you listen to my tap, you'll find unity in the midst of your diversity. You'll find harmony in the midst of your chaos.
I'm here to tell you today, Christmas has real meaning. First of all, you come to Christ for salvation. Then you worship him because he's worthy to be praised. And then you reconcile with others in Jesus' name. and when there's salvation And adoration and reconciliation.
Now you're ready to have Christmas. If those are not present, all you're having is a get out of work day. But when you get salvation, and adoration and then you get reconciliation oh now you're ready to say Merry Christmas. Dr. Tony Evans, encouraging us to celebrate Christmas the right way.
with hearts filled with gratitude as we step into the new year.
Now, before I tell you what's in store for us on the New Year's Day message from Dr. Evans, Don't forget to take advantage of that special holiday resource package I mentioned earlier. Tony's new devotional and prayer guide, Messages from the Manger, will help you rediscover the wonder of Christ's birth through Scripture, reflection, and guided prayer. and we paired it with the collection of nine Christmas messages from doctor Evans called When the King Came to Town. We'd love to send both of these resources to you as our gift.
when you make a year-end donation to help support this ministry. Visit TonyEvans.org today to take advantage of this offer. or call 1-800-800-3222. any time of the day or night. The number again 1-800-800-3222-1.
or online at tonyevans.org.
Even in good times, there never seems to be a shortage of things to be anxious about. But worry does nothing but eat us up from the inside. Tomorrow, Dr. Evans points out that God has a better plan for us when anxiety wants to take hold of our thoughts. Be sure to join us for that.
