The True Meaning of Christmas: The First Step Towards Eternal Life
While many tend to focus only on the festive atmosphere of Christmas, Pastor David Jang urges us to meditate on the fundamental question, "Why did Jesus Christ come to this earth?" Jesus' coming was God's plan and divine intervention to save humanity, which was destined for eternal punishment due to sin.
- Liberation from the Law of Sin and Death: Romans reveals the seriousness of human sin and explains that as a result, all of humanity has come under the dominion of death. Pastor Jang clarifies that Christmas is the day Jesus came to liberate us from this very law of sin and death.
- The Prelude to the Cross and Resurrection: Christmas is closely connected to the resurrection. If Jesus' birth is the answer to "Why did He come?", the resurrection is the answer to "Why did He rise again?". Pastor Jang points out that both Jesus' birth and resurrection carry the same message: to give us 'eternal life.' By becoming the 'first fruits of the resurrection,' Jesus became the guarantee of eternal life for all believers.
- Kairos Time: Just as the 20th-century theologian Paul Tillich distinguished history into 'Chronos' and 'Kairos,' Pastor Jang explains that Jesus' coming was a decisive moment that divided human history into BC and AD, a 'Kairos' event.
The Contrast between Adam and Christ: The Representation Theory and the Necessity of Rebirth
Pastor David Jang clearly explains the principle of salvation with the concepts of 'representation theory' or 'seed theory.'
- Death in Adam: Through the transgression of one man, the first representative, Adam, sin entered the world, and all humanity came to face death. This is because Adam was the 'first man' who represented all of humanity.
- Life in Christ: However, God sent Jesus Christ, the 'new representative' and 'new seed.' Just as Adam was a 'type of the one to come' (Romans 5:14), Jesus became the 'second man' who gives us life through His obedience.
- The Importance of Being Born Again: Pastor Jang emphasizes that although Christ opened the way to salvation, the process of 'being born again' is essential for that salvation to become ours. Being born again means that the old self, the nature stained with sin in Adam, dies with Christ on the cross, and we are reborn as a new creation in union with Christ. This is a personal transformation where the master of one's life changes, as in the verse, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).
The Parable of Grafting and the Fruit of Eternal Life
Pastor Jang vividly describes the principle of rebirth through the 'parable of grafting.'
Only when the branch that bore useless wild grapes (the old self) is cut off and grafted onto the true vine, Jesus Christ, can we bear the abundant fruit of the Holy Spirit and eternal life. In this way, through union with Christ, we are freed from the power of sin and death and live a new life where grace reigns.
In conclusion, Pastor David Jang encourages us to deeply meditate on "the love of the Lord who saved us from eternal punishment and promised us eternal life" this Christmas season. He asserts that Christmas is the prelude to God's drama of salvation that broke the history of sin and death and opened the door to eternal life, and that it is the duty of a saint to realize, thank, and live this good news.
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