Sin Is The Reason For The Season.

For years the phrase, "Jesus is the reason for the season" has been popular to say among the religious.  My husband never really liked it and one day said, "You know, really, sin is the reason for the season."  He's right.  We have been living, as Tozer says, "in the shadow of the fall".  Sin is a blight on man from birth to death but praise God, Jesus stepped into time to reconcile man and God.

I've been studying Matthew Poole for several months now as I go through Leviticus and Hebrews simultaneously.  This morning's reading "wowed" me several times as he expressed his thoughts on reconciliation.  Today, I'd like to share some of what he said.  (What Poole writes here is from his commentary on Hebrews 9, specifically verses 9, 10, 12 and 14.)

"God's institution of all the ordinances that the Jews were to keep were right and good but could never reach any further than the flesh.  The gifts and sacrifices were impotent as to the restoring of a sinner to God's favor and they could not reconcile him to God, preserve communion or bring him happiness.  The ordinances could never take away the guilt of sin from the conscience.  It always only cried "guilty"!  They could not remove the power of sin for we were under bondage.   That pressure of bondage results in fear and terrors.  

The  pure, precious, unspotted blood of Jesus rended the veil, laid it open and He came with it to God's throne.  The throne of justice!  He made the everlasting atonement and turned the throne into a throne of grace!!  He fulfilled all righteousness at once forever!  That proper, precious, powerful blood of God incarnate took away inherent corruption and infused holiness into the believer.  

And because of the purifying Correspondent, souls are quickened, have boldness and confidence Godward in point of duty, to present themselves living sacrifices and aim at God through their whole life; that He delights to keep up communion with them, proportioned to Himself until He fit them for complete serving and enjoying of Him in the Holy of Holiest in heaven!"

Ok!  So I don't know about you but that is rich and exciting and hopeful and wonderful!  And there is nothing that can make me any more joyful than that!  Praise Him for His grace in grabbing me from the muck of darkness and grant me His light.  I love Christmas but I don't need Christmas to make me happy.  For there is no happiness that compares to deliverance from bondage, fear, terror and the turmoil caused by sin within and without!