Tomorrow is the Lord’s day, and as Advent draws to a close, our focus remains right where it belongs — on JESUS!
We’ll still sing about the incarnation tomorrow morning, even with December 25 behind us, because God taking on flesh and dwelling among us isn’t something we celebrate for a season and then move on from. There’s no Good Friday or Easter without Christmas. There’s no second coming without the first. The Child born in Bethlehem is the God who saves, reigns, and will come again.
As we light the Christ candle, we’re reminded that Jesus is the center of the gospel Story and our salvation — every season, every Sunday, every day. So, take a few moments to read the Scriptures for tomorrow and listen through the songs. Let them help prepare your heart as we gather to make much of Jesus.
We’d love for you to join us tomorrow as we sing, hear God’s Word preached, and praise the Savior who has come and is coming again — and all the more as the Day draws near (Hebrews 10:25).
Everyone is welcome!
Here is our Advent reading and our Scriptures and songs:
Advent Reading | CHRIST —
The Christ candle stands at the center of Advent, just as Jesus stands at the center of the gospel Story and our salvation. Hebrews opens by telling us that God has spoken fully and finally through His Son – the radiance of His glory and the exact imprint of His nature (Hebrews 1:1-3). The Child born in Bethlehem is the eternal Son who upholds the universe by the word of his power and who made purification for sin before sitting down at the right hand of God. Although December 25th has passed, we don’t stop celebrating what God has done. We continue to rejoice that God put on flesh and dwelt among us – entering our world to save us. His birth led to His cross, His cross to His resurrection, and His resurrection to His unending reign. Even now, He lives to intercede for His people, and He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him (Hebrews 7:25). And as we look back with gratitude on Jesus’s first coming, we also look forward with confidence to His return. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever (Hebrews 13:8), and the God who was faithful to send His Son will be faithful to bring His promises to completion. As we light the Christ candle, let us celebrate the Savior who has come, trust the Savior who reigns, and hold fast to our hope in the Savior who will come again – for He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23).
Scripture | Hebrews 1:1-4 —
1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.[2]
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.[3]
Merry Christmas Adam, Sojourners!
Why Christmas Adam, you ask? Well, Adam came before Eve, right? Ba-dum-cha!
I’m somewhat sorry to start with a dad joke, but I am who I am. And even a light moment like this can remind us that Christmas meets us in ordinary, human places before leading us to eternal truths. So, with that smile (hopefully) in place, let’s turn our hearts to deeper things.
As we move toward the culmination of Advent and stand on the threshold of Christmas, we pause once more to reflect on the gifts God has given us in the coming of His Son. Over the past few weeks, we’ve traced the steady unfolding of the gospel through hope, peace, and joy. We’ve seen that our hope rests not in circumstances but in the faithful God who keeps His promises. We’ve seen that true peace was secured when Jesus entered our darkness to reconcile us to God. And we’ve seen that real joy is not manufactured by emotion or ease but springs up where God’s mercy is received and trusted. And if this season finds you carrying grief, sorrow, disappointment, or weariness, there is room for that here. The coming of Jesus doesn’t require us to pretend, perform, or put on a happy face. It invites us to come to Him honestly – needy, heavy-laden, and real – and to find that He meets us with mercy (Matthew 11:28-30, Psalm 34:18, Hebrews 4:15-16).
Now, all of those gifts converge in the love of God.
Christmas is the declaration that God’s love is neither distant nor abstract. It took on flesh (John 1:14). The incarnation is not merely the arrival of a baby in Bethlehem; it is the greatest gift ever given – the Son of God sent for sinners like us. Hope, peace, and joy all find their source and fulfillment in Him because they flow from God’s love revealed in Jesus. Without God’s love, there would be no promise kept, no peace secured, and no joy that lasts. Christmas tells us that love has come near (Hebrews 2:14-18).
In this final study in our Christ Has Come series, we’ll consider how Scripture defines that love – not as sentiment, but as saving action. We’ll briefly walk through three key passages that together give us a clear and faithful picture of the love of God revealed in Christmas: Romans 5:8, where God demonstrates His love for sinners; John 3:16-17, where God gives His Son so the world might be saved; and 1 John 4:9-10, where love is defined – not by our response to God but by God’s initiative toward us. As we do, it’s my prayer that we’ll see that Christmas proclaims this staggeringly simple and gloriously true gospel message: God loves, God gives, and God saves.
God Demonstrates His Love (Romans 5:8) …but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This verse doesn’t merely tell us that God loves – it shows us how He loves. His love is not theoretical. It’s not conditional. It’s demonstrated, proven, and displayed throughout history through the death of Jesus (1 John 3:16).
What makes this love so staggering is when it was shown. Paul explains that Jesus didn’t die for good, righteous people or folks who had earned God’s favor. He died for sinners – ungodly people living in rebellion and enmity against God (Romans 5:6-10). Human love, at its best, may sacrifice for someone we feel is worthy, but God’s love belongs to an entirely different category. While we were still estranged, still guilty, still God’s enemies, still unable to fix or save ourselves, God acted. He moved first in love (1 John 4:19).
And it’s important to see that this wasn’t only the love of the Son for us but also the love of the Father. You see, the cross wasn’t a tragic accident or a reluctant sacrifice – it was God’s loving plan of redemption. God demonstrated His love by sending His Son to die in our place (Romans 8:32). The justice and righteousness of God required that sin be dealt with, and Romans 5:9 reminds us why the cross was necessary: “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God.” God’s love doesn’t ignore sin or minimize judgment. Rather, love moved God to place His righteous wrath against sin upon His own Son, so that sinners like us could be forgiven, justified, and reconciled to Him.
Romans 5:8 teaches us that God’s love isn’t measured by how we feel in a given moment or how well life is going. It’s anchored in an unchanging historical reality: Jesus died for us. Christmas, then, isn’t sentimental but sacrificial. It points us to the cross, where God’s love is demonstrated fully, finally, and forever.
God Gives His Son (John 3:16-17) For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.
If Romans 5:8 shows us how God demonstrates His love, John 3:16-17 helps us understand why – and to what end. The cross doesn’t stand alone as an isolated act of love but flows out of the eternal, gracious heart of the Father. Long before nails pierced flesh, love was already moving. God loved, and so God gave.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son….” These are probably the most familiar words in all of Scripture, but they lose none of their weight or strength with repetition. They magnify this God-sized love, a love not measured by the size or goodness of the world but in the costliness of the gift He gives. Scripture is clear: God’s love for the world is astonishing not because the world was worthy, but because it was fallen, rebellious, and broken. The wonder of John 3:16 isn’t that God loved something lovable—which would make sense—but that He loved sinners and gave His Son so that they might be saved through Him. That is grace. That is mercy.
And this love isn’t vague. It’s not sentimental. God’s love takes action. He gave His Son – He sent Him into the world to take on flesh, dwell among us, and ultimately to bear the penalty for our sin. The incarnation – Christmas – is an act of love. Christmas tells us that love came near to us, and as we said before, Christmas leads us to the cross, God giving Himself so that sinners might live.
John 3:17 presses this even further because Jesus didn’t enter a morally neutral world awaiting judgment; He entered a world already condemned by sin (John 3:18, 3:36). His first coming wasn’t to add condemnation but to offer rescue (John 12:47). Love sent the Son on a mission of salvation – not ignoring sin but dealing with it fully and finally.
This helps us see the way Christmas and the cross are woven together in God’s redemptive plan. God’s love doesn’t deny judgment but provides salvation from it. The same love that sent Jesus into the world is the love that led Him to lay down His life. And the promise attached to that love is breathtakingly simple: “whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” God’s love invites trust. It calls for faith. And it offers life – real, eternal life – to all who believe in Him.
If Romans 5:8 shows us that God loved us while we were still sinners, John 3:16-17 shows us that this love has always been purposeful, redemptive, and saving. Love gives. Love sends. Love saves.
God Defines Love (1 John 4:9-10) In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
If Romans 5:8 shows us when God loved us and John 3:16-17 shows us why He loved us, 1 John 4:9-10 tells us what love truly is. Scripture doesn’t leave love to our imagination or interpretation. It defines it for us. And it does so by pointing, once again, to God’s action in sending His Son.
John tells us that God’s love was “made manifest” – made visible, made known, made unmistakable. Love didn’t remain hidden in God’s heart or vague in His intentions. It was revealed when God sent His only Son into the world so that we, who were dead in our trespasses and sins, might live through Him (Ephesians 2:1-5). Love isn’t about how we feel toward God but about what God has done for us. “In this is love,” John writes, “Not that we have loved but that God has loved us.” Love begins with God. Love moves toward sinners. Love takes the initiative.
This is where Christmas love often gets misunderstood. We tend to think of love primarily in human terms like affection, warmth, or generosity, but Scripture presses us deeper. God’s love is not only demonstrated in sending His Son – it’s defined by His purpose for sending Him: “to be the propitiation for our sins”[4]. That word matters. Propitiation means that Jesus bore the righteous wrath of God against sin, as we discussed earlier, but it also means that He fully satisfied the demands of God’s holy justice (Romans 3:25-26, Isaiah 53:5-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Love didn’t ignore our sin. It didn’t excuse our rebellion against God. Love dealt with sin fully and finally by placing its penalty on a sinless substitute.
This is also why no human comparison or analogy could fully capture what God has done – though it can help us feel the weight of it. As a father – as a daddy, I cannot imagine loving anyone enough to give one of my children in their place. My love for my kids outweighs any value anyone else could ever have in my eyes. And even if I could somehow bring myself to offer such a sacrifice, it wouldn’t do any good. My kiddos, like their daddy, are sinners. They couldn’t atone for anyone’s sin. They couldn’t bear God’s righteous wrath. They, like me, can’t even save themselves. We didn’t need a better example or a more inspiring human being—we needed God’s Son. We needed God to put on flesh and dwell among us, live the sinless life we are incapable of living, and die the death we deserve because of our sin. Only a sinless Savior could stand in the place of sinners (Hebrews 4:15, 1 Peter 3:18). Only Jesus could be the propitiation our sins require.
This is the love Christmas proclaims. God didn’t send His Son because we were lovable. He sent Him because we were lost. He didn’t wait for our love but acted in love first. And He didn’t merely show us affection – He provided atonement. Christmas tells us that love came down, took on flesh, and willingly walked toward the cross so that we might live through Him.
Wrapping Up
As this study comes to a close – and Christmas itself arrives – we’re reminded that the love we’ve been considering isn’t something to admire. It’s something to receive. Christmas isn’t only a message to be believed but a Savior to be trusted. And coming to Jesus doesn’t require you to feel “merry”, to force a smile, or to pretend the season isn’t heavy. There is room in Christ for grief, sorrow, anxiety, and whatever burdens you’re carrying (Psalm 34:18, 1 Peter 5:7). He meets us where we are – and He loves us too much to leave us as we are (Hebrews 4:15-16).
For some, this invitation is especially clear. If you find yourself among the lowly – aware of your need, burdened by guilt, weary from sin, or conscious that you can’t save yourself – Christmas holds out real hope. The love of God has come near to sinners in Jesus, near enough to take hold of. And Scripture tells us plainly how to do that: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). It really is that simple – and that profound. Look away from yourself and toward Jesus and what He has done. Put your trust – your faith – in Him. And if you do, God’s promise stands firm: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13). What better time to receive Him—and the love that’s been given?
For others, this season is a call not to come for the first time but to remember again. Many of us have been lifted by grace – saved, forgiven, reconciled to God through Christ. And yet even the redeemed can grow weary, distracted, or dulled by the noise of the season. Christmas gently calls us back to the gospel we first believed. It invites us to remember what the Lord has done and to ask Him to remind us again – day by day – of His steadfast love. The love of God in Christ that saved you is the same love that sustains you, comforts you, and carries you forward.
This is the good news Christmas proclaims. Love has come. Love has taken on flesh. Love has walked toward the cross. And love calls sinners to come, believers to remember, and all to rest in Christ – because He is love. So wherever you find yourself this Christmas, lowly or lifted, weary or rejoicing – fix your eyes once more on Jesus. The Promised King has come. And in Him, the greatest gift of love has been given.
[4]Propitiation means that Jesus bore the righteous wrath of God against sin and fully satisfied the demands of God’s holy justice (Romans 3:25–26; Isaiah 53:5–6). At the cross, God did not ignore sin or lower His standard; He dealt with sin completely by placing its penalty on His own Son. Because Jesus satisfied God’s justice, all who trust in Him are justified—declared righteous before God, not because of their works, but because Christ’s righteousness is credited to them (Romans 5:1, 5:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). This means that God’s love and God’s justice are not in conflict at the cross. In love, God provided what His justice required. Propitiation shows us that salvation is not God choosing between love and holiness, but God expressing both perfectly in Jesus.
Paul explains what it means that believers are “not under law but under grace” (6:14). Using a marriage illustration, he reminds us that law has authority over someone only while they live (vv. 1–3). In the same way, believers have died to the law through the body of Christ so we can “belong to another”—to the risen Jesus—in order to bear fruit for God (v. 4). Before Christ, the law interacted with our sinful flesh in a way that stirred up rebellion and produced “fruit for death” (v. 5). But now, in Christ, we are released from the law’s condemning hold so we can serve in the new way of the Spirit, not merely in the old way of written code (v. 6; cf. 2 Cor. 3:6).
That raises a hard question: if the law can stir up sin, does that mean the law is bad? Paul’s answer is just as strong as in chapter 6: By no means! (v. 7). The law is not sin; it reveals sin. Paul uses the tenth commandment—“You shall not covet” (Ex. 20:17)—to show how sin can seize God’s good command and turn it into an opportunity for more desire, more rebellion, and ultimately death (vv. 7–11). The problem is not God’s law; the problem is sin’s power working in us. So Paul concludes with a clear affirmation: “the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good” (v. 12).
In the second half of the chapter, Paul presses the point further: the good law is not the cause of death—sin is (v. 13). He describes the painful reality of the human condition: the law is spiritual and good, but we are weak and still battling indwelling sin (vv. 14–23). Whether Paul is mainly describing the experience of a person under the law or the ongoing struggle of a believer, the message lands in the same place: we cannot rescue ourselves by effort or moral performance. The struggle exposes our need and drives us to the only true deliverer. Paul’s cry becomes our hope: “Who will deliver me…?” And the answer comes immediately: “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (vv. 24–25; cf. Gal. 5:17, 1 John 1:8–9). Romans 8 is about to show how that deliverance is lived out by the Spirit.
🌀 Reflection: When you feel the tug-of-war—wanting to obey God, yet sensing sin “close at hand” (v. 21)—don’t let it drive you to shame or self-salvation projects. Let it drive you to Jesus. The struggle is real, but so is the Savior who rescues, forgives, and trains you to walk by the Spirit (v. 25; 8:1–4).
💬 Mission Challenge: Encourage someone who feels stuck in spiritual frustration. Share Romans 7:24–25 and remind them that Christianity isn’t “try harder”—it’s deliverance in Christ, and new power by the Spirit (v. 6; 8:2).
After saying that grace abounds where sin increases (5:20), Paul answers the obvious objection: “So should we keep sinning?” His response is strong and clear: By no means! (vv. 1–2). Grace isn’t permission to stay the same—it’s power to live new. Believers have died to sin in the sense that sin no longer has absolute rule over us (vv. 2, 6, 14). Paul points to our union with Christ: we were baptized into Christ’s death and buried with Him, so that just as Christ was raised, we too might walk in newness of life (vv. 3–4). Our “old self” (who we were in Adam) was crucified with Christ so we would no longer be enslaved to sin (v. 6; cf. Gal. 2:20).
Because Christ has been raised and will never die again, His victory is permanent—and our union with Him changes everything (vv. 8–10). That’s why Paul tells us to consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (v. 11). Then he calls for action: don’t let sin reign in your mortal body, and don’t offer yourself to sin as an instrument for unrighteousness. Instead, present yourself to God as someone brought from death to life, and offer your life to Him for righteousness (vv. 12–13). The promise underneath the command is hope-giving: sin will have no dominion over you, because you are not under law but under grace (v. 14; cf. Ezek. 36:25–27).
Paul pushes the point further: being “under grace” does not mean we can casually sin (v. 15). Everyone is serving a master—either sin (which leads to death) or obedience (which leads to righteousness) (v. 16). But Christians have been changed from the inside out. We were slaves to sin, but God has made us obedient from the heart to the gospel-shaped pattern of teaching, and we’ve been set free to become slaves of righteousness (vv. 17–18). Sin’s path produces shame and ends in death, but serving God bears fruit that leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life (v. 21–22). Paul ends with a famous contrast: sin pays wages—death—but God gives a gift—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (v. 23; cf. Eph. 2:8–9).
🌀 Reflection: Where do you feel sin trying to “reign” again—your thoughts, temper, habits, secret compromises (v. 12)? Don’t argue with it like it’s your master. In Christ, you’ve died and risen to a new life—so start today by believing what God says is true: you are alive to Him (v. 11).
🎄 Christmas Reflection: Christmas celebrates more than Jesus coming into the world—it celebrates why He came. The Son of God was born so that we could die to sin and live to God. The manger points forward to a cross and an empty tomb, where Jesus breaks sin’s power and gives new life to all who are united to Him. Because Christ has come, grace doesn’t just forgive us—it raises us to walk in newness of life (vv. 4, 11).
💬 Mission Challenge: Tell someone this week that grace doesn’t just forgive—it frees. Share Romans 6:23 and explain the difference between what sin pays (“wages”) and what God gives (“free gift”), and invite them to trust Christ for new life (v. 23, 5:8–9).
Because we have been justified by faith, we now have peace with God through Jesus—not just a calm feeling, but a real change in our relationship with God where the hostility of sin is ended (vv. 1, 10–11). Through Christ we have access into grace and a secure place to stand, and that security produces hope—the certain expectation that we will share in the glory God has promised (v. 2). Even our sufferings aren’t meaningless for the believer. God uses them to form endurance, proven character, and deeper hope (vv. 3–4). And this hope will not put us to shame on the day of judgment, because God has already poured His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (v. 5; cf. Eph. 1:13–14).
Paul grounds that inner assurance in a rock-solid, historical proof: Christ died for us while we were still weak, ungodly, and sinners (vv. 6–8). Human love might rarely die for someone “good,” but God’s love is in a category all its own—Jesus died for enemies (v. 10). That’s why Paul argues “much more”: if God has already justified us by Christ’s blood and reconciled us through His death, we can be confident He will finish what He started—saving us from wrath and keeping us by Christ’s resurrected life (vv. 9–10; cf. 4:25). So our boasting isn’t in ourselves; it’s in God, because we have received reconciliation through our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 11).
Then Paul widens the lens to show why this hope is so sure: everyone is either in Adam or in Christ. Through Adam, sin entered the world and death spread to all (vv. 12, 14). Adam’s one trespass brought condemnation, and the law later highlighted and even multiplied our trespasses by exposing sin more clearly (vv. 16, 20). But Christ is the “second Adam”—and His gift is not like Adam’s trespass. Where Adam’s one act brought death’s reign, Christ’s one act of righteousness and obedience brings an abundance of grace, justification, and life to all who receive Him by faith (vv. 15–19). Sin once reigned in death, but grace now reigns through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord (v. 21).
🌀 Reflection: Where do you feel most “weak” right now—tired, tempted, anxious, discouraged? Romans 5 doesn’t tell you to prove yourself to God; it tells you to look at the cross. If God loved you when you were His enemy, you don’t have to wonder whether He’ll hold you now as His child (vv. 8–10).
🎄 Christmas Reflection: On Christmas Eve, we remember that God’s love did not begin at the cross—it moved toward the cross through the cradle. The child born in Bethlehem came for the weak, the ungodly, and the undeserving. Christmas proclaims that God did not wait for us to love Him first; He came near while we were still sinners, to make peace and give us hope that will never put us to shame (vv. 6–8).
💬 Mission Challenge: Share Romans 5:8 with someone today and put it in plain words: “God didn’t wait for me to get better—Jesus came for me when I was still a sinner.” Invite them to receive the free gift of grace and life found in Christ (vv. 15–17, 21).
Paul points to Abraham—the great father of Israel—to prove that God has always made sinners right with Him by faith, not by works. If Abraham had been justified by what he did, he could boast. But Scripture says the opposite: “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness” (vv. 2–3, Gen. 15:6). Paul explains the difference with a simple picture: wages are earned, but a gift is received. That’s why the gospel is so shocking—and so hopeful—God “justifies the ungodly” who stop trying to earn righteousness and instead trust Him (vv. 4–5). David backs this up by celebrating the blessedness of forgiven people whose sins are not counted against them (vv. 6–8, Ps. 32:1–2).
Then Paul tackles circumcision, because many assumed the outward sign was the doorway into God’s blessing. But the timeline matters: Abraham was counted righteous before he was circumcised (vv. 9–10). Circumcision was a sign and seal of a righteousness he already had by faith, not the cause of it (v. 11). That means Abraham is the father of all who believe—Gentiles who believe without circumcision and Jews who are not merely marked outwardly but who “walk in the footsteps” of Abraham’s faith (vv. 11–12).
Paul goes further: the promise didn’t come through the law (which arrived centuries later) but through the righteousness of faith (v. 13). If inheritance came through law-keeping, faith would be emptied and the promise would collapse, because the law exposes sin and brings wrath on lawbreakers (vv. 14–15). That’s why the promise rests on grace and is guaranteed through faith, so it can include all Abraham’s offspring—Jew and Gentile alike (vv. 16–17). Abraham’s faith wasn’t denial of reality; he faced his aged body and Sarah’s barrenness, yet trusted God’s power to give life and keep His word (vv. 18–21). That same kind of faith is what God counts as righteousness for us as we believe in Him who raised Jesus—“delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification” (vv. 22–25).
🌀 Reflection: Romans 4 presses a hard question: are you treating God like an employer who pays wages, or like a Father who gives grace? Real faith lays down boasting, stops bargaining, and simply trusts God to do what He promised in Christ (vv. 4–5, 20–21).
🎄 Christmas Reflection: At Christmas, we celebrate a gift that cannot be earned. Jesus is not a reward for good behavior but God’s gracious answer to human helplessness. Just as Abraham believed God’s promise against all odds, we are called to receive Christ the same way—not by working, but by trusting. The birth of Jesus declares that salvation has always been, and will always be, by grace through faith (vv. 4–5, 16).
💬 Mission Challenge: Encourage someone who feels “too far gone” by sharing the heart of Romans 4: God justifies the ungodly who believe. Tell them you don’t clean yourself up to come to Jesus—you come to Jesus to be made new (vv. 5, 24–25).
Paul continues answering objections from his Jewish dialogue partner. Yes, the Jews had real advantages—chiefly that they were entrusted with the very words of God (vv. 1–2). Yet Israel’s unfaithfulness does not cancel God’s faithfulness. God remains true, righteous, and just in His judgments, even when every human proves false (vv. 3–6). Paul also rejects the twisted logic that says sin should be excused because it “shows” God’s righteousness or “brings” Him glory; that argument is slander against the gospel, and it deserves condemnation (vv. 7–8).
Then Paul delivers the courtroom verdict on all humanity: Jews and Gentiles alike are under sin—no one is righteous, no one seeks God, and sin reaches into our words, our actions, and even our inner posture toward the Lord (vv. 9–18). The law does not provide a ladder to climb into God’s favor; it speaks to expose guilt, silence excuses, and hold the whole world accountable (v. 19). That’s why no human being will be justified by works of the law—because the law’s role is to reveal sin, not remove it (v. 20).
But now—after the guilty verdict—God reveals His saving righteousness apart from the law, though the Old Testament always pointed to it (v. 21). This right standing with God comes through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, because all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (vv. 22–23). We are justified by grace as a gift through the redemption found in Christ, whom God put forward as the atoning sacrifice—satisfying God’s wrath and dealing with our sins (vv. 24–25). In the cross, God shows Himself to be both just and the One who justifies the sinner who trusts Jesus (v. 26). Therefore, boasting is excluded; Jew and Gentile are saved the same way—by faith—and this faith does not overthrow the law but upholds it by fulfilling its purpose: exposing sin and pointing us to Christ (vv. 27–31).
🌀 Reflection: Romans 3 knocks the last prop out from under self-reliance. If the law can only expose our sin, then our hope can’t be our effort—it must be God’s gift. Are you resting today in what Christ has done, or still trying to earn what can only be received by faith (vv. 24–26)?
🎄 Christmas Reflection: Christmas reminds us that God did not wait for humanity to fix itself before acting. When every mouth was silenced and every heart exposed as guilty, God sent His Son into the world—not to condemn it, but to save it. The child in the manger is God’s answer to the verdict of Romans 3: we cannot make ourselves righteous, so God came to give righteousness as a gift through Jesus Christ (vv. 21–24).
💬 Mission Challenge: Share the “But now…” of the gospel with someone this week: you can’t justify yourself, but God justifies sinners freely by grace through faith in Jesus (vv. 21–24).
After exposing the sin of the Gentile world in Romans 1, Paul turns to those who are quick to judge others. He warns that judging does not place anyone above God’s judgment, because the judge often practices the very same things (vv. 1–3). God’s judgment is always righteous and true, and His kindness, patience, and restraint are not permission to continue in sin but an invitation to repent (v. 4). Those who refuse to repent are not escaping judgment—they are storing it up for the day when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed (v. 5). God will judge each person according to their deeds, showing no favoritism to Jew or Gentile alike (vv. 6–11).
Paul then explains that judgment is based on response to the light a person has received. Gentiles without the written law are still accountable because God’s moral law is written on their hearts, witnessed by conscience (vv. 14–15). Jews, though privileged with God’s law, are not justified by hearing it but by doing it (vv. 12–13). Ultimately, God’s judgment reaches beyond outward actions to the hidden motives and secrets of the heart—and it will be carried out through Jesus Christ (v. 16).
Paul goes on to address Jews directly, exposing the danger of religious confidence without obedience. Having God’s law and teaching it to others is meaningless if it is not lived out (vv. 17–24). Circumcision, the covenant sign, has value only when joined with obedience; without it, the outward sign is empty (v. 25). True belonging to God is not marked by outward identity or ritual but by an inward change—a heart transformed by the Spirit (vv. 28–29). What matters most is not human approval but praise from God.
🌀 Reflection: Romans 2 presses us to examine not just what we know or how we appear, but who we truly are before God. Where might you be relying on spiritual knowledge, background, or reputation instead of humble repentance and a heart changed by the Spirit (vv. 4, 29)?
💬 Mission Challenge: Repent intentionally today—thank God for His kindness, confess areas of hidden pride or hypocrisy, and ask the Spirit to keep shaping your heart to match your confession of faith (vv. 4–5).
Paul opens Romans by introducing himself as a servant of Christ Jesus, called and set apart for the gospel God promised long ago in the Scriptures (vv. 1–2). That gospel centers on God’s Son—Jesus, the promised King from David’s line and the risen Lord declared to be the Son of God in power (vv. 3–4). Paul writes to believers in Rome (whom he hasn’t met yet) with gratitude for their faith and with a deep desire to visit so they can strengthen and encourage one another (vv. 8–12). He feels a holy obligation to take the good news to all kinds of people, and he’s eager to preach it in Rome too (vv. 13–15). Then he states the heartbeat of the letter: the gospel is God’s power to save everyone who believes, revealing God’s righteousness from start to finish by faith (vv. 16–17).
Right away, Paul also explains why the world needs saving. God’s wrath is being revealed against human sin because people suppress the truth and refuse to honor and thank the Creator, even though God’s power and divine nature are clearly seen through what He has made (vv. 18–21). Instead of worshiping God, people exchange His glory for idols—created things in place of the Creator (vv. 22–25). As an act of judgment, God “gave them up” to the consequences of their rebellion, and the result is deep moral confusion and a flood of many kinds of evil—both in actions and in approving what is wrong (vv. 24–32). Romans 1 leaves us with no room for pride: we need rescue, and only God can provide it.
🌀 Reflection: Where are you tempted to be quiet, careful, or “ashamed” of the gospel—not necessarily in what you say, but in what you avoid? Ask the Lord to renew your confidence that the good news isn’t your power to fix people; it’s God’s power to save (v. 16)—and it starts by turning us from worshiping created things back to worshiping the Creator (v. 25).
💬 Mission Challenge: Share one simple, gospel-centered sentence with someone this week—who Jesus is and what He does to save—and invite them to read Romans with you (vv. 16–17).
39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.” 46 And Mary said,
“My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53 he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”
56 And Mary remained with her about three months and returned to her home. [1]
Merry Christmas, Sojourners!
As we move deeper into this Advent/Christmas season, I keep coming back to the way the Lord trains our hearts through the gifts He gives. He doesn’t just announce that His Son has come – He teaches us to receive Him.
In our first study in this series, we focused on hope – the kind of hope that doesn’t rest on circumstances but on the faithful God who keeps His promises, even through brokenness and waiting. In the second study, we turned to peace – not a thin calm or temporary quiet, but the steady peace Jesus secured by entering our darkness, reconciling us to God, and holding us fast through every season.
Now, we come to joy – and we pause. We need to know what it is – and what it isn’t.
Biblical joy is deeper than a mood or feeling. It’s not the fleeting and ever-changing “happiness” our world tries to chase and manufacture. In Scripture, joy is gladness rooted in God – gladness that can exist even when life is still hard, even when answers are still unfolding. The New Testament word often translated “joy” can describe the rejoicing God inspires, and it can even describe the occasion or grounds for joy – what joy is built on and rises out of (Luke 2:10, Romans 14:17).[2] That’s why biblical joy isn’t fragile. It isn’t dependent on a perfect day or easy circumstances. It grows where mercy takes root, where pride is lowered, where need is admitted, and where God is trusted.
We can miss it if we move too quickly through the Christmas story. In Luke’s Christmas narrative, joy arrives before the word shows up when the shepherds hear “good news of great joy” (Luke 2:10). Months before Bethlehem, joy is already stirring in the hill country of Judea. A baby, filled with the Holy Spirit, leaps for joy in the womb (Luke 1:44). A woman, filled with the Holy Spirit, blesses the mother of her Lord (Luke 1:41-43). And that young mother, Mary – lowly, standing at the beginning of a road she doesn’t yet understand – rejoices in God her Savior (Luke 1:46-47). Joy was already breaking through the darkness, because Jesus was already there!
Luke 1:39-56, our passage for today, shows us that the joy of Christ is grounded in God’s unfolding mercy – mercy that humbles the proud, lifts the lowly, feeds the hungry, and keeps covenant promises stretching all the way back to Abraham (Luke 1:50-55; Genesis 12:1-3, 17:7; Micah 7:18-20). We see this joy in the song Mary sings. The song is deeply personal but not small. It echoes the hope of Hannah long before her (1 Samuel 2:1-10), and it reaches forward to the Kingdom her baby will grow and usher in – a Kingdom where God’s grace reverses what sin has marred, and where the Savior lifts those who put their faith in Him (Luke 4:18-19, 6:20-23; Isaiah 61:1-3).
In Luke 1:39-56, we’ll see that joy is not something Mary manufactures or inspires in others – it’s something God gives as His mercy begins to unfold. We’ll begin by looking at the original context and setting of Mary’s visit to her relative Elizabeth, where joy first breaks through the silence in unexpected ways. Then we’ll listen carefully to Mary’s song – known as the Magnificat, where joy rises from a heart overwhelmed not with herself, but with her God and His mercy. From there, we’ll see how this song points beyond Mary to Jesus Himself – the coming King who fulfills God’s promises and brings lasting joy. And finally, we’ll consider what this passage teaches us about the gift of joy God gives to the lowly and the lifted, to those who know their need of Him and trust His Word.
Original Context & Setting: Joy Breaks the Silence (vv. 39-45)
Luke tells us that “in those days” Mary rose and went “with haste” into the hill country of Judea to visit her relative Elizabeth (Luke 1:39). This small phrase links what follows directly to the angel’s announcement (Luke 1:26-38). Mary doesn’t linger in Nazareth to sort out the social consequences of her pregnancy or demand clarity about her and the baby’s future. Instead, she moves forward in faith (v. 38). She goes to see the sign God Himself had given her: her much older relative Elizabeth, once barren, is now six months pregnant by God’s grace and power (Luke 1:36-37).
Their meeting is inconsequential by worldly standards. No crowds gather. No rulers take notice. Yet this is one of the most theologically rich encounters in all of Scripture. Two miraculous pregnancies meet. Two stories of God’s mercy intersect. And joy erupts before a single word is spoken.
When Mary greets Elizabeth, John the Baptist leaps in his mother’s womb (v. 41). Luke – the physician – is careful to explain that this is no ordinary movement, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, interprets it for us: “the baby in my womb leaped for joy” (v. 44). Even before his birth, John fulfills his calling to prepare the way of the Lord as he recognizes and announces the presence of the Messiah in utero (Luke 1:17, 76; Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3). Joy breaks out not because circumstances are easy, but because Jesus is near.
Elizabeth is then filled with the Spirit herself and cries out in a loud voice, pronouncing Mary “blessed among women”, not for who she is but because of the Child she carries – “blessed is the fruit of your womb” (v. 42). Then, Elizabeth goes further calling Mary “the mother of my Lord” (v. 43). This is a staggering confession. Months before Bethlehem, months before angels sing to shepherd, Jesus is confessed as Lord by a Holy Spirit-filled woman and acknowledged by a Spirit-filled unborn child. The joy here is deeply Christ-centered, not found in Mary but magnifying the Son.
Finally, Elizabeth speaks a blessing that turns our attention to Mary’s response to God’s Word: “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord” (v. 45). That emphasis on faith matters, especially when we remember that this moment follows a season of silence brought on by unbelief. The Spirit-inspired words spoken through Elizabeth stand in quiet contrast to her husband Zechariah’s earlier doubts, which left him unable to speak until God’s promise began to unfold just as He had said (Luke 1:18–20, 64).[3]
At this point in the Christmas narrative, Mary doesn’t yet see the full shape of God’s plan, but she trusts the God who spoke. And in a time when God had been silent for centuries, His Word breaking forth again was no small thing (Amos 8:11-12). Even though Mary didn’t know how all of this would work out, God was already showing her that He was with her on the journey (Matthew 1:23). We begin to see here that joy doesn’t wait for completion or a finish line. It doesn’t require resolution. It doesn’t depend on our full comprehension of what’s going on or how things will turn out. Joy springs up where God’s Word is believed (Psalm 119:111, Jeremiah 15:16).
Now, the word “joy” doesn’t appear here, but it is already present – present in the leaping child, the Spirit-filled confession of Jesus as Lord, and in Mary’s quiet faith in God’s promise. And it is out of this joy that Mary’s song will rise – not as a sudden emotional outburst, but as a thoughtful, Scripture-shaped response to the mercy of God at work in her life.
The Joy of God’s Mercy in the Magnificat (vv. 46-55)
When Mary finally speaks, she doesn’t begin with explanations, questions, or fear. She begins with worship. Luke tells us, “And Mary said…” (v. 46), and what follows is not a spontaneous emotional overflow but a carefully shaped song, steeped in Scripture and centered on God. This song, as I have mentioned, is known as the Magnificat, named after its opening word in Latin, drawn from Mary’s opening declaration: “My soul magnifies the Lord.” And that opening line sets the tone for everything that follows.
Mary’s joy in this song is not focused on herself. She’s not magnifying her experience, her obedience, or her unique role in human and redemptive history. She magnifies the Lord. Her joy is vertical before it’s personal. She magnifies her Lord and her “spirit rejoices in God [her] Savior” (vv. 46-47). In humility, she calls God her Savior, acknowledging her sin and need for God’s mercy. Joy grows where pride is lessened and God’s grace is welcomed.
She goes on to explain why her soul rejoices: God has looked upon her “humble estate” (v. 48). Mary wasn’t wealthy, powerful, or impressive by any worldly standards. She was young, obscure, and vulnerable. Yet God has seen her. The joy she experiences isn’t rooted in her being chosen because she was worthy, but in being shown mercy despite her lowliness.
From there, Mary’s song widens. What God has done for her personally reveals something true about His character universally. “Holy is His name,” she declares, and “His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation” (vv. 49-50, Exodus 34:6-7, Psalm 103:17). Joy, in Mary’s song, is never detached from who God is. It flows from His holiness, His power, and especially His mercy. This isn’t a one-time act of kindness but a continuation of what God has been unfolding throughout history and continues to unfold today.
As the song continues, Mary celebrates the great reversal God brings—scattering the proud, bringing down the mighty, exalting the humble, filling the hungry, and sending the rich away empty (vv. 51–53, 1 Samuel 2:6-8). These words are not political slogans or rhetoric but theological declarations. Mary rejoices in the way God’s mercy turns worldly values upside down (1 Corinthians 1:27-28). Joy comes not to those who trust in their own strength—because human strength fails and fades—but to those who know their need and look to God to strengthen and save.
Finally, Mary anchors her joy in God’s faithfulness to His promises. He has helped His servant Israel, remembering His mercy “as He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever” (vv. 54-55; Genesis 12:1-3, 22:17-18). Her joy rests in God’s covenant faithfulness to His people (Deuteronomy 7:9). God was doing in Mary what He had promised long ago. The mercy unfolding in her womb is connected to promises stretching back generations, all the way to Genesis and Abraham. And she rejoices in the assurance that the God who spoke to her keeps His Word.
This is what makes the Magnificat so magnificent. Mary’s joy is deeply personal but not private. It’s shaped by Scripture, grounded in God’s mercy, and oriented toward His purposes and plan rather than her own. She doesn’t rejoice because she experienced an influx of health, wealth, and prosperity as some falsely promise; she rejoices because God is doing exactly what He said He’d do. And this kind of joy – joy rooted in mercy and tempered in humility and faith – prepares us to see the true significance of the Child she carries. Because Mary’s song does not end with her; it presses us forward to the work this Child has come to accomplish.
Fulfillment in Jesus, the Coming King
In the last two weeks, we’ve looked a lot at Old Testament references in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus and in the prophecy from Isaiah. It took some work to flesh out the promises of God and show their fulfillment in Jesus. Luke 1:39-56 is much easier because Jesus is already there in Mary’s womb (Luke 1:31-33, Galatians 4:4).
The promises Mary celebrates are no longer distant or abstract. They aren’t waiting centuries to be fulfilled. They are present, personal, and alive in the Child she carries. The mercy she sings about has taken on flesh (John 1:14). The King she rejoices in is not merely promised – He is already at work, even before He is born (Luke 1:35, Matthew 1:21).
This is what makes Mary’s joy so striking. She’s not rejoicing in who Jesus will one day become, but in who He already is. The reversals she proclaims – the proud scattered, the lowly lifted, the hungry filled – are not wishful thinking or poetic exaggeration but the certain outworking of God’s mercy now embodied in her Child. Luke has already told us who this Child is. The angel Gabriel announced that He would be given “the throne of His father David”, that He would reign forever, and that “of His Kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33, 2 Samuel 7:12-13, Isaiah 9:6-7). Those promises stand quietly behind every line of the Magnificat. When Mary sings of God helping His servant Israel and remembering His mercy (v. 54), she is rejoicing in the arrival of the long-awaited King who would finally do what no earthly ruler – even her ancestor King David – could: bring salvation, righteousness, and lasting joy (Jeremiah 23:5-6, Zechariah 9:9).
Jesus fulfills everything expressed in Mary’s song. The proud are scattered as human self-sufficiency is exposed by grace (Luke 18:9-14). The mighty are brought low as the true King enters the world unnoticed and lives a life culminating in the cross (Luke 19:38, 23:33; Philippians 2:6-8). The hungry are filled as Jesus offers Himself as the Bread of Life to those who know their need (Luke 6:20-21, John 6:35). And those who cling to wealth, status, and self-righteousness are sent away empty because they refuse to partake of the mercy He so freely gives (Luke 12:15, 18:24-25).
The mercy Mary rejoices in here reaches its fullest expression at the cross, a reality that would one day pierce her own heart (Luke 2:34-35). There, the lowly are lifted, sinners are forgiven, and the proud illusion of being able to earn righteousness collapses. Jesus is not a mere announcement of God’s mercy – He becomes its means, bearing sin and the wrath of God due for it, and reconciling sinners to God (Luke 22:19–20, Romans 5:8–11, Isaiah 53:4-6, 2 Corinthians 5:21). Mary’s joy isn’t sentimental; it’s anchored in the coming sacrifice of her Son.
Thankfully, the sacrifice she would later witness was not the end. The resurrection she would also witness confirms that her joy was well-founded (Luke 24:1-8, Acts 1:14). God keeps His promises (Hebrews 10:23). The King lives. Jesus rises, reigns, and continues to extend the mercy she sang about – gathering the lowly, forgiving the guilty, and bringing true joy to all who trust in Him. This means Mary’s song was not simply a celebration for what God had done for her, but a declaration of what God had begun to do for the world. The Child in her womb is the King who fulfills every promise, secures lasting joy, and proves once and for all that God’s mercy never fails.
Wrapping Up
We’ve talked a lot about joy today, and, if I’m honest, I find myself longing to feel more of that joy myself. Thankfully, biblical joy is more than a feeling. Feelings ebb and flow, changing with circumstances and surroundings. But joy, biblical joy, is found – just as it was with Elizabeth, John the Baptist, and Mary in Luke 1:39-56 – in the presence of Jesus. It is found fixing our eyes on Him and lifting our entire worldview toward Him, seeking what is above rather than being hijacked by all of the bad this fallen world has to offer (Colossians 3:1-4, Hebrews 12:2).
The joy found in Jesus is available today. He brings joy for the lowly and the lifted.
The lowly are those who know their need – who don’t pretend to have it all together, who feel the weight of weakness, guilt, grief, and sin. Like Mary, they may feel insignificant, overlooked, or uncertain about the road ahead. But as Mary taught us, God looks upon our humble estates. He fills the hungry. He draws near to those who fear Him and trust His Word. For the lowly, the joy of Christ isn’t ignoring or denying hardship or difficulty – it’s the assurance that God sees, God keeps His promises, and God is at work even when we can’t see the outcome.
If that’s you today – if you feel lowly, burdened, or aware of your need – Scripture holds out a clear and gracious invitation. The same Jesus who brought joy to Elizabeth and Mary calls you to confess him as Lord and believe that He is who God says He is in His Word. Romans 10:9 makes this clear: “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” It’s not complicated. It’s not earned. It’s trusting Him. It’s faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). And just as it was for them, Jesus is enough.
The lifted are those God raises up by grace. To be lifted by God is not the same thing as being elevated by the world. The lifted are not those who boast in strength, status, or success but those who have been brought low enough to receive mercy. They are forgiven, reconciled, redeemed – and they know that this status is a gift from God by grace through faith in Jesus (Titus 3:4-7, Colossians 1:13-14).
If you find yourself here today – resting in Christ, walking in forgiveness, knowing the mercy He has shown you – this passage invites you not to move on from joy but to return to it again and again – to ask the Lord to remind you of what He has done, to renew your wonder in worshiping Him, and to meet you each day with new mercies (Lamentations 3:23, Hebrews 4:16). Joy deepens as we remember what Jesus has done and entrust ourselves to Him daily.
Joy is not something we can manufacture. It’s something we receive. And it grows wherever Jesus is trusted. May the joy of God’s mercy – secured by Christ our King – take root in your heart and rise in praise, just as it did in Mary’s song.
[3] Zechariah questioned how he could be sure God would give him a son citing that he was “an old man” and Elizabeth was “advanced in years” (Luke 1:18). Because he didn’t believe the angel’s word, he was made mute until “the day that these things take place” (Luke 1:20), and his speech returned when John was named, just as God had promised (Luke 1:57-64). Although the text makes no reference to it, Zechariah would have been mute during the entirety of Mary’s visit to their home.
Just Keith Harris 