Advent: the coming of Christ

Christmastime is full of many exciting and beautiful traditions, but some traditions. Some traditions last generations and transcend time. Others, well, don't last so long. Is "Elf on the Shelf" still a thing? And once you've seen one Hallmark Christmas film, you've seen them all. But why do we still drink eggnog during Christmas, and who decided to start mixing eggs with milk? While many of our traditions, like hanging stockings, bows, drinking eggnog (I suppose), and the Tarr boys' personal favorite, hanging mistletoe (yeah, right!) are simply for the sake of innocent fun or to encourage the excitement of young children, others are deliberately intended to remind us of something of infinitely greater value: the Advent of Christ who came to take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29).

The Advent of Christ is a time that reminds us of some of the most precious, important, and rich theology in Scripture. It is theology worth dying for, and many have. It is this very theology we now sing about and often take for granted during the holiday season: the virgin birth, the hypostatic union, the incarnation, redemption, Christ's atoning work, total depravity, the Trinity, justification, sanctification, the Kingdom of God, theology proper, Lordship salvation, and so forth. Even the world joins in singing our ancient Christmas hymns, though it does not really know what it is singing about (Jn 16:3, 8-9). Many churches swell with people during the Christmas season who do not know God, nor can they come to know Him in many of the gospel-less cathedrals they attend. Such churches are often filled with vague, ambiguous, and superstitious traditions that have nothing to do with Christ or Scripture. There is one tradition, though, worthy of recovering.

It might be surprising to some that a non-liturgical (ritualistic) church such as ours that stands in the independent vein of the Puritans and the sola Scriptura tradition of the Reformers might participate in something as "medieval-ish" as Advent. In actuality, though, Advent is one of the most ancient traditions of the church. It long precedes the icons and mystic symbolism of the darkening church of the medieval ages. Its intent is simply to remind us to look forward to the "adventus," or "arrival," of Christ's second coming to earth.

That's right!

"Advent" isn't really about Christmas, but rather what Christmas guarantees: namely, because of Christ's victory over death in His first coming, we are guaranteed our future hope that Christ will come again to establish His Kingdom. It is a unique time of celebration in the church calendar that goes back at least as far as the fourth century: a time when, just as now, the true nature and work of Christ needed to be proclaimed.

In the early days of the fourth century, no sooner did the church recover from the severity of the Diocletian Persecution that it had to contend with a new heresy known as Arianism. "There was a time when He was not; He was made and not begot," Arius chirped, when Nicholas of Myra (a.k.a., the real "jolly 'ol St. Nick") walked across a long hall and struck him across his mouth for mocking Christ! Arius was denying the very nature of Christ - that He was truly God and truly man, and a clever orator with a cute jingle threatened the church and was gaining popularity.

It is easy to see how denying Christ's true nature would undermine the sufficiency of His atoning work. If Christ did not come as truly God in the flesh, how could He provide salvation for His people? Furthermore, if Christ was not perfect in righteousness, how could He have had victory over death, ensuring not only the resurrection of the saints (1 Cor 15:20-22), but also His glorious return (15:23-24)?

For that reason, the new emperor of the Roman Empire, Constantine the Great, called the Nicene Council together in AD 325. The importance of the council can hardly be overstated. It was the first "catholic" (the old word for "universal") church council since the Jerusalem Council met in Acts 15. Of course, the apostolic age had long ended, but the pastors who met in Nicaea did not meet to establish new doctrine. They met to articulate, affirm, and defend what the church had always taught and believed from God's Word. The Nicene Creed was thus a doctrinal statement to last millenniums:

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only begotten of His Father, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance (homoousios consubstantialem) with the Father.

By whom all things were made, both which be in heaven and in earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down [from heaven] and was incarnate and was made man. He suffered, and on the third day, He rose again and ascended into heaven.

And He shall come again to judge both the quick and the dead. And [we believe] in the Holy Ghost.

It was soon after that Constantine established December 25th as the date when the church would remember Christ's first coming and anticipate His glorious return.

Of course, this blood-fought right of the church to worship Jesus for who He truly is, in accordance with His eternal nature, could not be contained to a single day on the church calendar. Instead, it became a season, beginning four Sundays before Christmas Day. This season (adventus) became the enduring reminder for the church that just as Israel was to anticipate the arrival of their long-awaited Messiah, the church is to anticipate His second coming.

Over time, and for various reasons, Advent became something of a lost tradition. In liturgical churches, Advent is celebrated, but its purpose and message are often distorted by a false gospel coupled with the morass of other rituals and ceremonies. Other churches aren't familiar with the practice at all. However, we hope to recover the true meaning of the Advent season and the true message of Christ - and that He is coming again!

We, therefore, hope that these Christmas devotionals sent out each evening will help you and your family remember our Savior during an otherwise busy time of year. Each day, you will be provided a Scripture reading with a link to a corresponding Christmas hymn. Be sure to check back each day, beginning December 1, as we celebrate Christ's first and second advents together. If you have not done so, we'd encourage you to download our church app on the Apple Store or Google Play (just search "High Point Baptist Church" and download the app with our church logo) for ease of access, and perhaps sync your phone with your TV or speakers to better enjoy the hymn linked to each day.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

It is our hope that these devotionals will help you better love our Lord and appreciate the songs we sing during this wonderful time of year.