Merry Christmas, Patriots! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! The time for family and friends, joy and peace, and the giving and receiving of gifts. The greatest gifts, of course, are ones that aren’t found under the tree, but in the hands of our Lord: salvation and freedom in Christ. While we can and should celebrate these amazing blessings all year, it’s at Christmastime, and the celebration of the Savior’s birth, that such things are brought more ardently to the forefront of our minds. But while most people keep the nature of their gifts a closely guarded secret from their family and friends right up until the unwrapping, God’s greatest Christmas gift to us was revealed hundreds of years before the giving.
This revelation, what some might call history’s biggest spoiler alert, was actually revealed just after the giving of another amazing gift: the Ten Commandments – the Holy Law by which the standard was laid out for how Israel, and by extension humanity itself, was to live in accord with God’s will…and the standard by which our deeds would be measured on the Day of Judgement.
Even then, as the children of Israel with the new Law in hand were about to enter the Promised Land, God knew that His commandments would not be upheld. Not a single person throughout all of human history has been able or will ever be able to perfectly uphold all His commandments. And so, He spoke through his prophet Moses:
“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among you, from your fellow Israelites. You must listen to Him.” Dt. 18:15.
You must listen to Him! Only a fool wouldn’t listen to a prophet when he speaks, but such was God’s yearning for His people to be saved that He emphasized it. How ironic, since the people had already asked for such a thing to occur, as seen in the next verse:
“For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, ‘Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.’” Dt. 18:16.
A Relationship With the Lord
The people had beheld a glimpse of the terrible and awesome power of God the Father at Mount Sinai, and had been overcome with fear. Having holy fear is essential for our relationship with the Lord, such as seen with Joshua, who fell on his face upon encountering the angel of God. The kind of terror that was displayed at the mountain, however, wasn’t one of respect, admiration, or honor. It was one of distress, panic, and a desire to be removed from such a Presence, though it was their own God and creator! Yet, he wasn’t angry with them.
“The LORD said to [Moses]: ‘What they say is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put My words in His mouth. He will tell them everything I command Him.” Dt. 18:17-18.
What happened at Sinai was a reflection of the eternal image of humanity’s relationship with God. We cannot be in the presence of the Almighty because of His great holiness, and our great unholiness. The separation is too vast, our sin too great. Yet as the Apostle Paul said, neither death, life, angels, demons, fear for today or worry about tomorrow—nor even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love! He Himself promised, all those thousands of years ago, to bridge the gap that we created by our sin in the Garden.
Hope for the Future
We, in our fallen state, can no longer walk with Him in the cool of the evening, for His nature is not one that can tolerate the presence of sin. His very essence would be a consuming fire that would swallow us up! Yet it’s this same fire – this unmatchable, unbeatable, unbelievable power beyond comprehension and challenge that would burn away sin and sinner – is the very thing that bridged the gap created from our iniquity, containing itself into a body alike to our own, and allowing itself to be hung on a tree, and for the payment of sin to be hung upon itself. Upon Himself. That which the Israelites feared most—the power of God—became their salvation; the prophet, priest, and king who would save them, and through them, the world, from insurmountable wickedness.
But from the same source that salvation would come, there would also be condemnation.
“I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to My words that the Prophet speaks in My name.” Deuteronomy 18:19.
Those who do not hear and accept the message of the Prophet will face nothing less than the Power that brought a nation to its knees at Sinai. There will be no shield, then. No veil between the unrepentant and that all-consuming fire! How urgent, then, is the message of Christ to repent! How great is the love of God that even at the giving of the Law, He promised a way for all future lawbreakers to still be with Him, and be saved from our own eternal crimes.
This Christmas Season
In America today, the question of keeping law vs. granting mercy comes up frequently. Should we deport illegal aliens, or grant them amnesty? Should we release violent criminals from prison in the name of social justice? Should we abolish the death penalty? Should we cancel student debt? Even how Americans raise our own children procures the question of discipline vs. “gentle parenting.” However, the very question itself is flawed. In fact, it shouldn’t be a question at all, because such a distinction can’t be made. You can’t simply ignore the law, reality, responsibility, consequences, and discipline at the expense of mercy, grace, or “being nice.” If you do, you are actually being cruel. This is exemplified clearly by the fatherhood crisis in America, where children are raised without discipline, and many turn to societal and self-destructive patterns.
Laws, at least good laws, are meant to create peace, order, prosperity, and hope. This is why JESUS didn’t abolish the Law. He fulfilled the Law! He didn’t simply cast it aside and ignore it for the sake of salvation. How could He?! It was His Law, given to Moses at Sinai! Rather, He used a proper and effective path through the Law, perfectly legal and justified, to save us from our sins.
This should be a call to all Christians, but especially in the American church. Many today who call themselves believers, including pastors and church leaders, have forsaken the Holy Scriptures and the directives they give in favor of popularity, personal opinion, or “not rocking the boat.” They’re afraid that by speaking out against the evils that plague our society – what is objectively evil in the eyes of God, as transcribed in the Bible – they will be accused of being confrontational, vindictive, demeaning, or scaring people away from church. They want to fill pews, and get as many bodies into the building as possible.
Let us understand clearly: Church was never meant to be a popularity contest. If a pastor stands before a crowd of 10,000 and preaches the Ten Commandments, condemns the world for its sin and calls for repentance, and by the time he’s done, only one man remains, if that man asks, “What must I do to be saved?” there will still be great rejoicing in Heaven. The pastor is still doing his job, and will still hear at the end of his life, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
The Best Gift Ever
This Christmas, every Christian has already been given their gift, the gift of salvation. But that gift comes with a responsibility. It must be shared with others. We have been blessed with the secret of salvation! The key to eternal life! If we hoard this gift, keep it to ourselves, hide it away and never speak of it for fear it might offend someone, we are no better than the wicked servant who hid his master’s talent. Remember what happened to him?
We are approaching the season of gift-giving, and so now, more than ever, with America teetering on the edge of a knife between restoration and destruction, we must share the precious gift of the Gospel. With more tools of communication at our fingertips than ever before, Christians have no excuse. You don’t have to be a pastor. You don’t have to have gone to college, seminary school, and been tutored by intellectual elites. (In fact, nowadays, given the current state of the education system, it might be better if you haven’t!) The standard is simple, the formula given to us mostly by poor shepherds thousands of years ago: convict with the Law, demonstrating to the guilty that they are sinners in need of a savior. Then, bring the joy of the Good News: that if they believe, they are saved by the blood of Christ.
“We are not to forget the Law once we have trusted the Savior. Like John the Baptist, its function is to prepare the way of the Lord. Does the student, after he graduates, forget the knowledge given by his tutor? That knowledge may now be used to instruct lost sinners on why they, too, need the Savior. May we go ‘in the spirit and power of Elijah’ as we speak of the ‘coming and dreadful day of the Lord.’ Be sure to precede the message of grace with the just and holy Law. In doing so, you will make grace amazing.“ – Ray Comfort
Will Zwart is a young conservative writer dedicated to the cause of liberty! Originally from Colorado, he graduated the Patriot Institute internship in 2025 and is now working full-time for PA. Outside of Patriot Academy, Will is pursuing a career in screenwriting, where he hopes to glorify GOD through the magic of cinema.
