Pointing to Christ

            During this time of year, it is helpful to take some time to reflect on what it really means to celebrate Christmas. More specifically, it is beneficial to think about what kind of attitude, or what kind of spirit, should mark us as a result of Jesus’s birth as the incarnate Son of God. The true Christmas spirit is not one of warm, sentimental emotions that result from sipping eggnog next to a Christmas tree. The true Christmas spirit is something much deeper and more lasting than the nostalgic feelings we often feel during this most wonderful time of the year. The Christmas Spirit is a Spirit of Worship             Christmas should be all about worship. We are celebrating the Advent of Emmanuel, when the Son took on flesh and dwelt with man so that he could save his people from their sins. What other response is adequate but awe and worship? Even the “wise men” from the east came and fell down and worshiped Jesus (Matt 2:11), though they probably understood little

Introduction During the height of the Protestant Reformation, John Calvin wrote in an early edition of his Institutes of the Christian Religion that justification by faith “is the chief article of the Christian religion.” [1] Many of the Reformers would have said the same. Many today, however, argue that justification is of secondary importance. The doctrine of “justification by faith” in Romans especially has been the subject of intense debate. In the first five chapters of this letter, Paul lays out the doctrine of justification by faith. Thus, in understanding Romans, one must come to grips with what Paul teaches about this doctrine throughout the book. In the first five chapters of Romans, Paul suggests that justification occurs when God, once and for all, declares righteous, on the basis of Christ’s death and resurrection, the one who believes in Jesus, leading to great peace, access into God’s grace, and the certain hope of glory. Definition In his letter to the Roma