My dear readers,

Romans 10:8-11 “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”

There is no power more potent than Christmas! All power on earth pertains to earthly matters, such as the physical power to help satisfy hungry stomachs and keep bodies warm. Houses and orphanages built or donated by philanthropists keep the bodies fed and warm at night, even during cold winters and stormy, wet weather. The same physical powers can also destroy, as seen in many wars throughout the ages that have killed tens, if not hundreds, or millions. Destructive weapons of war have increased in potency, plunging humanity into a road of no return since the first atomic bomb was tested and used to end the awful Second World War in 1945. Humanity has only one end: total self-annihilation. These kinds of power frighten millions and, at the same time, are lauded by leaders who wield them, as well as by the people they protect and defend. Man’s power is laced with an odourless poison that anaesthetises the soul, turning a man made in God's image into an insatiable, power-hungry despot as diabolical as the devil himself. They do not fear God, for they have deluded themselves into believing that they are gods, drunk with the wine of absolute power.

In the midst of this mad rush for earthly power, man has forgotten that above all the power of sinful man, there exists the power of the Almighty God, the Creator of heaven and earth! The power of God is immutable and omnipotent in its scope and extent. No one is outside of His omnipotent influence since He is the Creator of heaven and earth! The devil and all his demons, every man, woman, and child living and dead will answer to Him. 2 Timothy 4:1 “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” Despite His great power, God is also the God of love. He demonstrates to sinful man a power that saves. It is the power of Christmas that can instantly save sinners from sin, death and hell.

What is the power of Christ?

The power of Christmas begins with God ‘s love. It is a love for all sinners, regardless of how great and heinous their sins against God are. God could have responded in His righteous indignation and destroyed humanity for their sins against Him. Instead, he loved the unlovely. He loves all sinners. He loves them by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to live a perfect life and die for their sins according to His divine justice. God’s love did not disregard His own divine justice. To do so would result in sin! God is a God who cannot and will never sin! He must satisfy His own divine and holy justice to save sinful man from their sins and remove death and hell from their eternal destiny! God did it through Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son!

The power of Christmas continues with Christ’s love. Jesus Christ willingly obeyed the Father’s will to save sinners. Jesus Christ represented all sinful man exactly in every detail, but without sin, to save them. He took on flesh and blood, but was without sin, from the beginning. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit as clearly described in Luke 1:26-35 “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

After birth, Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in all aspects: His motives behind every word spoken and deed done, every thought were holy and righteous, and every word and deed were precisely according to the will and word of God. If there is even the slightest hint of sin, God would know, and Christ would have failed in His divine mission; and all sinful man, without exception, will die in sin and be cast justly into hell and ultimately spend eternity in great pain and torment in the Lake of Fire, together with the devil and all the demons. After Christ lived a perfect life, He was persecuted and died on the cross at Calvary, and God the Father raised Jesus Christ from the dead on the third day after He died for the justification of sinful man. God applied His omniscient power to scrutinise every second of Christ’s life from birth till death. If Jesus Christ failed in any minute detail as man’s Lamb of God to take away the sins of the world, Jesus Christ would have remained dead and buried in the tomb, never to rise again. Humanity would be plunged into a hopeless eternity in the Lake of Fire.

Thank God, the love of God and Christ for man is the power of Christmas.

The result of the power of Christmas is the Holy Spirit’s power to convict and convert! Wherever the gospel is proclaimed, the Holy Spirit can take the gospel and bring conviction and conversion. No matter how sinful and heinous a man’s sins are, the blood of Jesus Christ has the power to wash him as white as snow before the holy God. There is no sin that the blood of Christ cannot cleanse and no sinner that God cannot forgive, as long as he approaches God in humility and cries to God for forgiveness in Christ. God will forgive him.

This is the power of Christmas! It is the power of God saving sinners through the birth, life and death of His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. Thus the name CHRIST-mas! Christ-Must-Always-Save! Christ-most-assuredly saves?

The old serpent, the devil, has tragically muddied the truth of Christmas with Santa Claus, Rudolph the red-nose reindeer, Christmas trees, and the exchange of gifts, without the love of God in Christ. The desired diabolical result is to reduce, if not to annihilate, the power of Christmas to save sinners from sin, death and hell! Did he succeed?

Is there any power left in Christmas? The power of Christmas comes from God and will always have the omnipotent power to save all sinners. Romans 10:8-11 attest to God’s continual assurance that the power of the message of Christmas in Christ has never diminished in the slightest, regardless of the incessant and numerous devilish attacks both from without and within the church. If anyone were to confess with his mouth and believe in his heart that Jesus Christ lived, suffered, and died on the cross for his sins, he will not be ashamed, i.e. he will be saved to the uttermost!

The question is, “Have you experienced this power in your life?”

Christmas is the power of God to save all sinners! Amen.

Yours faithfully in the Saviour’s Service

Rev Dr Quek Suan Yew, Pastor