Well, it's Christmas. We have had many weeks of staring at pretty lights and Santa's. We have stared long enough at the scene of wise men visiting a stable (Which, by the way, never happened. Yeah, you heard me, no wise men ever visited a baby and his parents in any stable. At least not in the Scriptures). Most people do not know that when Christ was here on earth, He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. His ministry on earth was to them alone. He came to fulfill the promises made to that nation. The stable scene is not a message of hope to the entire world. It is a message for Israel. If you are mad at what I just said, or scratching your head, it is because you have been duped by Christendom's barrage of un-scriptural fanfare. Not even Charlie Brown or Linus got it right! They have tugged at your heart strings by pointing you to pretty lights and christmas carols so you will not see the real story. Christendom has blinded the world as to the reason Christ was on earth. Not only that, it has blinded the world as to the following:
I want to tell you this day about the greatest story never told.That was the coming of Christ not to a stable, but, on a road north of Bethlehem. The Apostle Paul said that: "Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all welcome, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, foremost of whom am I." In the Scriptures, the term "Christ Jesus" is not a reference to the baby Jesus, or the miracle working Jesus who went around doing good to Israel. The term "Christ Jesus" belongs to Christ when He rose from the dead and ascended to the highest place in the universe. This surely is not a reference to the stable! So, when did this awesome Lord "come into the world to save sinners?"
Acts 9: 1-6 Tells us about this great event:
1 Now Saul, still breathing out threatening and murder against the disciples of the Lord, approaching the chief priest,
2 requests from him letters for Damascus to the synagogues, so that, if he should be finding any who are of the way, both men and women, he may be leading them bound to Jerusalem.
3 Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus. Suddenly a light out of heaven flashes about him.
4 And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
5 Yet he said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" Yet He said, "I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting.
6 Nevertheless, rise and enter the city, and it will be spoken to you what you must be doing."
2 requests from him letters for Damascus to the synagogues, so that, if he should be finding any who are of the way, both men and women, he may be leading them bound to Jerusalem.
3 Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus. Suddenly a light out of heaven flashes about him.
4 And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"
5 Yet he said, "Who art Thou, Lord?" Yet He said, "I am Jesus Whom you are persecuting.
6 Nevertheless, rise and enter the city, and it will be spoken to you what you must be doing."
The greatest story NEVER told is not about the babe in a manger, but about the risen Christ coming into the world to save Saul, the foremost of sinners. The greatest sin ever committed was not the crucifixion of Christ, but the persecution of the Apostles by Saul! When Christ came down, He did not come down to judge, but to save Saul! "The call of Saul is the most marvelous of all the manifestations of God's grace. It is a pattern for us who believe in this day of grace. He was the foremost of sinners, yet God made him the foremost of His saints. The grace of the Lord overwhelmed Him, with faith and love in Christ Jesus (1Tim.1:12-16). The twelve apostles were called by the Lord on earth, before His ascension. Saul was called by the ascended glorified Lord from heaven. They were called in the land. He was called outside the land. Their ministry was confined to the land and the Hebrews of the dispersion. Paul's service was outside the land among the Hellenists and aliens. They were concerned with the earthly life of our Lord before His ascension. Paul begins with the Lord in glory. The call of Saul is an entirely novel departure in the Scriptures. It is the first exhibition of pure grace—favor shown to one who deserves punishment—and is the key to the character of the ministries of the apostle Paul." It was through Saul/Paul that God had a message for all mankind.
Paul was told by the Lord Jesus: "It will be spoken to you what you must be doing." What did Paul do? He did something no one else did. He proclaimed things no one else did. Here are a few:
1. Justification by faith - Romans 3
2. The Conciliation - Romans 5-8
3. The Body of Christ - Which never existed till Paul - Ephesians
4. The Secret Resurrection of the Body of Christ - 1 Thessalonians 4
5. The Celestial Allotment of the Body of Christ - Ephesiansns
6. The Salvation of All Mankind at the Consummation - 1 Corinthians 15:20-28
It is the Apostle Paul who was sent by God to us with this great message. The greatest story never told is what God did in Acts 9. Read the letters of Paul. Paul's conversion and his message is THE GREATEST STORY NEVER TOLD!
Dan Sheridan
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