Ok. I’ve got some questions about Christmas. Think of this as a little survey.
1. Do you find yourself talking (teaching/preaching) of the atonement more, less, or about the same during the Christmas season?
2. Do you find a greater, lesser, or unchanged emphasis on evangelism during the Christmas season.
3. Likewise, do you see Christ’s birth as the beginning, something incidental to, or as a part of Christ’s work, the atonement?
December 9th, 2009 | 10:54 pm | #1
1 – I probably preach a little less on the atonement during Christmas and focus on the incarnation. That’s not to say, however, that I neglect the atonement–it is essential to any gospel proclamation.
2 – I think that evangelism receives a lesser emphasis during Christmas, at least in my neck of the woods.
3 – I think that the incarnation is a part of the atonement.
December 9th, 2009 | 11:53 pm | #2
1) About the same.
2) About the same… maybe greater. Hard to say. If it leans one way or the other, I’d have to say it leans toward greater.
3) It’s part of, though I’d bust out the redemptive historical argument at this point and say both incarnation and atonement are distinct pegs in the larger redemptive narrative of Scripture. So if we frame it as terminating on the atonement, we’re missing the whole picture.
December 10th, 2009 | 9:25 am | #3
I see the incarnation as a necessary part of the atonement. So, focus on the meaning of the incarnation leads naturally to discussion of the atonement. Bringing the good news of the incarnation->atonement … that is evangelism.
December 10th, 2009 | 9:25 am | #4
They’re interesting questions, especially since we’re doing a teaching series on repentance (so, perhaps a little more involved than just atonement, but nonetheless a topic often overlooked). Many in our class have been clear that they see little–or no–need for repentance in their lives because of the atonement. They repented at conversion (knowing Christ’s atoning work), but wouldn’t consider it anything necessary afterwards. It struck us as a bit odd.
To your third question, I’ve always told students (and, frankly, anyone else who would listen) that you cannot have Easter without Christmas. Atonement is impossible (and Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is nothing more than a brutal martyrdom) if he isn’t first God. That’s why the central theme of Christianity–even before Christ’s death and resurrection–is Christ’s nature as both God and man. Without this as a starting point, Christ’s mission never gets going.
December 10th, 2009 | 10:26 am | #5
1. Atonement is always in the mix. During Advent and Christmas the approach I take is usually more about understanding, embracing, and celebrating the salvation Christ brings.
2. This is a fantastic time for inviting and welcoming others. There is a special opportunity Christmas affords.
3. No incarnation, no atonement.
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