Wawasee Bible Podcast

This Christmas, we’re asking the question, “Why Did God Become Human?” After all, that’s what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus put on flesh and entered into the brokenness of creation as a human being, adding full humanity to his full deity. One reason he became human was to defeat sin. Jesus, while completely sinless, took on the full weight and punishment of sin for us so that we could go free and have life. Paul says it this way, “He who knew no sin became sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God.” That’s the Gospel in four words: Jesus in our place. Jesus became human to become sin for us to defeat it at the cross and make us truly alive!

The miracle of God becoming human is amazing and unique to Christianity. In his incarnation, Jesus added full humanity to his full deity and entered into his creation. Light entered the darkness! It's important to recognize that Jesus is both 100% God and simultaneously 100% human. He doesn't switch between modes, but his two natures are eternally joined in his one person. Theologically this is described as the "hypostatic union." Jesus becomes human so that we can see the Father (and know exactly what God is like), see what humanity was created to be, and see who we are invited to become in Christ.

This Christmas, we’re asking the question, “Why Did God Become Human?” After all, that’s what we celebrate at Christmas. Jesus put on flesh and entered into the brokenness of creation as a human being. He did this in order to identify with us. To identify with our temptations and weaknesses and limitations—though unlike us, Jesus never gave in to temptation and he never sinned. Because of this, he provided a way for us to freely approach God.

One way to think about abiding in Christ is to use the metaphor of "spiritual breathing." When we take in God's Word (reading, study, meditation, memorization) we are "inhaling". Jesus said in John 15:7 to let his words abide in us. Similarly, when we respond to God's Word to us through prayer and worship we're "exhaling". As you approach Thanksgiving, how are you doing at "breathing" spiritually?

Believers are set free from sin’s power through union with Christ and must live in that reality by choosing daily to walk in grace and not return to former patterns of sin.

Grace is more than forgiveness—it's the living, supernatural power of God shaping, transforming, and freeing us when we admit our need for him and actively seek his help. Where sin increases, grace increases all the more and makes us new from the inside out.

In Chapter 5 of Romans, Paul’s focus begins to pivot from our righteousness coming through faith to how we should respond and live in light of that truth. He starts off Romans 5 saying, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith…” marking his shift in focus. We should live with joy, hope, and purpose in light of our justification. Saving faith ignites today’s joy and tomorrow’s hope, turns pain into purpose, and roots it all in Jesus!

Paul continues using Abraham as an example of someone saved by faith, not works, in Romans 4:13-25. True faith, though not earned by effort, produces obedience—not perfection, but a changed trajectory. Abraham serves as an example of this kind of faith: believing God’s promises despite plenty of reasons for doubt, trusting that God keeps every promise he makes. Because of his faith, righteousness was credited to Abraham, just as it is to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. We’re made right with God by faith—not effort, it’s how it worked for Abraham and it’s how it works for us.

Somewhere along the line, people got this crazy idea that salvation is something we can work for or earn. The problem is, that idea distorts both the nature of grace and the nature of our sin. In Romans 4, Paul emphasizes that if salvation came by our efforts, it would make God a debtor rather than a gracious given. Looking at both the examples of Abraham and David, Paul makes the case that perfect righteousness can never be earned. Rather, it's a gift that God credits to any who would believe his promises in Jesus Christ. Salvation has always been about believing God, not impressing Him. Do you find yourself believing it’s all up to you—or can you rest in the one who already said, “It is finished”?

It can be a shock to realize that "good" people don't make it to heaven... only perfect people do. God's standard is perfection! Jesus says we must be perfect, just as the Father is perfect. That makes every one of us doomed, left on our own. Thankfully, while not one is perfect, and we all fall short—perfect is a gift. God gives "perfect" as a gift for those who will receive it by faith in Jesus. All of your sin and failure gets debited to Jesus, and all of his perfect righteousness gets credited to you if you'd put your faith in his death, burial, and resurrection. Are you trying to measure up on your own, or have you received the gift that makes you right with God?