Believers Saved by Hearing the Word [Christmas]

Reflecting on the meaning of Christmas, this sermon deals with the birth of Jesus not as a mere historical event, but as the starting point of faith in the invisible God. Through the example of the Roman official Theophilus, the passage explains how faith that sees the invisible God through the gospel passed on to us, even without seeing anything with our own eyes, leads to salvation. Such faith calls for an attitude that accepts God's covenant and the work of the Holy Spirit as fact, over the reality in front of our eyes.

Also, recalling how the people of Israel made images, served them as idols and suffered for it, it points out that believers must guard against invisible idols, putting the world's standards or their own pride ahead of God. Just as David, led by the Holy Spirit, foretold the resurrection of Christ and was not shaken even in suffering, believers living today must take suffering as refining and deepen their trust in God. It stresses that when the waves of the world crash in and hardships come, we need perseverance and prayer to hold our place as believers, trusting in the rest and victory God has already prepared.

Believers today, who testify that the prophecy has been fulfilled and that Jesus has risen, must live proclaiming the gospel even more boldly than David. It puts the question of living a humble, devoted and thankful life, holding on to the promise that on the last day he will repay each according to what they have done. It leads us to reflect on what we must hold on to in order to hope for the invisible, eternal kingdom as if we saw it with our eyes, and to go beyond the suffering of this earth to joyfully enjoy the reward God has prepared.