Why Did Christ Come to Earth?

Driving home: What we would reveal as we shared our answers with one another would unfold appalling ignorance, gross, misconception, and unwarranted perversion of the purpose for which Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem's manger nearl…

Martin describes a hypothetical street survey asking three questions about the significance of Christmas, setting up the sermon's central question about Christ's purpose.

You, young and old alike, and everything in between, were handed a clipboard. You kids know what a clipboard is? It's one of those pieces of fiberboard with a big clip at the top, and you can stick papers in it. You each were handed a clipboard, a pad of paper, a ballpoint pen, and on your clipboard, the paper attached to it, were three questions, and we commissioned you all to go out into this great metropolitan area and find the first group of people you could find.

0:05 - 0:40 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He unpacks the person 'Christ Jesus,' defining 'Christ' as the anointed Prophet, Priest, and King, and 'Jesus' as his personal name, emphasizing the theological depth inherent in…

He uses the example of 'President Ford vetoed' to distinguish between an office (President) and a personal name (Ford), illustrating the meaning of 'Christ Jesus' as both office and person.

You will notice the first aspect of this saying focuses upon the person of Jesus Christ. And so the substance of the saying begins with this person introduced to us as Christ Jesus. And this term Christ Jesus by the time the Apostle wrote these pastoral epistles had become the most common title by which to identify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The word Christ pointed to his office as Messiah. The word Jesus pointed to his identity as a person. For instance when you use the terms President Ford vetoed that weird tax bill and I prayed that he'd veto it. I don't offer to introduce politics b...

16:23 - 17:42 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explores Paul's personal application, 'of whom I am chief,' explaining that Paul's experience as the 'foremost' of sinners serves as a pattern and assurance that Christ can…

A story of a family falling into a pit and a rescuer pulling out the heaviest member first illustrates Paul's logic: if Christ saved the 'chief' of sinners (Paul), he can certainly save any 'lesser' sinner.

those who missed the mark who were under a canopy of divine wrath in alienation from God he said I know it to be true because as the chief the foremost of sinners He has saved me and his reasoning is if he's done that for me as he goes on to say he set the pattern concerning what he'll do to any lesser sinner who sees his need of this almighty Savior foremost I am even I let me illustrate it here's a family of four they're taking a walk in an area with which they're not too familiar and unknown to them someone has set a trap for large predatory beasts that might come by that area and it's all ...

43:25 - 44:54 Read in full sermon