Summary
The Receipt
After the gifts are opened and the wrappings swept up, sometimes a small slip of paper flutters out for everyone to see—the receipt. It tells the truth about what was paid. At Christmas, God has done something remarkable: He has left the receipt of our salvation in plain view, and He has not bothered to peel off the price tag.
The Apostle Paul announces this in Galatians 4:4-5: "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." The phrase fullness of time means the perfect moment. Christ was born when a common Greek tongue united the nations, when Roman peace held the world, and when Roman roads stood ready to carry the Gospel outward. The timing was no accident; it was the appointed hour.
Each phrase of that verse carries enormous weight. God sent forth his Son—Jesus is true God. Born of woman—Jesus is truly human, the two natures united in one person. Born under the law—He placed Himself under the same divine obligation that binds every human being. And He kept it perfectly. Scripture testifies that "He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth" 1 Peter 2:22, that He has "in every respect been tempted as we are, yet without sin" Hebrews 4:15, and that "in him there is no sin" 1 John 3:5.
This is the heart of redemption. To redeem means to buy back out of slavery, and at the cross the great exchange took place: Christ's perfect obedience credited to our account, our sin laid upon Him. The wrath of God for sin did not fall on us; it fell on the spotless Lamb. As 1 Peter 1:18-20 declares, we were ransomed "not with perishable things such as silver or gold… but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." Jesus died so that we might live; He was raised so that we might be raised with Him forever.
That is the price tag God refuses to remove. By every human calculation, He paid too much for the likes of us. But not in His eyes. The cost stands openly displayed because the love behind it is meant to be seen, marveled at, and trusted. Charles Wesley put it simply: "Born to raise the sons of earth, born to give them second birth." The Son was given so that we might receive adoption as children—a new family, a new birth, a forgiveness that is full and final.
Through Jesus, God did not hand us an invoice still owing. He handed us a receipt of the victory already won. That is the gift of Christmas: the price marked, the payment made, and the love of God for you set out in plain view.
Video citations
- "The Receipt" 12-24-21 — Would you open your Bibles this afternoon to the book of Galatians, the fourth chapter, please? If you're using a Pew edition of Holy Scripture, you'll find in front of you, you'll find that in the…