December 24, 2025 • 28 mins
On today’s Bible Answer Man broadcast (12/24/25), as we arrive at Christmas Eve, Hank concludes his special series on his acronym CHRISTMAS, detailing the final three letters of the acronym. The “M” in CHRISTMAS represents Miracles. Modernity has left many with the false impression that the virgin birth is nothing more than ancient superstition. But, in reality, miracles are not only possible, they are absolutely necessary in order to make sense of the universe in which we live. The “A” in CHRISTMAS represents Advent. The term Advent literally means “coming.” As such, Advent is a season in which the Christian church celebrates the coming in flesh of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The final letter in the CHRISTMAS acronym is “S”, which represents Salvation. On Christmas Eve, it is time to turn our hearts toward the primary reason for the Incarnation of God in Jesus Christ—namely, the salvation of sinners. The very name—Jesus—embodies salvation, as it is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, meaning “Yahweh saves” or “Yahweh is salvation.” This Christmas season and throughout the coming year, may you be ever mindful of the reality that God has condescended to use you as the means through which the free gift of the water of life is dispensed to a parched and thirsty world.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Thank you for listening to the Bible answer Man broadcast
this Christmas Eve. Your host for the program is Hank Canigraph.
We're on the air because life and truth matter. As
we approach the celebration of our Lord's birth, let us
remember that he came into the world to save us
from our sins. And the Angel said to the shepherds,
(00:24):
fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of
great joy that will be for all people, for unto
you is born this day in the City of David,
a savior who is Christ the Lord. The following program
was pre recorded. Now here's your host, Hank Canigraph.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Thank you very much for Rendy. You can not only
find us on the web at equipped dot org. You
can also listen to Hank Unplugged podcast at equipp dot org.
We have had some of the most interesting and formative
inspirational people on the planet on the podcast, and I
hope if you have not tuned in into any of
those podcasts you will do so. These are transcendently important
(01:06):
because I'm talking about people who are making a difference
for time for eternity. Well, today, of course, is Christmas Eve,
and on Christmas Eve, I want to talk about Moss.
I want to talk about Chris Moss. I want to
talk about miracles, advent, salvation. In previous programs this week
(01:27):
I talked about Christ's history, resurrection, incarnation, Santa Claus, and traditions,
all part of my Christmas acronym. Now the final three letters,
the first of which represents miracles. Modernity has left many
with the false impression that the virgin birth is nothing
(01:47):
more than ancient superstition. But in reality, miracles are not
only possible, they are absolutely necessary in order to make
sense of the universe in which we live. And I've
said this before, but it bears repeating. According to modern science,
the universe not only had a beginning, but it's unfathomably
(02:10):
fine tune to support life. And not only that, but
the origin of life, information in the genetic code, irreducible
complexity in biological systems, and the phenomenon of the human
mind pose intractable difficulties for merely natural explanations, and therefore
(02:30):
reason forces us to look beyond the natural world to
a supernatural designer who periodically intervenes in the affairs of
his created handiwork. In other words, if we're willing to
believe that God created the heavens and the earth, we
should have no problem whatsoever accepting the incarnation the virgin
(02:53):
birth of Jesus Christ. We're in fact, compelled by reason
and evidence to acknowledged that the Bible is divine rather
than human in origin, and the miraculous preservation of God's
word via manuscripts, archaeology, and prophecy provide a cumulative case
for the reliability of scripture, and thus the miracles codified
(03:19):
in those sacred pages. We can legitimately appeal to scripture
as supernatural evidence for the virgin birth itself. Moreover, Christ,
who demonstrated that he is got in human flesh through
the supernatural fact of his resurrection, pronounced these very scriptures infallible.
(03:44):
And if Christ concurs with the biblical record of the
virgin birth, no one should have the temerity to contradict
his claim. As we encountered those who capriciously cast aspersions
on the miraculous nature the virgin birth, we do well
to remember that it is our responsibility, your responsibility, my
(04:08):
responsibility to use or well reasoned responses as springboards for
demonstrating that the historical account of Christ's coming and flesh
is faith founded on a refutable fact. We want to
move quickly to the A, the second to the last
(04:29):
letter in our Christmas acronym, the A, which represents advent.
The term advent literally means coming, and as such advent
is a reason for the season, a season in which
the Christian Church celebrates the coming in flesh of our
(04:55):
Lord and Safir, Jesus Christ. The glory of advent finds
its genesis way back in the Old Testament, in prophecies
that point forward to the coming to the incarnation of
Jesus Christ. Moses's prophecy that God would raise up a
(05:17):
prophet like him from among the Israelites tipologically points forward
to the prophet, not a prophet, but the prophet, the
prophet Jesus Christ. Within the context of the Old Testament,
the prophecy that God would raise up another prophet, a
(05:42):
prophet like Moses, was fulfilled in the fore future in Joshua, Joshua,
who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Additionally,
if you add to the near future fulfillment in Joshua,
this prophecy comes to be understood as pointing forward to
(06:06):
an eschatological prophet, a prophet who would lead the people
of God as a new Moses, as a new Joshua,
because as Joshua, and remember I talked about this on Monday,
as Joshua means salvation. We also remember that Joshua let
(06:30):
the children of Israel into the land of Promise, and
that because of that we can be certain that Jesus
will lead his people into the New Jerusalem, not the
old Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalm coming down out of
Heaven from God. The Gospel of John reveals that this hope,
(06:52):
this certain hope, was alive and well in the first century,
and Stephen implicitly identifies Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of
this prophecy. Remember he did that in an impassioned sermon
(07:12):
for which he was literally stoned to death. And that way,
both Moses's prophecy and its near future fulfillment in Joshua,
they serve as types of the great prophet of God,
who not only spoke the words of God, but was
(07:36):
himself the Word made flesh. The beauty of the Gospel
is that Abraham, father of many nations, was promised a
royal seed, and that royal seed is Jesus Christ. However,
(07:57):
as the Apostle Paul explains, all who are clothed in
Christ constitute one congrument, chosen covenant community connected by the Cross.
Here's the point. If you belong to Christ, then you
you are Abraham seed, and you you are an heir
(08:22):
according to the Promise. The mystery is this, says Saint Paul,
that through the Gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
members together of one body, shares together in the Promise
(08:43):
in Christ Jesus. Of course, there's more. The celebration of
the coming of Christ in flesh is in every day reality.
And as such, when we celebrate the daily advent of
Christ through prayer and praise and proclamation of the Word,
(09:05):
we have a privilege. In prayer, we have a privilege
of expressing thanksgiving to the one who saved us, who
sanctifies us and one day will glorify us. In praise,
and not just praise during advent, but throughout the year.
We express the essence of our faith in psalms and
(09:27):
hymns and spiritual songs. And in proclamation. We correct, we review,
we encourage, and remember. We do that with great patience
and careful instruction. When I come back from the break,
I want to talk about the daily advent. In another sense,
(09:54):
this is so important because Advent is not just a
once in the year's celebration, and it ought to be
something that we have part of the warp and woof
of our daily life. We're going to talk more about
Advent when we come back from the break, and then
we're going to crown the broadcast on Christmas Eve by
(10:17):
talking about that singularly important word, the S in Christmas Salvation.
To go to break to thank you for supporting this
ministry prayerfully and financially. When you do that, you make
a difference. We communicate what we communicate because truth matters,
but also because life matters. Because we cannot only know
(10:41):
about Christ, but we can experience Christ. He can become
more real to us than the very flesh upon our bones.
We're right back in just a full moments with more
of the biplance Man broadcast. Don't just that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Hank Hanagraph has dedicated his life to defending truth because
truth matters. However, his life and ministry were radically transformed
by another three word phrase, life matters more. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing.
If so, prepare to discover the unexpected beauty of an
(11:16):
authentic Christian life. In Hank's magnum opus, Truthmatters, Life Matters More.
To receive a copy of Truthmatters, Life Matters More for yourself,
or is a terrific gift for a friend or loved one,
call aight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make a
gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life changing outreaches
(11:38):
Ada eight seven thousand CRI. Or visit us online at
equip dot org. We'll be back in just a moment
with more from Hank Anagraph. This, then, is the climax
(12:03):
of divine revelation. God with us, the infinite, has progressively
revealed himself in accordance with our finitude. Thus, prior to Immanuel,
general and special revelation revealed his glory. But in the
Incarnation we have seen his glory. Thus writes Hank Hanagraph
in his book Incarnation, the ultimate self revelation of God.
(12:26):
In short, God's incarnation in human flesh is the apex
of revelation, his last word. In taking on human flesh,
God gives us more than the clearest image of who
he is he gives us himself. To receive your copy
of Incarnation as our appreciation for your financial partnership. Simply
(12:46):
call eight eight eight seven thousand c r I and
make a gift to support curi's life changing outreaches or
visit equip dot org equip dot org.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Truth Matters, Life Matters More details Hank Hanigraff's personal pilgrimage
from his long defensive truth to his discovery that life
matters more. Essentially, two books in one. Part one equips
Christians to defend the essential truths of the historic Christian faith.
Part two explains why truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
(13:21):
That the map is not the territory, the menu is
not the meal. We are created to experience life to
the full through union with God in Christ. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing?
Truth Matters, Life matters More unveils the unexpected beauty of
an authentic Christian life. To receive Truth Matters, Life Matters
(13:42):
More for yourself or as a terrific gift to a
friend or loved one, call eight eight eight seven thousand
CRI and make a gift to support the Christian Research
Institute's life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI
or visit us online at equipp dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
The number of wolves surrounding the Christian flock is growing,
and they relish nothing more than docile's sheep, utterly incapable
of defending themselves from militant secularists at home to militant
Islamists abroad. The assaults on Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously,
but Christian Research Institutes Support Team members aren't in favor
(14:22):
of feeding these wolves. Instead, each day they're making possible
an array of outreaches that defang these wolfpacks with solid
arguments and evidence that have stood the test of time.
What's more, support Team members are equipping themselves with criis
equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection of the best apologetics tools around.
(14:43):
Your selection of resources are just our way of saying thanks.
To learn more about the benefits of membership, simply visit
equip dot org. Once again. That's equip dot org. Once again.
(15:05):
Here's your host, Hank Anagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Thank you. Rendy before the breakup is talking about the
A and the Christmas acronym which represents advent. Advent, as
I said, is a season in which Christians and the
Christian Church celebrate the coming in flesh of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, but it's also an everyday reality.
(15:27):
The daily advent of Christ is celebrated through community and
confession and contribution. When I talk about community, I'm talking
about something that's visible in baptism, Baptism which is a
time of repentance, baptism through which we are forgiven, cleansed,
(15:49):
incorporated in the body of Christ, united with Christ himself,
and with the body of Christ, we are made one
in the One made flesh. In like fashion, the Eucharist
is an expression of our oneness in Christ, as we
all partake of the same elements we partake of Christ himself,
(16:14):
Christ through whom we are made one. A further expression
of our oneness in the Christ of Christmas is, of course,
our common confession of faith. As we celebrate the daily
advent of our Savior. By testifying to what we believe,
in why we believe, and in whom we have believed,
(16:36):
we make advent an every day reality. The Gospel of
Christ should become a part of our vocabulary. It should
become second nature. Defending the faith is likewise not optional.
(16:59):
It should be a scumpetency of everyone who takes the
sacred name of Christ upon our lips. That's part of
the mission of the Christian Research Institute. And in addition
to be prepared to communicate what you believe and why
you believe, we have to be empowered to communicate who
(17:21):
we believe. And that's especially essential in that virtually every
theological heresy begins with the misconception of the nature of God.
I should note that just as there is a first
advent in a daily advent, so too there's a final advent.
And as the focus of the first advent is Christ's
(17:43):
coming and flesh, so to think about this, the focus
of the second advent is Christ coming in flesh. Doesn't
happen once, It's going to happen again, and that of
an absolute certainty. By this time, He's not going to
(18:04):
come as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
in a manger. This time he will come as a bridegroom,
carrying his bride over the threshold of Jordan into the
New Jerusalem. As Canaan provided temporal rest for the physical
descendants of Abraham, the coming of Christ will provide eternal
(18:28):
rest for his spiritual descendants. So in the final Advent,
the land promises God made to Abraham will be fully
and finally consummated in a paradise lost that has become
paradise restored. As such, Canaan is typological ever renewed cosmos. Abraham,
(18:54):
like Isaac and Jacob, viewed living in the Promised Land
in which the same way that a stranger would view
living in a foreign country. Why well, because as the
writer of Hebrews, Saint Paul Make's plain, he was looking
forward to the city with foundations whose architect and build
(19:19):
her as God. Abraham looked beyond binding borders, behind boundaries,
to a day in which the meek would inherit the earth.
I don't know about you, but the more he think
(19:39):
about the new Heaven and the new Earth, the more
exciting it is. It is simply incredible to think that
one day soon we will not only experience the resurrection
of our carcasses, we will experience the renewal of the
cosmos and the final advent of our creator, the one
(20:03):
who knit us together in our mother's wombs. We will
quite literally have heaven on earth. Not only will we
experience God's fellowship as Adam and Eve actually did in
the garden. But we will see the second atom, Jesus Christ,
face to face. Think about it. God and flesh will
(20:24):
live in our midst and we will never come to
an end of exploring the infinite, inexhaustible one who declared
I am or or the grandeur and glory of his
incomparable or restored universe. Those who die in Christ will
(20:50):
experience the new heavens and the New Earth as both
a physical place in creation and is the personal presence
of the Creator. Here's what I mean. The dwelling of
God is with men, and He will live with them.
They will be His people, said Saint John. And God
(21:13):
himself will be with them and be their God. He's
gonna wipe every tear from our eyes, and then well,
then there'll be no more death or mourning or crying
or pain, because the old order of things has passed away.
He was seated on the throne, said I Am making
(21:34):
everything everything new. So this year, as you celebrate the
First Advent of our Lord, may His presence in word
and sacrament sustain you spiritually, and may you fix your
focus with eager anticipation on the final advent of the
(21:56):
paper Bethlehem now a bridegroom returning with you and me
and multitudes from all generations throughout time, returning as his bride.
(22:19):
The final letter in our Christmas acronym, and this applies
in this case last, but not least the s in Christmas. Well,
that reminds us of the word salvation. Perhaps in the
noise surrounding modern day Christmas celebrations, you can still hear
(22:41):
the faint echo of Isaiah's earth shattering pronouncement. Remember the words,
the Virgin will be with child, will give birth to
a son. We'll call him a Manuel, and he will
save his people from their sins. Isaiah's prophetic words foreshadow
(23:08):
a triple barrier. The first barrier is that of nature,
and that barrier is forever shattered by Christ's incarnation. His
canosis is our theosis. As Christ set aside that first
(23:33):
barrier by his incarnation, so two he set aside a
second barrier. That second barrier is sin, and he did
that by his death. For as an atom all die,
so in Christ all will be made alive. But there
(23:59):
is a third, the sting of death itself. This third
and final barrier has forever been voided through resurrection. Through resurrection,
the sting of death has been swallowed up in victory.
(24:26):
And as we have been saying this week, resurrection is
a certainty. For Christ most certainly rose from the dead,
and so too we will rise as Christians. We will
rise immortal, imperishable, and incorruptible. Think about it. Think about
(24:48):
it this day before we celebrate the Birth of Christ. Well,
I hope you've enjoyed the Christmas Acronym again. We talked
about Christ, Resurrection, incarnation, Santa, even Santa can be redeemed, traditions, miracles, advent,
(25:12):
and lastly salvation. Tomorrow's special edition of the Bible lance
Men broadcast, we celebrate a special broadcast on a very
special day. I hope you and your family have a
very merry Christmas as you think about what's really important.
(25:39):
And thank you so much for your support for tuning
in to this special series my Christmas Acronym leading up
to tomorrow when we celebrate the Coming of Christ in
flesh a special edition. I hope you'll be able to
tune in. Thanks for tuning in to this series. We'll
(26:00):
see it next time with more.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Thank you for joining us today this Christmas. As we
celebrate the birth of the One who is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life, why not help others to
continue receiving Biblical truth in Christ through the Bible answer
Man Broadcast. To make a Christmas gift that can transform lives,
simply call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII eight eight
(26:24):
eight seven thousand CRI. You can also right CERII at
Post Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina two
eight two seven one, or simply visit online at equip
dot org. The preceding program was pre recorded. The Bible
answer Man Broadcast is funded by listeners like you. We're
(26:47):
on the air because life and truth matter. An infinite
God reduced to the size of a human embryo, the
creator of time and space, invading both in human form.
(27:10):
Such is the mystery and the majesty of the Incarnation
Supreme being condescending to become one of us. Perhaps nothing
is more important than grasping the significance of the coming
God in human flesh. Without the life, death, and resurrection
of the incarnate One who walked among us, our world
would be unfathomably dark. To be equipped as a witness
(27:35):
and to be inspired in your walk, you'll want to
feast on Hank Hantagraph's book Incarnation, The Ultimate Self Revelation
of God. To receive your copy of Incarnation, simply call
eight eight eight seven thousand c RII and make a
gift to support curi's life changing outreaches or visit equip
(27:55):
dot org equip dot org
Thank you for listening to the Bible answer Man broadcast
this Christmas Eve. Your host for the program is Hank Canigraph.
We're on the air because life and truth matter. As
we approach the celebration of our Lord's birth, let us
remember that he came into the world to save us
from our sins. And the Angel said to the shepherds,
(00:24):
fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of
great joy that will be for all people, for unto
you is born this day in the City of David,
a savior who is Christ the Lord. The following program
was pre recorded. Now here's your host, Hank Canigraph.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
Thank you very much for Rendy. You can not only
find us on the web at equipped dot org. You
can also listen to Hank Unplugged podcast at equipp dot org.
We have had some of the most interesting and formative
inspirational people on the planet on the podcast, and I
hope if you have not tuned in into any of
those podcasts you will do so. These are transcendently important
(01:06):
because I'm talking about people who are making a difference
for time for eternity. Well, today, of course, is Christmas Eve,
and on Christmas Eve, I want to talk about Moss.
I want to talk about Chris Moss. I want to
talk about miracles, advent, salvation. In previous programs this week
(01:27):
I talked about Christ's history, resurrection, incarnation, Santa Claus, and traditions,
all part of my Christmas acronym. Now the final three letters,
the first of which represents miracles. Modernity has left many
with the false impression that the virgin birth is nothing
(01:47):
more than ancient superstition. But in reality, miracles are not
only possible, they are absolutely necessary in order to make
sense of the universe in which we live. And I've
said this before, but it bears repeating. According to modern science,
the universe not only had a beginning, but it's unfathomably
(02:10):
fine tune to support life. And not only that, but
the origin of life, information in the genetic code, irreducible
complexity in biological systems, and the phenomenon of the human
mind pose intractable difficulties for merely natural explanations, and therefore
(02:30):
reason forces us to look beyond the natural world to
a supernatural designer who periodically intervenes in the affairs of
his created handiwork. In other words, if we're willing to
believe that God created the heavens and the earth, we
should have no problem whatsoever accepting the incarnation the virgin
(02:53):
birth of Jesus Christ. We're in fact, compelled by reason
and evidence to acknowledged that the Bible is divine rather
than human in origin, and the miraculous preservation of God's
word via manuscripts, archaeology, and prophecy provide a cumulative case
for the reliability of scripture, and thus the miracles codified
(03:19):
in those sacred pages. We can legitimately appeal to scripture
as supernatural evidence for the virgin birth itself. Moreover, Christ,
who demonstrated that he is got in human flesh through
the supernatural fact of his resurrection, pronounced these very scriptures infallible.
(03:44):
And if Christ concurs with the biblical record of the
virgin birth, no one should have the temerity to contradict
his claim. As we encountered those who capriciously cast aspersions
on the miraculous nature the virgin birth, we do well
to remember that it is our responsibility, your responsibility, my
(04:08):
responsibility to use or well reasoned responses as springboards for
demonstrating that the historical account of Christ's coming and flesh
is faith founded on a refutable fact. We want to
move quickly to the A, the second to the last
(04:29):
letter in our Christmas acronym, the A, which represents advent.
The term advent literally means coming, and as such advent
is a reason for the season, a season in which
the Christian Church celebrates the coming in flesh of our
(04:55):
Lord and Safir, Jesus Christ. The glory of advent finds
its genesis way back in the Old Testament, in prophecies
that point forward to the coming to the incarnation of
Jesus Christ. Moses's prophecy that God would raise up a
(05:17):
prophet like him from among the Israelites tipologically points forward
to the prophet, not a prophet, but the prophet, the
prophet Jesus Christ. Within the context of the Old Testament,
the prophecy that God would raise up another prophet, a
(05:42):
prophet like Moses, was fulfilled in the fore future in Joshua, Joshua,
who led the children of Israel into the Promised Land. Additionally,
if you add to the near future fulfillment in Joshua,
this prophecy comes to be understood as pointing forward to
(06:06):
an eschatological prophet, a prophet who would lead the people
of God as a new Moses, as a new Joshua,
because as Joshua, and remember I talked about this on Monday,
as Joshua means salvation. We also remember that Joshua let
(06:30):
the children of Israel into the land of Promise, and
that because of that we can be certain that Jesus
will lead his people into the New Jerusalem, not the
old Jerusalem, but the new Jerusalm coming down out of
Heaven from God. The Gospel of John reveals that this hope,
(06:52):
this certain hope, was alive and well in the first century,
and Stephen implicitly identifies Jesus as the ultimate fulfillment of
this prophecy. Remember he did that in an impassioned sermon
(07:12):
for which he was literally stoned to death. And that way,
both Moses's prophecy and its near future fulfillment in Joshua,
they serve as types of the great prophet of God,
who not only spoke the words of God, but was
(07:36):
himself the Word made flesh. The beauty of the Gospel
is that Abraham, father of many nations, was promised a
royal seed, and that royal seed is Jesus Christ. However,
(07:57):
as the Apostle Paul explains, all who are clothed in
Christ constitute one congrument, chosen covenant community connected by the Cross.
Here's the point. If you belong to Christ, then you
you are Abraham seed, and you you are an heir
(08:22):
according to the Promise. The mystery is this, says Saint Paul,
that through the Gospel, the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel,
members together of one body, shares together in the Promise
(08:43):
in Christ Jesus. Of course, there's more. The celebration of
the coming of Christ in flesh is in every day reality.
And as such, when we celebrate the daily advent of
Christ through prayer and praise and proclamation of the Word,
(09:05):
we have a privilege. In prayer, we have a privilege
of expressing thanksgiving to the one who saved us, who
sanctifies us and one day will glorify us. In praise,
and not just praise during advent, but throughout the year.
We express the essence of our faith in psalms and
(09:27):
hymns and spiritual songs. And in proclamation. We correct, we review,
we encourage, and remember. We do that with great patience
and careful instruction. When I come back from the break,
I want to talk about the daily advent. In another sense,
(09:54):
this is so important because Advent is not just a
once in the year's celebration, and it ought to be
something that we have part of the warp and woof
of our daily life. We're going to talk more about
Advent when we come back from the break, and then
we're going to crown the broadcast on Christmas Eve by
(10:17):
talking about that singularly important word, the S in Christmas Salvation.
To go to break to thank you for supporting this
ministry prayerfully and financially. When you do that, you make
a difference. We communicate what we communicate because truth matters,
but also because life matters. Because we cannot only know
(10:41):
about Christ, but we can experience Christ. He can become
more real to us than the very flesh upon our bones.
We're right back in just a full moments with more
of the biplance Man broadcast. Don't just that dial.
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Hank Hanagraph has dedicated his life to defending truth because
truth matters. However, his life and ministry were radically transformed
by another three word phrase, life matters more. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing.
If so, prepare to discover the unexpected beauty of an
(11:16):
authentic Christian life. In Hank's magnum opus, Truthmatters, Life Matters More.
To receive a copy of Truthmatters, Life Matters More for yourself,
or is a terrific gift for a friend or loved one,
call aight eight eight seven thousand CRI and make a
gift to support the Christian Research Institute's life changing outreaches
(11:38):
Ada eight seven thousand CRI. Or visit us online at
equip dot org. We'll be back in just a moment
with more from Hank Anagraph. This, then, is the climax
(12:03):
of divine revelation. God with us, the infinite, has progressively
revealed himself in accordance with our finitude. Thus, prior to Immanuel,
general and special revelation revealed his glory. But in the
Incarnation we have seen his glory. Thus writes Hank Hanagraph
in his book Incarnation, the ultimate self revelation of God.
(12:26):
In short, God's incarnation in human flesh is the apex
of revelation, his last word. In taking on human flesh,
God gives us more than the clearest image of who
he is he gives us himself. To receive your copy
of Incarnation as our appreciation for your financial partnership. Simply
(12:46):
call eight eight eight seven thousand c r I and
make a gift to support curi's life changing outreaches or
visit equip dot org equip dot org.
Speaker 3 (13:01):
Truth Matters, Life Matters More details Hank Hanigraff's personal pilgrimage
from his long defensive truth to his discovery that life
matters more. Essentially, two books in one. Part one equips
Christians to defend the essential truths of the historic Christian faith.
Part two explains why truth is necessary but hardly sufficient.
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That the map is not the territory, the menu is
not the meal. We are created to experience life to
the full through union with God in Christ. Is there
more to the Christian life than what you are experiencing?
Truth Matters, Life matters More unveils the unexpected beauty of
an authentic Christian life. To receive Truth Matters, Life Matters
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More for yourself or as a terrific gift to a
friend or loved one, call eight eight eight seven thousand
CRI and make a gift to support the Christian Research
Institute's life changing outreaches eight eight eight seven thousand CRI
or visit us online at equipp dot org.
Speaker 1 (14:00):
The number of wolves surrounding the Christian flock is growing,
and they relish nothing more than docile's sheep, utterly incapable
of defending themselves from militant secularists at home to militant
Islamists abroad. The assaults on Biblical Christianity are growing dangerously,
but Christian Research Institutes Support Team members aren't in favor
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of feeding these wolves. Instead, each day they're making possible
an array of outreaches that defang these wolfpacks with solid
arguments and evidence that have stood the test of time.
What's more, support Team members are equipping themselves with criis
equipping Essentials, a handpicked collection of the best apologetics tools around.
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Your selection of resources are just our way of saying thanks.
To learn more about the benefits of membership, simply visit
equip dot org. Once again. That's equip dot org. Once again.
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Here's your host, Hank Anagraph.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
Thank you. Rendy before the breakup is talking about the
A and the Christmas acronym which represents advent. Advent, as
I said, is a season in which Christians and the
Christian Church celebrate the coming in flesh of our Lord
and Savior, Jesus Christ, but it's also an everyday reality.
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The daily advent of Christ is celebrated through community and
confession and contribution. When I talk about community, I'm talking
about something that's visible in baptism, Baptism which is a
time of repentance, baptism through which we are forgiven, cleansed,
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incorporated in the body of Christ, united with Christ himself,
and with the body of Christ, we are made one
in the One made flesh. In like fashion, the Eucharist
is an expression of our oneness in Christ, as we
all partake of the same elements we partake of Christ himself,
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Christ through whom we are made one. A further expression
of our oneness in the Christ of Christmas is, of course,
our common confession of faith. As we celebrate the daily
advent of our Savior. By testifying to what we believe,
in why we believe, and in whom we have believed,
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we make advent an every day reality. The Gospel of
Christ should become a part of our vocabulary. It should
become second nature. Defending the faith is likewise not optional.
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It should be a scumpetency of everyone who takes the
sacred name of Christ upon our lips. That's part of
the mission of the Christian Research Institute. And in addition
to be prepared to communicate what you believe and why
you believe, we have to be empowered to communicate who
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we believe. And that's especially essential in that virtually every
theological heresy begins with the misconception of the nature of God.
I should note that just as there is a first
advent in a daily advent, so too there's a final advent.
And as the focus of the first advent is Christ's
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coming and flesh, so to think about this, the focus
of the second advent is Christ coming in flesh. Doesn't
happen once, It's going to happen again, and that of
an absolute certainty. By this time, He's not going to
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come as a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying
in a manger. This time he will come as a bridegroom,
carrying his bride over the threshold of Jordan into the
New Jerusalem. As Canaan provided temporal rest for the physical
descendants of Abraham, the coming of Christ will provide eternal
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rest for his spiritual descendants. So in the final Advent,
the land promises God made to Abraham will be fully
and finally consummated in a paradise lost that has become
paradise restored. As such, Canaan is typological ever renewed cosmos. Abraham,
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like Isaac and Jacob, viewed living in the Promised Land
in which the same way that a stranger would view
living in a foreign country. Why well, because as the
writer of Hebrews, Saint Paul Make's plain, he was looking
forward to the city with foundations whose architect and build
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her as God. Abraham looked beyond binding borders, behind boundaries,
to a day in which the meek would inherit the earth.
I don't know about you, but the more he think
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about the new Heaven and the new Earth, the more
exciting it is. It is simply incredible to think that
one day soon we will not only experience the resurrection
of our carcasses, we will experience the renewal of the
cosmos and the final advent of our creator, the one
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who knit us together in our mother's wombs. We will
quite literally have heaven on earth. Not only will we
experience God's fellowship as Adam and Eve actually did in
the garden. But we will see the second atom, Jesus Christ,
face to face. Think about it. God and flesh will
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live in our midst and we will never come to
an end of exploring the infinite, inexhaustible one who declared
I am or or the grandeur and glory of his
incomparable or restored universe. Those who die in Christ will
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experience the new heavens and the New Earth as both
a physical place in creation and is the personal presence
of the Creator. Here's what I mean. The dwelling of
God is with men, and He will live with them.
They will be His people, said Saint John. And God
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himself will be with them and be their God. He's
gonna wipe every tear from our eyes, and then well,
then there'll be no more death or mourning or crying
or pain, because the old order of things has passed away.
He was seated on the throne, said I Am making
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everything everything new. So this year, as you celebrate the
First Advent of our Lord, may His presence in word
and sacrament sustain you spiritually, and may you fix your
focus with eager anticipation on the final advent of the
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paper Bethlehem now a bridegroom returning with you and me
and multitudes from all generations throughout time, returning as his bride.
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The final letter in our Christmas acronym, and this applies
in this case last, but not least the s in Christmas. Well,
that reminds us of the word salvation. Perhaps in the
noise surrounding modern day Christmas celebrations, you can still hear
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the faint echo of Isaiah's earth shattering pronouncement. Remember the words,
the Virgin will be with child, will give birth to
a son. We'll call him a Manuel, and he will
save his people from their sins. Isaiah's prophetic words foreshadow
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a triple barrier. The first barrier is that of nature,
and that barrier is forever shattered by Christ's incarnation. His
canosis is our theosis. As Christ set aside that first
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barrier by his incarnation, so two he set aside a
second barrier. That second barrier is sin, and he did
that by his death. For as an atom all die,
so in Christ all will be made alive. But there
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is a third, the sting of death itself. This third
and final barrier has forever been voided through resurrection. Through resurrection,
the sting of death has been swallowed up in victory.
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And as we have been saying this week, resurrection is
a certainty. For Christ most certainly rose from the dead,
and so too we will rise as Christians. We will
rise immortal, imperishable, and incorruptible. Think about it. Think about
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it this day before we celebrate the Birth of Christ. Well,
I hope you've enjoyed the Christmas Acronym again. We talked
about Christ, Resurrection, incarnation, Santa, even Santa can be redeemed, traditions, miracles, advent,
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and lastly salvation. Tomorrow's special edition of the Bible lance
Men broadcast, we celebrate a special broadcast on a very
special day. I hope you and your family have a
very merry Christmas as you think about what's really important.
(25:39):
And thank you so much for your support for tuning
in to this special series my Christmas Acronym leading up
to tomorrow when we celebrate the Coming of Christ in
flesh a special edition. I hope you'll be able to
tune in. Thanks for tuning in to this series. We'll
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see it next time with more.
Speaker 1 (26:02):
Thank you for joining us today this Christmas. As we
celebrate the birth of the One who is the Way,
the Truth, and the Life, why not help others to
continue receiving Biblical truth in Christ through the Bible answer
Man Broadcast. To make a Christmas gift that can transform lives,
simply call eight eight eight seven thousand CRII eight eight
(26:24):
eight seven thousand CRI. You can also right CERII at
Post Office Box eighty five hundred, Charlotte, North Carolina two
eight two seven one, or simply visit online at equip
dot org. The preceding program was pre recorded. The Bible
answer Man Broadcast is funded by listeners like you. We're
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on the air because life and truth matter. An infinite
God reduced to the size of a human embryo, the
creator of time and space, invading both in human form.
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Such is the mystery and the majesty of the Incarnation
Supreme being condescending to become one of us. Perhaps nothing
is more important than grasping the significance of the coming
God in human flesh. Without the life, death, and resurrection
of the incarnate One who walked among us, our world
would be unfathomably dark. To be equipped as a witness
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and to be inspired in your walk, you'll want to
feast on Hank Hantagraph's book Incarnation, The Ultimate Self Revelation
of God. To receive your copy of Incarnation, simply call
eight eight eight seven thousand c RII and make a
gift to support curi's life changing outreaches or visit equip
(27:55):
dot org equip dot org
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