WHAT DO YOU think of Napoleon Bonaparte? It really doesn’t make much difference, does it? In fact, unless you are a student of history you probably have no clear opinion of him at all. He was just a man who lived and died and who happened to make the history books and encyclopedias.
But at another time, at another place, another man was once born — and you must make a decision about Him. Your life and death depend on it. Because in Jesus Christ, God broke into human history as never before. And from that point on, all history has to be interpreted finally in relation to Jesus Christ. The abbreviations “B.C.” and “A.D.” bear witness in a small way to a much greater fact.
Jesus was much like us. He sometimes was tired (John 4:16) or hungry (Mark 11:12). He knew grief at the death of a friend (John 11:35). He felt the loneliness of rejection by former associates (John 6:66). And He experienced suffering that most men never approach.
One day Jesus died. But here the similarity between Him and us ends. Because three days later God raised Him from the dead. We have the testimony of eye-witnesses who personally talked to, ate with, and touched Him after the resurrection. Reliable eye-witnesses, who staked their lives on what they told (Acts 13:30; I Corinthians 15:4-8).
These are the facts. Jesus was God’s unique Son the resurrection proved that (Romans 1:4). Jesus was then raised to heaven and given all authority in heaven and on earth. Some day He is coming again. One day you will face Him in judgment (Acts 17:31; II Corinthians 5:10). These are facts as well.
Salvation is by grace (Titus 3:5) through faith (Romans 5:1, 2). It becomes yours when faith responds to the story in trusting obedience (Colossians 2:12). This is not a one-time affair. It means a whole life of the same — a life motivated by God’s grace, guided by faith and shown in loving obedience.
Are you ready to face Christ in judgment? You can be.
