"What
If Jesus Had Never Been Born?", is the title of an excellent book, written
by the late Dr. James Kennedy. Dr.
Kennedy writes,
"But
Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived, changed virtually every aspect
of human life – and most people don't know it.
The greatest tragedy of the Christmas holiday each year is not so much
its commercialization (gross as that is), but its trivialization."[1]
In this
book of 250 or so pages, Dr. Kennedy validates and verifies that Jesus Christ
and the Church He birthed "has made more changes on earth for the good
than any other movement of force in history."[2]
Some of the initiatives that were inaugurated by the Christian Church are shown
to be:
·
Hospitals
in the Middle Ages
·
The
world's greatest universities were started by Christians
·
Education
and literacy for the public
·
Representative
government
·
Civil
liberties including the abolition of slavery
·
The
elevation of women
·
Benevolent
and charitable societies
·
Codifying
and writing many of the world's languages
Of course
if the world was changed for the better through arts, entertainment,
healthcare, education and science that is a wonderful thing. But there is something far better than that. Paul, the Apostle of Jesus wrote these words:
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.”
(1 Timothy 1:15, ESV)
What if Jesus had not been born? The ultimate answer is this:
sinners would not be saved. Saved from what?
The Bible says that Jesus is the One “who delivers us from the wrath to
come.”[3] John, the Apostle wrote: “Whoever believes
in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life,
but the wrath of God remains on him.” (John 3:36, ESV).
The wrath of God is a divine response to human sin and
disobedience. “The Old Testament prophets often wrote of a day in the future,
the "day of wrath" (Zephaniah
1:14-15). God’s wrath against sin and disobedience is perfectly justified
because His plan for mankind is holy and perfect, just as God Himself is holy
and perfect.”[4]
God remains just to forgive sinners who trust in His Son because Christ took
God’s wrath upon Himself when He died in our place on the cross (Romans
5:6–11). If you are a Christian then
you have this comfort that “God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain
salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,” (1 Thessalonians 5:9, ESV).
Father, if Jesus had
not come, we would all be destined for wrath and hopelessness. Thank you for the mercy of your
salvation. Thank you for the grace of
eternal life. “Christ-mass” is a festival
a celebration, and truly it can be, if we have placed our faith in You – and You
alone for salvation. Thank you for
coming.
[1] Kennedy, D. James, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born,
Nelson Books, Nashville Tnn., 2001, Page 1
[3] The Holy Bible:
English Standard Version. (2016). (1 Th 1:10). Wheaton, IL:
Crossway Bibles.
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