One of the most absurd arguments presented to me for not believing that “Christ died for our sins, was buried, then was raised from the dead on the third day — and was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve” (1 Corinthians 15:3-5) is this one: “I’ll pass for now — and just wait and see what happens on the other side!”
I’ve heard various forms of this reasoning time-and-again. I recall a specific example with a bright young graduate student. After I told him what Jesus did — and why he used this very same reasoning: “Guess I’ll just wait and see!”
I responded with “You’re gambling, you’re ‘placing your bet’ on the assumption that Jesus either lied, was self-deceived, or mad?” He came back with the trendy argument of our day: “There’s no historical evidence that Jesus even existed!”
I suppose some people actually believe this to be true (that Jesus Christ is just a myth of history), but for many, it is simply an attempt to escape moral accountability to a Holy God: “Hey, if Jesus is a myth, I have nothing to fear; I can live my life as I please!”
Folks like this used to really frustrate me. Here I was, sharing the greatest news ever known to man, only to have it spurned, mocked, rejected. A most significant lesson for me as I’ve grown older is just this: I’m to share the love of God with people and leave the results with Him!
In other words, my “job” is not to convince but to inform. God draws people, not me (John 6:44). There are sufficient reasons to support the Christian faith. The genuine seeker of God will eventually come to this conclusion.
So what exactly is the message Jesus proclaimed? We call it the Gospel (“Good News”) — here it is in a nutshell:
- God created us to be with Him
- Our sins separate us from God
- Sins cannot be removed by good deeds
- Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever
The late Dr. Walter Martin (1928-1989) used to say, “The death rate is still one-per-person!”
Preparing for the inevitable seems like a great idea to me! Charles Spurgeon, famous for fearlessly preaching the truth regardless of what people thought of it (or him!) once said, “He who does not prepare for death is more than an ordinary fool, he is a madman.”
I wonder, are you prepared?