It's Not a Fairytale, It's Real

-Bill Petite

 

We are into the holiest of weeks on the Christian Calendar. Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday and goes right up to Resurrection Sunday, or, Easter as the world knows it. I remember my first Holy week as a Christian. One of the TV networks was showing a miniseries called, A.D. I was glued to the TV every evening throughout that week. For me, a new Christian, I was excited reading the Bible and then watching that miniseries; even though it didn’t exactly follow the Bible to the letter. But it was close enough for me and covered the most important points. That was over forty years ago and things have really changed. Christianity has been degraded and even labeled as a hate movement because of the way some have intertwined it with politics and other reasons.

With everything which has happened and come to the surface within this culture and society in which we live, unsaved people and atheists consider Christians as people who worship a nonexistent god. But the truth is that the God of Christianity does exist and He is all powerful and rules from His throne in heaven with His Son Jesus at His right hand. If you’re unfamiliar with the way this world speaks of the Christian God, just read the comments which follow a post about Christianity on a secular web site. Christians are referred to as fools for worshipping an invisible nothing god who doesn’t really exist. Others refer to Him as a fantasy god or hypocritical god who claims to love everyone but hates Gays and sends people to hell. If you read these comments, don’t get angry; we should have compassion for these people. If they are not saved and continue to believe this nonsense right up to the day they die, they are going to hell. But it is not God who is sending them there, it is they themselves because they refused to accept Jesus and be saved.

If we talk to an unsaved person who believes this way, we don’t argue the point, we explain the truth of the gospel in hope that the Holy Spirit will stir and warm their heart and they will be saved. We can’t argue anyone into heaven. Only Jesus can save them. Our job is to tell them and then it’s up to them to allow Jesus in or not. Now, it is important to know that some will never be saved. It doesn’t matter how many times they hear the gospel. Actually, the more they reject Jesus the harder their heart gets. God knows who will be saved and who won’t be saved. Allow me to provide scripture reference for this.

However, those the Father has given me will come to me, and I will never reject them.  For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do my own will. And this is the will of God, that I should not lose even one of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them up at the last day.    JN 6:37-39

When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers.   Acts 13:48

 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure.    Eph  1:4-5

Now, many Christians refuse to accept this truth but the Bible is clear on this and none of these verses are taken out of context. Many will say that the reference from Acts 13:48 is a single scripture out of context but read the passage and see that it is not. God knows who will be saved because He chose them before He did one little thing concerning creation. God did not look down through time and see who would be saved. The Bible doesn’t teach that anywhere. Do the research for yourself and don’t just take someone’s opinion or teaching as truth. God does not exist in time or on a timeline. His existence is now; it is never past, present or future.

In our world and culture today, those who refuse to accept Jesus can be strongly opposed to the gospel and Christianity. Some of them have very strong and nasty opinions concerning Jesus and Christianity. They have not been enlightened and just don’t know the truth. This is due to one reason or another and we don’t know who God has called to salvation or not. We are not able to justly judge the hearts of those who oppose us and those who are saved. So, we should never attempt to do that. For the unsaved person, we tell them about Jesus and pray for them. Then we leave it in the hands of God.

But for those who believe Christianity is just another cult or a fairytale story and an invisible sugar daddy in the sky who doesn’t really exist, there will be a day of dread for them in the future. For those who have been or will be saved, our names are already written in the book of life. For those who will continue to reject Jesus or those who have died without Jesus, it is an eternity of suffering and torment. Hell was created for Satan and the fallen angels who have decided to follow him. God did not create hell for people and has never sent anyone there. But He cannot have sin stand in His presence and that was every one of us at birth. We are all born with a sin nature which desires nothing but sin and a life of sin. But when Jesus went to the cross and died on that cross for us, He paid the debt required by the Father to cover that sin. When we are saved, that sin is washed away and never again remembered by God.  When God sees us, He sees Jesus and not us. Without Jesus as our savior, He would see nothing but sin.

But because Jesus put Himself on that cross and died in our place, we can have an eternity with Him in heaven. And because He rose from the grave and defeated death, we can have that eternal life with Him. That’s the Easter story; that’s what Resurrection Sunday is all about. We were all born with the sin nature and we all deserved hell because sin cannot stand in the presence of God. But because Jesus paid the debt we couldn’t pay, we have redemption and salvation from sin and the coming wrath of God. And that is what we celebrate on Resurrection Sunday. We should be thanking Jesus every day of our Christian lives for what He has done for us.

And for those who continue to scoff and mock God, He simply laughs at them. They have no power over Him. They cannot make Him go away.

When they claim He doesn’t exist, He doesn’t go hide and fret because they don’t believe in Him. They are enemies of God and have no idea who He really is or the almighty power He has. And, as they mock Him and degrade Him, His response will be as it was when Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, attempted to conquer Judah.

“The virgin daughter of Zion
    despises you and laughs at you.
The daughter of Jerusalem
    shakes her head in derision as you flee.

 “Whom have you been defying and ridiculing?
    Against whom did you raise your voice?
At whom did you look with such haughty eyes?
    It was the Holy One of Israel!

2 Kgs 19:21-22

 

And again, in Psalms 2, God responds to those who think they are greater than Him.

 

Why are the nations so angry?
    Why do they waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle;
    the rulers plot together
against the Lord
    and against his anointed one.
“Let us break their chains,” they cry,
    “and free ourselves from slavery to God.”

 But the one who rules in heaven laughs.
    The Lord scoffs at them.
 Then in anger he rebukes them,
    terrifying them with his fierce fury.

Ps 2:1-5

 

God had a plan to provide a source and means of salvation for His creation. He would send His one and only Son to die on a cross and then rise from the dead to provide salvation from sin and also eternal life for those who will ask Jesus to forgive them and know Him as their Lord and savior. Jesus must be the Lord of your life and not just the savior. He paid the price for your sin debt and to be able to have eternal life with Him in heaven. If you haven’t done this yet, do it now. Allow Jesus to wipe you clean from your sin and give you eternal life in heaven. It’s not a fairytale; it is real and true.