INTRODUCTION

This post contains the content of a pamphlet, which includes a photograph relevant to the passage, I distribute.  I hope you find this post encouraging.  If you would like some copies, please email me.

THERE IS GOOD NEWS WHEN FEAR ABOUNDS – MATTHEW 28:5-6

If you are in a situation in which fear abounds, God’s Word gives you some great news in Matthew 28:5–6 (NLT):

5 Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.”

If you wish, write down your fear-filled situation(s).

Referring to the context, Jesus Christ said He was the Jewish Messiah who the Old Testament prophets prophesied would bring salvation to all of mankind.  Yet, Jesus had died by crucifixion at the hands of the Roman government through the insistence of the Jewish leaders.  Jesus’ disciples had placed their future in His hands, and now it appeared they made a very bad decision.  They were in hiding for fear that they would be next to experience death by the cross.  If ever there was a situation in which fear abounded, this was it.

In a display of great courage, early in the morning some of the women followers of Jesus ventured to Jesus’ tomb to anoint his body with spices.  They were met with an astounding scene when they arrived at the tomb.  The stone had been rolled away from the opening to the tomb and the guards were like dead men.  An angel of the Lord then told these women some of the most encouraging words ever spoken in human history:

He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead

The physical bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is the historical fact that validates and elevates Christianity above all other religions.  The Apostle Paul made that point clear when he wrote 1 Corinthians 15:17–19 (NLT):

17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. 18 In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! 19 And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

If you have repented of your sins and trusted alone in what Jesus did for you on the cross you are saved.  Your fear can diminish as you contemplate that your faith is founded upon the historical fact of Jesus’ resurrection!  And if Jesus rose from the dead, someday you, too, will rise as promised in a passage like 1 Thessalonians 4:14–16 (NLT):

14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves.

If you are lost the comfort of Jesus’ resurrection can be yours.  Please  skip to the back page and (1) read through “God’s Plan of Salvation” so you can understand what God did for you through His only unique Son, Jesus Christ, and (2), from the bottom of your heart pray the “Sinner’s Prayer” meaning every word. If you do, you will be reconciled to God – saved – through Jesus Christ. 

Upon your salvation, you must engage in daily Bible reading and daily prayer.  Also, you must find a spiritually solid Bible-believing church that (1) teaches that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God, and (2) believes in the doctrine of the Trinity which means that there is one God who eternally exists as three distinct Persons — the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and  each Person is fully God, and (3) teaches that salvation is by grace through faith and not by works (e.g., water baptism).

Please do not make the mistake of thinking that once you become a Christian, your life will become easy.  Most likely, it will become more difficult.  God’s blessing of salvation and life’s difficulties are not mutually exclusive.  Jesus told His disciples, “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.” John 15:18 (NLT).  Always keep in mind that you have an eternal home in heaven waiting for you per John 14:2–4 (NLT):

2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.

I hope you found this article helpful. 

CONTACT: For more information, especially about finding a solid Bible-believing church, please contact Steve Belsheim at steve@stevebelsheim.com. Devotional No 5

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION

In the beginning, God, who is holy, created the entire universe.  As a part of His creative actions, He made humans in His image to know Him.  For a while, everything was right between God and our ancestors, Adam and Eve.    But Adam sinned, and his sin was passed down to all of humankind whereby we became separated from God.  Nothing we could do on our own could bridge that separation so that without God’s intervention, hell would be our eternal destination.   

Fortunately for us, in His great love and mercy God provided humankind with the only means of salvation, which is through Jesus Christ who is God’s only unique Son.  While retaining His deity, God the Son became a man in Jesus, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross, thus fulfilling the law Himself and taking on Himself the punishment for the sins of all those who would ever repent and trust in Him for their salvation.  Jesus rose from the dead, showing that God the Father accepted Christ’s sacrifice and that God’s wrath against us has been exhausted.  He now calls us to repent of our sins and trust alone in what Christ did to save us. 

If we repent of our sins and completely trust in Christ alone that He died for our sins and rose to life from the dead, we are born again into a new life, an eternal life with God. 

Scripture References: Genesis 1:1, 27, 31; Habakkuk 1:13; Genesis 2:7, 18, 21-25;  Genesis 3:1-7, 23-24; Isaiah 59:2; Romans 3:19-20, 23; 5:17-19; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; John 14:6; Acts 4:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 John 4:10; John 3:16-18; Mark 1:15; Romans 1:4; 4:25; John 3:5-8; 1 Peter 1:3.

“SINNER’S PRAYER”

Lord, Jesus Christ, the only unique Son of God, thank You for Your free gift of eternal life.  I know I’m a sinner who cannot save myself no matter what I do, and I deserve to spend eternity in hell.  But, I know that because You loved me so much, You voluntarily died on the cross for me taking my sins upon Yourself, and You physically bodily rose from the grave showing that Your sacrificial death was sufficient payment to give me eternal life in Heaven.  I now repent of my sins and trust alone in what You did for my eternal salvation.  Please take control of my life as I now receive You as my Lord and Savior.  Thank You so much for saving me.  I am now Yours forever! (Scripture references: John 1:1-4, 11-14; John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Isaiah 53:4-6; Mark 1:15; Acts 16:31; Acts 4:12; Romans 10:9-10, 13; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; John 10:27-29).