The following article was written by one of my friends Alexander Scott. (Scott is possibly one of the greatest yet most unknown modern theologians). An article he wrote was very inspiring to me…so I thought I’d borrow it from him and share it with you.
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“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10.
The angel’s first words to the shepherds were “fear not.” The shepherds were probably pretty afraid at the sight of the angel; after all, they were just minding their own business when this strange being showed up, quite randomly. So the angel told them not to be afraid. The angel brought news, not to be afraid of, but of great joy: that Emmanuel has come – literally, God is with us.
Sin’s Power is Fearsome
See, the baby who was born that first Christmas would become the man who would be nailed to the Roman cross. Not for his own crimes, for he was innocent, but for our sin.
Without Jesus, you and I would be completely helpless – unable to do anything about our sin problem.
Without Jesus, you and I would still be stained with the ugliness of our sin.
Without Jesus, you and I would face the capital punishment that sin demands.
Without Jesus, we are indeed dead in our transgressions and sins (see Eph. 2:1).
Without Jesus, we would have no hope for the future, no possibility for any sort of living relationship with God.
Jesus put the record straight when he said in Matthew 10:16, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” Sin and its consequences are real, and something to be afraid of. Because of God’s justice, he cannot abide sin, and “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). And being helpless to do anything about it, we are in a bind.
Fear it Not
The good news is that believers need not fear the power of sin and death, because as we celebrate at Christmas, God is with us!
With Jesus, we know that, while we are helpless in saving ourselves, our efforts are unnecessary, because Jesus’ work on the cross is completely sufficient for our salvation.
With Jesus, we can be washed of our sins “in the blood of the lamb” as the old favourite goes. He makes us pure before God. While the wages of sin is death, God’s free gift to us is eternal life in Jesus.
With Jesus, we do not have to face the consequences, the death that sin brings – because, “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).
With Jesus, we have been made alive, no longer dead because of our sin (see Eph. 2:4,5).
With Jesus, we have a hope, we have a future, we have this wonderful and intimate relationship with God, we have life.
Victory in Jesus
So now we can sing songs like “Victory in Jesus” with confidence, because he has overcome the grave. Christians have the full assurance and confidence that he has victory over sin and death so that we no longer need to fear it.
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-57,
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
We need not fear sin and its consequences, because Christ is with us – the Christ who has won this victory!
So fear not, for God is with us.
Source: http://alexanderscott.wordpress.com/
Check out his blog in my reading list.