Years ago a young singer, Jim Stafford, penned the song “I Don’t Like Spiders and Snakes.” Almost everyone was able to relate to that idea. Many more are afraid of the dark, others are afraid of height, some are scared at the thought of speaking to a large crowd of people. So, you’re afraid of what?
There is still one common fear among humans: the fear of death! It is universal. A soldier on the battlefield is unsure about seeing his family after ‘today.’ A passenger on a seemingly-doomed airplane is not only afraid of the threat of that long fall to the ground but also the sudden stop when he gets there.
Most people are afraid of death for one simple reason -- they are unsure of what is on the other side.
Here’s the good news for you. One man has been there and returned to tell us about it. His tomb is still empty. He has never lied, nor has He sinned in any way.
The apostle John once said of Jesus, He “committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22). Because He is so unlike us, in that He is sinless, we find that truth difficult to understand. Nevertheless, you can trust Him.
The apostle Paul wrote about Jesus, saying, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). He makes us righteous through the sinless Jesus so that we don’t need to fear death.
Not all people trust Jesus at His word. Yet, without Him none of us have a chance of making it to heaven. When you are confident that He has taken all your sins away, then you can be free from fear.
Faith and fear are opposites. When you doubt, you are unable to become free from your fear.
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:18-19).
If your confidence is in Jesus, then you have no need to doubt when this life abruptly ends (1 John 4:17). Be sure that your faith and hope are in Him! Then the first face you will see in the day of judgement will be His -- the face of Jesus!