Billy Graham,evangelist
The theme of the upcoming World Council of Churches’ assembly, “Jesus Christ Frees and Unites,” should call all Christians to examine again the person and work of Jesus Christ as found in the Scriptures.
Three questions arise from this theme:
Who is Jesus Christ? The question echoes and reechoes throughout the New Testament, and is still the central question facing men today. The Christian faith is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. Who is this Jesus? We must guard against remaking Jesus to fit our own ideas. Too often men have attempted to remold Jesus and the Scriptures to make them conform to the concepts and presuppositions of contemporary secular thought. This can never be done, however, without undermining the Christian faith. There is only one Jesus—the historical Jesus of the Scriptures. In them we learn the good news of the Gospel, that God—the infinite, personal, creator of the universe—has invaded this planet in the person of Jesus Christ. Supernaturally born in a minor province of the Roman Empire, this Jesus lived a sinless life and through his actions demonstrated God’s love for all men. He was put to death on a Roman cross, but because of his bodily resurrection, believing men need no longer fear the powers of sin and death and hell.
What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ frees? We are both freed from something and to something. The Bible declares that man has rebelled against his creator and has become enslaved by sin. The effects of this rebellion can be seen everywhere, from the brokenness of human lives to the corruption of human society. Ultimately, all human problems—both individual and social—spring from man’s rejection of God’s plan for humanity, and man’s attempt to find fulfillment apart from God.
The good news of the Gospel is that God, in his love, has acted in Christ to free men from their bondage to sin and death and hell. The death of Christ on the cross was the most significant event in history. Through his sacrificial death, Jesus Christ made it possible for men to be freed from a life ruled by sin and freed to a life ruled by Christ. To all who will repent of sin and turn to Christ in trusting faith and obedience, the risen Christ promises in his grace forgiveness and life, both now and eternally. It is one of the glorious mysteries of the Gospel that man can only find freedom as he becomes a bondservant of Jesus Christ.
The freedom that Christ brings must never be confused with secular aspirations for political or social freedom, valid as they might be. The freedom Jesus brings is spiritual, and the Christian knows that this is the ultimate need of all men. Therefore, while fighting for social justice at every opportunity, the Christian will also seek to proclaim the release from spiritual bondage offered by Christ. Jesus rejected the radical schemes of the Zealots of his day, not because they were too revolutionary but because they were not revolutionary enough. He knew men could have political freedom and still be enslaved by sin and guilt. Only as men recover the purpose for which God created them can true freedom come.
What does it mean to say that Jesus Christ unites? The Bible says that one of the catastrophic effects of man’s prideful rebellion against God is alienation. This has two dimensions. Man is alienated from his creator and he is alienated from his fellow man. In Jesus Christ, however, God has brought about the possibility of reconciliation of both man with God and man with man. Through faith in Christ man is reconciled to God. He becomes a part of the Church, which consists of all people who share a common loyalty to the Jesus Christ of Scripture.
One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in the life of the Christian is love. The Christian no longer is to see other men from a human point of view, whether those men be Christians or non-Christians. Instead, he is called to see men as God sees them, and to seek to minister to their needs in the name of Christ. He is called to be united together in purpose and love with all who are serving Christ. He is called also to declare by word and act the good news of the Gospel to those who are outside the people of God, beseeching them to become reconciled to God.
It is my prayer that this theme will cause all who bear the name of Christ to search the Scriptures afresh, and discover there in a deeper way “Jesus Christ,” the freedom-giver and uniter.
