What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? All Scripture references given in the New International Version (1984) unless otherwise indicated

In the Christmas classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life,” George Bailey was given the opportunity to see what life would be like had he never been born.

George Bailey came to realize that the world would be a bleaker, darker place had he never been a part of it.

CHRISTMAS UNDER ATTACK! There are many atheists, secular humanists and advocates of political correctness today that are campaigning to bring an end to the celebration of the birth of Jesus. They would like nothing more than for the faith aspects of Christmas to quietly fade away. Why? Because in their minds, the world would be a much better place if Jesus had never been born.

CHRISTMAS UNDER ATTACK! Could they be right? What would the world look like today if they got their wish? How would our lives be different had Jesus never been born? Would the world be better off as they suppose? Or like George Bailey, would they discover “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jesus in it?

CHRISTMAS UNDER ATTACK! Clarence Oddbody, in “It’s a Wonderful Life,” granted George Bailey’s wish to see what the world would be like had he never been a part of it. In the same way, let’s grant the adversaries of Christmas their wish for the next 20 minutes. Let’s speculate what the world would be like if they had their way and Jesus had never been born.

If Jesus had never been born… it would be a far more _____ world. brut al

If Jesus had never been born… Human life is cheapened in cultures where there is no acknowledgement and reverence of a loving Creator.

If Jesus had never been born… Twentieth Century Examples Mao Ze Dong (China) 50 million killed Joseph Stalin (Russia) 23 million killed Adolph Hitler (Germany) 12 million killed

If Jesus had never been born… Where there is little regard for God or Jesus His Son, there is little regard for the individual human lives that were created in His image and likeness. “Sanctity of Human Life” would be a foreign concept.

If Jesus had never been born… Even in the USA, as we drift farther and farther away from our Christian heritage, we see an erosion of our collective value for human life in the practice of abortion and euthanasia.

If Jesus had never been born… Adversaries of Christmas often point to the brutality of the Crusades and the Inquisition as the reason for their belief that the world would be better off had Jesus never been born.

If Jesus had never been born… But what they fail to recognize is that these brutal acts done in God’s name were actually a violation rather than a demonstration of Jesus teachings.

If Jesus had never been born… it would be a far more ________ world. primitiv e

If Jesus had never been born… The modern lifestyle we enjoy today would not be possible if it had not been for _________ scientists who understood that God had created an orderly universe and desired to know Him better by discovering how it works. Christian

If Jesus had never been born… Copernicus (astronomy), Bacon (invented scientific method), Newton (mathematics), Faraday (physics), Mendel (genetics), Babbage (computer science) and so many others were genuine believers in Jesus and sought to glorify God through their scientific discoveries.

If Jesus had never been born… it would be a far less _______ world. health y

If Jesus had never been born… Those needing treatment for injury and illness would likely not have the availability to the modern medical care we have today in hospitals.

If Jesus had never been born… That’s because _________ are credited with the invention of the modern hospital to care for the physical needs of the infirmed. Christians

If Jesus had never been born… Thus in-patient medical care in the sense of what we today consider a hospital, was an invention driven by Christian mercy and Byzantine innovation. - James Edward McClellan and Harold Dorn, Science and Technology in World History: An Introduction (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006), p.99,101

If Jesus had never been born… Further examples: the International Red Cross grew out of the Christian faith of Henri Dunant of Geneva, Switzerland. Clara Barton, famous for her Christian compassion to soldiers on both sides of the Civil War, founded the American Red Cross.

If Jesus had never been born… it would be a far more ______ world. needy

If Jesus had never been born… Millions of poor and hungry people around the world would be largely on their own because no one would have heard Jesus’ command to love and care for “the least of these” (Matt. 25:40). Needy people everywhere would be without local Christian churches and Christian organizations such as World Vision to provide billions in humanitarian relief.

If Jesus had never been born… it would be a far more ________ world. illiterat e

If Jesus had never been born… Christian missionaries are credited with the greatest contributions to world literacy because of their efforts to make the Bible available in all the languages of the world.

If Jesus had never been born… “For Protestants, mass education was crucial because they wanted people to read the Bible in their own languages. Thus wherever Protestant missionaries went they almost immediately imported printing technology…they also developed mass literacy programs to teach ordinary people to read.” - “ The Social Impact of Missionary Higher Education” by Robert D. Woodberry

None of these speculative consequences of a world without Jesus are as eternally impacting as this last one…

If Jesus had never been born… it would be an utterly _______ world. hopeles s

If Jesus had never been born… Mankind would be without hope of a restored relationship with God. “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Ephesians 2:12

If Jesus had never been born… Mankind would be without hope for eternal life with God in Heaven. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” 1 Cor. 15:17-18

If Jesus had never been born… the world would indeed be a much different place! But not for the better!

“It’s a Wonderful Life,” because Jesus was born!

“But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.” Galatians 4:4-5 (NKJV)

“One Solitary Life” - attributed to James Allen Francis “He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family or owned a home. He didn’t go to college. He never visited a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place where he was born. He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself. He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to his enemies and went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Twenty centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race. All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that have ever sat, all the kings that have ever reigned, put together, have not have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that one solitary life.”

“But Christ indeed has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… Death has been swallowed up in victory.” I Cor. 15:20, 15:54b

“It’s a Wonderful Life,” because Jesus was born, lived, died on the Cross, and rose again! Have you made room for Him in YOUR heart?