Kobe Bryant Is dead

Kobe Bryant died Sunday morning in a helicopter crash. Kobe won five NBA championships. He was selected as the league MVP in 2008. His net worth was $800 million. He is third on the NBA’s all time scoring list. He loved his four daughters. He was 41 years old.

We don’t know the cause of the crash. Conditions were very foggy. A former pilot described his Sikorsky S-76B helicopter as “bulletproof.” Some are guessing it was CFIT- controlled flight into terrain. We cannot be certain.

We also don’t know if Kobe was ready to meet His Creator. We can examine the fruit of his life but we cannot be certain. We know he celebrated Catholic Mass at 7 a.m. Sunday morning. We also know he took Communion at the same time.

We cannot be certain about many things but we can be certain about our relationship with God. Jesus asked in Matthew 16:26, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” The Bible teaches that every person is going to spend eternity somewhere. This life is not the end- it is just the beginning. We must be prepared.

Romans 10 says that being right with God is not complicated and salvation is not far away. God does not stutter. God is very clear. Romans 10:9-10 says, “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Being ready to meet God in Romans 10:9-10 involves two steps….

First, the first step is to confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord. Confessing Jesus as Lord means He is God. Lord describes the Greek word for the Hebrew term Yahweh. Jesus is not simply a good person or a great teacher. He is God. In Matthew 1:23 Jesus is called Immanuel or “God With Us.” The miracles of Jesus- feeding the five thousand men plus women and children, healing lepers, raising the dead, forgiving sins- all point to His deity. Jesus is God.

The term Lord also means Jesus won the greatest victory. Our three greatest enemies are sin, Satan and death. Jesus defeated all of them through His death, burial and resurrection. Before Jesus died He said in a loud voice, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He didn’t say, “I am finished.” That would imply He was weak and exhausted. No. He paid the price for our sins. He defeated sin, Satan and death.

The term Lord also means that Jesus becomes our Master. We become His slaves. He owns us. He created us. He bought us through His work on the cross. Don’t worry! Jesus is a benevolent Master. He laid down His life for us. He adopts us into His family. He calls us His children. He is preparing a home for us. Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). He must be our Lord.

The second step is to believe in the resurrection. If a person believes in the resurrection, they accept the entire ministry of Jesus. Romans 1:4 says that God the Father declared Jesus to be the Son of God with power by raising Him from the dead. No other person has died and been resurrected never to die again.

The sacrifice of Jesus for our sins was so perfect the Father had to raise Him from the dead. At the cross He paid the price for our sins. The Father accepted this sacrifice and raised Him from the dead.

At the very beginning of His ministry the Jewish leaders asked Jesus, “What sign (miracle) do You show us as Your authority for doing these things?” (John 2:18). Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple (His body) and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). Jesus based the credibility of His entire ministry on His resurrection.

The word believe is also very important. Great theologians understand that belief involves three aspects of a person. First, the mind. God is holy. He is just. He must punish sin. We, like Kobe, have all sinned. Our sins were laid on Jesus. His perfect sacrifice is our only hope to satisfy the Father’s anger toward our sin. He was raised from the dead.

Second, it involves our emotions. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Mourning over our personal sin involves our emotions. There must be a sense of guilt, a sense of remorse- a sense of contrition. Our sin should result in our death for all eternity. Instead, it resulted in the death of God’s Son.

Third, true belief or faith involves the will. The life changes. James, the half brother of Jesus said, “Faith without works is dead” (James 2:17). True biblical faith will produce a change in our lives. If our lives do not change the faith is not real.

I was deeply saddened by the death of Kobe, his daughter and the seven other people Sunday morning. No doubt none of them expected to die that day. I can only imagine the shock and horror they experienced. We must be prepared to meet God. May we understand God’s truth and God’s sacrifice and respond properly for His glory!

Pastor Ethan Hansen

Faith Bible Fellowship

Big Lake, AK