Someone asked world-renowned evangelist Billy Graham if Christians differ from Jesus Christ. After all, Christians are given the distinction of being children of God just like Jesus, who is the only begotten Son of God.
However, Graham says people cannot compare themselves to Jesus because He is unique.
It "is wrong according to the Bible" when someone says "we're just like Jesus, and Jesus is just like us," he says. "Jesus Christ is unlike any other person who ever lived — or ever will live," Graham writes in his column for The Kansas City Star.
The evangelist further explains that Jesus is the only One who is both fully human and fully God during His time on Earth. "On that first Christmas a miracle took place that we can barely imagine: God came down from heaven and became a man. Jesus wasn't just like God. He was God, in human flesh," he says.
Jesus' sacrifice is most important since it redeemed people who are sinners whose greatest need is to be forgiven and cleansed of their sins. This was only made possible when Jesus—the only One who is without sin—died on the cross for them.
Graham says God loves His people so much that He sent His son Jesus to willingly "took upon Himself the guilt and judgment that we deserve."
"Now by faith in Him we become God's children in the fullest sense — members of his family forever," the evangelist says.
Graham is encouraging people to put their trust in Christ alone and rely on Him for salvation. "We are not here by chance; God created us, and he gave us our lives. In that sense, therefore, God is our father and we're all his children; we wouldn't be here if it weren't for Him," says Graham.
