Just a few weeks ago, we celebrated Christmas—and one reason Christians don’t believe we must return to earth time after time is because of what happened that first Christmas.

Let me put it this way: Christians reject reincarnation because they believe in the Incarnation—the coming of God into this world in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. The word “incarnation” literally means “in the flesh”—and that’s what happened when Jesus was born in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago: God took upon Himself human flesh and became a man. The Bible says, “The Word was God … (and) the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:1,14).

Why did God come down to us in this way? For one reason: to make it possible for us to escape this world and go to be with Him forever. All our sins were placed on Christ, and He took upon Himself the judgment and death we deserve. Our greatest problem is sin— and God has now provided the way for us to be saved from our sins, because of what Christ did for us.

The Bible says, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:27-28). Don’t risk your soul by trusting in something that is only an illusion. Instead, put your trust in Christ, “who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age” (Galatians 1:4).