Why Jesus?
Jesus Christ is unlike any other religious figure. In reality, Jesus Christ isn't a mere figurehead or example for us to follow. He is God who seeks a personal relationship with us. Christianity isn't about following a set of rules or adhering to a certain ideology. Christianity, as a religious belief system, is unlike any other religion for three crucial reasons. First, Jesus Christ is the only God who is no longer dead but is truly resurrected. His tomb is still empty! Second, it is the only belief in which God seeks out the wrongdoer. I personally believe there is a third reason. He truly wants fellowship with us and He gives us every strength, grace and promise we need to live as He desires!
Jesus Christ wants a relationship with you. God, the magnificent Creator of the Universe, the One who made you, earnestly desires a relationship with you. Not a relationship of rules and regulations, but one of freedom and growth to be made into His image and able to fulfill the purpose for which He created you. Through Jesus, you become a part of God's family, thus calling Him, "Abba, Father". No other religion exists that encourages, or even allows, personal fellowship with God on ANY level.
Jesus Christ is distinctive in that salvation is only through Him, AND it is a gift. It cannot be earned or attained in any way--not through performing certain rites or obeying regulations, enduring hardships/sufferings, gaining knowledge or transcending. No work or deed will ever earn the right to Heaven or allow fellowship with God. ALL of us are born with a sin nature that is adverse to God's presence; only Christ offers the solution.
Because salvation is God's work and a free gift (not based on your merits or accomplishments), you can have 100% assurance that your salvation and relationship with Him is permanent and you can have complete confidence that your eternity will be in His presence in Heaven.
Jesus Christ wants a relationship with you. God, the magnificent Creator of the Universe, the One who made you, earnestly desires a relationship with you. Not a relationship of rules and regulations, but one of freedom and growth to be made into His image and able to fulfill the purpose for which He created you. Through Jesus, you become a part of God's family, thus calling Him, "Abba, Father". No other religion exists that encourages, or even allows, personal fellowship with God on ANY level.
Jesus Christ is distinctive in that salvation is only through Him, AND it is a gift. It cannot be earned or attained in any way--not through performing certain rites or obeying regulations, enduring hardships/sufferings, gaining knowledge or transcending. No work or deed will ever earn the right to Heaven or allow fellowship with God. ALL of us are born with a sin nature that is adverse to God's presence; only Christ offers the solution.
Because salvation is God's work and a free gift (not based on your merits or accomplishments), you can have 100% assurance that your salvation and relationship with Him is permanent and you can have complete confidence that your eternity will be in His presence in Heaven.
Gift of Salvation
Why do you need a Savior?
Regardless of your accomplishments or achievements, you will never be good enough to earn the right to enter Heaven. ALL of us are born with a nature that is incompatible with the holiness of God. As one pastor said, our "default setting" is sin. If you died today and were standing before God and He asked, “Why should I let you into my heaven?”, what would you say? Most answer:
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If you died today and were standing before God and He asked,
'Why should I let you into my Heaven', what would you say?
How good is good enough to enter Heaven? |
Here’s an illustration.
Imagine a long line of all the people who have lived. At one end (the left), are the exceptionally loving and kind people, i.e. the Mother Teresa’s, Saints of the Church, the martyrs, etc. At the other end (the right) of the line, is the other extreme of exceedingly evil people, i.e. the Hitler’s, Stalin’s, murderers, etc. WHERE DO YOU STAND IN THIS LINE? Most place themselves 1/3 of the way from the left (the good people). But how good is good enough to enter Heaven? Where is the dividing line for those who deserve to go to heaven, and those who do not? |
The answer--no dividing line exists—it isn’t even on the line. God doesn't grade on a curve! Not one person is good enough to earn heaven on their own merits.
Here’s why:
Man is born inherently evil. Adam’s sin is passed on to each generation, continuing to the current generation. Because God is 100% holy, He cannot be in the presence of evil. Because He is 100% just, He must punish this evil. But this is not how God intended man to be. Man was created to have fellowship with God, but because of man’s self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and thus broke his fellowship with God. This attitude of self-will or rebellion is sin. Sin causes us to be fatally flawed; not just spiritually, but even mentally, emotionally and physically. Only by restoring our right relationship with God can we expect to be made whole, as God created us to be!
Here’s why:
Man is born inherently evil. Adam’s sin is passed on to each generation, continuing to the current generation. Because God is 100% holy, He cannot be in the presence of evil. Because He is 100% just, He must punish this evil. But this is not how God intended man to be. Man was created to have fellowship with God, but because of man’s self-will, he chose to go his own independent way and thus broke his fellowship with God. This attitude of self-will or rebellion is sin. Sin causes us to be fatally flawed; not just spiritually, but even mentally, emotionally and physically. Only by restoring our right relationship with God can we expect to be made whole, as God created us to be!
Even though sin is man’s choice, God made a way for the impassable gulf between Himself and man to be bridged. He sent His perfect, holy Son, Jesus Christ, to take on the form of man, be crucified and bear the sins of the entire world (past, present, future) on His shoulders. He was the substitution for our punishment. But His death is not enough to bridge the gap. He had to rise from the dead to prove He has power over life AND death. He now sits at the right hand of God, in heaven, interceding on OUR behalf before the Father. Man cannot reach the same holiness as God’s by his own merits or works. To be in God's presence, we must be 100% holy, not even 99% would pass God's litmus test of righteousness! We must accept the work of Jesus Christ in order to be holy in the sight of God.
There are only two responses to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Either we accept Him or we reject Him.
Either we accept Him or we reject Him.
- God loved you enough to send His Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for your sins. (John 3:16; John 17:3)
- Man is sinful and separated from God. (Romans 3:23) Since man chose sin, he is spiritually separated from God forever. (Romans 6:23)
- Jesus Christ is God’s ONLY provision for man’s sin. Through the death and resurrection of Christ, we can know God personally and experience His love. (Romans 5:8;1 Corinthians 15:3-6; John 14:6)
- Knowing is not enough. We must individually receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works that no one should boast.”
John 3:1-8 describes how when we receive Christ, we experience a new birth.
- We must receive Christ by personal invitation
Receiving Christ involves turning to God from self (by repentance) and trusting Christ to come into our lives to forgive us our sins and to make us what He wants us to be. Just to agree intellectually that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He died on the cross for our sins is not enough. Nor is it enough to have an emotional experience. We receive Jesus Christ by faith—as an act of the will. I want to be clear what I intend when I say "an act of the will" I am not indicating that man contributes in any way to his salvation. It is simply saying, "yes, I accept you, Jesus"; similar to how someone would accept a gift. If I accept a gift from someone, it doesn't mean I contributed in any way to that gift. It just means I received the gift and it is now mine. So it is with salvation. Christ has done 100% of the work; I merely accept His gift of salvation.
- Are you ready to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior? The following is a suggested prayer. He is not interested with your words, but with the sincerity of your heart. Pray out loud:
If this just expressed the desires of your heart, Jesus has heard and forgiven your sins. Your eternal life with Him begins now!
The moment you received Christ by faith, as an act of your will, many things happened, including the following:
a. Christ came into your life (Revelation 3:20 & Colossians 1:27)
b. Your sins were forgiven (Colossians 1:14)
c. You became a child of God (John 1:12)
d. You received eternal life (John 5:24)
e. You began the great adventure for which God created you (John 10:10; II Corinthians 5:17; I Thessalonians 5:18)
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