O.K. I invited you to read this page so that you might know what is necessary to know about Jesus. However, now that I am here writing it, I freeze. I freeze because there is so much to say and yet it is such a simple message. I freeze because I don't know which Bible verses would best help you to understand since every verse I read in the Bible leads me to Jesus. Certainly, there are some that are more plain than others, but there are so many!
So - I am going to tell you as concisely and clearly as I can who Jesus is and why He matters to you. Everything that I am going to tell you is verifiable by Scripture, which is God's words to us. Please feel free to ask me on any point where you might find the verification in the Bible and I will be happy to tell you. Better, yet, get a Bible and just start reading it. Don't worry so much about what you don't understand, which will be much, at first. Just read. Just listen.
God is without beginning and without end. God is Spirit. God created everything that has been created which is everything except for Himself. God has a Son and Jesus Christ is His Son. Christ is not Jesus' last name, it is His title. Christ means Messiah, among other things. But what you need to know is that this title is what was given Him by the Hebrews long ago as the prophets of God wrote about one who would come to make a people for God; for Himself. God promised that He would take, from among all humanity, a portion of people for Himself. He promised that they would belong to Him and that He would be their God. He promised that He would forgive their sins so there would be nothing between them and Him and give them a new heart and a new spirit so that they could be with Him and keep His ways. He has kept this promise and is keeping this promise today through Jesus Christ and what He has done. I will continue with that explanation in a moment.
The reason this promise is so important is because God is absolutely outside of this world, outside of humanity. He is like no other. He is perfect and separate in His perfection like nothing we can imagine. This is my attempt to describe God as Holy. Holy is simply what God is. His holiness makes it impossible for any darkness to live in Him. For this reason, humans have no place in His kingdom in their natural state - which is dark; sinful. Don't bother trying to find a list of what sin is and isn't. It isn't what you do but rather who you are. What you do is the visible of what you are. If you want to see what sin is like, look in the mirror. Sin is the essence of what all humans are. You know this is true - everybody does - so don't worry about how to get yourself out of it. Just listen.
Back to the explanation of how God has kept His promise to bring His people into His kingdom - to be their God and how He has done this through Jesus. God has declared that the sinner must die - which is to be dead (without God and suffering) forever; it is eternal. Since every single human is sin - anti God, they are all under a sentence of eternal death. To keep His word and to His own glory, God sent Himself in human form to die as the sinner - in place of the sinner. This is Jesus. He is God and He came in the form of a human and He died to take on Himself the punishment for every one of His people for all time. He rose from the dead. Jesus Christ literally walked out of His own grave by His own power. This is important; Jesus Christ is not dead, but He is alive! He rose from the dead after taking all of God's wrath against His people because of their sin. He purchased forgiveness with His own blood. Forgiveness of sin makes a relationship with God, the Father, possible. It is only through Jesus' work in His death on the cross and His resurrection three days later that any person will ever have a relationship with God. The relationship with God; the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is eternal life. There is no life outside of God. God is eternal. Knowing God, being in relationship with Him, is eternal life. The one who has eternal life will never know God's judgement for sin, but will forever be in His presence and in His presence is fullness of joy.
After Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead He returned to where he came from; His Father in Heaven. Jesus then sent God's Holy Spirit to live inside of each one of His children to teach, guide, comfort and remind. God's Spirit dwelling inside a mere human is a new creation. God calls His people a new creation. The one who trusts in Jesus, believing that He is the Son of God and that He died for the forgiveness of sin and rose again receives within himself the very Spirit of God to make sure he keeps his faith that God has given him.
Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (from the Bible - Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1) You can be sure and you can be convinced of God and of eternal life which you cannot see because Jesus (who was seen) died visibly and rose visibly. Jesus is the assurance of all that God has promised. He is the completion of every condition that needs to be met.
In the Bible Jesus is on record as saying that we come to Him for eternal life and that He gives it freely. He tells us that the one who believes in Him will not see judgement but will have eternal life. The Apostle John wrote this in his gospel (from the Bible - John chapter 5 verses 22-24) "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgement, but has passed from death to life."
There is but one way to honor God. Believe what He says. This one way will lead to many evidences that the belief is real but if you don't believe what God has said, you call Him a liar. Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (from the Bible - Hebrews Chpt. 11, verse 6)
God rewards those who seek Him with what they are seeking after, Himself. That is what He said, so don't call Him a liar.
Go to God; go to Jesus. The prison doors have been opened. That is the essence of the good news. The way has been made. Forgiveness is available. It is one hundred percent free. In fact it is so free it is against the natural mind. However, it is free or it is not at all. This is why it is blessed to be poor in spirit. Only the extremely poor can receive something so great for nothing. What we do receive, however, is not a thing, but a person. One who trusts in Jesus receives Jesus Christ Himself.
Now I have told you something here. I have given you a message. The only thing I can think that I might add is this: Repent and turn to God. Stop in your tracks and turn toward God forever. That's it. This message is only as good as the one who backs it. If it were only as good as the one who was relaying it, I don't think anyone could be saved. But it is good and true and powerful because God Himself testifies to it. The mighty and awesome Spirit of God will agree to no other message and will testify with great works to no other name than the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. That is my confidence in telling you this. This message is the good news of Jesus and this message has eternal consequences. So listen and hear and believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment