Why did Jesus come
and live among us?
Well, in the beginning,
man failed to live the way God created us to live. Whenever we do
that, it's called sin. Sin separates us from God and God's deepest
desire is to have a personal relationship with each one of us. So He
sent His Son, Jesus, to help restore that which our sin had made
impossible.... our personal relationship with God.
How does sin make a
personal relationship with God impossible?
The Bible teaches us that God is
holy...He is perfect. When man first sinned, we were no longer in an
innocent state...sin entered into our being. That sin separated us
from God because a perfect God cannot be in relationship with
imperfect beings.
What does that mean
for me?
Sin is like an infection.
It spreads and brings with it sickness. When man first sinned that
infection began to spread. The Bible teaches, "All have sinned and
fall short of the glory of God". That means each one of us have
been separated from God by that infection we call sin; so each one of us
needs to have our relationship with God repaired.... each one of us need
to turn to the One who came to restore our relationship with God...Jesus
Christ.
Why should I worry
about restoring my relationship with God?
Since the Bible teaches us
that sin separates us from God...we must understand that this separation
is not just in this life, but it is also in the life to come. The
Apostle Paul says the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is
eternal life. How and where we spend eternity depends upon whether we
have a personal relationship with God. The Bible teaches that there are
two places in which a person will spend eternity.... heaven or hell.
Heaven is the place in
which all those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord
and Savior will spend eternity...it is a place of love, joy and peace
where we will spend all eternity in the presence of God.
Hell, on the other hand, is
a place of eternal torment and separation from God...it is reserved for
those who have not turned to Jesus Christ to repair the breach between
God and themselves.
Why is it important
for me to turn to Jesus for that restored relationship?
Jesus Christ is the only
Man who can restore your relationship with God. Since everyone has
sinned...in other words, at one time or another in our lives we have all
done something that is not consistent with the way in which God created
us to live...and since sin separates us from God...we are all in need of
having our relationship with God restored.
How did Jesus restore
my relationship with God?
Jesus came and dwelt among
us and lived a perfect life. He is the only person to ever deserve
heaven on His own merit. Yet, God allowed Him to be punished and
crucified. Why? Because God had a choice...either each one of us had to
pay the price for our own sin, which would mean eternal separation from
God, or God could let someone else pay the price for mankind's sin so
that He could have fellowship with us for eternity...and that someone
was Jesus.
Why? Since the penalty for
sin is death...there was no way in which God could be justified in
forgiving us. Someone had to die to pay the price for the sins of men,
because there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. So,
God heaped YOUR sin and MY sin on Jesus and the beatings, humiliation
and crucifixion Jesus endured was, in reality, God heaping YOUR
punishment and MY punishment upon Jesus.... He took the punishment WE
deserved!! He shed HIS blood for US so there could be forgiveness!
Praise God!
So, by Jesus taking our sin
and punishment we can, by faith, become recipients of Christ's perfect
nature and His righteousness. In other words, when we believe that Jesus
died to pay the price for our sins, God sees us as perfect and righteous
because Jesus took our sin upon Himself and then paid the price for that
sin.... therefore, that sin no longer exists in the eyes of God. When we
believe that Jesus died for our sin and that He rose again, we call this
being saved or salvation...because we are saved from an eternal
separation from God in hell.
Salvation is a GIFT from
God and the best news is that the gift of salvation is FREE. We don't
have to work to earn it, we can't be good enough to earn it, we can't go
to church enough to earn it, we can't give enough money to earn it....
it’s FREE to those who believe! The Apostle Paul writes: "for by
grace through faith you are saved, and this not of yourself, it is the
free gift of God!"
So, how do I get this
free gift of salvation??
Simply believe that Jesus
died to pay the price for your sins...THAT'S IT!!
"Now what do I
do???"
FIRST....
Realize that while you have accepted Jesus as your
Lord and Savior, you have an enemy! Satan wants you to fail...he will
tempt you and do all he can to get you to lose faith in the power of
God. Just realize that if you do fail, there's good news!! First John
1:9 teaches that if you confess your sins to God, He will be faithful
and just, because of the death of Jesus which paid the price for your
sins, to forgive you! But not only will He forgive, He will also cleanse
you from all unrighteousness! What a promise!
SECOND...
The
Bible teaches us that we are to come together with other Christians for
the purpose of worship, fellowship and learning. You must find a church
where the Bible is believed and taught and where you have many
opportunities to learn about God, fellowship with other Christians, and
serve the Lord.
THIRD...
Make time to read your Bible everyday. It contains
God's word to YOU!! By reading it, you will learn more about God and His
love for you and how to live in God's will. You'll also grow in your
knowledge in the Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.