Who Is This Jesus?
Posted: Tuesday, July 07, 2009
by Jeanine Mathis
Pastor, John MacArthur of Grace Community Church said, "We are confronted through all of our lives with decisions from the trivial ones about what we might wear today or what me might eat, to the more important ones about who we might marry or where we might live, or significant purchases we might make to the greatest of all decisions, the spiritual decisions that effect our eternity far beyond this life."
And what is the decision regarding Jesus? We choose to believe in Him or we choose to walk away from Him. He stands with open arms, waiting for us to put our faith in Him. If we do nothing, we risk the chance that we die without Him. Not making a choice is not a neutral decision at all. Take a look at 5 claims that He made.
1. He said that He is the only Way to God John 14: 6, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."
Contrary to popular belief that there are many roads to heaven, Jesus is saying the opposite. He said that there is only one path and He is it. He said that no one can go to the Father unless they go through Jesus.
2. He is the entrance to salvation
John 10:9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture."
Salvation boils down to faith and repentance. Faith is believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that He rose again. Repentance is turning away from sin and turning towards God in obedience.
What does Jesus save us from? He saves us from the penalty of sin. The penalty of sin is eternity in hell. Jesus took the penalty for us when He died on the cross. But it is up to us to make the choice to believe and have faith in Him.
Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you shall be saved."
3. He said that He gives life
John 11:25, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies."
What does He mean, "Live even if he dies"? What He is saying here is that when we die there is another life. Everyone experiences eternal life, it's just a matter of where that life is spent in heaven or hell. Life with Jesus is life in heaven. He resurrects us from an old way of living and creates new life our hearts. He makes us a new person when we put our faith in Him.
4. He said that He existed before the world was created
John 17:5, "And now, glorify Thou Me together with Thyself, Father, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
Jesus makes it clear that He existed before the creation of the world. He and the Father were one. He is establishing His diety and authority when He says that He existed before the world was created.
5. He satisfies the empty soul
John 6:35, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
Jesus was aware of the human condition. The human condition strives for meaning, purpose, satisfaction, and yet many pursuits in life lead to a dead end. The heart without God is a heart that is empty and unsatisfied. Jesus said that if we come to Him He will fill us so that we will never hunger or thirst again for spiritual meaning.
If you are not sure, start the process of finding out who Jesus is. Begin by reading the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). Have you ever deeply considered who Jesus is? You have probably heard about Him, maybe even sung about Him in a Sunday School Class, but do you have any strong convictions about Him? If you don't, consider these 5 claims that He made.
Jeanine loves God and desires to share God's word with all who are interested. Her blog, Walk in Light can be found at http://www.walk-in-light.com
This Article has been viewed 42 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)Jeanine, thanks for the question and the reminder of Who Jesus is. Interesting read.
I liked that you said that He saves us from the PENALTY of sin. Many say He saves us from sin and that is theologically incorrect. Most Christians don't know what He saves us from. I'd liked to have seen you write more about Law in relation to this then I could see exactly where you stand, but I liked what you've said so far.Rabbi Stanley
Jeanine-Great witnessing article and such a reminder of his promises! Thanks for sharing!
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.