Why Jesus? What's the big deal?
- Samme
- Mar 12, 2019
- 8 min read
Updated: Mar 13, 2019
There are countless religions to put your faith into, and I think that's one of the many reasons people don't flock to Jesus. You have so many options, why go to Jesus?
If I simply say, you should believe in Jesus because He's real, that would be a poor stance.
So, throughout this post I want to simply give an overview of why faith in Christ is different than faith in other gods, what it's like to follow Him, and also mention a few misconceptions about faith in Christ that may be holding you back from really giving your heart to Him. (Then I will be praying that everyone's heart who reads this post will be softened and open to Christ & that the Holy Spirit would show them the love of God, and bring them to Him.)
To be honest, trying to explain why people should come to faith in Jesus has always been a terrifying thought to me because I never feel like I'm doing Him justice with how I word things, and I feel like I have to prove His existence right away or they are lost forever. Then I remind myself that I am not God, and I don't know their hearts. The words I stumble through may actually be the right ones that the unbeliever needed to hear to make them want to know Christ. I just have to "plant the seed" and pray for them, and let God handle their hearts (1 Corinthians 3:6-9).
So here I am, planting the seed!
Recently, in one of my daily devotionals I read Romans 6:1-4. After I read that excerpt from the Bible, I thought to myself, "that's a great summary of what it's like to have faith in Christ, I need to share this!" It's so frustrating to see how being a Christian is portrayed through the media, and even by other people claiming to be Christians. 9 times out of 10 they are using the right words and actions but completely spinning the truth. It leaves people like me itching to say, "but that's not what it's like, that's not right!" The truth gets buried, and people are left with a sour taste for Jesus. It's truly not surprising to me, at all, when people deny Him and say they want nothing to do with Him. I just pray their eyes would be opened even for a moment to the reality & truth of Christ. I know they would be amazed and transformed by what they saw and felt.
Anyways...
Romans 6: 1-14 says,
1 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.10 The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. 13 Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
I love this.
I cannot express to you how much I enjoyed reading such a clear cut explanation of what my faith in Christ is like.
A couple things to take away from that passage...
1. Just because you have salvation (under the assumption you have already put your faith in Christ) doesn't mean you have the o.k to go and sin all you'd like. We are blessed to serve a God who is merciful and full of grace so that when we do sin, we simply have to come to Him in repentance to ask for forgiveness and it is freely given to us because of Christ's work on the cross. HOWEVER, that does not mean we should deliberately go out and sin, or accept our sinful behavior because we know our God is a forgiving God.
2. By putting our faith into Christ, and believing that He is who He says He is, we are proclaiming the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. This also means we are acknowledging that He was the sacrifice in our place, taking our punishment to give us a way to our Father in Heaven. So, verses 3-5 is showing that followers of Christ are seen by God the Father as having died with Christ, and raised to new life with Him. We are seen as forgiven and blameless once we come to faith in Jesus because of Christ's sacrifice.
3. You may think that living for God is a servant/slave type of life; rules, no freedom, no happiness. When in fact, though we are 'servants' of God, we are free. We are free from the bondage of sin. Verses 6-14 explain this. When we identify with and put our faith in Christ, our old self is dead, and we are now living for God. We are no longer slaves to sin. Though we stumble now and again, since our old sinful heart is dead we no longer find our happiness in the indulgences of the world (one-night stands, drunken nights, drugs, pornography, to name some), but rather we can say no to temptation and say yes to the love of God. Our old sinful ways can so easily bind us up into awful behaviors that destroy us, and those around us. How many times have we heard of addiction to pornography being the culprit of divorce? With Christ, we are no longer slaves to sin, we have new life in Him. (This doesn't mean that all of a sudden we are perfect angels and will never fall into sin again- not at all. Rather, we have the grace and mercy of God to help us repent of our sinful ways, and live for Him. Forgiveness is a part of that process, too).
4. Verses 9-10 are especially important to understanding what being a follower of Christ entails. As Christians, we believe that Jesus was sent to earth to live and die for our sins. He was the final and only perfect sacrifice. He took our punishment for our sins, though He was sinless, so that we would have a way to Heaven. If Jesus lived then died on the cross, and that was the end of the story, then our faith would be worthless. The important part of Jesus' life and death to distinguish was what happened after- His resurrection. As the verse said, "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him." In Christ's death on the cross, He took on our sins, He took the complete wrath of God the Father, and sacrificed Himself for us. Three days later, He rose from the dead, and walked out of the tomb, alive! This means that death could not and did not beat Him. He conquered death for us. For us, this means that when we put our faith in Christ and believe that He truly is the Son of God, & that He lived, died, rose again, and conquered the grave, that we are saved from the wrath of God and are considered children of God.
... Honestly, it's simple. Christ loved/loves us, and wants us to love Him. When we put our faith in Him, we are given new life that ends here on earth someday, but will carry on for eternity in Heaven so that we may give God all the glory He deserves. He died for us, and He defeated death for us, so that we may live in and for Him, forever!
Here's the thing...
Most, if not all, religions are based on the same general idea. There's the most powerful one(s), the god(s), and its servants, those who believe. Generally, the god(s) sets morals and guidelines, with consequences for failing to meet those guidelines. The biggest difference that I will explain briefly, between other religions and mine, is that my religion isn't a religion. It is a relationship.
With God you do not have to earn your way to Heaven, the work has been done for you. No matter how many good deeds you do, no matter how much money you donate, no matter how "good" of a person you are, no matter which direction you pray in, no matter how many times you fast or how many years you go without speaking, you cannot earn your way to Heaven. Instead, we simply have to believe in Christ and what He did for us on the cross. If we were able to earn our way to Heaven, we would be able to say, "I was such a good person, I was accepted in to Heaven! God couldn't turn me away." Instead, the reality for Christians is and will be, "I am a sinner, who needs a savior. Christ is my savior, and I know & believe that He died for my sins, and rose to defeat death. It is only through faith in Him that I am able to enter Heaven." Do you see the difference here? Other religions (without getting too specific so that people do not feel offended) it is all about what you do for the god and how you earn the favor of the god. With my God it is all about what He has done for us and how He deserves the glory. And because of what He has done for us, we love and honor Him with our lives. Because of His love and mercy for us, we want to serve Him.
Believe me, it is so much less stressful to be a follower of Christ, than to hope you have earned the favor of a god who was carved by man's hands who cannot speak to you or understand you. With God, the Holy Spirit lives in you when you have faith in Christ, and the Spirit guides you, comforts you, convicts you to cause you to turn to God for help and love, and is with you always. What man made or created god can be so personal as He?
You literally have nothing to lose except a sinful heart, bondage to sin, and eternal separation from the loving, gracious, and merciful God, by coming to know and follow Christ.
You may think God is some hypocritical, intolerant, vengeful God, and that Jesus was just a good guy that lived and died on a cross. But I pray that you put aside all that you've been predisposed to in the past by the media and other sources. Open the Bible & read, quiet your mind and pray. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just reach out to Christ and ask Him to show His love to you. He wants nothing more than to have a relationship with you and to show you the mercies of His love.
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