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Lazarus Raised from the Dead by Jesus Christ Royalty Free Stock Photo istockphoto.com |
Why did God do this? Because our greatest need is an eternal one. It’s not about what we can gain in this life, in profits or pleasure or making a lasting imprint on this earth. None of these will satisfy our soul. Ours is a spiritual need, one that we were created for, to have fellowship with God and do His will.
Jesus came to earth because he loves us; He came to deliver truth in a world of false beliefs. But the main reason He came to earth was to be the final sacrifice for our sins. The simple reason is because we are not good, some may think they are, but none are as good as they think when compared to God’s standard--Jesus Christ.
His love prompted him to become man to accomplish what only He could, to rescue mankind. Because we are sinful, in a spiritually wrecked condition we are in need of redemption but could not redeem ourselves. Nothing short than the eternal creator could accomplish this; no man with sin could qualify to redeem us with his life. God would come to earth as man to cleanse the affect of the disease of sin inherited to all humanity. That is what is so amazing about the Bibles story of Jesus.
The creator came to earth; God who is perfect, righteous and holy lived among his creatures that are unholy, unrighteous, even those who were enemies of him.
After man was made and given dominion over the earth, Satan, an angelic creature smarter and more powerful came to Eve in the garden to deceive her. Through tempting Eve to disobey God’s command, it resulted in Adam also disobeying God and brought sin to earth.
When Adam sinned, it confirmed him and all of us in a change of nature, unholiness. Sin entered into mans nature and spread to the offspring of all people. Because God is holy and righteous he had to judge them for their disobedience.
Because God is also holy and righteous and loving He had to do something to reverse the separation of sin that took place to his creatures.
“But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe” (Galatians 3:22).
John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” As a servant, he, the Son came to do the will of the Father. 1 John 4:14: “That the Father sent the Son as the Savior of the world.”
God did not send an angel nor a good man, the savior is God who became man. The Bible says, “the grace of God has appeared to all men.” Christ came for all. Christianity is for everyone but not everyone will respond; only those who acknowledge they are sinful.
For one to know this they only have to look at God’s standard, his commands and his law to find they have not obeyed them perfectly and have fallen short of keeping them.
Heb 10:7-10 “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come--in the volume of the book it is written of Me--to do Your will, O God.’ “ Previously saying, “Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.”
He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” The sacrifices show that sin tore apart the perfect harmony man once had with God and man.
Notice that Jesus says the whole of the Old Testament is concentrated on him. God began the sacrificial system with Adam but it was not to continue, it was given temporarily to point to the Messiah, (until he came Gal.3) until the final covenant would be established.
These sacrifices were given to show how sinful man is and to cover our sins until the last one took place. He even gave more laws to make it more apparent to man that we are sinful, guilty of disobedience, falling short of keeping his requirements. (Galatians 3:19; John 8:12 Jesus spoke, “I am the light of the world.
He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” John 12:46: “I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.” Darkness is representative of sin and judgment. Sin darkens our understanding and ruins our living.
That we need one that can show us the way to live, as a light in darkness so we will not stumble. We all know what light is we depend on it today when we are in the dark so we will not stumble. This is why the gospel is associated with light because it shows us our sin and presents the savior. 2 Cor. 4:3: “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” Most may not want to think of themselves as in darkness but this is how God looks at them without the truth of knowing Christ.
I John 1:5-6: “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.”
The light is His Word and His way, Jesus said, “I am the Way the truth and the life” to come to the Father. To have this life He offers you must accept him as the way and embrace the truth.
John the apostle writes that Jesus “was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.” (John 1:9-10)
The people responded in John 6:42: “Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?
Those Jesus lived among were very aware of his claim of not originating from earth though not all believed him. They could not understand it. But they knew he was different from other men.
Jesus explained his purpose for becoming man Luke 19:10: “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” God came to those who had the most knowledge of him first, those he was working through for centuries, those he entrusted his words to. His intent was to explain himself as being fulfillment of all the rituals and laws He gave them.
Matthew 18:11-12 “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.” What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying?”
God uses human shepherds to explain how the chief shepherd would act. This is God’s heart to not lose a single one that is in the fold. He will go far to retrieve the one who leaves. This was his mission, to come to earth and save us. It was for everyone, because everyone is lost. No one is born not lost. This is what sin does, it has the nature of darkness and we become comfortable living in a fallen world. But no one has to live in the world or leave this world the same way.
He did not come as their ruler but as a man who served them so they could understand better how to relate to God. Matthew 20:28 “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
The greatest service one can do is to give their life for another; Jesus gave his life for all, not just a few. Many a soldier has given his life on the battlefield to save his fellow soldier which is the greatest human sacrifice. Jesus gave it for those who were enemies. We were all enemies; even those who are Christian a should not forget this was once their state as well.
Luke 9:56: “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them.” With simple message encapsulated in love, God the Father sent the Son from heaven to earth to become a man to demonstrate what life is like living in obedience to their creator.
Jesus was the perfect example of man having fellowship with his creator, to have joy and live life in its fullest; in purity. It was the way God intended it to be from Adam onward. As we allow Christ to Lord over our lives we are offered peace through trials, harmonious living, and a clean conscience.
One day we will have beyond what words can describe, beyond our dreams and imaginations (1 Corinthians 2:9).
God’s message to us through His Only begotten Son John 3:16-17: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” John continues in v.19 “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
Evil has been with us since Eve and Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit from the forbidden tree. It springs from our fallen nature and mankind’s history tells the story and bears witness to this evil that is part of mans living. We were made to be peaceful in the likeness of our creator.
In a sinful condition we were born “to be wild,” in the new spiritual birth we were born to have God’s nature of righteousness (I John 2:29).
John 10:10: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This means a changed life from sin to righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit instead of the works of the flesh. These are “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23) Ephesians 5:9: (goodness, righteousness, and truth).
Speaking to Pilate just prior to his crucifixion (John 18:37-38) Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” “You say rightly that I am a king. “For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
Many people do not understand when they reject what Jesus says and refuse His way they are siding with Pilate and admitting they do not understand nor want to know truth. Some people believe they already have the truth without Jesus. But Jesus said He is the truth, the truth is found in a person and that person is God’s Son who spoke only truth. No one is born in this world with the truth, one must be reborn spiritually to know this truth (John.3:3-6).
Jesus came to earth because of God's love for all of us; no matter what religion, country or culture we were born into He wants fellowship with us. He wants us to experience the mercy and forgiveness that is needed to make us whole.
1 Timothy 1:15: “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” Paul did not look at himself as holy than any other, but put himself as lower, calling himself the greater of sinners. Understanding he needed to be forgiven just like anyone else. We are all sinners that need the salvation that Jesus paid for.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9) God’s love holds him back from judgment, he is merciful and does not want to see any perish so He continues to allow his message of forgiveness and reconciliation to him be proclaimed by those who know him. But there is a day coming when this message will not be allowed the freedom it now enjoys.
Many men have tried to find the right way when Jesus said He is the way. They embraced all that was offered but only those who take the one way will find life.
Following rules and regulations of religion is not good news, Jesus said to follow him and explained how.
Christianity is an internal religion because of the indwelling of the Spirit of God in the believer, the spirit of life is given and begins to transform us from the inside.
No other religion or way can offer you this because only Christianity deals with the sinfulness of man, which is our spiritual nature.
No other religion can offer this nor can it deliver it because it is the life of God himself.
Only Christianity is based on faith, hope and love. We have Faith to live in a fallen world where things do not often go the way we would like.
Yet we can trust God who is watching over us and personally cares for our life. We have Hope for our life today no matter what may happen and hope for our future. Hope that the life to come is going to be more fulfilling and than anything we experienced on earth.
We can Love God who gave the ultimate sacrifice in laying down the life of his human body to save us from the penalty of our sins. Now we are able to love Him who we once hated. Because of this new life, love is indwelled in us that we are also able to love people in a greater manner, even those we may not know.
Let us Reason
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