|
Who
is Jesus Christ
(The Whole Word Contains The Truth)
The
Sinful State of Mankind
Although God created man to live with Him in paradise it was
not to last for long due to temptation and the succumbing
to sin. James phrased it this way "Let no one
say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God";
for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not
tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried
away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has
conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death." James 1:13-15 Eve,
and ultimately Adam, fell pray to this in the Garden of Eden,
Gen
3. It was there that God gave the first promise
of a Savior, Gen
3:15.
Another
promise of a coming Savior was prophesied by Isaiah.
He wrote in Isaiah
53:5-6 " But he [was] wounded for our transgressions,
[he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All
we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to
his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all."
From
the time of the Garden there has been no one to live a sinless
life (except for Christ Heb
4:15) thus we find ourselves under the condemnation of
Romans 3:23, "all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God." What are we to do?
I have three "R"'s to help us remember what it is
we need to do, recognition, repentance and restoration.
RECOGNITION
A person must recognize some things about themselves, about
scripture and about Christ. (Not necessarily in that
order though!) A person must recognize the only source
we have for knowing anything about Christ is the Bible.
The Bible can be trusted as being the infallible, inerrant
Word of God. Note the following:
- 2
Peter 1:20-21 But know this first of
all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's
own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an
act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
from God.
- 2
Tim 3:16 All Scripture is inspired
by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
for training in righteousness;"
- 1
John 5:13 These things I have written
to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that
you may know that you have eternal life."
- John
4:24 "God is spirit, and those who worship
Him must worship in spirit and truth." If
God requires our worship of Him through Spirit and truth
doesn't it make sense that God would give us "everything
pertaining to life and godliness"? 2 Peter 1:3
What
we then need to recognize is that we are sinners in need of
God's forgiveness. Paul tells us that "all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God", Rom
3:23. And the writer of Ecclesiastes writes, "Indeed,
there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good
and who never sins." That God is truthful in
this (Rom3:4) all of mankind is found under sins condemnation,
however, there is hope! "For the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord." Rom 6:23
The
third thing we need to recognize is that Jesus, the Son of
God, is the Savior of mankind to everyone who believes, Acts
10:43. Mary and Joseph were told to " call His
name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins."
Matt 1:21 When Jesus was on the cross He said something
right before He died that is noteworthy at this point.
He said, "It is finished." (John 19:30) He
was referring to the work that He came to earth to do.
The Hebrew writer tells us in 9:11-12 " when Christ
appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered
through the greater and more perfect tabernacle... through
His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having
obtained eternal redemption."
REPENTANCE
Repentance is, to put it simply, a desire to change.
This is not easy for many for a variety of reasons.
Some say that they are in general good people not needing
forgiveness but John says, "He who believes in the Son
has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not
see life, but the wrath of God abides on him." John 3:36
Some say that they have tried yet failed but God is able "to
save forever those who draw near to God". Heb 7:25
There is also a fear of persecution in some yet Jesus says
this is a blessing! Matt 5:11-12. There are those
who also say that they will wait for another day. Joshua
did not say this but rather just the opposite (24:15).
Consider also Matt 24:44 that says no one knows when Christ
will return.
Another
thought to repentance is the idea that it should lead us toward
Christ and not away from Him. Too many attempt to seek
Christ on their own terms, "For not knowing about
God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they
did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God."
Rom 10:3 Paul was talking about the Israelites who at
the time thought they were in the good graces of God because
of their idea of righteousness. Jesus also knew of some
like this and you can read about them in Matt 7:15-23.
We need to repent and seek God on His terms.
This
is why it is important for all of us to recognize that we
are in need of a Savior. Jesus said that the poor in
spirit would receive the kingdom, Matt 5:3.
RESTORATION
Jesus Arose Again for Us.
When Mary came to the tomb finding it empty one has to ask the
question, "Who took his body?" There was a Roman
guard placed by the tomb preventing His disciples from getting
to Him so they couldn't. Certainly His enemies would not
take the body to support a teaching they didn't want.
They only answer is that He was resurrected according to scripture,
"Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and
in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then
said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and
will You raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking
of the temple of His body. John 2:19-21 The
power that Jesus has over Satan is fully revealed in the resurrection.
Jesus was restored to the right hand of God, Acts 2:25.
Jesus
Calls Us.
Prior to Jesus ascending to heaven He gave the disciples a
command, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven
and on earth. "Go therefore and make disciples
of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:18-19
Belief
leads to repentance and repentance leads to forgiveness of
sins. It was the day of Pentecost in the 33 AD (or,
depending upon the calendar used 29 AD) that this command
was first put into effect when Peter said, "Repent,
and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift
of the Holy Spirit." Acts 2:38 Peter
continued to teach the people then with many other words as
God directed (2 Pet 1:20f) saying, "Be saved from
this perverse generation!" Acts 2:40 "So
then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that
day there were added about three thousand souls."
Acts 2:41 It is by this method that Jesus adds ('calls'
Acts 2:21, 22:16) people to the kingdom, "And the
Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were
being saved." Acts 2:47
It
is by this same method that Jesus continues to add souls to
His Church. Let me know if you would like to know more
in greater detail, just "E"
me your questions!
Graph
of Conversions as Recorded in Acts
|
Scripture
|
Whom/When
|
Hear
|
Believe
|
Repent
|
Confess
|
Baptized
|
Result
|
|
2:37-41 |
Day
of Pentecost |
X
|
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
Added
to Church |
|
8:4-13 |
Samaritans |
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
8:35-39 |
Ethiopian
Eunuch |
X
|
X
|
|
X
|
X
|
Rejoicing |
|
9:10-18,
22:14-16 |
Saul
(Paul) |
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
10:34-48 |
Cornelius |
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
16:13-15 |
Lydia |
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
16:25-34 |
Jailor |
X
|
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
18:8 |
Crispus |
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
|
|
|
18:24-19:5 |
Ephesians |
X
|
X
|
|
|
X
*
|
|
Graph
Notes:
* The people of Ephesus were baptized twice. Their first
baptism was John's baptism. Their second baptism was
Christ's. Questions for thought: If baptism is
not important, why then were these people, literally, re-baptized?
What is the difference between the two baptisms making one
more important than the other? What is given in one
that is not found the other? The following is a brief
description of each. The lists are by no means all inclusive
but descriptive enough to show their purposes.
|
John's
Baptism
|
Jesus'
Baptism
|
|
For
repentance, Matt 3:11, Mark 1:4, Acts 13:24.
|
For
remission of sins and the giving of the Holy Spirit,
Mark 1:7-8, Matt 28:19, Acts 2:38.
|
That
the Holy Spirit is given with Christ's baptism and not John's
we must ask the question, "Can one live in a saved relationship
with Christ without the gift of the Holy Spirit?" This
baptism of Jesus is so important that the people of Ephesus,
who had been baptized with John's baptism, were 're-baptized'
with the baptism of Jesus. See Acts 18:24-19:5.
God
gives the Holy Spirit to live within each believer, "...your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you
have from God..." 1 Cor 6:19.
God
calls the Holy Spirit a 'seal' (endorsement) that a believer
is given "as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view
to the redemption of God's own possession".
Eph 1:13-14 This means that God knows those who belong
to Him based upon the seal (Holy Spirit) given. Let
me know if you would like to have a more in depth study
of the Holy Spirit, His life and work. For other course/topic
information please contact
me!
Still
interested in learning more? Click
here for another study!(All
Scripture references are from the NASU unless otherwise noted)
|
