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Jesus Christ: The Way to Life

Rebekah L. Holt

 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. John 14:6

    Newspapers, commercials, advertisements, websites, magazines—they are all filled to the brim with formulas, exercise routines, diet plans, therapies, advisors, philosophers and more to sell you a better way of life. It remains true that people are inherently in quest for an oasis of beauty, a summit of fulfillment, a passage to peace, a purpose to exist and reprieve from toil, weariness, despair. As reflected by the unending drone of materialism and “me-mantras” in our culture—the things of this earth do not provide a lasting satisfaction.

    Considering that human existence has been united with suffering, disease and death for all generations, it is surprising that our recognition of beauty, peace, order and our yearning for a perfect world has not gone extinct. To some degree, all humans can distinguish a contrast between good and bad. Yet, regardless of human efforts, overcoming cultural distresses, atrocities and suffering is a never ending struggle. Truth be told, human efforts—no matter how well meaning—cannot in themselves offer any permanent solution to the problems we face. We require a Savior.

    Jesus Christ offers to all who will believe in Him and take up their cross to follow His pathways free and eternal salvation. The Bible provides us a history of why we require Salvation and why there is but One Way, One Hope, One Path in Jesus Christ that leads to a better life today.

 The Origin of Life’s Problems

   According to the Bible, when God created all things in just six days, this earth was perfect and sinless. It was a world of no bloodshed, no sickness, no death, no tears, no thorns—perfect. God had set apart mankind as a special creation by creating a man and a woman in His Image. Entrusted with the care of the earth’s dominion, Adam and Eve were not mere “robots” operating under some “engineered remote.” God had given them freewill to make decisions. Placed in a beautiful garden called Eden, Adam and Eve were given full-rein—except in one thing. They were not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were warned that if they ate of the tree’s fruit, they would die. Yet, living in perfection and the daily fellowship with God was not enough. Through the temptation of the devil’s agent, the serpent, Eve was deceived. She, in turn, urged her husband to eat of the Fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Though Eve was deceived, Adam was not.  It was through his willful act of sin that God held him accountable. Adam and Eve’s disobedience was a conscience decision they made for themselves.  They were now powerless to save themselves from their bad choice. It was done.

    Sin and death entered the world through a matter of human choice and reasoning. There was now a gulf between mankind and his Creator. It was due to the willful disobedience of mankind that God’s initial perfectly formed world was to begin decaying, people would begin to age and die, and horrific atrocities and even “little white lies” would be committed. All the descendants of Adam and Eve—humans—would be born with the sin nature i.e. an inherent desire to do wrong. Romans 3:23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

 A Plan to Fix Life’s Problems

    In His mercy, God did not just wipe out Adam and Eve or give up on humanity.

     As God is flawlessly just, He could not allow mankind to live forever practicing acts of sin. Because of His great love, He also did not want people to always live in the effects of sin’s curse but to be released from such misery. 2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God “is long suffering”, meaning very patience, and is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” God had to step in with a plan to save mankind. Like Adam and Eve, we still have to choose to be forgiven by God. We would have to make another choice to obey Him so that by following His Plan we might one day live in a recreated world governed by God’s righteous perfection.

    God’s plan to "make right the world again" was to pay sin’s cost Himself. He did this by sending His only Son Jesus Christ. There was only one way that the punishment of sin could be paid once and for all. A perfect man had to die for all men’s sins and then conquer death by coming back to life physically! Since no mortal man on earth is capable of never sinning—God sent His Perfect Son, Jesus to live as a man though still God The Son. It was Jesus Who would pay for all sin by giving His life.  He would conquer the pattern of death by His resurrection unto life (2 Tim. 1:10; John 10: 17-18; 1 Co. 15:25-26; John 11:25; Ro. 1:4).

    When we die, our physical body is lifeless—but our soul is eternal and who we are keeps on living either with Jesus or with Satan. That is why it is so important for children and adults to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior from sin. People that want to live good, righteous and rewarding lives need Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit’s indwelling to help them. “Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God” (1 John 4:15).

    The only way to God is through believing in Jesus Christ and that it was through His shedding of blood we might have remission of sins (Mt. 26:28). By confessing Jesus Christ as a personal Lord and Savior, we once again have a relationship with the Lord.  Whe belonging to Christ, we can live a redeemed life today and have the security of eternal life with Him.

    For people that do not believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior—their soul can be destructively influenced by Satan and his demons. Without Jesus’ help to overcome, worldly temptations and our inherent selfish nature to always seek what we want, will rule our lives (John 8:34, 44; 1 John 2:15-17).

Who is Jesus Christ?

   Jesus is God’s only Son, the Creator and Savior of the world (John 3:16). It was through Jesus Christ, that God gave humans an opportunity to overcome their sin nature. Jesus Christ came to earth in the form of a baby and grew up as a perfect, sinless man though the Son of God (Luke 2:1-7; 1 Peter 2:21-24). Some people hated Jesus and instead embraced Satan, God’s enemy and the father of all sin (John 8:34, 44). Though his enemies sought to put Jesus to death, He gave His life to save ours (1 John 3:16). However, Jesus Christ was raised by God from death back to life (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). He now sits at the right hand of God in Heaven (Hebrews 12:2). For faithful Christians, Jesus promises us that He prepares a place for us to live with Him for eternity (John 14:3)! He also promises us that He will one day return to earth (Mark 13:27, 32).

Here are some of the names and characteristics of Jesus:

Who is the Devil?

    The devil, who once was an angel in heaven, was jealous of and hated God. Because of this great sin, he was cast out from God’s presence.   The Bible tells us that the devil wants to keep people hating God and doing wrong. The devil also wants us to be jealous of others and what they have instead of being grateful for what God has graciously given us. Gratitude is a product of Jesus Christ working in our hearts. By being grateful for how God has made and blessed us is a very important lesson for all Christians to learn. As His creatures, we glorify the Lord when we accept that He is our Creator and Redeemer—just as He said He is. Those that choose not to believe what God reveals about Himself have no excuse for that failure (Romans 1:20-21; Romans 4:11-13).

How Does One Become a Christian?

  1. Confess and accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior. You can do this anywhere and at anytime. He will hear you. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10).

  1. Follow Christ’s example in your life. You will find that Jesus Christ obeyed all the commandments that God gave people in the Bible. There is New Life in Christ. That means that your old life has to be replaced with a new “image” in Christ Jesus.

 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24).

 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

    Remember that Jesus can forgive a person even if he or she has been a great sinner. If that person is truly repentant and wants to overcome his or her sin, no one is too “bad” to come to Jesus for forgiveness of sins.

Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

 All sins have been overcome by Jesus’ death and victorious resurrection. If accepted, Jesus Christ can help anyone become a new person and live a righteous life (Romans 6).

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).

Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth” (Luke 15:10).

What is in Store for Christians?

    When we accept Jesus to rule our life, He comes and really lives in us through His Spirit. If we will humble ourselves to accept Christ’s free gift of Salvation, He comes in to make our lives redeemed, sanctified and set apart for His glory. By taking up our cross and following Christ’s example, Christians find an eternal worth in their lives. It is because of Jesus that we can smile and have joy because without Him there would be no hope of a better world one day! In truth, the Bible teaches us that true Christians will one day enjoy a recreated, perfect world without sin, pain or sadness! This earthly life is but a vapour, a short existence when compared with eternity. While we may not have much choice on where we live on earth, we do have a far greater choice to make where we’ll live eternally. The choices we make while living temporarily on earth have a dramatic consequence on where and how we will live after we draw our last breath.

Promises and Truths for Christians to Remember

  1. God knows you personally.

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee…” (Jeremiah 1:5a).

But the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30).

  1. God has a specific plan and purpose for your life.

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” (Jeremiah 29:11)

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

  1. Jesus Christ will never leave you nor forsake you.

“…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5b).

  1. The Lord will help you live righteously.

For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).

  1. A world of pain and suffering will not be forever; faithful Christians will eternally live with Jesus in a perfect heaven.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

 “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown” (Revelation 3:11).

Live Life to the Optimum—TODAY!

    Secularists declare that mankind’s existence ends with death. Life is pointless. Empty.

    The truth remains, apart from Jesus Christ, a man’s life is unfulfilled, pointless, and empty. It may appear that materialism, talents, wealth and philosophy can fashion a man into a satisfied whole. Yet, these trappings of earth are fleeting and have no anchor point—just a continue climb for “more.” Each of us was created with a void, hollowness within that only the Lord can fill. We were made to bear His image. Though man’s inherent sin nature has defaced the perfect image that God created—the Lord has made a way for us to get rid of the old man and be a new creation. It is through belief in Jesus Christ that we may know God and through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling we can bear Christ’s image today on earth while we wait to receive our new body when resurrected in Christ. While secularists deny that humans are specially created, eternal beings—God created man in His image thus granting him an eternal existence. Our outer body may die and decay in the ground, yet, a man’s inner soul lives for eternity. It is man’s choice to choose a life eternally separate from the goodness of God or an eternity of fellowship with Christ —that begins with the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It is only through accepting our design and destiny God created for us that we can allow Christ to fill our lives overflowing with His goodness.

    The way to a fulfilled, satisfied, abundant, joyful life is through Jesus Christ. Though sin and death entered the world through the choice of mankind, God still made a way for us to live to the optimum! Secularists may tout that we can “unlock” our inner potential and “be all that you can be.” Yet, the padlock within us that will release our full potential is only aligned to One Key—Jesus Christ.

    Eternal life is a free gift. Won’t you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior today?