Why Trust God?
Is Jesus Christ Really the Answer I'm Looking For?This tells me you are looking for answers–answers to questions that are bothering you, and you have not yet been able to make sense of.
Maybe, like many others, you have wondered why you–why we–are even here? Maybe you’ve wondered what the purpose of life is, or how a world that shows such evidence of design could have arisen by chance?
Maybe you have not yet been satisfied by the answers you’ve been given. Perhaps science has failed to explain to you how life could have come about by billions of years of undirected process.
Perhaps you recognize you have objective moral values in a world where everything is supposedly “relative.”
I want you to know–you’re not alone in asking these questions. If you’re reading this you must know and come to terms with two things:
- I have prayed for you. No, I don’t know your name. And no, I haven’t been stalking you. But for as long as I have been in the ministry, I have been praying that you would wind up in this place.
- This is the defining moment of your life. EVERYTHING changes here. If you continue reading, and recognize the truth of what you have read, your life is about to become fundamentally different forever.
I want to tell you a quick story about a man–a real man–named Jesus Christ. He is not a myth or a legend. Rather, He is a real person whose story and message transcends all of time and eternity, and whose “Gospel” (or, “Good News”) is about to be proclaimed to you.
It all started in Bethlehem.
The Birth of Jesus
A little over 2,000 years ago, Joseph, a carpenter, and a young virgin girl named Mary were engaged. Being Jewish, they were waiting (just like all other Jews) for the Messiah that had been promised in their Scriptures and foretold by their prophets.
The angel Gabriel visited Mary one evening and gave her the news that she would give birth to a child, whom she was to name “Jesus.” She wondered how, being a virgin, this could happen, and the angel declared, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”
Luke chapter two records the birth of Jesus in a little town called Bethlehem. This event is the turning point of history. Christ—the Son of God—was brought into the world. But Jesus is co-eternal with God. This means that the Son of God is the Creator (John 1:3).
God became a man and stepped into our world to make a difference, and to provide the sacrifice required by God to pay the penalty for our sins. This is the defining moment in the history of humanity.
The Life of Jesus
Jesus grew up as an extraordinary individual. At the age of only twelve years old, his parents “found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46). The Bible then records that “all that heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers” (2:47).
Philosopher Douglas Groothius says, “Jesus deftly employed a variety of reasoning strategies in His debates on various topics. These include escaping the horns of a dilemma, a fortiori arguments, appeals to evidence, and reductio ad absurdum arguments. Jesus’ use of persuasive arguments demonstrates that He was both a philosopher and an apologist who rationally defended His worldview in discussions with some of the best thinkers of His day.”
Today, many portray Jesus as a soft-hearted individual whose primary mission on Earth was social justice. But this is not the real Jesus! It’s true—Jesus was the most kind-hearted, loving, perfect individual to ever live, and He certainly was concerned with social justice. But Jesus’ mission is clearly recorded in Luke 19:10—”For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus’ mission was spreading the Truth about who He was and what He came to do. Jesus confirmed who He was by performing many miracles throughout His 33 years of life on Earth.
The Death and Resurrection of Jesus
Jesus announced to His followers that he would “suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day” (Luke 9:22). One of His own disciples, Judas Iscariot, turned Him into the religious authorities (who claimed Jesus was a blasphemer for claiming He was God).
They turned Him over to the Roman authorities, where Pilate, the Governor, gave way to the demands of people and let Barrabbus—a known murderer—go free instead of Jesus. They proceeded to crucify Jesus on a cross after a violent scourging—the scourging alone should have left Him for dead, but in fulfillment of prophecy, Jesus could not “give up the ghost” until His death on the cross.
Jesus died crying “it is finished” in further fulfillment of prophecy, and was buried in the borrowed tomb of a man named Joseph from Arimathea–a fact of history so well corroborated that even many secular New Testament scholars agree on its factuality.
Early in the morning on the first day of the week, three women—Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James—visited the tomb with spices to give honor to Jesus. They found the stone rolled away and ran to tell the Apostles of Jesus that He was not there.
This significant fact increases the likelihood of the historicity of the empty tomb since the testimony of women in that day was considered untrustworthy and worthless. Had this been a falsehood or embellishment, the writers would have been sure to place men at the discovery of the empty tomb. Over the course of the next 40 days, Jesus appeared to over 512 individuals (most of these at one time)—including His Apostles—proving once and for all that He was, indeed, the Son of God.
The Apostles were fully persuaded and convinced of this; so much so that they willingly gave their lives to protect the truth. A few of them even dying the same death—crucifixion—as Jesus. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 preserves an oral tradition dating to within months of Jesus’ crucifixion itself. It repeats, “…Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures…he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”
What Does All of this Mean?
The Bible records what Apologist Grek Koukl calls “the story of reality“, which can be summed up in five words: God, man, Jesus, cross, resurrection. (1) God created the world. (2) God created man, who made the choice to sin against God as recorded in Genesis 3 and brought death into the world. Death and sin pass to every person born thereafter. (3) God sends Jesus to the scene, who lives the perfect sinless life and then dies on the (4) cross to redeem mankind and pave the pathway to God. Finally, (5) the final resurrection occurs in which all believers spend eternity in heaven with Christ and all who reject Him, by their own choice, spend eternity in hell separated from God.
To quote C.S. Lewis, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”
Now you know the story. It’s the true story of reality. It’s real history with good evidence. In fact, we have more evidence for the death and resurrection of Christ than for Plato and Aristotle put together.
If you’d like to know how to be saved—to recognize Jesus Christ as the Savior of your life—just keep reading.
What must you do to accept Christ as your Savior?
- You must admit that you are a sinner and need to be saved.
- You must repent and be willing to turn from your sin.
- You must believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross.
- You must receive through prayer, Jesus Christ into your heart and life.
The Bible says,
“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” (Romans 10:9)
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13)
If God is knocking on the door of your heart, then answer the door and let Him come in. You can receive Christ through prayer. Here is a simple prayer of salvation:
“Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. I know that I need you. I believe that you died on the cross for me. Forgive me of my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I receive you as my Saviour, come into my life and save me. Thank you for what you did for me. Amen.”
It is not just reciting a prayer that saves a person, but believing in one’s heart on the Lord Jesus Christ and confessing with one’s mouth. For by faith (trusting) in Jesus for one’s salvation is essential.
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Now, you need to trust His Word when Jesus said, “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” (John 10:9)
The Romans Road to Salvation
Romans 3:23 KJV “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Romans 6:23 KJV “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:8 KJV “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 10:9 KJV “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Romans 10:13 KJV “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Romans 8:1 KJV “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
Romans 8:38-39 KJV “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Get in Touch
This is such a serious matter. If you are confused, or just would like to know more about a relationship with Jesus Christ, please contact me by email at [email protected].
If you prefer, call me personally at (336) 756-3501 and I would be glad to speak with you. This is truly a matter of life and death, and I’d love nothing more than to personally introduce you to the Creator of the world and Savior of my soul.
Also, if you read these instructions and accepted Christ as your Savior, let me know! I want to rejoice with you, encourage you, and give you some guidance as you begin your walk with Jesus.
Questions
Whether or not you have made the decision to trust Christ, one thing is for sure: you probably have a lot of questions.
Perhaps you are wondering:
- If God created the world, what about evolution?
- Doesn’t society determine moral values? Who needs God?
- With all of the evil in the world, how does a “good” God exist?
- Why do I need God? I’m perfectly satisfied being an atheist.
- Isn’t the Bible full of contradictions?
On this blog, we are committed to providing answers to these questions and more. I welcome you to search the blog. If you cannot find an answer to your question, feel free to email me.
Christianity is a reasonable faith–and my life’s mission is help truth-seekers like you understand reality as God has revealed in His Word. Please know, I’m praying for you.
Your new life begins…NOW!