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A story is told of an accountant who answered an
advertisement for a top job with a large firm. At the end of
the interview, the chairman asked, “One last question—what is
three times seven?” The accountant thought for a moment and
replied, “Twenty-two.”
After the interview and on his way home, the
accountant checked himself on his calculator and figured because
he gave the wrong answer that he had lost the job. But two weeks
later he got a call and was offered the job. He asked the
chairman why he had been appointed when he had given the wrong
answer. “You were the closest one to the right answer” the
chairman replied.
The harsh reality of life is that there are so
many people that think that God is like the man who conducted
the interview. They think it doesn’t really matter what you
believe as long as you’re close to the truth.
Our society cringes when we proclaim that the
Bible is true, and that we can know absolute truth. We live in a
postmodern culture where the prevailing wisdom is that there is
no absolute truth at all. And if there is no absolute truth,
there is no absolute way to live. So the postmodernist reasons
that he can live anyway that he wants as long as he doesn’t hurt
someone else in the process. But the Bible not only claims to
be true, it claims to be the source for everything we need to
live life (2 Peter 1:3; 2 Timothy 3:16).
Postmodernism teaches “inclusivism”,
which means that everyone’s opinion of truth is equally valid.
The following quote attributed to President George W. Bush in an
October 4, 2007 interview with Dubai based Al Arabiya is
a good example of postmodern inclusivism.
“Well, first of all, I believe in an
Almighty God, and I believe that all the world, whether
they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the
same God. That's what I believe. I believe that
Islam is a great religion that preaches peace.”
Just because President Bush believes
that does it make true? No. What is his source of authority?
His own belief! In a nutshell, that is the problem in our world
today, people have rationalized that their beliefs are valid and
true—even if they do not come from an authoritative source.
While postmodernism teaches “inclusivism”,
the Bible teaches “exclusivism” and tells us that there is only
one authoritative source of truth (the Bible) and that there is
only one way to heaven. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the
way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but
through me.” No one can come to the Father except through
the person of Jesus Christ.
Do the Muslims worship the God of the Bible? No.
Do the Jehovah Witnesses worship the God of the Bible? No. Do
the Mormons worship the God of the Bible? No. Each of these
“religions” deny the deity of Jesus Christ and have put together
a set of rules to try to reach heaven. The problem for them is
that they are not only sorely misguided but God is not
impressed. The Bible paints a very bleak picture for those who
try to manufacture their own way to heaven—even calling man’s
best attempts to gain favor with God as “filthy rags” (Isaiah
64:6).
The Bible teaches that for you to
have a right relationship with God there are at least FOUR
THINGS that are essential:
1. FIRST—YOU
NEED TO KNOW WHO YOU ARE (Do you understand that you are a
totally depraved sinner and therefore totally incapable of
reaching God on your own?
You might have heard someone say
before, “You’ve got to get a person lost before you can get
them saved.” Well that is partially true—a person must
recognize their sinful condition before a holy God and their
total inability to save themselves from the due penalty of
their sin.
The part of that statement that
is a little concerning though is the inference that you or I
might have something to do with getting someone saved.
While you or I may be the agent that God uses to give out
the truth of the gospel, the Bible is very clear that no one
can be persuaded to believe the gospel unless God first
opens his or her eyes. John 6:44 says (Jesus speaking),
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws
Him…” God is the initiator of salvation.
Why is that? Because Ephesians
2:1 says that “…you and I were (born) dead in our
trespasses and sins.” And because we were born dead in
our trespasses and sins, we do not have the desire nor the
capacity to seek God, according to Romans 3:10-11.
The Bible is clear that it is
our sinful condition that stands in the way of having a
right relationship with God. Romans 3:23 says, “For all
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There
is a huge chasm between man and God because of man’s sin.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death…”.
What man deserves for his sinfulness is eternal separation
from God—eternal death.
So the first thing that you need
to know before you can be saved is that you are a sinner in
need of a savior—one who has offended a holy and righteous
God and your sinful condition is something that you
personally cannot remedy.
2. SECOND—YOU
NEED TO KNOW WHO JESUS IS (Do you believe that Jesus Christ
is the holy Son of God, the risen Savior and Lord, and the
only one who can provide salvation from your sin and its
penalty?)
Of course, it is not enough to
simply know that you are a sinner in need of a Savior—if you
don’t know who the Savior is. The Bible proclaims that Jesus
Christ in the only one who can provide the way of salvation
from ones sins and their penalty. Who is Jesus?
Jesus is God—Jesus
Himself said in John 10:30, “I and the Father are one.”
John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the
Word was with God and the Word was God.” Titus 2:13
says, “Looking for that blessed
hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Christ Jesus”.
Jesus is Holy—Isaiah
6:3 tells us that Jesus is perfectly holy, and therefore
cannot commit or approve of evil (James 1:13). Colossians
2:9 says, “In Him (Jesus) all the fullness of deity
dwells in bodily form.” Because Jesus is holy, He
requires holiness of us as well. I Peter 1:16 says,
“You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Jesus is the Risen
Savior—Acts 4:12 says,
“There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other
name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we
must be saved.” I Corinthians 15:3-4 says,
“…Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised
on the third day according to the Scriptures.”
Jesus is the Creator—According
to John 1:3 & Colossians 1:16, Jesus Himself created all
things. Psalm 103:19 tells us that He owns everything and
rules everything. Because He is the creator He has absolute
authority over our lives. As His creatures, we owe Him
nothing less than total allegiance, obedience and worship.
Jesus is Lord—Romans
10:9-10 identifies Jesus Christ as Lord. As God, He is Lord
and Master over every person and everything. Philippians
2:10-11 says, “…that at the name of
Jesus every knee will bow…and that every tongue will confess
Jesus Christ is Lord…”
Jesus is the Judge—2
Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, “The Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not
know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord
Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power.”
And so for you to have a right
relationship with God, first, you need to know who
you are, second, you need to know who Jesus is, and
third, you need to know what only Jesus provides.
3. THIRD—YOU NEED TO KNOW
WHAT ONLY JESUS PROVIDES (Do you believe that salvation from
sin is found only in the person of Jesus Christ?)
Even though God’s justice
demands death for sin, his amazing love has provided a
Savior, who paid the penalty and died for sinners. I Peter
3:18 says, “Christ…died for sins once for all, the just
for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God.”
Jesus Christ’s death on the cross of Calvary has perfectly
satisfied the righteous demands of God’s justice thereby
enabling Him to forgive and save those who place their faith
in Him (Romans 3:26).
John 3:16 says, “For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
eternal life.” Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of
sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Jesus Christ our Lord.” Trusting in Jesus Christ for
the forgiveness of one’s sin is the only way to a right
relationship with God.
And so you must first
know who you are, second, you must know who Jesus
is, third, you must know what Jesus provides and
fourth, you must know how that applies to you.
4. FOURTH—YOU NEED TO KNOW
HOW THAT APPLIES TO YOU (Have you repented of your sin and
believed in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?)
Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by
grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves
it is the gift of God, not as a result of works, lest any
man should boast.” It is impossible to gain salvation
through performing certain works or good deeds. We could
never be good enough to reach God’s standard of
perfection—therefore we need grace. Grace is God giving man
something he does not deserve. We receive His grace through
placing our faith in who He is and what He has accomplished
on our behalf.
Romans 10:9 says,
“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as
Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the
dead, you shall be saved.”
True saving faith is always
accompanied by repentance from sin. Repentance is a change
of mind that results in a change of action. It is agreeing
with God that you are a sinner, confessing your sins to Him,
and making a conscious choice to turn from your sin and
pursue holiness (Acts 26:18, 20). The true follower of
Christ desires with everything that is in him/her to make
Jesus the Savior and Lord of his/her life.
Paul said in Romans 1:16, “For I am not
ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for
salvation to every one who believes…”. The truth is,
“the power” that Paul refers to is in the message of “the
gospel” (the good news of salvation by grace alone through
faith alone in Jesus Christ alone to the glory of God alone)
and not the messenger or the method. It is the gospel that
we are called to proclaim and it is the exclusive gospel
that sinful man must embrace and believe to have a right
relationship with God.
Note: Some of the content above was taken from
the excellent tract, Who Do You Say That I Am? published
by Grace to You. |
