Artistic Piano Tuning

WHY I BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST

The greatest wealth that any person can possess is a right and close relationship with God. Everything in this world is just a preparation for the next; only what is eternal will really matter in the end. Therefore, what we believe about God is extremely important.

So what makes Christians believe in Jesus Christ?

I recently taught a class on this topic, and I gave my students an easy-to-remember acrostic based on the title MESSIAH that will help you remember the reasons why we believe in Jesus.

Miraculous

Who was in front of the crowd every time Jesus performed a miracle? No doubt the skeptical scribes and Pharisees daily pushed their way to the front of the crowd. If they had seen even the remotest possibility that Christs miracles were not genuine or did not last, they would have been written those accounts of fraud, and their descendants would cite them even to this very day. But not one word was said or could be said. These religious leaders, who staunchly opposed Jesus, no doubt checked every miracle or healing completely. They questioned family members and neighbors. Not a single small detail escaped their notice. Certainly they returned even years later to see if the healing actually lasted. They could not refute the reality of the miracles. So they attacked the source of Jesus power, claiming that Jesus healed by the power of Satan instead of the power of God. However, even this attack testified to the reality of the miracles. The New Testament records over forty miracles, such as healing blindness, lameness, and leprosy, and raising the dead.

Why would anyone want to attack a sinless man? Such an attack really doesnt make any sense apart from motives of ambition or pride on the part of the accusers. I am so glad that Jesus did not have the kind of background that some religious leaders do. Jesus did not marry several wives, nor was He greedy to establish wealth. No one can ever say He was a man of violence, lechery, or greed! What a Savior!

What a miraculous life!

Eternal

Originally, I told the class that this E was for evergreen, because the teachings of Jesus are like timeless evergreens. People never seem to grow tired of seeing some TV programs, such as Andy Griffith and Gun Smoke, and so the TV industry refers to them as evergreens, like the trees whose leaves never change or die with the seasons. The teachings of Jesus are timeless evergreens. They are as relevant today as they were a thousand years ago. That is a miracle. Isnt it amazing that we still teach our children the truths of Jesus?

But Ive changed the word to eternal, which is more to the point. Thousands of years after Jesus first spoke them, the truths Jesus taught are just as important in our modern era as they have ever been. And if our world should continue for another thousand years, the words of Jesus will continue to shape and instruct His church, and His teachings will still be relevant and loved. His eternal truth reminds me of what He said: My words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35).

Scriptures

One of the major reasons to believe in Jesus is that He fulfilled the prophecies taught for hundreds of years concerning the coming Messiah. Here are just a few:

Born of a virgin: Isaiah 7:14; Genesis 3:15

Seed of Abraham: Genesis 12:1-2; Genesis 22:18

Tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10

House of David: 2 Samuel 7:12

Born in Bethlehem: Micah 5:2

Ministry of miracles: Isaiah 35:5

Rejected by His own people: Psalm 118:22

Humiliating death: Psalm 22; Isaiah 53

Pierced His hands and feet: Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 27:57

Crucified with thieves: Isaiah 53:12

Buried in a rich mans tomb: Isaiah 53:9

Lots were cast for His garments: Psalm 22

Rose from the dead: Psalm 2:7

Ascended into heaven: Psalm 68:18

Sits at the right hand of God: Psalm 110:1

Jesus foretold His own crucifixion, as well as His resurrection from death after three days. And one day soon, He will fulfill many of His other prophecies in Matthew 24.

Sunday

The Passion Week was a huge emotional roller coaster for the disciples. What excitement they felt as Jesus entered Jerusalem amid the crowds shouting Hosanna! The excitement continued for days in the festive environment of the Passover, but then Thursday night, the mood changed to one of seriousness at the Last Supper. Later that night, the disciples changed from a state of complete exhaustion to feeling total horror as hundreds of torches blazed in the night, accompanied by the rhythmic sound of large numbers of marching Roman soldiers. Absolute terror gripped their hearts, and they ran for their lives! Later, they quietly sneaked back. Then, watching from a safe distance, they saw their leader, friend, and the embodiment of their hopes brutalized by what seemed to be the very demons of hell. Friday must have been a surreal horror show: everything was gone. Three years of following had all come to nothing. Immeasurable grief and tears flooded their souls. Complete hopelessness and despair drowned their hearts. All was gone! All was lost! The future was destroyed! Sunday morning, another complete change overtook the disciples' souls. What was this? They were dancing, smiling, and laughing. And what were they singing and shouting? HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN! HE HAS RISEN!

Impact

Jesus Christ is the most powerful and influential man that has ever lived. Not one world leader, scientist, or doctor has had the impact on the world that Jesus has had. Think of the huge numbers of hospitals and universities that began because Christian men and women wanted to bring the light and life of Jesus to others. Think of your own life. Think of how different you were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago and what Jesus Christ has done in your life since then. Isnt it a wonder how Jesus has changed drugs and alcohol into furniture and food for families? I look at my own life, and I am so thankful for a Christian mom and dad who, three times a week, took me to church and Sunday school. I have no doubt that the teachings of Jesus have saved me from ever having been involved with any kind of substance abuse or being imprisoned. The impact of Jesus Christ on my own life is immeasurable. I cannot even start to think of where I might be today if I had not met Jesus Christ. Thank You, Lord Jesus!

Apostles

The apostles and early church suffered great persecution. They lost their homes and jobs. They were beaten, threatened, imprisoned, and beheaded, yet still they would not remain quiet! Why? Were they getting rich from their endurance? Hardly. What drove them to the ends of the earth? Why not give up and go back home? The answer is Someone who said, I am the truth. These early Christians knew that the only hope for a corrupt, suffering world was a Man who said, I am the way. These men knew that the only thing that has ever made sense in this mad, mad world is the Man who said, I am the life (John 14:6). They knew that the only hope for healing souls filled with the cancer of hatred, greed, lust, and evil was the Great Physician: Jesus Christ!

Historicity

Someone once noted that history is really "His story." No credible scholar anywhere would even try to question whether Jesus really lived. That question would be equivalent to a scientist attacking the reality of the sun being hot and bright.

However, the real story of Jesus is the gospel. The central message Jesus taught was the gospel. That message alone is a powerful reason to believe in Jesus, for no other teacher spoke any other message like it anywhere before or after. Continue reading for a summary of what Jesus taught, using an acrostic based on the word gospel.

I believe in Jesus because Jesus:

• Has the power to save
• Has the right to save
• Has the authority to save
• Has promised to save us (John 3:16)
• Has paid the ransom for our salvation
• Has taken the penalty of our sin upon Himself
• Has hidden our sins in the deepest sea
• Has willed to forget our sin
• Has clothed us with His righteousness

Jesus is God, whose word is final, who does not change, and who cannot lie.

Jesus is not willing that any should perish.

Jesus is the living water, our daily bread, and the light of life.

What did Jesus teach?

The gospel message originated in the heart of God, and He first presented it to humanity through Jesus Christ. We can use the word gospel as an acronym to remember the major points of Christs teaching.

G Good News! GOSPEL The basic message of Jesus was good news for every person of every age and of every country in the world. It is a message of God's love for you and every person in the world and how we can be assured of an eternity in heaven and an escape from judgment and punishment. The word GOSPEL is from the Anglo-Saxon, godspel, "good story" This word in the earlier Gk. language signified "a present given to one who brought good tidings," or "a sacrifice offered in thanksgiving for such good tidings having come." In later Gk. it was employed for the good tidings themselves. (from The New Unger's Bible Dictionary. Originally published by Moody Press of Chicago, Illinois. Copyright (c) 1988.)

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world.." The false god of Islam is not a loving, caring god. God who loves is not an impersonal, unknowing force as Buddhism presents. Because God loves us we have hope.

Luke 19 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." NIV

Romans 5 God has shown us how much he loves us it was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us! TEV

1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. NIV

O Only: Jesus teaches that He is the only way to the Father. There are not many roads leading to heaven. Only through Jesus can we enter Gods heaven. You may wish for a third choice or another way, but Jesus does not give us those options. He is the only way.

John 10 "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.

John 14 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Our world does not like the exclusivity of the gospel. We like choices. We much prefer a cafeteria to K rations. A car dealership selling only black cars could not compete. But truth only has one right answer and one right way.

Isaiah wrote (55) "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. NIV

Proverbs 14 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

In Matthew 7 Jesus said "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. NIV

What about people who are far away and who have not heard about Jesus; is it fair that God sends them to hell because they have not believed in Him?

First, the Bible makes a firm, absolute promise that applies to every person everywhere in the world. This promise appears in the Old Testament, and Jesus repeats in different words in the New Testament. The promise is this:

Anyone, anywhere sincerely seeking God will find Him.

Regarding this promise, Jesus said,

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened (Matthew 7:7-9).

Proverbs 8 I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me (emphasis mine).

(James 4:8) Come near to God and he will come near to you.

(Psalm 145:18). The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth

Hebrews 11 He rewards those who earnestly seek him (emphasis mine). This promise applies to all people everywhere.

Deuteronomy 4:29, But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul (emphasis mine).

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance 2 Peter 3:9.

S Sin: Jesus teaches that we have a heart problem. Our hearts lead us to sin.

Matthew 15 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. NIV

Matthew 5 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. NIV

Matthew 23 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence . You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? NIV

Romans 3 "All have sinned There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." "Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit." "The poison of vipers is on their lips." "Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness." "Their feet are swift to shed blood; ruin and misery mark their ways, and the way of peace they do not know." "There is no fear of God before their eyes." NIV

We are like a (Mark 3) a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. NIV

P Providence: Jesus taught quite a bit about God. God is absolutely holy and totally without sin or mistake. As such He cannot allow anything or and one who is not also holy into heaven.

Psalms 24 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart. NIV

The only people who will enter heaven are those whose sin has been eradicated. We must somehow be made holy and we are helpless to do this by ourselves.

Matthew 19 "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." NIV

God made a way. He sent His Son - Jesus. Jesus is the way to our becoming holy, forgiven and at peace with God.

God has provided a way for us to receive forgiveness for our sins, changed hearts, and real security. He does so by accepting the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the payment for our sins and bringing us into a right relationship with Him.

Jesus is the Son of God and one with God. As such He paid the penalty of our sin by dying for us on a very cruel cross. He only asks that we believe in Him.

Matthew 26:28 my blood . is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. NIV

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:16-17 NIV

The focus of our faith must be Jesus Christ. We are saved because of His holiness, His death, burial and resurrection. We must not focus our faith on self, experiences, money, position, personal piety, logic or deeds. They cannot and will not save. We must focus our faith in Jesus. Only faith focused in Jesus Christ will bring us to heaven and eternal peace with God.

E Eternal: Jesus also said a lot about eternity. Almost everything we know about heaven or hell comes from the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Hell, worse than we could imagine, is not a joke. Heaven is better that anything we could ever imagine.

1 Corinthians 2:9 "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"- NIV

If we miss heaven, we have no hope. Game over. All is lost.

We may wish for a third choice or another way, but Jesus does not give us that option. He is the only way and the only choice.

L Life:

John 10 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." NIV

John 1 to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God. NIV

John 3 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life NIV

Isaiah wrote The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40 NKJV

Paul wrote in the book of Romans we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 5 & 8

Why do we believe in God?

Yahweh is the English rendering of the Hebrew vocalization of the unpronounceable name of God. Yahweh makes a good acronym to remember the apologetic points of why we believe in God.

Y: Yeshua is the original Hebrew name for Jesus. If God does not exist, how can anyone explain Jesus? How can we explain the miracles, prophecies, resurrection, and the gospel message? Jesus is not only God revealed but also Gods love proven. Christ gives us proof of immortality and Gods power. Jesus points us to faith in God. Jesus Christ is a huge reason to believe in the existence of God.

A: Anthropological argument. Almost everyone hates evil, but how do we instinctively know (across racial, economic, and cultural barriers) what is good or evil? How do we all know evil when we see it? How do we know that injustice, prejudice, murder, rape, and robbery are wrong? We dont need a law degree to mark these acts as evil; we instinctively and universally know right from wrong. And only because God created us and has given everyone this knowledge do we all share it. That consensus is an evidence for Gods existence.

Wherever men have gone in the world, they have found certain innate ideas the human heart and mind. They do not arise from experience; they are there, inbred What are they? There is everywhere a belief in God. There is everywhere a belief in right and wrong. There is a belief in cause and effect. There is a belief in time and space. And there is universally found a belief in immortality.[1]

How can man, as a living, moral, intelligent being, explain and understand himself and his fellows apart from a living, moral, intelligent God?

H: Heaven. People almost instinctively believe in heaven. It is a universal hope, a universal longing. As such it is also an evidence of the existence of God. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men (Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV).

But heaven without God would not be heaven.

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Revelation 21:1-4 NIV, emphasis mine).

W: watchmaker argument or the teleological argument. The word teleological comes from the word telos in the Greek, which means end. The idea of the word is that most things are designed with an end or purpose in mind. Say that we are walking together in the woods, and we find a watch and see that it is running. We will not, even for a second, wonder how that watch put itself together. The obvious complexity alone is evidence of an intelligent craftsman. The fact that it is running is evidence of an outside source putting power into the watch.

The purpose, order, and design we observe in the world calls for a designer. Super complexity requires super intelligence to create it. Super power like that which we observe in the sun requires a larger source of power to create it. Therefore, a source of this super intelligence and super power must exist, as this intelligence and power is commonplace in the universe.

Albert Einstein said, the harmony of natural law reveals an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection.[2] Later Einstein wrote of his desire to know how God created the universe.[3]

Does he who implanted the ear not hear? Does he who formed the eye not see? (Psalm 94:9)

E: effect requires a cause, or the cosmological argument. The word cosmological comes from the Greek word cosmos, which means universe. The universe around us is an effect that requires an adequate cause, because logic demands a cause for every effect. Scientists may say that a big bang caused the universe, but only God could have caused such an event and supplied its raw materials.

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world (Psalm 19:1-4, NIV).

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing (Isaiah 40:26, NIV).

For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse (Romans 1:20, NIV).

Because the cosmos has clearly revealed God's power and divine nature since the beginning of creation, all mankind should know from observing the universe around us that a Supreme Being exists.

Dr. Robert Jastrow was founder of NASAs Goddard Institute, co-founder of the George C. Marshall Institute, head of the Mount Wilson Observatory, and a selfproclaimed agnostic. After concluding that the universe had a beginning and therefore must have had a beginner, Dr. Jastrow wrote:

For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.[4]

H: His story is the Bible. The Bible not only declares the existence of God but is in itself powerful proof of Gods existence. If the Bible is just another book, how do we explain its fulfilled prophesies, universal wisdom, and incredible power to change lives for the better?

The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart (Psalm 19:7-8, NIV).

[1] D. James Kennedy, Why I Believe (Nashville: W Publishing Group, 1980), 64.

[2] Albert Einstein, Ideas and Opinions The World As I See It (New York: Bonanza Books, 1974), 40.

[3] Albert Einstein, qtd in Nick Herbert, Quantum Reality - Beyond the New Physics (Garden City, New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday, 1985), 177.

[4] Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, 2nd ed. (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1993), 107.

Why I believe in the Bible

We can use the word Scripture as an acrostic to help us remember the different apologetic points.

S Source. The ultimate source of Scripture is God the Holy Spirit. The Bible is His work. However, the people through whom God worked were not your general, run-of-the-mill individuals. If you study the lives and read the writings of men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Luke, Paul, David, Moses, and others, you will discover men who were not perfect and who did make mistakes but then seriously repented and recognized that a right relationship with God was the most valuable and essential prize for peace, true prosperity, and eternal survival. They were men not easily swayed by popular opinion or greedy for riches. They were not interested in building monuments to themselves, as too many others have been.

They were truly men of God.

C Christ. Jesus Christ believed in the Scriptures, and He quoted Moses, Isaiah, David and other writers. He taught that God's Word was more important than our daily food and that we should search the Scriptures, because they told of Him. The fact that Jesus believed in the power and authority of Scripture is a huge reason why we, too, should believe in the Bible.

The letter C could also stand for the word "complete". One of the interesting facts about the Bible is the fact that it is complete. It does not need a second edition. It does not go out of date, as most other books do. Because it is a work of the Holy Spirit, who is perfect in being and work, the Bible does not need constant correction of errors. The Bible is unlike any other book ever written. It is finished. It is timeless, just as relevant today as it was a thousand years ago, and if the world continues, people will still study and read a thousand years from now. It is trustworthy.

R Real. The Bible deals with real people and real places (unlike the Book of Mormon or the writings of L. Ron Hubbard). The Bible deals with real problems and shows real solutions. It is neither a book of fantasy nor the writings of a mad man.

I Impact. One of the reasons the Bible continues to be the best-selling book decade after decade is its impact on the lives it touches. In so many lives, it turns fear into courage, chaos into peace, tears into smiles, and alcohol and drugs into clothes and furniture.

Because the Holy Spirit wrote it, its message has the power to transform lives totally. The teachings of Jesus and the Bible are believable because they really work in the lives of people. So much of the popular teaching of todays culture is just the opposite, destroying lives and families.

P Prophecies. Only God knows the future. Everyone else is just guessing.

And the Bible contains thousands of prophecies made sometimes decades, hundreds of years, or even thousands of years before being fulfilled. D. James Kennedy wrote an excellent book titled Why I Believe in which he does a great job of presenting this topic and contrasting the ability of normal people to tell future events. I really encourage you to get a copy. One huge reason to believe the Bible is the fact that it has been right 100% of the time in the past, and so we can believe it to be right 100% of the time in the future.

T Truth. Truth is that which matches reality. We live now in a society where half the people and large corporations are conning and scamming and scheming to maximize profit. Youd better watch out for the mouse-sized type, because the devil is in those details, even if you dont understand the legalese. Lying has also become the norm in politics. But one of the great tests of truth is time, and the Bible stands the test of time and truth. Jesus says that He is the way, the life, and the truth (John 14:6).

U Uniqueness. There is no other book like this book. No other book transcends the bounds of time, culture, race, or status the way the Bible does. Absolutely no other book comes close to the Bible in its impact on the world, history, or human lives.

R Rocks. Though I have never been to Israel, I have seen lots of pictures. Big stones and rocks cover the land everywhere, and for tens of thousands of years, people have built houses and cities out of these rocks. They have engraved these rocks with names, dates, laws, and declarations. The interesting thing about rocks is their ability to survive for thousands of years. Archeologists are constantly verifying the credibility of the Bible through these rocks. The verifiability of the Bible is, quite literally, written in stone.

E - Evergreen. People never seem to grow tired of seeing some TV programs, such as Andy Griffith and Gun Smoke, and so the TV industry refers to them as evergreens, like the trees whose leaves never change or die with the seasons. The Bible is a timeless evergreen that is as relevant today as it was a thousand years ago and will still be a thousand years from now. It is timeless and trusted.

S Survivability. Evil people have tried for thousands of years to burn, outlaw, or discredit the Bible, yet it survives. Jesus said, My words will never pass away (Matthew 24:35). What a miracle that resilience is, and what a miracle the Bible is!

My Story By David Mainesmith

I am a grandpa with so many grandchildren that remembering all their names is sometimes a challenge, and I have spent over twenty years teaching Sunday school. So my reflections on why I believe in Jesus Christ are something that I have pondered for quite a long time. I hope that they help you in your search for God. The longer I live, the more absolutely convinced I become of the value and truthfulness of Jesus' teachings. The popular drug and alcohol lifestyle of so many people very obviously and tragically does not work. It only destroys individuals, marriages, children, and families. The teachings of Jesus, on the other hand, tend to promote health, wealth, peace, contentment, and wholeness.

My father became a Baptist shortly before his marriage to my mother. My mother, who graduated from a Baptist seminary, was quite interested in missions work. Dad and Mom always kept us three boys and our two sisters in church three times a week. One of my earliest memories was standing on the pew beside my father in church singing as he pointed out the words. My mother sang solos at church and had jiffy clubs for the neighborhood children where she taught Bible stories on a flannel-graph board.

When I was about eight years old, my parents sent me to a Christian summer camp in upstate New York. I had a great time, and I remember two distinct events about that summer. One was a lightning hit that severely damaged a huge tree just outside the door of our little cottage. The second was that I wrote my dad a letter saying that I had accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. You would think that, with such a start, I would have understood the basic teachings of Jesus Christ from childhood, but I didnt not at all!

If someone had asked me, Are you saved? I would have said, Sure. I knew all the vocabulary and some of the Bible verses, but no real relationship existed between Jesus Christ and me. My proximity to church culture without internalizing it made little difference in my life. I had no real interest in studying the Bible. Whenever someone mentioned the second coming of Jesus or death, I experienced real fear. I tried to live what I thought must be a good life, but it was mostly self-centered. You see, my confidence was in a prayer I did not remember or understand and a church membership card that Id probably lost. I was a nominal Christian at best, even though I went to church regularly.

In my early thirties, I began teaching Sunday school at Calvary Church in Charlotte, where Dr. Ross Rhoads was the pastor. My primary motivation for teaching was to help boys possibly avoid some of the mistakes I had made. After a time, I came to a point where I said, I have got to figure out what the primary teaching of Jesus Christ was, especially regarding the doctrine of salvation. I needed to explain this point to the boys, but I knew that I did not really understand it myself. Though I knew that Jesus died on a cross, what I didnt understand was how His death related to me. What was I supposed to do with that fact? Who was Jesus, and why were so many people willing to die for Him? The apostle John remembered Jesus saying that God loved the world so much that he sent his only son, that if anyone would believe in Him he would have eternal life (John 3:16, emphasis mine). But what did believing in Jesus really mean? And how were you supposed to know if you believed enough or the right way?

One night, I took a piece of paper and wrote at the top of the page, "What did Jesus say that we should do?" I went through all four of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and wrote down the things that Jesus said we should do. I came up with a very interesting list. Just a few of the items on the list were:

• Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. This is the first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.There is no other commandment greater than these (Mark 12:29-31).
• "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you" (Luke 6:27, emphasis mine).
• "Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again" (Luke 6:30).
• "Give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me" (Mark 10:21).
• "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
• "You must be born again" (John 3:7).
• Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8).
• Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will in no case enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:20).

I said to myself: Thats what I will do. Have you ever tried to be pure in heart or perfect? I quickly discovered that I did not love God with all my heart and mind, did not even like my enemies, was selfish instead of giving, and was not even close to God's holiness. I could not live up to the standard Jesus set.

I found that the standard Jesus taught is not just difficult to meet; its impossible.

I discovered the same thing that Jeremiah did when he wrote about his own heart: "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). When Isaiah realized the same thing, he wrote: "Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips" (Isaiah 6:5). He also wrote: "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away" (Isaiah 64:6). St. Paul, who wrote almost half of the New Testament, said: "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief" (1 Timothy 1:15) and the things I want to do I dont do, while the things I dont allow I do (Romans 7:15).

I almost couldnt believe that these men, who seemed so close to God, all admitted a real sin nature of their own. But God makes another way for us, one that takes into account our inability to be holy like Him or even to desire to be holy like Him. All that other way takes from us is faith.

What is faith? Faith is a decision to believe based on knowledge, agreement, and trust. But faith is only as strong as the object in which we place it. The focus of most peoples faith is self. If God asked them why He should let them into heaven, theyd want to tell God about how good theyd been and what good things theyd done. God asks us to refocus our faith on Jesus Christ instead. Look to His strength and works. Dont rely on yourself to be good enough.

We can remember the meaning of faith using the simple acronym KATE.

• K Knowledge
• A Agreement
• T Trust
• E Eternal life

First, the K stands for Knowledge. God wants you to know just three things, and theyre not hard to grasp or remember.

The first thing we need to know is really good news. God truly loves you! The apostle John wrote in his first epistle: "God is love" (1 John 4:8). John, one of Jesus closest friends, remembered Jesus saying: "God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned" (John 3:16-17).

Secondly, we need to know that sin separates us from God's love. Isaiah wrote: "Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" (Isaiah 59:1). St. Paul wrote that "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23), including St. Paul, all the prophets, you and me, and every man who has ever lived (except Jesus Christ). Scripture expresses the consequences of our sin in terms of a payment, as though we did some work and were going to be paid for it. The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). That death means separation from God's Holy Spirit now and eternal separation and punishment for those who refuse to accept Him during this lifetime.

The third thing we need to know is that God came to earth, became a man (the man Jesus Christ), and provided a complete and perfect sacrifice (by allowing the world to crucify Him) which totally paid the penalty of our sins.

But is saving faith just knowledge? Is faith just something we know? I had known these facts for years, and just knowing these things had brought me no sense of assurance. No. Saving faith is not just knowledge of some historical facts or some Bible verses. One major concern of mine is the fact that we can know the four spiritual laws but not know the Lord. James the brother of Jesus wrote: "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder" (James 2:19, NIV). No, knowledge alone does not save us.

The second part of saving faith is Agreement (the letter A in our KATE acronym). Unless we agree with God, the way we feel, rationalize, or believe does not matter. Our thoughts and feelings are not the standard for right and wrong or for faith. God says For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). People today want to base their faith on personal experiences, feelings, faulty logic, or inappropriate analogies. I recently heard a woman try to defend her disbelief in Christs teachings on hell based on the workings of an apple sorting machine. But the Bible clearly says that we must base our theology on Scripture, not on our feelings. Paul wrote, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine (2 Timothy 3:16). He did not say that our feelings or experiences are profitable for doctrine. We are far too good at rationalizing evil as good for our feelings or logic to form our basis for theology.

Jesus Christ is the standard of right and wrong. He said that I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). He did not say, I am one option or one path among many that lead to God. He declared that He was the ONLY way and the ONLY correct teaching on how to be acceptable to God. He said so, not me. We must agree with God that we desperately need His forgiveness and His ability to cleanse our hearts. We desperately need His love and His sacrifice on Calvary. When Billy Graham asks new believers to follow him in a prayer, they are hopefully expressing an agreement with God's Word. God's response and promise to us is: "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13).

The next letter, T, stands for trust. Our trust must be in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. Our confidence must not be in our own good works, experiences, church memberships, religious acts, baptisms, or sacraments. The apostle Paul wrote: "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), and "by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight (Romans 3:20).

You see, the only thing that God asks us to do to receive the gift of eternal life is to depend on Jesus Christ, because He paid all our debt for sin on Calvary's cross. The Bible says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house" (Acts 16:31).

Returning to our acronym of the concept of saving faith, the E in the name KATE stands for Eternal life. Jesus said, "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36, emphasis mine). Please notice that word "hath" is present tense; so at the moment you place your confidence in Jesus as your savior, eternal life begins. And it is not something you earn. It is God's gift to us, and the blood of Jesus paid for it. St. Paul wrote, "The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus said in John 10:28, "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (emphasis mine).

Our confidence must be in Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvarys cross:

• not in our good works,
• not in sacraments,
• not in experiences,
• not in churches or their traditions,
• not in religious works,
• not in people with degrees in theology,
• and not in what we know, but in Jesus Christ alone.

Jesus did all the tough stuff! Jesus did all the work. He totally paid the price so that anyone can be saved. We must depend on Him for our salvation: nothing else!

If we were to believe that our salvation partially depended on one of these items in the above list, we would then have to consider all the theological problems that such dependence would cause. For example, lets suppose we take the attitude that our salvation depended on our faith plus our baptism. Suddenly, baptism becomes immensely important, and we must begin asking ourselves about the validity of our baptism. Just how are we to be baptized? Are we to be poured, sprinkled, or dunked, and at what age and how often? Suddenly, our assurance of salvation disappears, because it now partly depends on our works. We could be baptized weekly until our hair was bleached white from the chlorine, and we would still have no confidence in our salvation.

This qualification also means that Christ must have been wrong, because when He was being crucified on the cross, He told the thief who was crucified with Him, Today you will be with me in paradise (Luke 23:43). The man was totally incapable of being baptized, joining a church, or doing anything else to earn his salvation. He was nailed to a cross. His death was just hours away. St. Paul also would have been wrong in saying the just shall live by faith (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:38, quoting Habakkuk 2:4) and saying for by grace you are saved, it is not of works (Ephesians 2:8).

But Jesus and Paul were not wrong. Gods grace allows a person who is totally incapable of any kind of work (such as a blind, isolated quadriplegic) to be saved, because Jesus Christ completed the payment of our salvation on Calvarys cross. John records the last word Jesus said on the cross as the Greek word tetellisti (John 19:30). We translate it as It is finished. But to a person living at that time, it meant much more. It meant that the legal requirements of the law had been totally satisfied. It was the word written at the bottom of a sales or loan contract, indicating that a debt had been paid in full. It states to us that our salvation does not even partially depend on our poor works, but on Christs perfect and finished work on the cross alone.

Here is an excellent, succinct statement that summarizes a lot of important theology: We are saved by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone based on the Bible alone.

If you have never asked Christ to be part of your life, then you might want to pray to Jesus and ask Him to come into your heart and mind. Tell Him that you completely depend on Him for your salvation and for making your heart pure and perfect in Gods sight. Thank Him for dying on the cross for you.

If God ever asks me why He should let me into heaven, Id answer in two parts.

First, I believe in Jesus because Jesus:

• has the power to save
• has the right to save
• has the authority to save
• has promised to save (John 3:16)
• has paid the ransom for my salvation
• has taken the penalty of my sins upon Himself
• has hidden my sins in the deepest sea
• has willed to forget my sin
• has clothed me with His righteousness

Second, I believe in Jesus, because:

• Jesus is God, whose word is final, unchanging, and absolutely true.
• Jesus is not willing that any should perish.
• Jesus is the living water, my daily bread, and the light of life.
• Jesus is the judge and my defense attorney.
• Jesus is the solid rock, the chief cornerstone, and the sure foundation (Deuteronomy 32:4).
• Jesus is the Lamb of God, who was sacrificed at Calvary for me.
• Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
• Jesus loves you and me, and He wants what is best for us.

Two excellent books would be a great deal of help to a new believer or anyone who is still trying to understand the gospel. They are both available in paperback very inexpensively.

Learning to Walk with God by Charlie Riggs is available from Billy Graham. The first chapter reviews the basic principles of salvation that I have discussed here and which are so important. The rest of this book will also be very helpful to a new believer.

Write to: Grason, P.O. Box 1240, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55440-1240.

Also, I recommend Why I Believe by D. James Kennedy. This really excellent book helps to strengthen your faith, because it discusses why Christians believe in God, Jesus, heaven, and hell, as well as why all the apostles and thousands of other early church Christians would rather die than deny the Lord Jesus. Why I Believe should be in your local Christian bookstore. If not, write to: Dr. D. James Kennedy, P.O Box 40, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33302.

If I can help to answer some questions for you regarding the Christian faith, please email me at mainesmith@nc.rr.com.

Don't forget to pray about your questions. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (James 1:5, NIV). Don't give up. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled" (Matthew 5:6).

I am a member of Providence Baptist Church. If you would like to learn more, go to www.pray.org, where you can find a tremendous about of information to download, including mp3 files of recent Bible teaching.

God Bless You!

Sincerely,

David Mainesmith

Only God knows the future. Everyone else is just guessing.

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