WHY JESUS?
...Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Believe it or not, but many people do not know who Jesus is, much less why he is/was necessary. The secular world around us, would prefer that Christians remain quiet and to keep their “religious” beliefs inside the four walls of the building that they call “church.” Guess what? We are the Church and we should not allow ourselves to be bullied by the world. Remaining silent about God’s offer of redemption through His Son known as Jesus of Nazareth, is cowardly (Matt. 10:32-33). It has been a long time since I have been around the average professing Christian because I have been busy working in Christian academia. Now that I am taking a break from that delightful atmosphere however, I am reminded about the mindset of the average believer. When I challenge people to share there faith with those in their social sphere of influence
I hear responses like:
“It is not necessary to speak up about Jesus, because it is personal”
“Who am I to tell others that my faith is superior to their faith?”
“Christianity is a personal thing. I do not have to share my belief with others.”
“I am not going to push my faith on others because I do not want to make waves.”
“The way you behave is an example of your faith. It is not necessary to say anything.”
All of these are copouts.
Jesus was very clear with his disciples, that he was sending them out as sheep amongst wolves (Matt. 10:16). We are no different. Everything in the Bible is there to prepare us for what we are up against in this world. There is nowhere in Scripture that instructs us to be silent in this world. The only passage that even comes close is when Jesus tells his disciples not to cast pearls to swine (Matt. 7:6). This instruction was for times when the atmosphere was/is so hostile and the people involved have such hardened hearts that no matter what you say, it will be turned against you because the enemy is at work in the person with whom you are dealing.
This is the same enemy that we read about in Genesis 3. This is the same enemy that put doubt about God’s word in the mind of Eve. Satan and the other fallen angels are enemies of the human race. Satan convinced Eve that she would be “like” God, knowing good from evil. This doubt caused Eve to act out against the one boundary that the Creator had set. As a result, humanity became a slave to sin (John 8:34). We became a tool for the enemy and his minions. In essence, Adam and Eve took sides with Satan and stood opposed to the will of God. Genesis 3:15 teaches us that the balance of good versus evil was now hinged on the hope that God would somehow redeem humanity from the clutches of the enemy who would continue to enslave and torment mankind. We were never created to live outside of the boundaries that our Creator had for our human frame and biological makeup.
Mankind would now be under the influence of the enemy and we would have to fight for our freedom to once again be in the presence of God. Life would now be a struggle. Our two realms (the spiritual and the physical) would now be separated, whereas in the beginning we walked and talked with our Creator (Gen. 3:8-10). Because we are flesh, we lost our spiritual connection with our Creator. Satan, however, was still allowed to come before the throne of God (Job 1:6). Perhaps because he is not flesh, but spirit? We now have the knowledge of good and evil and are separated from our source of life. Our faithful Creator, however, provided a way for us to find him by putting eternity on our heart so that we would always seek him (Ecc. 3:11). God’s gift of redemption through his Son has made it possible for us to once again enter into relationship with our Creator and Mentor. Jesus fulfilled God’s requirements of trust and devotion without compromising and pairing up with Satan and the ways of this world. He was the only one that could complete God’s intended purpose for humanity. This is why Jesus was necessary. Without God’s ultimate Messiah (Savior), humanity would be relegated to death both physically and spiritually with no chance to know God intimately.
Thank you, LORD, for providing us a way out of Satan’s net of enslavement and perpetual torment. We understand that it is not by anything that we have done or will do, but only by your pure gift of salvation through your Son, Jesus the Ultimate and final Messiah.