Jesus has loved you long before you existed on earth. Yes–the Creator of all things, the King of all kings, the eternal God who has no beginning and no end–loves you so much that He literally died for you.
How does this even make any sense? I’m glad you asked, and I will do my best to break it down, however I must disclose that the Holy Bible is the superior source of this good news (scripturally referred to as the gospel).
When God created the first humans–Adam and Eve–He gave them specific commands that they were to strictly follow. One notable command in Genesis 2:17 was “ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” [God is often called by one His names Jehovah]
You see, every command that God gives us is out of love. Because God is omniscient, He knows what will bring us destruction and so He gives us these commands to protect us.
Anyway, in Genesis 3 we read that Eve was tempted and deceived into eating from the tree of knowledge, hence, disobeying God. She then proceeds to give her husband, Adam, of the forbidden tree and both reaped the curse of death. Although death of the body wasn’t immediate, “death” of many other areas of their lives were instant.
Through their disobedience, sin entered the world and with it the curse of death, decay, and destruction for all of mankind and the Earth.
Nobody really knew what sin was until God defined it through the 10 commandments that He gave to Moses, a prophet and leader of Israel. This came after God delivered His people from years of slavery in Egypt. Although there are other commandments throughout scripture, think of these 10 like moral laws. They provided a moral framework for people to live by, but they also gave mankind sort of a “measurable” standard to see their own depravity and their need for God as He alone possesses absolute moral purity.
If you have ever broken any commandments, whether you knew it or not, you have sinned. In other words, you have broken God’s law. Part of His law states that the punishment for sin is death in hell then ultimately the Lake of Fire (Romans 6:23, Luke 16, Revelation 20:14).
Breaking the law = committing a crime. When standing trial for a crime, it naturally comes with some form of judgement. In earthly judicial systems, it is possible to “get off the hook,” however in God’s court there is no such thing.
Among other character traits, God is 100% love, 100% merciful, and 100% just all at the same time. What this means is that even though He loves you, He cannot simply dismiss your crime without a just punishment. If He did that, He wouldn’t be just at all.
But what is God to do when all of mankind are guilty of sin and, yet, He still deeply loves and desires to be with us eternally?
Well, He makes a way to save us without unjustly bending the law to satisfy His desire.
That one way God made is through Jesus Christ, His Son (John 3:16, Acts 4:12, John 14:6). God takes on human form–born of a woman, fully man, and still fully God. Scriptures tell us, Jesus never sinned. Jesus, completely innocent, took on all of our sins and received judgement in our place so that through His suffering, crucifixion/death, and resurrection we will be saved.
Anyone who believes in their heart and confesses with their mouth that Jesus was raised from the dead will be saved. In other words, those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, also accept that He has paid their price for sin, and is now made innocent through His blood. Only those who accept Jesus into their lives accept this invaluable gift of acquittal according to God’s judicial system, and also get to spend eternity with Him in heaven after life on this earth. (Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-10).
Those who refuse this gift–denying Jesus Christ’s existence and refusing to give their lives to Him–are exercising their free will to choose to represent themselves in trial for their sins on judgement day when all humans will be judged by God (Hebrews 9:27, Acts 17:31, Revelation 20:12).
Remember, the only judgement for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23).
When we accept Jesus as our savior, He represents us on judgement day and declares that He has already paid the price of sin on our behalf. Therefore, we are made innocent and set free through Jesus Christ (Romans 3:21-26).
This is great news! Put another way, this is the gospel–in Greek this word is euangelion which translates to “good tidings” or “good news.”
God has 3 “entities” of His being–God the Father, God the Son who is Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Although these “entities” have their own “personalities,” they remain in unity with each other as One.
Many Christians–people who have accepted Jesus and have devoted their lives to live for Him–refer to God by His “entities.” Which brings me to my next point: God has many names with each identifying His character and reputation.
Jehovah - which is the Hebrew word יְהוָֹה, is the transliteration of meaning “the existing One.” The name Jehovah does not explicitly show up in the Bible, but it’s translated into English as “THE LORD” where this Hebrew word is used.
Jesus - “Jehovah is salvation”
Christ - “anointed”
Messiah - “anointed”
Lord - is a title of honor expressive of reverence and respect from a person who is referring to their sovereign, prince, master, or owner.
Holy Spirit - the Spirit of God who is holy.
Christianity is more than quoting the Bible or wearing clothing with printed scriptures. It is a relationship with God–a lifelong commitment to live one’s life honoring, serving, and representing Jesus. Practically, this looks like consistently studying, meditating, and living out the Word of God while intentionally striving to deepen your relationship with Him through prayer, fasting, worship, and obedience.
Christianity does not eliminate life’s challenges or sufferings, but it demands total reliance and faith in God regardless of circumstances, emotions, or anything/anyone else. It is through these hardships, Christians are refined, strengthened, and enlightened of God’s true nature and sovereign will.
Christianity is recognizing that you cannot save yourself, and are in desperate need of the Savior, Jesus Christ.
The Holy Bible, although written by men, is widely understood to be inspired by God (see 2 Timothy 3:16).
It is a collection of 66 books, originally written in 3 different languages by approximately 40 different men of various backgrounds over roughly 1500 years. Yet, from cover to cover, the entire Bible provides numerous details that all points to Jesus.
What are the odds that so many authors over such a lengthy duration of time could all independently write books that somehow have a shared underlying theme and purpose?!
I won’t pretend to be an expert on determining the Bible’s reliability, but there are many others who, thankfully, have done the legwork in researching the supporting evidence, such as theologian Wes Huff.
There are many ways you can read the holy scriptures, but I’ll share with you what I personally have found to be the best way.
Some people read the Bible–also referred to as “the Word”–randomly. Similar to playing eeny-meeny-miny-mo, they flip randomly to a page or one of the 66 books, and start reading from there. Or they may start from a particular scripture they saw on a sticker or heard in a sermon.
Random selection may work up to a point, but it may not suffice as you mature in the faith.
The Bible is all about Jesus, and we really should read it to get to know Him better. Just like reading any other book from cover-to-cover tees us up to better understand it’s message, I believe we should read the Bible the same.
Start reading from the book of Genesis and slowly make your way through to Revelation. Intentional emphasis on slowly because the Word is too good to blow past like a tornado–you’ll miss way too much.
Reading the Bible not only teaches us more about Jesus, but it also transforms us by renewing our minds with Truth.
With multiple points in history, various cultural nuances, and three different original languages, understanding the Word may prove to be challenging. However, I’ll share below what I use.
Part 1 - The Bible is a library (5:15 timestamp)
Part 2 - The Bible is all about Jesus (6:47 time stamp)
Part 3 - How to study the Bible (7:20 time stamp)
Part 4 - Common mistakes people make reading the Bible (4:33 time stamp)
Part 5 - How to hear God’s voice through the Bible (9:41 time stamp)
This is the best and most important decision you can ever make in your life! As I’ve said earlier, Christianity doesn’t eliminate life’s challenges or hardships but, let me tell you, living life with Jesus is SO much better than doing life without. And that’s any day of the week!
Becoming a Christian starts by believing in Jesus from your heart. After, you confess with your mouth that Jesus, the Son of God, was crucified on a cross for our sins, died, and rose to life on the third day after His death (Romans 10:4-13).
You can do this by talking to God, which is prayer. Because He’s everywhere at all times (omnipresent) and He knows all things (omniscient), He has already heard you.
Sounds so simple right? Yet, it is so much more profound. You now have a new life in Christ Jesus that establishes a relationship with your Creator who will continuously transform you.
With His help, you can completely turn away from your previous life of sin, and live for Him following His commands as outlined in His Word/Bible. In other words, living a life of repentance.
God, and the angels, are literally rejoicing (Luke 15).
You have now departed the kingdom of darkness, and have chosen to enter into the kingdom of light. This new citizenship has naturalized you from American, Australian, etc. to Christian. You are now adopted into the royal family of our Lord Jesus (Galatians 4:1-7).
Get connected with other Christians–also referred to as the body of Christ. Pray and ask God to lead you to the church He wants you to attend.
Once you find it, and if you haven’t already, you should make a public declaration to the world and all of heaven about your new life in Jesus, through baptism.
Baptism symbolizes the spiritual transformation of you passing from death to life in Jesus through immersion in water (Romans 6:1-4).
For the rest of your life, nurture your relationship with Jesus through reading/studying/meditating the Bible and praying daily; and obedience. The Lord will lead you faithfully since no one desires for you to live a fruitful Christian life more than Jesus does!
This is where your true purpose in life lies.
