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why jesus?
By Nicky Gumbel

What Is It All About?

Relationships are exciting! They are the most important aspect of our lives: our relationships with our parents, boyfriend or girlfriend, husband or wife, children, grandchildren, friends, coworkers, and so on. Christianity is first and foremost about relationships rather than rules. It's about a Person more than a philosophy. It is about the most important relationship of all: our relationship with the God who made us. Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is to love God. The second is to love our neighbor. So it is also about our relationship with other people.

Why Do We Need Him?

You and I were created to live in a relationship with God. Until we find that relationship there will always be something missing in our lives. As a result, we are often aware of a gap. One rock singer described it by saying, 'I’ve got a deep emptiness inside.' A housewife, in a letter to me, wrote of a deep, deep void. Another girl spoke of a chunk missing in her soul. People try to fill this emptiness in various ways. Some try to close the gap with money, but that does not satisfy. Aristotle Onassis, who was one of the richest men in the world, said at the end of his life, 'Millions do not always add up to what a man needs out of life.' Others try drugs or alcohol abuse or sexual promiscuity. One girl said, 'These things provide instant gratification, but they leave you feeling hollow afterwards.' Still others try hard work, music, sports, while others seek success.

There may not be anything wrong with these in themselves, but they do not satisfy that hunger deep inside of every human being. Even the closest human relationships, wonderful though they are, do not in themselves satisfy this emptiness deep inside. Nothing will fill this gap except the relationship with God for which we were made. According to the New Testament, the reason for this emptiness is that men and women have turned their backs on God. Jesus said, 'I am the bread of life' (John 6:35). He is the only one who can satisfy our deepest hunger. because He is the one who makes it possible for us to be restored to a relationship with God. He satisfies our hunger for meaning and purpose in life.

At some point everyone asks questions like, 'What am I doing on Earth? What is the point of life? Is there any purpose in life?' As the philosopher Albert once said, 'Man cannot live without meaning.' Until we are in a relationship with God we will never find the true meaning and purpose in life. Other things may provide passing satisfaction, but it does not last. Only in a relationship with our Creator do we find the true meaning and purpose for our lives. He satisfies our hunger for life beyond death.

Before I was a Christian I did not think about the subject of death. My own death seemed a long way in the future. I didn’t know what would happen and I didn’t want to think about it. I was failing to face up to reality. The fact is that we will all die. Yet the Bible says, 'He has also set eternity in the hearts of men' (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Most people don’t want to die. We long to survive beyond death. Only in Jesus Christ do we find eternal life, for our relationship with God, which starts now, survives death, and goes on into eternity. He satisfies our hunger for forgiveness.

If we are honest, we would have to admit that we all do things that we know are wrong. Sometimes we do things for which we are deeply ashamed. More than that, there is a self-centeredness about our lives which spoils them. Jesus said, 'What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean.' For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.

Our greatest need is for forgiveness. Just as a man who has cancer needs a doctor whether he realizes it or not, so we need forgiveness whether we realize it or not. Just as with cancer, the man who recognizes his need is far better off than the person who is lulled into a false sense of security. By his death on the cross Jesus made it possible for us to be forgiven and brought back into relationship with God. In this way He supplied the answer to our greatest need.

Why Bother with Jesus?
Why should we bother with Christianity? The simple answer is because it is true. If Christianity is not true, we are wasting our time. If it is true, then it must be of vital importance to every human being. But how do we know it is true?

We can test the claims of Christianity because it is a historical faith. It is based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our faith is based on firm historical evidence.

Who is Jesus?
Jesus is the most remarkable man who ever lived. He is the centerpiece of our civilization. After all, we call what happened before Him and what happened after Him AD and BC. Jesus was and is the Son of God. Some people think He is just a good religious teacher. However, that suggestion just does not fit with the facts.

His Claims
Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, on an equal footing with God. He assumed the authority to forgive sins. He said that one day He would judge the world, and that what would matter then would be how we had responded to Him in this life. As author Lewis wrote in ‘Mere Christianity’, 'A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher, he would either be a lunatic-on the level of a man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the devil of hell.' You must make your choice. Either this man was and is the Son of God, or a madman or something worse...but don't come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He hasn't left that open to us. He didn’t intend to.

His Character
Many people who do not profess to be Christians regard Jesus as the supreme example of a selfless life. The Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, himself a Christian said, 'I believe there is no one lovelier, deeper, more sympathetic and more perfect than Jesus. I say to myself, with jealous love, that not only is there no one else like him but there could never be anyone like him.' As far as Jesus teaching is c oncerned, there seems to be a general agreement that it is the purest and best ever to have fallen from the lips of man. As Lewis put it in “Surprised by Joy,” 'It seems obvious that he was neither a lunatic nor a fiend; and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that he was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.

His Conquest of Death
The evidence for the physical resurrection is very strong indeed. When the disciples went to the tomb, they found the grave clothes had collapsed, and Jesus' body was gone. In the next six weeks, He was seen by over 550 people on 11 different occasions. The disciples' lives were transformed, and the Christian church was born and grew at a dynamic rate. A former Lord Chief Justice of England, Lord Darling, said of the Resurrection, “In its favor as living truth there exists such an overwhelming evidence, positive and negative, factual and circumstantial, that no intelligent jury in the world could fail to bring a verdict that the Resurrection story is true. The only satisfactory explanation for these facts is that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead and thus confirm that He was, and is, the Son of God."

Why Did He Come to Earth?
Jesus is the only man who has ever chosen to be born, and He is one of the few who has chosen to die. He said that the entire reason for His coming was to die for us.

'The Son of Man [came]...to give his life as a ransom for many' (Mark 10:45). From what we know of the crucifixion, it was one of the cruelest forms of death known to man. Cicero, a first-century Roman statesman, described it as the most cruel and hideous of tortures. Jesus would have been flogged with a whip of several strands of leather weighted with pieces of metal and bone. According to Eusebius, a third-century historian, “The sufferers veins were laid bare, and the very muscles, sinews, and bowels of the victim were opened to exposure. He was then forced to carry a six-foot beam until he collapsed. When he reached the site of execution, His hands and feet were nailed to the cross with six inch nails. He was left to hang for hours of excruciating pain. Yet the New Testament makes it clear that there was something worse for Jesus than the physical and emotional pain: that was the spiritual anguish of being separated from God as He carried all our sins.

Why did He die?
Jesus said He died instead of us. The word instead of. He did it because He loves us and did not want us to have to pay the penalty for all the things that we have done wrong. On the cross, He was effectively saying, 'I will take all those wrong things on myself.' He did it for you and He did it for me. If you or I had been the only person in the world, He would have done it for us. The apostle Paul wrote of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:20)

It was out of love for us that He gave His life as a ransom. The word ransom comes from the slave market. A kind man might buy a slave and set him or her free but first he had to pay the ransom price. Jesus paid, by His blood on the cross, the ransom price to set us free. But, freedom from what? Freedom from Guilt. Whether we feel guilty or not, we are all guilty before God because of the many times we have broken His laws in thought, word, or deed. Just as when someone commits a crime there is a penalty to be paid, so there is a penalty for breaking God’s spiritual laws. The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). The result of the things we do wrong is spiritual death: being cut off from God forever. We all deserve that penalty. On the cross, Jesus took the penalty in our place so that we could be totally forgiven and our guilt could be taken away.

Freedom from Addiction
The things we do wrong are like an addiction. Jesus said, 'Everyone who sins is a slave to sin' (John 8:34). Jesus died to set us free from that slavery. On the cross, the power of this addiction was broken. Although we may still fall from time to time, the power of this addiction is broken when Jesus sets us free. That is why Jesus went on to say, 'If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed' (John 8:36).

Freedom from Fear
Jesus came so that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death (that is, the devil) and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death (Hebrews 2:14,15). We need no longer fear death. Death is not the end for those whom Jesus has set free. Rather, it is the gateway to heaven, where we will be free from even the presence of sin. When Jesus set us free from the fear of death, He also set us free from all other fears. But, freedom from what? Jesus is no longer physically on this earth, but He has not left us alone. He sent His Holy Spirit to be with us. When His Spirit comes to live within us, He gives us a new freedom.

Freedom to Know God
The things we do wrong cause a barrier between us and God. Your iniquities have separated you from your God (Isaiah 59:2). When Jesus died on the cross, He removed the barrier that was between us and God. As a result, He has made it possible for us to have a relationship with our Creator. We became His sons and daughters. The Spirit assures us of this relationship, and He helps us to know God better. He helps us pray and to understand God’s Word (the Bible).

Freedom to Love
We love because he first loved us (I John 4:19). As we look at the cross we understand God's love for us. When the Spirit of God comes to live within us, we experience that love. As we do so, we receive a new love for God and for other people. We are set free to live a life of love - to live a life centered around loving and serving other people, rather than a life centered around ourselves.

Freedom to Change
People sometimes say, 'You are what you are. You can not change.' The good news is that with the help of the Spirit we can change. The Holy Spirit gives us the freedom to live the sort of lives that, deep down, we have always wanted to live. The apostle Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). When we ask the Spirit of God to come and live within us, these wonderful characteristics begin to grow in our lives.

Why Not?
So, God offers us forgiveness and freedom in Christ Jesus and His Spirit to live within us. All this is a gift from God. When someone offers us a present, we have a choice. We can accept it, open it, and enjoy it, or we can refuse the gift and say, 'No, thank you.' Sadly, many people make excuses for not accepting the gift God offers. Here are some of the excuses:

I have no need of God. When people say this, they usually mean they are quite happy without God. What they fail to realize is that our greatest need is not happiness; it is forgiveness. It takes a very proud person to say he or she has no need of forgiveness. We all need to be forgiven. Without forgiveness we are in serious trouble. For God is not only our loving Father, He is also a righteous judge. Either we accept what Jesus has done for us on the cross, or else one day we will pay the just penalty ourselves for the things we have done wrong.

There is too much to give up! Sometimes, God puts His finger on something in our lives that we know is wrong and that we would need to give up if we want to enjoy this relationship with God through Jesus. But we need to remember:

* God loves us. He only asks us to give up things that do us harm. If my children are playing with a carving knife I would tell them to stop-not because I want to ruin their fun, but because I don’t want them to get hurt.

* What we give up is nothing compared to what we receive. The cost on not becoming a Christian is far greater than the cost of becoming a Christian.

* What we give up is nothing compared to what Jesus gave up for us when he died on the cross.

There must be a catch! Sometimes, people find it hard to accept that there is anything free in this life. They think it all sounds too easy. Therefore, they think there must be some hidden trap or catch. However, what they fail to realize is that, although it is free for us, it was not free for Jesus. He paid dearly for it with His own blood. It is easy for us. But it was not easy for Him.

I’m not good enough. None of us is good enough. Nor can we make ourselves good enough for God. But that is why Jesus came. He made it possible for God to accept us just as we are, whatever we have done, and however much of a mess we have made of our lives.

I could never keep it up. We are right to think we could never keep it up-we cannot, by ourselves. But the Spirit of God, who comes to live within us, gives us the power and the strength to keep going as Christians.

l’ll do it later. This is perhaps the most common excuse. Sometimes people say, it’s true-but I am not ready. They put it off. The longer we put it off, the harder it becomes and the more we miss out. We never know whether or not we will get another opportunity. Speaking for myself, my only regret is that I did not accept the gift earlier.

What Do We Have to Do?
The New Testament makes it clear that we have to do something to accept the gift that God offers. This is an act of faith. The disciple John writes, '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' (John 3:16). Believing involves an act of faith, based on all that we know about Jesus. It is not blind faith. It is putting our trust in a Person. In some ways it is like the step of faith taken by a bride and a bridegroom when they say their vows on their wedding day.

The way people take this step of faith varies enormously, but I want to describe one way in which you can take this step of faith right now. It can be summarized by three very simple words: You have to ask God to forgive you for all the things you have done wrong and turn from everything that you know is wrong in your life. This is what the Bible means by repentance. You believe that Jesus died for you on the cross. You need to thank Him for dying for you and for the offer of His free gifts of forgiveness, freedom, and His Spirit. God never forces His way into our lives. You need to accept His gift and invite Him to come and live within you by His Spirit. If you would like to have a relationship with God and you are ready to say these three things, then here is a very simple prayer you can pray that will be the start of that relationship:

Lord Jesus Christ,
I am sorry for the things I have done wrong in my life. (Take a few minutes to ask His forgiveness for anything in particular that is on your conscience.) Please forgive me. I now turn from everything that I know is wrong. Thank you that you died on the cross for me so that I could be forgiven and set free. Thank you that you offer me forgiveness and the gift of your Spirit. I now receive that gift. Please come into my life by your Holy Spirit, to be with me forever. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Amen.

What Now?
Tell someone. It is important to tell someone in order to underline the decision you have made. Often it is only when you tell someone else that it becomes a reality to you. It is probably best to start by telling someone who you think will be pleased to hear the news!

Read the Bible.
Once we have received Jesus and put our trust in Him, we become children of God (John 1:12). He is our heavenly Father. Like any father, He wants us to have a close relationship with Him. We develop this relationship as we listen to Him (primarily through the Bible) and as we speak to Him in prayer. The Bible is the Word of God, and you might find it helpful to begin by reading a few verses of John’s gospel (the fourth book of the New Testament) every day. Ask God to speak to you as you read. Speak to God. Start to speak to God each day in prayer. The following guidelines may be helpful.

A- Adoration.
Praising God for who He is and what He has done.

C- Confession.
Asking God’s forgiveness for anything we have done wrong.

T- Thanksgiving.
Thanking God for His blessings, such as health, family, friends, etc.

S- Supplication.
Praying for ourselves, for our friends, and for others.

Join a lively church. Church is essentially a gathering of Christians who get together to worship God, to hear what God is saying to them, to encourage one another, and to make friends. It should be a very exciting place to be! I first prayed a prayer like the one above on February 16, 1974. It changed my life. It is the best and most important thing I have ever done. I trust that it will be the same for you!

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putting it all together:

AN INVESTMENT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER

People are always asking us questions in life. Some of the questions are annoying. Some are important. Some are both. The following questions might be of the “both” variety to you, but I invite you to consider them.

1. What is your purpose for living?

2. Have you come to a place in your spiritual life where you know for certain that when you die, you will spend eternity in heaven?

3. If you were to die today and stand before God, and he were to say to you, “Why should I let you into my heaven?”, what would you respond?

4. What is your purpose for living? Our answers to that question vary greatly, a basic thread runs through most. We tend to sum up our purpose for living in terms of money, or success, or family, or health, or happiness.

And yet for our many responses, all but one will leave us ultimately empty. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that at some point in time, all of us will die, but after that there will be judgment. As varied as our answers are, as varied as our lifestyles are, we all share one common denominator: sooner or later, we are going to die. Then what?

Genesis 1:27 tells us we were created in the image of God! Our purpose for living is summed up in why God created us! We were created to have a relationship with God himself...to know His peace, His love, His direction in all that we do! So what went wrong?

Obviously, the emptiness of many lives reflects nothing of fellowship with God. Why not, if God designed life to be that way? The answer is that man rebelled against God; man sinned. Adam and Eve started it all (Genesis 3), but Romans 3:3 makes it clear that all of us have sinned; and the penalty of sin is death; not just physical death, but spiritual death! (Romans 6:23) Have you come to place in your spiritual life where you know for certain when you (physically) die, you will spend eternity in heaven?

It is possible to know you know! And the key to that certainty is reflected in your answer and my answer to the final question. If you should die today and stand before God, and He were to ask you, ”Why should I let you into my heaven?”, what would you say?

Our typical answer to that question falls in two categories

1. I don’t know?!
2. Because I’ve tried to lead a good life, not harm others etc.

The problem with the first answer is obvious. The problem with the second answer is that such fails to realize who God really is! God is holy; and therefore no one could ever be good enough to enter heaven or live in right relationship with God. ..Unless of course, he had never sinned! But we have! Psychologists tell us that we think at least 10,000 thoughts a day. If you live 70 years, that’s at least 255 million thoughts! If only one of those thoughts were impure, that would be one too many for a holy God! So how in the world can we know God, live in the right relationship to Him, and know hope of heaven? We can because God is not only holy; God is also love! He loves us! Now God in love can’t simply say, Hey, you’ve sinned, you’ve rebelled against me, but I love you so much, that’s OK. He is holy!

So how did a holy, loving God deal with the dilemma? He did so by sending His Son to take the penalty of our sin! Jesus Christ, the sinless Son of God, came to this earth and died on a cross, taking the penalty of our sin! And He rose again from the dead, thus defeating the consequences of sin: death, forever! And because He died and rose again, we can have a brand new relationship with God himself through Jesus! (Check out these verses: John 3:16, Romans 5:8, Romans 5:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17).

So how do we receive this gift of eternal life beginning now in terms of our new relationship with God? We do so by...believing that Jesus as Son of God, died for our sins, and was raised to new life (believe the facts about what God has done for us through Jesus). We do so by...admitting that we are sinners and unable to do anything in ourselves to secure right relationship with God and hope of heaven (Ephesians 2:8,9).We do so by...accepting God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ for ourselves. A pardon is only good if one accepts it! (Romans 10:9, 10). To receive God's gift of salvation through Jesus Christ does not mean that life will contain no more problems. It does mean that the peace of God will be yours (Romans 5:1), and that God by His Spirit dwelling in you will give you strength to deal with life from a whole new (eternal) perspective. (II Corinthians 1:21).

You can make that decision to accept God's gift and have assurance of eternal life right now. It is not our desire to pressure you. This is worthy of your serious consideration and time. But we believe it is absolutely the most important decision you can ever make. ..for it is a matter of LIFE! Below is listed a prayer to receive Christ. There is no magic in the prayer and you may want to use your own words. We simply print it to give you some direction in sealing your decision.

Thank you for allowing us to share our greatest concern with you! ! ! Dear Heavenly Father, I know that I am a sinner, and that my life is empty and without ultimate purpose or direction. I know that I can't save myself or do anything good enough to deserve your acceptance of me or relationship with me. But, I also know that you sent your Son to die for me and take care of the penalty of sin and death which I deserved. So I simply accept what you have done for me through Jesus. I accept your forgiveness of my sins, attitudes and actions. Thank you for making me a new person in you! In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

Now what?
If you have entered into a relationship with God by inviting Christ into your life, the Bible says you are a new person! (II Corinthians 5:17) You have not "added" Jesus to your life; you have exchanged your way of living for God's way of living in you! Before any of us came to know Christ, three things were true of us:

1. Our spirits were dead. Like a dead battery we were disconnected from God. He made us. He loved us. But we had no relationship.

2. Our minds were distorted. Seeing things God's way didn't make sense. We lived for our own purposes, but those purposes were ultimately dead ends. They weren't "big enough to" to give us peace.

3. Our bodies were dying. In fact, from the time we are born our bodies are beginning to die. Now isn't that a pleasant thought! But when we accept Christ, all those areas of our life become "new:

1. Our spirit comes alive. We are now connected with God, through Christ Jesus!

2. Our mind is renewed. We can begin to understand God's perspective...the Bible begins to make sense!

3. Our body, though still dying, will one day be given new life as a glorified body in heaven...and strength is available for our body until we die through prayer and healing. As a "new" person with a "new" perspective here are a couple of "new" things you will want to do!

1. Tell someone about your new relationship with God. You might want to start with a friend, neighbor, relative, or coworker who is a Christian.

2. Begin to read the Bible and to pray. God's Spirit is alive in you and He will help you understand. You may want to start by reading in the New Testament with the first four books; each of them is an account of Jesus' life. Then read Acts (the history of the early church) and then Romans (a summary of the Christian life, but with some sections that are pretty tough to grasp). After that, you might want to go back to the first book in the Bible: Genesis. And by the time you get that far hopefully you will be involved with other Christians who can help you go from there.

3. Find a church to be a part of. Church is a place where you can grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ and bring friends. It is a place where you can begin to understand more about being a Christian. Don't worry that it all seems new; everybody starts as a baby Christian and at church you will learn what it takes to grow! The church is an authentic place where you can continue to ask questions too, tough questions about life and love and suffering that weren't addressed in this bri ef article.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. The investment we are asking you to consider is huge. It is the most important commitment you will ever consider. So we understand why you would take time to wrestle it through. Please do so! And know that we are praying for those who read this: that the "truth" of life in Christ will set them free!

We believe the Bible to be God's Word to us! All that we have shared has not been our own opinion, but validated by God's Word, the Bible. We encourage you to "look it up!"

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