Have you ever wondered if there is more to life than mere survival? Does the passing of years and watching friends and family grow old ever provoke the question, is there more to our existence than being born, only to die? What is the purpose of life? What is salvation? How do we explain the sheer insanity that is prevailing in society today? Are we living a lie?
Is there more? Were the ancient civilisations correct in their understanding of life from a perspective greater than themselves, a spiritual dimension? What if life has a greater purpose and significance than repetitive chaos and empty gratification? Could the concept of eternity be true? What is true love? What does it mean if I have a spirit? For thousands of years, mankind has been aware of the spiritual realm and seeking to understand truth from a spiritual perspective.
Material Philosophy
Since the modern era, material philosophy has significantly influenced society, causing us to slowly drift away from spiritualism to “can-you-prove-it” scientific materialism. The philosophical question of what is of ultimate value is degraded, by putting material measures on aspects of life that cannot be measured that way. The inherent worth of an individual cannot be measured in material terms. This is at the root of so much of history’s injustice and abuse of people. As man has advanced in scientific knowledge, we have failed to answer the timeless questions of the unseen world. This absence of spiritual understanding has led to us adopting belief systems where there can simply be no meaning, value or purpose in life. Many believe life is a random existence and living for the moment is all there is. Sadly, many people never even think about this at all. Let me share my faith and Biblical worldview with you.
At the heart of the Bible is the story of God’s love for us and His desire for reconciliation with us as sons and daughters.
God created mankind as spiritual beings in His image and likeness, distinguishing us from the animal kingdom. He created us for fellowship, to worship and to be part of His spiritual family. He also gave us a body and soul with free will (the ability to choose to believe Him or reject Him; the freedom to obey Him or disobey Him). This freedom is part of the true nature of goodness and love.
Evil, Sin and the Fall of Man
Evil entered the world through Satan, an angel that tried to overthrow God’s sovereignty, who God then cast out of heaven. Sin entered the world when Satan tempted Adam and Eve (the first of all human beings), who disobeyed God, resulting in the fall of mankind. The consequence of the fall was that we lost our position and authority in God’s divine order, due to sin separating us from God. Even as God sent Adam and Eve out of Eden, He declared the future hope of redemption in Christ. God had a plan to save us.
Our separation from God will become permanent on the day God brings His final judgement as He establishes justice and order through His righteousness. It was not God’s desire for Adam and Eve to fall into sin, they freely chose this path due to disobedience leading to rebellion.
Through choosing to disobey God, man forced his separation from God, a self-imposed death sentence like that of Satan.
Under the influence of evil, and separated from God, mankind failed throughout the generations to live righteously and seek out God. Except for a few who God considered righteous and of faith, mankind had fallen into total depravity. Yet man inherently would worship other gods and spiritual forms through idolatry. Our ability to worship something is built into our DNA.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God — Romans 3:23
The bad news is that we are all born sinners and without salvation, we will be condemned to complete eternal separation from God on the final day of His righteous judgement.
God’s Plan for Redemption
God in His mercy, chose Israel as His people, in order to reveal Himself and His ways to the world through them. God did this through a covenant with Abraham (a man of faith) and the establishment of the law later through Moses. The law was God’s plan to highlight the sin, separation and fall of humanity, and to ultimately point us to the need for eternal redemption through God’s Son, the Messiah – Jesus Christ. Along with the prophets, the law pointed to the need for the sacrifice of an innocent Lamb (the Son of God) as the substitution for the sin of all mankind. Then one day, a child was born of a virgin, and He was called Jesus the Christ.
God’s motive is love!!
Historical evidence proves beyond a doubt, that Jesus lived as a man, was persecuted, killed by crucifixion and was raised from the dead as the Bible reveals. The multiple eyewitnesses who documented this would stand as solid evidence in court today. The New Testament in the Bible is based on several of these Holy Spirit inspired letters and eyewitness testimonies.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life — John 3:16
Jesus is the Lamb that was slain and laid down His life for us so that those who choose to believe in Him and follow Him will have eternal life. He did this before you and I were born, knowing that we could freely reject Him and His grace. Jesus endured the brutal crucifixion for the joy set before Him of His and our reconciliation with God our Father. Following Jesus, is not a religion, it is a personal relationship with God through His Son and the Holy Spirit.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me — John 14:6
The reason that the only way to receive salvation is through Jesus, is because He was the only man who endured what He did, without sinning. He had to live a sinless life as a man, but then He also had to choose to lay His life down for us and forgive us. At any point, Jesus could have said No! Mankind born of the bloodline of Adam could never qualify, so Jesus’ conception was supernatural – Mary being a virgin. No man has ever lived, other than Jesus, without sin in his life, let alone be willing to lay his life down for those who rejected and hated him. He is the only way; we are incapable of saving ourselves.
Salvation is by grace, through faith
Other Prophets vs Jesus
Many people argue that there were other great prophets and that Jesus was just one of them. The difference between Jesus and the other prophets is that He proclaimed to be the Son of God. He proclaimed that He would die and be resurrected. He performed countless miracles testifying to His divine nature. What He claimed was in line with the major prophetic writings that bore witness to the Son of God, hundreds of years before He was born. God Himself bore witness to Jesus being His Son.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord — Romans 6:23
Unlike many religions, God revealed Himself to mankind. He was not an idea or philosophy of mankind that then made him god. Mankind did not make Him our Saviour for the need of religion, God Himself, declared Jesus as His Son. In fact, many rejected Him, especially the religious, until He rose again from the grave. Jesus, as He foretold, was resurrected from the dead and later ascended to heaven in front of many witnesses. All the other prophets are dead. Christianity is entirely based on faith in what happened while Jesus walked as a man on earth, from the testimony of those who witnessed these events. It is also faith in who He is today. He reigns from His throne as Lord and King, waiting to return and gather those who are His.
The Way, the Truth and Life
Jesus is the way, the truth and life. He is God’s rescue plan for mankind. Jesus in His death asked God to forgive us. All who choose to believe that Jesus is the way and that He died for us, those who choose to believe and confess Him as Lord – these are the sons and daughters of God. It requires faith!! You have to believe Him, this is the only way to receive His grace. There is plenty of evidence witnessing to what happened around His life on earth, yet many still choose to deny and reject Him. As with Adam and Eve, our soul and flesh war against our spirit and God’s Truth in life. This rebellion without Jesus leads to death.
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. – 1 Timothy 2:3-4
In believing that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour, we need to repent of our sins and commit to following Him. There is a real cost in terms of this commitment.
When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. – Mark 8:34–35
Where Do You Stand?
If you are seeking the truth in life, would you consider that Jesus is the answer? If you have never known Jesus, would you consider the choice you need to make? The choice to accept Jesus into your life is not about the church, religion or anyone’s experience in knowing Him – it is a relationship through a covenant with Jesus. To receive Jesus as Lord, requires we humble ourselves by the conviction of the Gospel and repent for the sin in our lives, and our sinful nature. It begins with repentance (turning away from sin and evil) and leads to salvation (accepting Christ by faith) and believing in His sanctification and justification. We are saved by grace through faith – in other words, we cannot earn salvation by our works, it is a gift from God.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved — John 3:17
The fruit of knowing Him is love, joy, freedom, peace, goodness and hope. He seeks a relationship. He is real, His Spirit is real. He washes our sins away, and He gives us the assurance that when we die, we will be in heaven. He provides us with the meaning and purpose of life here on earth.
Below is a link to a prayer guide to salvation you can pray (read it out). It is a guideline, as the matter is between you and Jesus. Jesus is the one who saves you, not a prayer or confession. It requires faith in Him through the Word and the Holy Spirit. Ask Him into your life – He is waiting with love, open arms, and looking forward to freeing you from the weight of your sin and the darkness of this world. He is loving and good and rejoices over those who repent of their sins and who ask Him into their life. He came to the world to set us free from the bondage of sin and to give us eternal life. He stands at the door to your heart and knocks – will you let Him in.
