| Jesus
Is God
Jesus
is God! He is eternally equal in every way to the
Father! He simply became a man so He could die for
our sins, but He never stopped being God!
And
Thomas answered and said unto Him: "My Lord and
my God." Jesus said to him: "Because
you have seen Me you have believed. Blessed are
they who have not seen Me and yet have believed."John
20:28-29
(Also
see John 1:1; 8:58; 10:30; I Timothy 3:16;
Titus 2:13; Colossians 2:2 Hebrews 1:8)
Those
who deny the divinity of Jesus will receive eternal
condemnation. Jesus said:
You
are from beneath; I am from above. You are of
this world, I am not of this world. I said
therefore unto you that you shall die in your sins,
for if you believe not that I am He, you shall die in
your sins.John
8:23-24
(Also
see John 11:25-27; 20:31; Acts 9:30; 16:30-31; 1
John 5:13)
Why
Did God Become A Man?
We
have learned in previous pages that because God is
infinitely Holy, even the smallest sin is infinitely
offensive to Him. As a result, an infinite payment
must be made for the sins of each and every
person. Now there are two ways by which an
infinite payment can be offered: a finite person could
suffer God's wrath for an infinite period of time, or an
infinite person could suffer God's wrath for a finite
period of time. Both yield an infinite payment for
sin.
- Man,
who is finite, would therefore have to suffer God's
wrath for infinity if he were to pay for his own
sins. That is why hell is eternal.
- Jesus
Christ, the infinite God in human form, would only
have to suffer God's wrath a finite amount of time
to provide an infinite payment for sin. Since
He is God, the suffering He endured on the cross was
a sacrifice of infinite value. Therefore, His
death made available the infinite payment necessary
to pay for the sins of all men throughout all ages.
An
infinite payment must be made for every man's
sins. God allows each person to decide which
payment plan he prefers . . . Jesus Christ, or eternity
in hell.
Faith:
MAN'S RESPONSE TO CHRIST
Jesus
did all the work necessary to save man from his
sins. However, before we can experience the
benefits which God had provided through Christ's death
on the cross, God requires that we believe (trust) in
Jesus and what He as accomplished.
Knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law,
but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed on
Christ Jesus that we might be justified by faith in
Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the
works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
Galatians 2:16
For
God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whosoever believes on Him will not perish,
but have everlasting life. John 3:16
(In
fact, there are over 160 verses in the New Testament
which declare that the only condition for receiving
eternal life is faith in Jesus Christ. Among them
are John 1:7; 1:12; 3:18; 5:24; 6:29, etc.)
Faith
(Trust) Is The Hand By Which We Reach Out And Accept The
Eternal Life Offered Freely In Jesus Christ.
For
since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom
did not know God, it pleased God through the
foolishness of the message preached to save those who
believe.
I Corinthians 1:21
|
