I was speaking with a young Christian lady this afternoon about her faith. From the conversation I gathered that she wasn't very sure about what she believed. Her faith seemed to be defined by what she is doing on a regular basis. She admitted to being water baptised twice, once as a child and later in life. She also confessed to attending church regularly. However, without trying to put her on the spot, I questioned her about what she, any Christian for that matter, would say if prompted to give an answer as to what the Gospel is or why a person needed to be saved by Jesus Christ? She really didn't know. These are questions that I had to answer myself. Many Christians identify their faith through the prism of the denomination they or their family have been affiliated with their entire lives. But, beyond that I wonder how many of these people really know Jesus or why mankind needs saving. We all fear being put on the spot because it is then that we fear our shortcomings will be exposed. It is similar to the fear many have about public speaking. When all eyes are on us it is as if our true lack of understanding will be come out.
We are all familiar with people like Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil, Larry King, Jay Leno or David Letterman. All of them have successful talk shows where the primary focus is interviewing people about what they believe or what they are promoting. Imagine if you, as a Christian, were being interviewed on one of these programs about your faith. Would you be scared that your faith would be exposed as superficial and perhaps fraudulent? I can't say I wouldn't be very nervous. The last thing we want to do is be seen as "letting God down" or disappointing Him or those we love and respect. I could see it now:
Host: "Our next guest is here to talk about their faith in Jesus Christ."
Host: "Welcome to the show."
You: "Thank you."
Then the rapid fire questions begin...
Host: "What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ?"
Host: "Why is Jesus the only way to God? Aren't all religions basically saying the same thing?"
Host: "If God is so loving, why does He send people to Hell?"
I think you get the picture. These can be some tough questions, but ones we need to be prepared to answer BEFORE we are put on the spot. If we can't answer these questions confidently and with certainty we need to start questioning what it is we have put our faith in and if we are truly saved!
"Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter,and then to the Twelve." 1 Corinthians 15:1-5
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the Gospel. All Christians claim to believe in in it, but do all of us know what it means to us and to the rest of the world? Knowing what Christ has done for us is not only the key to our lives as believers, but is at the center of being able to sit on that couch in front of the world and tell millions of viewers the answers to those important questions.
While we may be able to answer that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is His death, burial and resurrection, we need to go further and explain what it means. Jesus had to die because, contrary to popular belief, mankind is not created in the image of God. Adam was created in the image of God, with the life of God indwelling him, but he sinned before he and Eve had any children. Therefore, all of us, mankind, are born in the image of Adam. We are spiritually dead to God without His life indwelling us. Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, is the only man ever born with a life to give that would satisfy God's requirement of shed blood needed to take away our sins. This is why no other religious icon, leader, supposed prophet or system of laws and regulations can do for us that which only Jesus was uniquely qualified to accomplish. Mankind needs life. Buddha can't give you life. Moses can't give you life. Mohammad can't give you life. The Pope can't give you life. Your best efforts at upholding your specific religion can't give you life. The only life available to us is the resurrected life of Jesus Christ.
God, in His love for mankind, desired to once again indwell mankind like He did before Adam sinned, the Fall of Man. The death of Jesus Christ cleared the way for God to offer His life again to all mankind. The reason being is that since sin, lack of faith in God, caused God to remove His life from Adam it was necessary for God to deal with sin once and for all so that His life could never be removed again. Therefore, when a person realizes that they are spiritually dead in their sins and accepts the gift of life made available through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there is no sin that will cause that life to ever leave again. That is why the life a believer has is called an eternal life. That is a life that will carry the individual believer from the day they accept Christ through their natural life and on into eternity.
In essence, all religions are the same because they all require human effort to reach up to God. Hopefully, in our attempts to reach up to God, we will realize that we cannot. Therefore, we will be humbled enough to turn to Christ and accept His offer of eternal life and forgiveness. What greater example of love do we have than what God did for us in the Person of Jesus Christ? Hell is not some place a loving God sends people. Hell is a place people go to because they choose to remain dead in their sins, without the life of God indwelling them. God is not going to drag you into His presence if you do not want to be there. He loves an unbeliever enough to do for them what they cannot do for themselves, in Christ. Yet, He respects them enough to honor their choice to remain apart from Him. If they want to remain apart from God in this life, He will allow them to remain apart from Him throughout eternity. The problem is that since He is God He sets the conditions. His only requirement is faith in Jesus Christ and His death, burial and resurrection.
Most of us won't get the opportunity to contend for the faith on a nationally televised talk show in front of millions of viewers. Any chance we get to share our faith will come in those everyday moments as we go about our lives. Regardless, if we don't know the answers to these questions we won't know if we are even saved much less be able to give a reason for the hope that we have to those we encounter. When we know why Jesus came, why He is the only way to the Father and what His indwelling life means to us, we then will find the desire, motivation and, most importantly, the confidence to share the Gospel. Our Christian experience will not be defined by a shared religious experience. It will be defined by our understanding of, and faith in, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Once this happens we will not have any fear being the guest and answering questions about our God and Savior.
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