The Reasons Why We Need Jesus
Junior Level
If you died tonight, would you go to Heaven or Hell? Whichever one you answered, how do you know you will go there? Most people say they think they will go to Heaven and sadly those who think and believe that they will get there because they think themselves a good person. Today we are going to study how to present this question to ourselves and other people not my challenging their intellect about God, but by getting into the hearts where the seed of God can be planted. I hope you will gain as much insight as I have about this as you read. God Bless you all.
Handout: The Reasons Why We Need Jesus
Luke 18:15-23
“And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother. And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up. Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.”
What would you say to someone if they asked you that question? If someone asked you, How do I inherit eternal life, what would you tell them? So many people think that they will get into Heaven because they are a good person. This was the case with this ruler. Jesus asks him, do you know the commandments/laws of God? And the ruler says, yes, I have been good all my life keep all these. However, Jesus said you are lacking in one area though.
What do you suppose Jesus was doing? Was he telling this man that because he was rich that he could not get into Heaven? Was He telling this ruler to sell everything and buy eternal life? No. What Jesus was doing was showing the man his condition and that he wasn’t as good a person and he thought himself to be. Jesus knew this from the very beginning of the conversation when the ruler called him Good Master. Jesus was letting him know that God was the only one that is perfect. He was lifting up God to this man and that is what you and I have to do.
There are so many people today who would say, Jesus was being negative. That He was only focusing on the bad when the ruler had done everything else. Jesus was not being negative; He was planting a seed in this man’s heart showing him that He needed a Savior. What does God’s word say about us if we break only one point of God’s laws/commandments?
James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Why did Jesus bring up the commandments? The law shows a person himself in the true light.
Romans 3:19 “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
Galatians 3:24 “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”
1 John 3:4 “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”
Romans 7:13 “Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful.”
Jesus was telling this man, look, you are a sinner; you are in need of Salvation. He brought up God’s law as a standard to show the man his sins. He wasn’t telling him that he would have an easy life here if he would follow Him, or that he would have peace and joy always. No, Jesus was getting this man to realize his sinful, lost, condition. He was planting a seed. Unless you and I realize that we are evil, sinful beings, born under a curse of sin, in our own ignorance we will not understand the dyer the need for a Savior. We will continue to foolishly believe that we are good enough to satisfy God’s Holiness, which we are not according to God’s word.
Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”
God’s law is perfect. There is NO ROOM for error. If we have broken one we have broken them all says God’s word. In this knowledge we see that His word is true that all have sinned and fallen short of His glory and with that we are doomed to die and go to hell unless we have someone who can save us from our sins!
When we begin to see ourselves in comparison to God’s Righteousness, according to His standards and His laws, we start to see that we are without hope unless we can be redeemed by a Holy, Righteous Savior!
Revelations 21:8 “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
You may be thinking, I’m not a murderer, or a sorcerer…but let me ask you this:
Those I have listed are only 5 of the laws of God. Most of us have broken at least one of those and I’ll remind you again that James 2:10 tells us that if we are guilty at one point we are guilty of breaking all of God’s law. We are in big trouble then aren’t we?
You may be thinking, yeah but I only broke God’s law once, and most of the time I am good. I help the poor, I feed the hungry. I care for the sick. I volunteer twice a week. God is my friend, He loves everyone, He would take that into consideration and let me get into Heaven.
Think of this. Imagine you have committed a crime. You are standing in court before a judge and he asks if you have anything to say for yourself before sentencing. You say, Yes! You begin to speak. “Your honor yes I committed this crime, but it was only one time a long time ago and I never did it again and most of the time I’m very good and obey all the other laws and besides that I can see that you are a good man so I think you will let me get away with this one crime.” The Judge, if he is an honest, just man, he will say to you, it’s good that you haven’t done this again but I cannot let you go on those grounds. You committed this crime; therefore you must pay the penalty. How much more Holy is Almighty God than a human judge? Do you think God should go against His own laws and allow some to get away with breaking them and not others? Should liars, thieves, murderers, and adulterers be allowed into heaven? If they were, it would not be a perfect place. Do you see the need now for Salvation through Christ?
There is good news! This is where the gospel of grace comes in!!!
So you’re standing before a Judge, you are guilty of this crime and it’s either pay a fine that you cannot possibly pay or spend the rest of your life in prison. You don’t know what you are going to do, you have lost all hope, when suddenly someone comes in, pays your fine and you are free to go! That is EXACTLY what Jesus Christ did for you on the Cross at Calvary! You and I were lost in our sins, doomed for hell because we could not redeem ourselves and Christ stepped up, took our punishment for us and said if you will trust in me, believe me, and put on my righteousness, You can go free and inherit eternal life in Heaven! You do not have to go to hell for your sins. I have paid the sin debt; all you must do now is accept me! What a Savior!
So how do you get to heaven? You must be born again.
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
It is not enough to just believe in God or to just believe in Jesus, that is a step but this is what the Bible says about just believing.
James 2:19-20 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?”
Does that mean that you are saved by your works…NO we are saved by Grace and only Grace.
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.
What James is teaching is that we can’t just believe, we must trust Jesus Christ and obey. He commands us to be saved.
Acts 3:19 “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord”
Believing is the first step, then we must repent asking forgiveness of our sins and then turn away from them and follow Christ.
Ephesians 4:24 “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”
We must put on the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Just as we would put on a parachute if we were about to jump out of an airplane, we would not just believe in it, we would put it on and trust it. We must put on Christ and trust and obey Him!
Life is not a bed of roses, there is suffering, but when we are born again, we have that comforter which is the HOLY SPIRIT of God living on the inside of us that will comfort us and guide us for all of our lives. That is such a comfort to know that through Him we can do all things. He has commanded His Sons and Daughters to be good servants and one day we will reap the reward of that. I am so thankful that Christ died, paid my sin debt so that I could go free and follow Him forever. We can trust Him, He will take us through this life and on into eternal life in Heaven with Him when we believe, trust, and obey! God Bless you all!
Dearest Righteous, Heavenly Father…
Thank You for being Almighty! Thank You for who You are, will always be and always have been! There is NONE like YOU! Thank You for making a way that we could be redeemed from our sins through Your only begotten Son Jesus. Thank You Jesus for living on earth, dying and raising again the third day for my sins. Thank You for loving the Father that much and for loving me. I love You Lord and I want my life to be used by You all my days to share the good news of the gospel to a lost and dying world. Help us all to be bold and to share our faith with others so that we can win many souls for Your kingdom that will last forever! I cannot wait to bow down before You at Your feet and just worship You. You are EVERYTHING to me and I MUST have You in every thing I do, every second of every moment I must Have You. Thank You for Your love, and forgiveness. You are worthy, You are perfect and I love you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
~*Cindygirl*~
June 2, 2019