Do I Even Need Jesus In My Life?

If I were to ask you, "Are you a good person?" what would you say?  If you are like most people you would say, "Yeah, I'm a good person.  I may not be perfect, but I'm not as bad as most people."  However, the problems with that answer is that its based on subjective grading and that the answer given is a wrong answer.  Our goodness is not based on how good we are in comparison to others.  If it were based on that method then we would always be good because we could always find someone worse than us.  Just like secular laws, our judgment in court is not based on how good or guilty we are in comparison to others, but that judgment is based upon the laws of the land.  That kind of judgment is more objective and compares one's action against that of the law.  In the same way, God does not judge man's goodness or guilt subjectively, but does so objectively.

Our goodness and guilt is based in comparison to the words of Christ (John 12:48).  If we compare our lives with the words of Christ, which is the standard by which all men will be judged, then we realize that we have fallen short of His standard.  We are guilty.  The Bible makes known that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).  By God's standard, we are not good; we are guilty of breaking His purpose and commands.  In fact, our sins deserve death.  The Bible says that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).  The sins we have committed merit us nothing but eternal death and punishment in hell.

So are you a good person?  If you still think that you are let me ask you a few questions?
1) Have you ever lied? Yes or No?
    a) If yes, then you are a liar - Revelation 21:8
2) Have you ever stolen anything, even something small? Yes or No?
    a) If yes, then you are a thief - 1 Corinthians 6:10
3) Have you ever loved anyone or anything more than God? Yes or No?
    a) If yes, then you are an idolater - 1 Corinthians 6:9
4) Have you coveted what someone else had - thus being envious or jealous?  Yes or No?

    a) If yes, then you are a greedy person - Ephesians 5:5

5) Have you ever hated anyone?  Yes or no?
    a) If yes, then you are a murderer.  Jesus considers those who hate others as murderers - Matthew 5:21-22
6) Have you ever lusted?  Yes or No?
    a) If yes, then you are an adulterer.  Jesus considers those who lust after someone as adulterers - Matthew 5:27-28

If you answered "yes," to just one of those questions, then you are a sinner - you are guilty as each Scripture next to each sin specifically specifies that that kind of person does not enter the kingdom of heaven.  If you are like most people, you would have said, "yes," to most or all of those questions.  So judging from an objective standpoint of comparing your actions with the laws of Christ, are you innocent or guilty?  You would have to admit that you are guilty.  By saying, "yes," to any of those questions you have made a self-condemning acknowledgment that you're guilty and deserve to go to hell.

Now you may be thinking, "God is a loving God and wouldn't send anyone to hell.  Yeah I made some mistakes, but nothing worth going to hell for."  But in response to that, you must remember that God is a loving God but He is also a just God.  In order to maintain His "just" nature, He must punish those who are guilty.  Imagine this scenario, let's say your mother or child got hit by a drunk driver?  Would you desire justice and have that drunk driver thrown in jail?  Absolutely you would.  Would you let the drunk drive go if he said, "I know I was drinking and driving but this was the only time I have ever done it."  Would you allow that argument to bypass justice and let that man go just because he only once drove drunk?  No, you would want justice to be served.  Now does having that desire for justice nullify your goodness at all?  No it doesn't.  So in the same way, God pronouncing judgment on the guilty doesn't nullify His goodness and love.  In fact, its because of His love that He demands justice for He is defending and protecting that which is good for the benefit of all.

Now in view of that, let me ask you again, are you good?  Because according to the way you answered the questions above you most likely admitted to being a lying, thieving, idolatrous, greedy, murdering, adulterer.  Does that sound like a good person?  Does that sound like a person that deserves heaven or hell?  If you answered, "hell," then you would be correct.

So in response to the question, "Do I even need Jesus in my life?" The simple answer is "yes" because you are sinner not deserving of heaven, but is one worthy of hell.

So Is My Situation Hopeless?

As mentioned from the last post, our situation does seem quite dire.  Is there anything we can do by our own power to save ourselves from such a horrible fate?  No there is not.  Yet, our situation is still not hopeless.  We may not be able to save ourselves by our own power, but Jesus Christ can save us by His own power.  So what does Christ have to say about the situation of being in sin?  In John 8:24, Jesus makes known that if you not believe in who He claimed to be that you will die in your sins.  If you die in your sins, then you surely will be in a hopeless state.  Yet, Jesus gives an opportunity not to die in your sins.  In order to not to die in your sins you must believe who He claimed to be.  So the next question would be, "Who did Jesus claim to be?"

In Matthew 16:13-17, Jesus makes known who He claimed to be.  In this section of Scripture He asks His apostles who people say the "Son of Man" (Jesus) is.  Then the apostle Peter made the claim that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.  From this text, you can see that Jesus agreed with Peter's answer.  So the first thing that we must do to not die in our sins is to believe who Jesus claimed to be; which is the Son of God.  As the Son of God we must listen to what He says since we cannot separate the Lord from His teachings.  We must realize the importance and relevance of Jesus being the Son of God to us.  Jesus being the Son of God allows Him the power to save us.  That is why He sacrificed the splendor of heaven to die on the cross so that he could get you out of a sinful state and into a saving relationship with God.  Thus it causes Jesus to be our mediator as 1 Timothy 2:5 says He is; a mediator between us and God.   What exactly is a mediator?  A mediator is a middle man; a go between; a person who works for multiple parties equally in order to bring them together in agreement and in union.

Why do we need Jesus to be our mediator with God?  The reason we need a mediator is because we have sinned.  We are guilty.  And we deserve and are headed to hell for our just punishment.  God didn't declare us to go to hell by His own decision, but we have chosen that decision by the choices we have made in life.  We have chosen to sin.  One of the characteristics of sin is that it always has consequences; not sometimes, not most of the time, but always.  The greatest consequence of our sin is that it has separated us from God.  Isaiah 59:2 makes known that our transgressions and sins have separated us from God.  That separation destroyed our relationship with God and forced the need for a mediator.  Salvation cannot be found outside of a relationship with God.  Therefore, in order to be saved one must have a relationship with God.  Jesus being our mediator to God; makes Him the one who is able bring us into a saving relationship with God; thus allowing us to be in union and agreement with one another.

Jesus is our mediator who saves us and is our mediator to God.  Why is Jesus our mediator though?  It's because Jesus is the only one qualified to be our mediator.  Colossians 2:9 says, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."  This text shows that Jesus is God and was a man.  A mediator is one who works equally for the parties involved and must be able to represent both parties equally.  The fact that Jesus is God and that He came in the flesh and was a man qualified Jesus to represent both God and man equally.  It's this qualification that eliminates anyone else from being our mediator with God.  For no person in human history fulfills the qualification to be able to equally represent both God and man.  Buddha, though a man, can't for he can't represent God since he isn't God.  Muhammed, though a man, can't for he can't represent God since He isn't God.  Joseph Smith, though a man, can't for he can't represent God.  Yet, Jesus can represent God for He is God and Jesus can represent man for He was a man.  This is why Jesus alone is the one who can save us.  The apostle Peter even made known that Jesus is the only one who can save us (Acts 4:12).  In fact, in that passage of Scripture it makes known that it is only through Jesus that we "must" be saved.  "Must" is an absolute statement which shows that if we want to be saved it must be done through and only through Jesus Christ.

So our situation isn't hopeless because Jesus is the Son of God which allows Him to be our mediator.  He's relevant to our lives because it is through Him and only Him that we can have a relationship with God.  He is the one that can close the chasm between us and God that was created because of our sins and transgressions.  Jesus takes care of our sin problem and by eliminating sin He creates an atmosphere of fellowship between us and God.

How Did Jesus Save Us?

Jesus saves us by bringing us into fellowship with God.  Jesus did so be taking away sin which was the chasm that separated us from God.  This is seen in the gospel message of Jesus.  The word "gospel," means "good news."  So there is good news for us because of Christ.  The gospel message is the message of how Christ made it possible to be in fellowship with God and be saved.  Therefore, it is through the gospel that we are saved.  Romans 1:16 says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."  So we see that God uses the gospel (the good news about Jesus) as the means to save us.  So if the gospel is how God saves us through Christ, the next logical question is, "What exactly is the gospel?"

The apostle Paul makes known what this saving gospel is and defines it in 1 Corinthians 15:1-7.  From this text we see that the apostle gives 3 parts to the gospel of Jesus and He also gives 2 proofs that help show that the gospel is legitimate.  From this text we see that the 3 parts of the gospel are the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus.  Then the apostle Paul gives two proofs: 1) Paul says, "according to the Scriptures."  The Old Testament is full of prophecies about the coming Messiah and His death, burial, and resurrection.  So if Jesus was that Messiah as He claimed, then He had to fulfill every messianic prophecy and He had to die, be buried, and rise again, which He did.  The prophecies of the Messiah are so numerous that they would be next to impossible to fulfill, but Jesus was able to do so because He is the Son of God.  The death and resurrection of Jesus were foreseen and prophesied long before Jesus.  So those who question the concept of Jesus dying, being buried, and rising again to save mankind merely need to research the Old Testament Scriptures and see that this was God's plan to save mankind.  Jesus did just as God purposed.  Jesus proved His Deity by being raised from the dead on the third day.  2) The second proof that the apostle Paul gave was the confirmation of the resurrection fact by eyewitness testimony.  The text makes known that the apostles, James the Lord's brother, and more than 500 people saw the resurrected savior.  Is that great proof to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead?  The greatest piece of evidence in a court case is eyewitness testimony.  One witness is ok.  Two witnesses is good.  Three witnesses is great.  Can you imagine a court case in which the lawyer could call on over 500 witnesses?  That would be a slam dunk case.  Not to mention that the tomb Jesus was in was empty.  Why is it that Christianity didn't die off immediately shortly after Jesus death?  Why didn't those who had Jesus killed bring out the body of Jesus and showed the world Jesus was a fraud?  It's because Jesus was who He claimed to be; the Son of God.  The Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus knew the prophecy that the Messiah would rise on the third day and asked Pilate to the guard the tomb.  Pilate agreed and had the tomb guarded.  Due to what we know about the Roman guards and the intentions of the Jewish leaders we know that the disciples could not steal the body of Jesus for they would not be able to overcome the Roman guards, the Jewish leaders wouldn't have done it for it would have gone against their intent to having Jesus killed and the tomb guarded, and the Roman soldiers had no reason to do it, for if they failed to do their duty to guard the tomb they would have suffered the penalty of death.  So why is it that the dead body of Jesus wasn't revealed to the world?  It's because there was no dead body to show the world.  Jesus had risen from the dead and conquered sin, death, and hell for our sake.  There were over 500 witnesses to confirm that fact.  So the way we can define the gospel is this: The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus according to the Scriptures and proven by eyewitness testimony.


So we see that Jesus gave mankind the opportunity to have a relationship with God and be saved by Him dying on the cross, being buried, and rising to life on the third day.  This is the good news of Jesus.  It's good news for us for this is how Christ conquered sin, death, and hell for us so that there would be no chasm between us and God.  Therefore, the gospel is good news for it spares us from the just consequences of our sins but instead gives us an opportunity to accept God's benevolent grace.

Now the gospel saves and is powerful, but why is it relevant to me?  Why should I care about the gospel?  What does it benefit me personally?  2 Timothy 1:10 makes known the personal benefits of the gospel.  That text makes known that through the gospel Christ destroyed death and has brought life and immortality.  The benefit of the gospel is instead of death in hell, you get eternal life and immorality in heaven.  Isn't that a great blessing?  Jesus Christ is offering to give you eternal life and immorality rather than what you do deserve which is death and destruction.  The acceptance of the gospel is worth eternal salvation and life.  This is why its relevant to you and how it personally benefits you.

What about those who do not obey the gospel?  Those who accept and obey it get life and immorality, but what happens to those who do not?  2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 makes known that God will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.  He will punish those who do not obey the gospel with everlasting destruction and will be shut out from the presence of God.  This is in fact one of the best descriptions of hell.  It'll be everlasting suffering and worse - shut out from the presence of God forever.  At this point some may say, "But I don't worship God now and don't desire His presence and I'm doing just fine."  The problem is that during your earthly life, even if you are evil, you receive benefits from God.  The Bible makes known that all good things come from God.  It'll also makes known that God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous (meaning for a period He blesses all people regardless of their faithfulness to Him).  Now imagine, being completely shut off from God and all the good things He does for you and provides for you even though you haven't wanted a relationship with God and at this point haven't obeyed the gospel.  Imagine a life where there was not even one single good thing in your life.  Imagine that life with everlasting destruction and suffering.  It doesn't sound good at all does it?  Well, that's hell.  That is what God is trying to save you from.  God doesn't want you to receive the punishment you justly deserve, that is why He sent Jesus to die in your place, so that you will not suffer that fate in hell.  God takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked.  He desires for all men to be saved and desires an eternal relationship with you.  Now as we discussed before in earlier posts, God sending us to hell is not His fault and does not discount His loving character.  His just nature demands Him to punish those who are guilty.  That is why it was necessary for Christ to die on the cross to pay the price of your sins.  His blood shed on the cross has the power to wash all your sins away and make it so that you are free from accusation.  The cross of Christ is your "get out of hell free card."  The cross of Christ is your pardon from the judge.  So it is essential for all men who want to escape this fate to obey the gospel.  Those who obey the gospel will receive eternal life and immortality.  Those who disobey the gospel receive everlasting destruction and are shut out from God and all His goodness and blessings forever.  So which do you choose: to accept it or disobey it?

So How Do I Obey the Gospel?

Ok, you said that those who obey the gospel get eternal life in heaven and you said that those who disobey the gospel get death in hell.  You said that the gospel of Jesus is the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ?  So if all that is true, how am I suppose to obey the gospel?  How am I suppose to obey the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus?

First of all you had to have heard the gospel of Jesus, for hearing the Word of God is how we have faith (Romans 10:17).  We discussed that in order not to die in your sins that you must believe in who He claim to be; which Jesus claimed to be the Son of God.  Then you understand that Jesus, according to the Scriptures and Old Testament prophecies that Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and rose again on the third day, which demonstrated Christ's Deity and victory over sin, death, and hell.  As mentioned, this fact was confirmed by eyewitness testimony.  Now you realize that the essential need to obey the gospel to have eternal life in heaven and avoid eternal death in hell.

The way that you obey the gospel (the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus) is by faith you undergo your own death, burial, and resurrection in Christ.  The way you undergo such a change and transformation is through the process of baptism.  Baptism is the point where God's grace and man's faith come together in agreement proclaiming the Lordship of Christ in one's life.  Romans 6:3-4 says, "Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."  Does that language sound like the gospel?  When one hears the gospel and has faith, then they would obey that gospel by being baptized into Christ.  It's there we die, are buried, and are raised with Christ.  Now it should be mentioned that baptism is not a work of man to merit salvation, but it is a work of God that saves us.  Being baptized into Christ's death, burial, and resurrection brings us into connection with the blood of Christ.  Baptism in and of itself has no power.  But baptism has power because of Christ's death, burial, and resurrection, which has the power to save us.  Baptism is like faith.  Baptism saves us (1 Peter 3:21) and faith justifies us (Romans 5:1).  Faith in and of itself doesn't merit salvation as a work of man, but it is a human response to what God has done, thus giving it power to save.  Baptism is the same way.  It's necessary for salvation, not as a work of man to merit salvation, but as a human response to what God has done, thus allowing baptism to save.  We understand that faith and baptism are necessary for salvation (Mark 16:15-16) and they save us not because of anything we have done, but because what Christ has done.  


Being baptized into Christ carries many spiritual benefits.  We know from Galatians 3:26-27, that through faith and baptism we receive sonship.  We become members of God's family.  We receive the benefits that are given only to members of God's family.  We know that from Romans 6:3-4 and Galatians 3:26-27, that it is through baptism that we become "in" Christ.  We know from Romans 8:1, that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  We also know that from Acts 2:38 that when we are baptized we receive the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.  In Ephesians 1:13-14 we see that the Holy Spirit serves as the seal of our salvation and it is He who serves as the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance and displays that we are God's possession.  It's at the time of baptism that you receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.


But is having faith and being baptized the only things you must do to be saved; to respond to God in regards to accepting His free gift of grace?  Another human response to God's grace one must do is to repent of one's sins.  Repenting means to change your mind; changing the way you have been sinfully living and changing to live in  accordance with God's Word for how He wants you to live.  In Luke 13:3, Jesus said, "I tell you, no!  But unless you repent, you too will all perish."  That's a pretty clear statement about the essentialness of repentance.  Acts 17:30 the apostle Paul makes known that God commands all people everywhere to repent.  2 Corinthians 7:10 makes known that repentance is part of the salvation process.  One who repents truly understands God's grace because that person no longer wants to indulge in that which separated oneself from God and necessitated the death of Jesus.  Now repentance is necessary to be saved, without remorse for our sins, we would see no need for God's grace.  God commands repentance.  Does repentance in and of itself merit us salvation by our own works?  No it doesn't.  But it does have power in the salvation process because God made repentance powerful and necessary.  So when we repent we are not trying to earn salvation by becoming a more righteous people, but instead change the way we live because of the benevolent gift of grace and forgiveness God offers us.  Once again repentance is a human response to God's grace.


Is there anything else I should do?  Matthew 10:32-33 and Romans 10:10 show the importance and necessity of confessing Jesus.  We confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord.  This is not to be seen merely as lip service or a formula of words.  It is a declaration of our faith.  It is a time when we declare our never-ending commitment and faithfulness to Christ.  It's the time that we more or less "pledge allegiance to Christ as our Lord."  Him being our Lord means He has command and ownership of us and we do all that He commands and desires.  We in humility and submission acknowledge His authority and do what He says.  Our confession doesn't save us by our own power, but it saves us because of the Lordship of Christ.

In Acts 2:22-41, we see that the apostle Peter preaches a powerful sermon on the Day of Pentecost (which was a feast less than two months after the time of the Passover - when Jesus was crucified).  In this sermon Peter preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ (the same gospel Paul preached and defined).  Peter preaches about the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus.  In this sermon Peter also provides the two proofs of the gospel as Paul described.  One, Peter preached "according to the Scriptures."  In proving the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, the apostle Peter quotes Psalm 16:8-10 and Psalm 110:1 and makes allusions to 2 Samuel 7.  Second, Peter mad known to the people that He and the other apostles were witnesses to the fact that Jesus rose from the dead.  The preaching of the gospel and the led to the main thesis of Peter's sermon, which made known who Jesus is (in verse 36): that Jesus is both Lord and Christ.  He is Lord, the one who has all authority and must be obeyed (it is this understanding about Christ by which we confess about Him and respond to Him in kind with our obedience, faithfulness, and allegiance).  He is Christ, the Messiah, the one anointed to save mankind by being God's prophet, priest, and king.  He is the only one with the power to save mankind and He is the one we must be saved through to have eternal life.  Peter in verse 36, also made known that they crucified the Messiah.  They were guilty sinners.  Yet, they weren't hopeless because of what Christ had done.

So here we see that the people heard the gospel; the preaching of the Word of God.  Then we see that he people had faith.  For in verse 37, they asked Peter and the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do." They asked this question because they obviously believed the words Peter preached and their question reflected they desire to know what they could do since they killed the Messiah.  At this we see how Peter answered their question in verses 38-39, "Peter replied, 'Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off - for all whom the Lord our God will call."  So we see here that when the people asked Peter what to do, Peter told them to repent and be baptized.  It's important to see that Peter did not tell them to do a "sinner's prayer" in which you pray Jesus into your heart.  In fact, the "sinner's prayer" in which you pray Jesus into your heart is not in the Bible and there is no example of conversion of the New Testament of people being saved in Christ by praying such a prayer.  Why did Peter tell them to repent and be baptized?  Because that is how one obeys the gospel after hearing and believing it.  It's when you die, are buried, and are raised with Christ.  This is when you get contact with the blood of Christ which saves you by washing your sins away.  So Peter is telling them to obey the gospel and how to respond to sin.  He's telling them to repent (turn away from sin and stop sinning) and be baptized (be washed of your sins).  Then we see that in verse 40 that Peter pleaded with to save themselves from the corrupt generation; and they would do this by having faith in Jesus and obeying the gospel in order to accept God's grace.  Then in verse 41, it says that those who accepted the message were baptized.  It made known that about 3,000 people were added to their number.  About 3,000 people accepted and obeyed the message.  So its important to see that Peter and Paul both preached the same gospel and both taught how to obey the gospel.  The benefits of the gospel and the command to obey it still apply to us today as seen in verse 39, about the promise being for all whom the Lord our God will call.  The apostle Paul makes known in 2 Thessalonians 2:14, that God calls people through the gospel; which makes sense since we know that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone (Romans 1:16).

So after hearing the gospel and how to obey the gospel, I want to ask you a question.  It is the same question that the prophet Ananias asked the apostle Paul before Paul was a Christian.  This question is found in Acts 22:16.  I want you to read it, think about it, pray to God about it, then answer it.

You can find Acts 22:16 below.



Acts 22:16, "And now what are you waiting for?  Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on His name."




If you answered, "YES! I want to be baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of my sins," then please contact us and we will help you obey the gospel so that you may experience and have the sins forgiven in Christ and a saving relationship with God.  Our contact information is off on the right side of the blog.