So we’ve seen over the past few days that the Bible is reliable and that what it say about Jesus, His death and His resurrection is true. Let’s look at what all of that means for us in the 21^st century.
Our first clue is in one of the sentences we’ve already read, written by Paul to Christians in the ancient city of Corinth:
“Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians chapter 15 verse 3)
We might naturally want to shy away from that word ‘sins’ but we can’t do that because as we’ve seen, the Bible is reliable therefore we must face up to what it is. As we do that we discover that the Bible also says:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans chapter 3 verse 23)
and so we learn here two things:
1. We are all sinners
2. Sin is falling short of God’s standard
This truth is the most inclusive message possible: it is for everyone. It is also inescapable: there’s no question of whether our personal sins are any less serious (or any more serious) than those of other people: each of us falls short of God’s standard.
And this is why the importance of who Jesus is really matters. The Bible says of Him:
“Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth” (1 Peter chapter 2 verse 22)
“And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” (1 John chapter 3 verse 5)
So Jesus Christ is unique: He does not have the sinful nature that causes each of us to sin. He is God, He became the only sinless Person to live on earth and His death is the only sacrifice on the basis of which God can forgive our sins. His resurrection proves that He had, as He claimed, the power to lay down His life and take it again (John chapter 10 verse 18.)
Let’s look at God’s response to this:
“Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians chapter 2 verse 9)
God is satisfied with the sacrifice of His Son and has given Him the place of highest honour.
It’s clear from these same lines from the Bible that God requires us to honour Jesus Christ as Lord and Romans chapter 10 verse 9 assures us:
“if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
So the truths we’ve been learning this week matter. They matter more than anything else in the world. This is what it all has to do with me, with you:
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” (Acts chapter 16 verse 31)