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Fairview Alliance Church
West Island- Montreal, Quebec Canada
Christian and Missionary Alliance In Canada
| Who do you think that I am? |
Jesus Is God | Jesus
Is Holy | Jesus Is The Savior | Jesus
Is The Only Acceptable Object Of Saving Faith | Jesus
Is Lord |
| Jesus Is Judge |
How Will You Respond? |
Who do you think that I am?"
 With that brief question Jesus
Christ confronted His followers with the most important
issue they would ever face. He had spent much time with
them and made some bold claims about His identity and
authority.
Now
the time had come for them either to believe or deny His
teachings.
Who do you say Jesus is? Your response to
Him will determine not only your values and lifestyle,
but your eternal destiny as well. Consider what the Bible
says about Him| Top of Page |
JESUS IS GOD
While Jesus was on earth
there was much confusion about who He was. Some thought
He was a wise man or a great prophet. Others thought He
was a madman. Still others couldn't decide or didn't
care.
But Jesus said, "I and the Father are one" (John
10:30). That means He claimed to be nothing less
than God in human flesh.
Many people today don't understand that Jesus claimed to
be God. They're content to think of Him as little more
than a great moral teacher. But even His enemies
understood His claims to deity. That's why they tried to
stone Him to death (John 5:18;
10:33) and eventually had
Him crucified (John
19:7)
C.S. Lewis observed, "You can shut Him up for a
fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you
can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let
us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about His
being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to
us. He did not intend to" (Mere Christianity
[Macmillan,1952], pp. 40-41).
If the biblical claims of Jesus are true, He is God!
JESUS IS HOLY
God is absolutely and
perfectly holy (Isaiah
6:3), therefore He cannot commit
or approve of evil (James
1:13). As
God, Jesus embodied every element of God's character.
Colossians 2:9 says, "In Him all the fullness of
Deity dwells in bodily form." He was perfectly holy
(Hebrews 4:15). Even His enemies couldn't prove any
accusation against Him (John
8:46)
God requires holiness of us as well.1
Peter 1:16
says, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."| Top
of Page |
JESUS IS THE SAVIOR
Our failure to obey
God--to be holy--places us in danger of eternal
punishment (2 Thessalonians
1:9). The truth is, we cannot
obey Him because we have neither the desire nor the
ability to do so. We are by nature rebellious toward God (Ephesians
2:1-3). The Bible calls our rebellion
"sin." According to Scripture, everyone is
guilty of sin: "There is no man who does not
sin" (1 Kings
8:46). "All have sinned and fall
short of the glory of God" (Romans
3:23). And we are
incapable of changing our sinful condition. Jeremiah
13:23 says, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or
the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are
accustomed to doing evil."
That doesn't mean we're incapable of performing acts of
human kindness. We might even be involved in various
religious or humanitarian activities. But we're utterly
incapable of understanding, loving, or pleasing God on
our own. The Bible says, "There is none righteous,
not even one; there is none who understands, there is
none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together
they have become useless; there is none who does good,
there is not even one" (Romans
3:10-12).| Top of
Page |
God's holiness and justice demand that all sin be
punished by death: "The soul who sins will die" (Ezekiel
18:4). That's hard for us to understand because
we tend to evaluate sin on a relative scale, assuming
some sins are less serious than others. However, the
Bible teaches that all acts of sin are the result of
sinful thinking and evil desires. That's why simply
changing our patterns of behavior can't solve our sin
problem or eliminate its consequences. We need to be
changed inwardly so our thinking and desires are holy.
Jesus is the only one who can forgive and transform us,
thereby delivering us from the power and penalty of sin:
"There is salvation in no one else; for there is no
other name under heaven that has been given among men, by
which we must be saved" (Acts
4:12).
Even though God's justice demands death for sin, His love
has provided a Savior, who paid the penalty and died for
sinners: "Christ ... died for sins once for all, the just for
the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter
3:18). Christ's death satisfied the demands of
God's justice, thereby enabling Him to forgive and save
those who place their faith in Him (Romans
3:26). John
3:16 says, "God so loved the world, that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish, but have eternal life." He alone is
"our great God and Savior" (Titus
2:13).| Top
of Page |
JESUS IS THE ONLY
ACCEPTABLE OBJECT OF SAVING FAITH
Some people think it
doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're
sincere. But without a valid object your faith is useless.
If you take poison--thinking it's medicine--all the faith
in the world won't restore your life. Similarly, if Jesus
is the only source of salvation, and you're trusting in
anyone or anything else for your salvation, your faith is
useless.
Many people assume there are many paths to God and that
each religion represents an aspect of truth. But Jesus
said,
"I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one
comes to the Father, but through Me" (John
14:6). He
didn't claim to be one of many equally legitimate paths
to God, or the way to God for His day only. He claimed to
be the only way to God--then and forever.| Top of Page
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JESUS IS LORD
Contemporary thinking
says man is the product of evolution. But the Bible says
we were created by a personal God to love, serve, and
enjoy endless fellowship with Him.
The New Testament reveals it was Jesus Himself who
created everything (John 1:3; Colossians
1:16). Therefore
He also owns and rules everything (Psalm
103:19). That
means He has authority over our lives and we owe Him
absolute allegiance, obedience, and worship.
Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth
Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised
Him from the dead, you shall be saved." Confessing
Jesus as Lord means humbly submitting to His authority (Philippians
2:10-11). Believing that God has raised Him
from the dead involves trusting in the historical fact of
His resurrection--the pinnacle of Christian faith and the
way the Father affirmed the deity and authority of the
Son (Romans 1:4;Acts
17:30-31).
True faith is always accompanied by repentance from sin.
Repentance is more than simply being sorry for sin. It is
agreeing with God that you are sinful, confessing your
sins to Him, and making a conscious choice to turn from
sin and pursue holiness (Isaiah
55:7). Jesus said,
"If you love Me, you will keep My commandments" (John
14:15); and "If you abide in My word, then you
are truly disciples of Mine" (John
8:31).
It isn't enough to believe certain facts about Christ.
Even Satan and his demons believe in the true God (James
2:19), but they don't love and obey Him. Their faith is
not genuine. True saving faith always responds in
obedience (Ephesians
2:10).
Jesus is the sovereign Lord. When you obey Him you are
acknowledging His lordship and submitting to His
authority. That doesn't mean your obedience will always
be perfect, but that is your goal. There is no area of
your life that you withhold from Him.| Top of Page |
JESUS IS THE JUDGE
 All who reject Jesus as
their Lord and Savior will one day face Him as their
Judge: "God is now declaring to men that all
everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in
which He will judge the world in righteousness through a
Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all
men by raising Him from the dead" (Acts
17:30-31).
2
Thessalonians 1:7-9 says, "The Lord Jesus
shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in
flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not
know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our
Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from
the glory of His power."
HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?
Who does the Bible say
Jesus is? The living God, the Holy One, the Savior, the
only valid object of saving faith, the sovereign Lord,
and the righteous Judge.
Who do you say Jesus is? That is the inescapable
question. He alone can redeem you--free you from the
power and penalty of sin. He alone can transform you,
restore you to fellowship with God, and give your life
eternal purpose. Will you repent and believe in Jesus
Christ as your Lord and Savior?
WILL YOU RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST RIGHT NOW?
Here is how you can receive Christ:
-
Admit your need (I am a sinner). [ Dear Lord
Jesus, I admit I am a sinner ]
-
Be willing to turn from your sins (repent). [ I
want to turn away from my sins, my old sinful ways, and follow you
all the rest of my days ]
-
Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross
and rose from the grave. [ I believe that You died on the cross
for my sins and on the third day You rose from the grave ]
-
Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to come in and
control your life through the Holy Spirit. [ Dear Lord Jesus, I
invite you to be Lord of my life, take control of my life through
Your Holy Spirit ]
-
Receive Him as Lord and Savior. [ I ask this in
Your name. Amen ]
| Top of Page |
"If
you've just prayed to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, we
rejoice with you, all Heaven, the angels, rejoice with you
feel free to share this joyous, life changing decision with us
if you have a question or a comment
about what you've read, let us help"
Fairview Alliance Church West Island Montreal Quebec Canada Christian and Missionary Alliance In Canada
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