Why We Need Jesus

Mark Dunagan
03/31/13 - Sunday Morning

Why We Need Jesus

Before Jesus of Nazareth arrived on this planet the world already had:

• Many religions.
• Moral Codes.
• A belief in an after-life.
• All sorts of philosophies about the meaning of life.
• A belief in gods or even belief in a true God.

In this lesson I want to examine why Jesus came to this earth and why we so desperately need to follow Him today.

Because Religion is not the Answer

The people who lived in the land of Canaan prior to the nation of Israel were very religious, in fact, that was the problem, they were too religious, in that they worshipped all sorts of things, from the planets, to nature, and so on (Deuteronomy 7:4).  And yet for all their religious practices and beliefs, they were very corrupt and immoral (Leviticus 18; Deuteronomy 9:5; Genesis 15:16).

Because Mere Moral Codes are not the Answer

All cultures have had their rules or codes of conduct and some of them were very strict.  Yet moral codes do not necessarily translate into a moral community.  Often people just ignore such codes or work around them, and at other times they are abused or selfishly used (Daniel 6:6-7).

Because Reason and Logic are not the Answer

Many of us have lived long enough to see very smart people reason themselves right into something very evil (1 Kings 11:1-4).  Human reason can be easily perverted and misused, especially when a person is selfish.  In fact, Paul noted that all too often more knowledge or information only results in more arrogance (1 Corinthians 8:1). 

Because Following Your Heart is not the Answer

Our feelings and intuition can lead us down all the wrong paths (Proverbs 16:25).  The problem with the human heart is that on its own, it is an idol factory.  The heart will worship all sorts of things, from beauty, to human praise, fame, money and so on (1 Timothy 6:9). 

Because Just Doing More Good Deeds is not the Answer

Clearly the Bible stresses the need to do good works (Titus 3:1).  Yet without Scripture as a guide, it is easy to get confused about what is a good work and what is an evil one (Isaiah 5:20).   We can end up supporting and comforting the wrong people, rewarding the wrong attitudes, and condemning the right ones.  In addition, good deeds cannot serve as a counter-balance to our sins.  We cannot simply list our sins and then erase them by doing something good.  “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness” (Titus 3:5).

Because a Faith that is Private is not Enough

There are a number of people in the world who don’t have a problem with faith or Christianity as long as it is kept “indoors”, so to speak.  To others, faith is an extremely private matter that they don’t share, in fact, they would consider it bad manners, rude, or offensive to do so.  We now live in a world in which such an “indoor faith” is popular.  When people say things like, “What I believe is true for me, but it may not be true for you”, they are expressing the desire of many people that faith be both non-judgmental and highly tolerant of all points of view.  Yet this variety of “faith” makes no positive impact upon the world, does not act when it is necessary (James 2:14-15), does not save anyone (2:19), does not change or transform the personal and public life of the individual, and is often very cowardly (John 12:42-43).

Why Did Jesus Arrive?

• To Explain God to Us

“No man has seen God at any time, the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him” (John 1:18).  Jesus explained God to us, not with  seminars, but He revealed God by simply being here, by living, acting, responding, doing and dying for us.  According to Jesus, anyone who observed His life was seeing the Father (John 14:9).  Jesus revealed a God who is:

1. Compassionate and cares about lost souls:  Matthew 9:36
2. Who gives of Himself and sacrifices for us:  Luke 19:10
3. Who has standards and will not lower them: John 12:48
4. Who insists on obedience to His spoken word: Matthew 7:21
5. Who measures our love in how we respond to Him and others: John 14:15
6. Who is not impressed by human popularity: Matthew 6:1ff
7. Who sees through all the fake, less than honest and selfish attempts to serve Him: Matthew 7:22-23

• Going Public

Far from holding our faith as a quiet, private conviction, here is what Jesus gave us:

1. Truth is rooted in definite historical events.  Jesus arrived at a very specific time: Luke 2:1, and started preaching at a very specific time: 3:1
2. Truth is rooted to a specific event— the resurrection, to which there were many eyewitnesses: Acts 1:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1-8
3. Thus, Christianity is not about what I or you or something else thinks, feels or believes.  Rather, God sent His Son into the world, He became flesh (John 1:1), He lived here among men (John 1:14), people interacted with Him (1 John 1:1-3), He died on the cross for our sins and was resurrected on the third day—and there were witnesses of these events: Acts 1:8; 26. 
4. Someone noted that the apostles are not gurus, guidance counselors, or simply motivational speakers.  Rather, the apostles were “witnesses”.  They do not reveal their own wisdom, they did not take a class or go to school to become an apostle, they did not talk about new concepts they themselves created, and they do not claim to be more intelligent than the audience to whom they spoke (Ephesians 3:4), rather, they were revealing eyewitness testimony of what they had seen happen on this earth (2 Peter 1:16ff).

• To Make Atonement for Our Sins

This is seen in many passages, both New and Old Testament:

• “He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5).
• “That He was cut off out of the land of the living, for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due” (Isaiah 53:8).
• “It is He who will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21).

One mere cursory look at the problems that still plague mankind, it becomes crystal clear: we need saving.  Look at the way people treat one another, look at the long list of personal problems, relationship problems and so on.  Look at the sins and scandals that are evident even among the most talented, gifted, and educated.

And it is also clear that nothing else can save us.  Clearly, animal sacrifices cannot forgive the evil that we have committed (Hebrews 10:4), and neither can giving to a charity, volunteering somewhere, or doing nice things for people.  And while all these great uses of our time and talents, are personally fulfilling, and are beautiful opportunities to glorying God, and fulfill the purpose for which we were created (Eph. 2:10), they are certainly not, as some would like to believe, some kind of “extra credit” (Luke 17:7-10) in God's sight.  

Mark Dunagan | mdunagan@frontier.com
Beaverton Church of Christ | 503-644-9017
www.beavertonchurchofchrist.net