Why You And I Need Christ

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and he life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
John 14:6, ESV


Without the WAY you cannot go.
Without the TRUTH you cannot know.
Without the LIFE you cannot grow.

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The Christian And The World

But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Galatians 6:14, ESV

On a Sunday evening earlier this month, I preached a sermon based upon Isaac Watts' classic hymn, When I Survey The Wondrous Cross. In that study, we noted how many of the thoughts expressed in that beloved hymn center around that God-breathed statement Paul made to the church of Christ in Galatia (see Galatians 6:14 above).

When I make the commitment to follow Christ, thereby sacrificing "all the vain things that charm me most," I am presented with indescribable blessings and riches eternal. At the same time, I am presented with a great challenge: To strike a balance of living in the world while, at the same time, not partaking in the evil deeds thereof.

Consider a handful of ways the Bible describes the Christian's relationship to this world (or age):

1. Delivered from it (Galatians 1:4)
2. Crucified to it (Galatians 6:14)
3. Dead to its elemental spirits (Colossians 2:20)
4. Not conformed to it (Romans 12:2)
5. Unknown by it (1 John 3:1)
6. Hated by it (John 17:14a)
7. Not of it (John 17:14b)
8. Loves it not (1 John 2:15-17)
9. Unstained by it (James 1:27)
10. Shuns its friendship (James 4:4)
11. Messengers to it (John 17:18)
12. Victorious over it (1 John 4:4; 5:4-5)

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Twelve Views Of The Cross

1. The soldiers saw in Christ a criminal -- with cruelty.


2. The women saw in Christ a benefactor -- with sorrow.


3. The mother of Jesus saw in him a son -- with anguish.


4. The disciples saw in their Lord blighted hopes -- with perplexity.


5. The first criminal saw in Christ a malefactor -- with hardness.


6. The second criminal saw in Christ a King -- with penitence.


7. The centurion saw in Christ deity -- with conviction.


8. The Jewish priests saw in Christ an impostor -- with mockery.


9. The angels saw in Christ love -- with wonder.


10. The devil saw in Christ "the seed of woman" -- with dismay.


11. The passers-by saw in Christ nothing -- with indifference.


12. The Father saw in Christ obedience -- with affection.

The preceding list is not original with me. I was impressed, however, with its profundity. It makes great "thinking food."

How do YOU view the cross of Christ? There are many things in life that are open to varied viewpoints. The nature of Jesus Christ is not one of them.

Who do people say the Son of man is?

Matthew 16:13, ESV

But who do you say that I am?

Matthew 16:15, ESV

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