The most needed message for Christians

The reason why Jesus left heaven, came as a Man to this earth and died on the cross was, simply and succinctly, to bear the punishment for our sins and to offer us the possibility of being restored to God. But we Christians seem to take this for granted, and for many of us, what comes uppermost to our mind when we think of Jesus is as a Person who can give us a comfortable life here in the face of all the different struggles we face. Let this shock you. If you don't find in yourself a strong desire to stop sinning and to devote yourself to doing the will of God, the chances are that you are not even a Christian (1Jn.3:8,9). It is not that Christians do not sin, or more correctly, fall into sin against their wishes, but that those who have been born again do not practise sin, or continue in sin as a normal way of life.

Jesus calls everyone to come to Him, so that they can be saved from the guilt, shame and penalty of sin, and also from the power of sin in their life which makes them slaves to sin (Ro.6:14). God gives a new mind and spirit to those who go to Him in repentance for their past sins (Ez.36:26,27). This is the evidence of someone who has come to Christ, and not baptism, church membership or activities.

Those who have truly repented from their old, sinful way of life and realise what it cost Jesus to provide them salvation have it as their ambition to be pleasing to Him in every way, even in their thoughts and imaginations. They enter into a battle against their own sinful, selfish desires when the Holy Spirit leads them in this way (Ga.5:17). This is a battle we will be in all our life because we never stop discovering new areas in our life where sin has corrupted us and which we were not aware of as being sin earlier. That is spiritual growth, which every true Christian must be able to recognise in their own life. Even though we will never become perfect or without sin in this life, the direction of our life towards increasing heights of perfection indicates that God is at work in us.

It is all right to come to Jesus looking for healing or some other miracle. He will not throw out anyone who goes to Him (Jn.6:37). But coming to Jesus in this way must become the start of a lifelong journey of following Him as His disciples. How sad it will be for those who do not get to know Jesus as their Saviour, but only as a Miracle-worker! According to Jesus Himself, the majority of the people who came to Him were not really seeking Him but only what they could get from Him (Jn.6:26).

Don't you think that a large majority of people who consider themselves to be Christians need to hear this? Some may get offended, but hopefully some others may hear and understand, and go to Jesus in true repentance and sincere faith. God is looking for such people, and He is not impressed by large numbers, great buildings and mega programmes. Isn't it also necessary to make sure that we ourselves truly know Jesus?