How Can I Know Jesus?
That’s life’s big question, isn’t it?
“He (God) has put eternity into man’s heart…”
It’s fair to say that most people want to know God, please God, and have the hope of being with God after we die. God wants that too! In fact, it was that way at first. Genesis 1-3 tells us that God was with man and woman. But, the first two people sinned by choosing not to listen to God. And God separated Himself from mankind. And people would now begin to die – separated from God – unless God did something about it.
What we see today are people making God out to be whatever they want Him to be. That’s why there are so many religions that do not agree about God. But God doesn’t give multiple choice tests with choice D being all the above. It would be cruel if God didn’t reveal Himself clearly. The fact is that God wants us to find Him and know Him. (Deuteronomy 4:29; Matthew 7:7)
God has revealed Himself. He says by simply looking at what is created we can see there is a Creator (Romans 1:19-20). We can know Him. Seems fairly simple, but there is something that hides who God really is from each and every person: Sin. By sin, we mean the choice to disobey or rebel against God. As God has termed it in Romans 1 three times, “God gave them up,…”, which means simply that God let them have it their way (Romans 1:24, 26, 28). He let us prefer other things rather than Him. He let us choose sin rather than His perfect and pleasing way for life.
Enter Jesus
It would have been perfectly fair for God to have rejected all of us, for we all sin and thereby reject who He really is. But God shows how wonderful He is by seeking us out, by providing a way to know Him as He really is. Enter Jesus, God’s eternal and only Son.
Jesus is the most famous person to have ever lived. But He is more than just a person:
1. Jesus said He is God.
- “I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
- “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
2. Jesus said He came from heaven.
- “For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.” (John 6:38)
3. Jesus said He is the only way to heaven.
- “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
4. Jesus said He has come to give true life.
- “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
5. Jesus allowed Himself to be worshiped.
- “And those in the boat worshiped Him, saying, ‘truly you are the Son of God.’” (Matthew 14:33)
6. Jesus was born so He could die as our punishment, in our place. To know Him and what He did for us is to know God. And to know Jesus is to know God’s gift of love:
- “For God so loved the world (that’s you) that He gave His only Son, that woever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
- “But the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
- “But God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
- “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses (sins), made us alive together with Christ.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
If you know Jesus, you know God. Colossians 1:15 says,
“He (Jesus) is the image of the invisible God.”
To know Jesus is to know why He came for you: To save you!
Respond
What do we do with the knowledge of Jesus? We respond. We either say yes, I believe. Or, we say, I’ll go my own way. The first way is eternal life. The second way is eternal separation from God and eternal death. (John 5:24)
Salvation, eternal life, forgiveness is all a gift from God. We want to please God and earn His forgiveness, but Jesus did it. Not you. He did as one who never sinned. He was the perfect sacrifice that pleased God. He did what we couldn’t do. Please God by never sinning. And then spread His arms on a cross and took our punishment. His death for our sins.
If you know Jesus in this way you now know who God really is. And God will listen to you if you want to talk with Him in prayer and tell Him you believe in His Son. You would need to say things to God like this:
- I have certainly sinned against You. (Romans 3:23)
- I know my sins deserve punishment. (Romans 6:23)
- But, I believe that Jesus died for my sins. (Isaiah 53, Romans 5:8)
- I want to be saved from my sins because I believe that Jesus died for my sins. (Romans 10:9-10)
- Forgive me and let me be your child forever. (John 1:12; Acts 10:43)
- Amen and thank you!
If you are sincere, you now know God as Father. He will never let you go. You have eternal life. Now, you must live for Jesus. Consider doing the following:
- Find a church home that believes absolutely that the Bible is true and teaches clearly.
- Read the Bible every day. Read the gospels and get to know Jesus more and more.
- Pray. God is your Father. He loves to have this time with you.
- Make Christian friends. They will be so important for your growth and staying power.
We are here to help you in any way as you live your life for Christ. If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of this further, please contact any one of our pastors.