I wish to encourage you to think clearly about Jesus Christ.
Most of us know the frustration of having someone wrongly comment on what they think you are like. We sometimes respond, “Well, you obviously don’t know me as well as you think.” Mankind is quick to spout off their opinions of God with fallible certainty, while God is probably saying, “Well, you obviously don’t know me.” So, how do we get to know God with the clarity and certainty that God would agree with?
The created universe screams at us of God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they (mankind) are without excuse” (Romans 1:20). Complimenting creation’s voice, God, who still knows what He thinks, is able to communicate His truth with perfect clarity through His written Word, the Bible.
Although it makes sense to ask God directly, mankind typically looks to religion, philosophy, astrology, science, mythology, spiritualism, mysticism, and any number of other unrelated sources, for insights into who God is. God wrote the Bible for the specific purpose of allowing you to get to know Him directly. The prophet Ezekiel recorded the Lord saying to Israel approximately 70 times, “you shall know that I am the LORD”. God wants to be known! He has not hidden Himself.
God explains that “he has spoken to us by his Son (Jesus Christ), He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:2-3). So, if you genuinely want to know God, you seek the “one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). The apostle John affirmed that Jesus Christ “has made him (God) known” (John 1:18).
Here’s the thing, by allowing voices other than God’s written Word to influence your view of Jesus Christ, you easily form a distorted view of God which results in a false sense of identity, both yours and Gods. You unavoidably conclude that Jesus Christ is less than holy God, and that man is more than sinfully independent of his creator. The Bible presents Jesus Christ in absolutes, in challenging words of truth that brings clarity, opening your heart and mind to His terms of restoration, spiritual regeneration, and the Christ centred relationship that He intends for you.
To be a Christian we must agree with God about who Jesus Christ is, agreeing that Jesus is “our great God and Saviour” (Titus 2:13). We must believe in (trust in, depend upon) Jesus who “was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4:25). Justification means we are acquitted from guilt, presented as right before God purely because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, which He did in our place. Jesus “bore our sins in his body” when He died on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). God the Father vented His full justice on His Son, punishing Jesus with our death penalty for our sin. To be a Christian we must love Jesus Christ as Lord (Master), which identifies the pretend from the genuine Christians. Jesus declared His Lordship over anyone who genuinely wants to believe in Him by saying; ”If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
I encourage you to ask yourself, “do I think clearly about Jesus Christ?” If you would like to read a more detailed explanation, you can download What is a Christian by clicking on this link.