In Matthew 16:15, Jesus asked His disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" No matter what your current spiritual beliefs are, your answer to this one ultimate question will have eternal consequences. Men have called Jesus a good moral teacher, a prophet, an angel, an interesting wise man with good philosophical teachings, and so on. But in truth, you really have just three choices - Jesus is either a liar, a lunatic, or He is Lord. In John 14:6, Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." Jesus stated authoritatively that He is the only way to heaven. In John 10:30, Jesus said, "I and the Father are one." Therefore, He claimed to be God in the flesh. In John 8:32, Jesus said, "you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free," and in Luke 19:10, He said, "For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." So Jesus stated that: 1) there is truth, and 2) people are lost without Him. How can you know if you're lost, and how can you know the truth? Simply examine yourself under the light of God's Law - judge yourself by the Ten Commandments. Have you ever lied or stolen, even once? The Bible says that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire (Revelation 21:8). Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Have you ever looked at a person with lust? (lust is adultery - Matthew 5:28). Have you ever hated anyone? (hatred is murder in God's eyes - 1 John 3:15). If you are guilty of breaking those commandments, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer-at-heart, and a murderer at heart. And what about your secret thought life? God sees it all (Psalm 44:21). Your conscience was given to you by God to warn you of a future place of punishment - hell. If you took your last breath today, would you end up in heaven or hell? Romans 3:10 says “there is none righteous, not even one.” No one can stand before God and claim that they are "good enough" to enter heaven, and no amount of "good works" can help you - you can't bribe the Judge. Only a perfectly sinless eternal Person can pay the infinite penalty for sin committed against God. That Person is Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 states, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Jesus came and lived a perfect sinless life in thought, word, and deed, and died on the cross in your place, as your substitute. Then He rose from the grave and defeated death. Simply put, you broke the Law, and Jesus is the only One who can pay your fine. To partake in that salvation, the Bible says you must humble yourself, repent of your sin, and turn to Christ - surrendering your life to Him as Lord and putting your trust in Him to save you. If you do, God will forgive you once and for all and open your eyes to the truth by the power of the Holy Spirit – Jesus called it being “born again” (John 3:3). So, who do you say Jesus is? Please get right with God today – you may not have tomorrow. Open the Bible and start reading in the Gospel of John. Thank you for reading this.
