This is the most important questions ever asked. No man can ever be saved if he fails this test. To recognize and hail Christ as God come in the flesh is the beginning of the salvation process that leads to eternal life. Christ is the "cornerstone." Eph 2:20 Honestly, without that perception, man will remain guilt ridden, roam as a lost sheep without a shepherd, and condemned forever. What a person thinks of Christ determines the destiny of their soul. Jn 8:24 Every person must think something about the Christ. No one can be indifferent, or sitting on the fence. Mt 12:30 A person who denies Christ is often stimulated by the mention of His name. The mention of Buddha or Muhammad doesn't upset them, but the very sound of Christ gets them up in arms and brings forth fierce opposition, why? It is my opinion, that people have no fear of Muhammad or Buddha. Now Christ, on the other hand, is a different story because the thought that Christ just may be all that He said He is can be very alarming and disturbing. They can not let the thought of Christ alone because the thought of Christ can not let them alone! So, what do you think of the Christ, whose son is He?
The Pharisees said He was "the son of David." Jesus was the son of David according to the flesh. Rom 1:3 His mother was human, which made Him the son of man. With a portion of His nature as human as His mother, Christ "became flesh and dwelt among us." Jn 1:14 His dual nature of human and divine made Him qualified to be the only redeemer and mediator of mankind. 1Ti 2:5,6 Christ was tempted, He felt hunger and thirst, He suffered agony, and he felt the need for prayer like any other person on this earth.
The only problem with the Pharisees response is that is only half true! Remember this, "A half truth is a whole lie." Christ formed an argument (Mt 22:43-46) from Ps 110:1 saying since He existed before David, He is more than the son of David. Christ has always existed! Jn 1:1-3 Christ is the only begotten Son of God, born of a virgin, begotten of the Holy Spirit. Lk 1:26-35; Jn 1:14 He is called Immanuel Mt 1:23
Jesus' teachings testified to His divinity. Mt 7:29 His authoritative teachings distinguished Him from other men. He spoke of the future so positively that you would have thought it had already happened! Have you ever realized that Jesus said He would return in the day and night? Lk 17:31,34 Today, we understand the possibility of that because we know the earth is round. It is day on one part of the earth and night on another. How can you account for this teaching hundreds of years before mankind ever even dreamed of the earth being round? Because Christ was divine and more than the son of man!
His works testified to His divinity. His miracles were evidence to support His claim of divinity. Jn 3:2 He had power over nature. He walked on water. He had authority over diseases. People who had long term diseases that couldn't be cured by doctors were healed just by touching Christ's garments. Even death submitted to Jesus. A man, Lazarus, was dead for four days and Jesus raised him from the grave! Why do we read of these miracles in the Bible? So Jesus can be lifted up as one cool cat and a powerful cat at that! NO! These are recorded so we can have believe in Jesus today (Jn 20:30,31) and understand He is more than the son of David, He is deity! Because that belief is the start of a salvation process that leads to eternal life. The question that arises is this, are the Biblical accounts trustworthy? Yes, because I said so and that's good enough. Just playin'! don't ever take a man's word on Scripture. Let the Bible commentate on its self!
These signs and miracles we read about are not hearsay. The writers had seen, heard, and touched Christ. 1Jn 1:1 The writers definitely believed what they wrote and testified to as they died for what they taught. Not many people will die for what they know to be false! The letters they wrote passed the "acid test." The acid test is basically a time proven thing. I heard Ed Wharton use this illustration one time. "If I wrote a book today about a man named Ed Wharton that did all these miracles, signs, and wonders in Lubbock, TX people would read it and call me a phony. They would say I live in Lubbock, TX and I have never seen hide nor hair of this fella. This book is garbage and it is not true. They would be correct in that assumption. This never happened to the letters that are in our Bible because they were written and circulated in a time that everyone knew Jesus did these things." That is the acid test.
History testifies to His divinity. Today is A.D. 2012. That means in the year of our Lord two thousand and twelve. Our calendar is based on the advent of Christ! That calender is recognized by the most powerful nations in the world today. That is a true testimony of Christ's divinity. Beware my friends there are attempts to change our calendar. Satan will never stop attacking.
Think about the vast amounts of people that gathered yesterday, the Lord's Day, or Sunday, or the first day of the week to worship. What great event happened to make this day special? The resurrection of Christ! For this reason it is called the Lord's Day. Rev 1:10 Did these two things happen accidentally? NO! They are powerful testimonies that Jesus is more than the son of man. He is the Son of God!
Today, tell someone about the Son of God and the love He had for mankind. That agape love that sent Him to the cross so that we can have eternal life with our Father in heaven. He has provided a way for us to be saved, but will we choose, or partake of, the path he lays out in His teachings? Will you partake of what Jesus provided?
WHAT MUST I DO TO BE SAVED?
We must hear the Word of God: Rom 10:17; Acts 4:4
We must believe or have faith: Heb 11:6; Acts 16:31
We must repent of our sins: Lk 13:3; Acts 17:30
We must confess Christ before others: Mt 10:32; Acts 8:37
We must be immersed into Christ (baptized) Mk 16:16; Acts 2:38
We must be faithful: Rev 2:10; Acts 14:22
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