Why Christ for me?

When I was in eighth grade one of my school mates went to a church and she said I don't see any purpose in this. I don't think she went back to church for a long time.  Maybe you see how the world presents Christianity and are asking the same questions.  I have to admit, the Christian examples I see as a whole makes me wonder if this is what Christianity is supposed to be.  How are we going to let the world know how good we have it if we don't live like we got it?  First there is some confusion about what we have.  Christianity is not a guarantee of the easiest live ever imagined.  On the contrary, being a Christian will require tough decisions.  It will require great commitment. Your walk with Christ may lead you into persecution.  You may have to live less luxurious life than you are capable. But why would one give up luxury, riches, fame and so on to be a Christian.  I think the answer is best answered by the story of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.  You see, before the Israelites were even a people or a race their father Abraham went to Egypt during a great famine along with his whole clan that consisted of about 70 men.  They took up residence and grew into a large crowd.  Pharaoh decided that the Israelites were too big and put them into slavery to not only make money off them but to control them so they would never turn to benefit one of their enemies.  Egypt, once the land of survival, became their harsh and demanding slave master.  God had foretold this to Abraham that his people would be slaves in a foreign land but that God would bring them out.  In Exodus, below, God makes a promise to the leaders of Israel that I think you should read:

Exodus 6:6-8

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.⁷ I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God.Then you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. ⁸ And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the Lord.’”

God makes promises I would like to repeat for you:

1.  I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.

2.  I will free you from being slaves to them.

3. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

4.  I will take you as my own people and I will be your God.

You can read Exodus or watch the "Ten Commandments" movie to see how this unfolded.  But I want to draw a parallel with another bible story that begins with Adam and Eve.  You see, in Genesis, they were in the Garden of Eden and there was a tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  God specifically told Adam and Eve that you must not eat of this tree or you would die.  Now Adam and Eve were living spiritual beings. They were immortal, that they would live forever.   Adam had all authority under God over the earth to subdue it.  Now Satan came and deceived Eve and convinced her that the fruit of this tree would be good to make her and Adam as wise as God knowing good and evil.  So she sinned first and then gave the fruit to Adam and he also sinned.  They died a spiritual death.  They were no longer immortal beings.  They lost their God given authority over the earth and they came into bondage to the curses of their sins.  Their children including us were born to the same bondage of sin and eventual death.

Now God, His son, Jesus Christ, came.  Not under the inheritance of sin like you and I, but under freedom from sin.  He is not a literal son of Adam since He was conceived by the Holy Spirit.  But is God's literal Son and did not inherit Adam's sin.  Mankind was in a fix.  There was only one way to fix the problem.  Jesus had to purchase back the keys to death, Hell and the grave.  He had to conquer sin and death.  To do this, He had to pay the ultimate price for our sins.  He had to die on a cross.  If Jesus had sinned prior to the cross, the sacrifice would have been meaningless for He would have lost the battle.  But He did not lose the battle.  He lived a sinless life and became a sacrifice without blemish.

Now there are promises we have if we believe in Christ.  See what Jesus did parallels the promises God made to Egypt:

1.  He removed me from the burden of Sin.  I was captured in sin.  Sin mastered me.  If I wanted to do good I was fighting against my captivity.  Sin, as you know, drags you deeper and deeper into bondage.  It puts burdens on you that spiral down into hopelessness.  For example, drugs, take a little bit of a chemical to get high.  Maybe someone gives it too you.  It gives you a short thrill for a time and then it wears off.  You want more so it cost you and it will eventually take all you have; your dignity, your job, your resources and eventually your life.  Sin has become your slave master.  It has trapped you and you have no escape.

2.  He set me free from the slavery to Sin.  When God removed the Israelites from Egypt, they no longer had their daily burdens to perform, but they still had an attitude of slavery.  Even some Christians I know think that God forgave us of our sins but they still flounder in gross sin.  But I tell you that Jesus did more than forgive us of our sins.  He gave us the power to live without sin just as Jesus lived without sin. 

3.  He redeemed me with His very life.  As we have already discussed, Jesus died for my sins.  He redeemed me from my on curse.  He paid a price for me that I deserved to pay.  When Christ died on the Cross, He paid the penalty for my sins.  I am no longer slave to sin, but I have been set free.  I am no longer dead spiritually.  Christ said "If you believe in me, you will never die."  He did not die just for my sins but for yours also.

4.  He made me His son and gave me His name. I am now an heir to Christ.  Jesus said that He is going to prepare for me a building in His Kingdom.  You know, where He went, my body cannot go.  So Christ gave me a living spirit and there I will also get a new body to go with my living spirit.

5.  He has promised a place with Him eternally.  I want you to understand something.  Not only do I have a promise that my spirit will never die.  But when I received Christ as my Lord and Savior, God Himself, made me a dwelling for His Holy Spirit. Read the scripture below:

2 Corinthians 6:16-18

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶  ...  For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them
    and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
    and they will be my people."

¹⁷ Therefore,

“Come out from them
    and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
    and I will receive you."

 ¹⁸ And, “I will be a Father to you,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”

2 Corinthians 7:1

New International Version (NIV)

7 Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

What a great thing Christ has done for us.  I have chosen Christ as my Lord, Savior and my God.  He promises you eternal life.  But just as important, freedom from sin and the burden of sin.  He paid for your sins.  You just have to receive Him as your Lord and Savior.  But know this; God will not dwell in a disrespectful temple.  You have to repent of your sins.  Repentance is not just an apology but an honest attempt to no longer sin or do those things you once did.  Look to His grace to help you.  You cannot do it on your own.  Paul said in the verses above to "come out from them and be separate".  He also said "let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God."

Do you love your sin and your bondage just like the Egyptians did?  While they were in the desert, instead of moving forward with God, they desired the old life back in Egypt.  You have a decision to make.  Now is a good time for you may not have another.  Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.  By God's grace you can walk away from the bondage and the burden's of sin and be truly free.  Receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior and receive His eternal life.

As you can see, when you believe in Christ, you know you are free.   The girl from 8^th grade now has cancer and her only hope is in Christ.  Only God knows how her life would of been changed if she allowed Jesus to set her free from bondage years ago.  But many Christians fail to understand what freedom from sin really can mean because while they are free, they do not leave the bondage.  They voluntarily hang around and continued to serve sin.  This should not be so.  America is is dire straights because we have left the God that made this country great.  We have chosen an arrogant path of willful sin. While many claim to be Christians, only a few left the sin and the bondage behind and served Christ.  To repeat Paul's words again.  "Come out from them and be separate".  God did not just forgive us of our sins; He gave us POWER to not have to sin.  Are you a Christian still living in gross sin?  God calls you and empowers you to come out of sin for His names sake.  If you continue in willful sin, your salvation is in danger.

What I think is the most fascinating is that God chose to call us His people when we call on Him.  Do you comprehend what it means for the one and only God who created the universe to call you his own out of the whole world?  If God be for us, who can stand against us?  No one!

Finally, in the last days of this age, Christ will come back and with a mighty hand, with mighty works will save His people, those who have chosen Him as their God.  We call this Armageddon.  Here God and God alone will fight all those who have intentionally rejected Him. Multitudes upon multitudes of military might will come against God's people at Jerusalem and God will overwhelming destroy them.  Man will not participate in this great salvation.  It will be God's work alone.  This salvation is for those who have decided to live for God, those who decided that riches of this world are not ultimate goal but a relationship with God and having His Spirit dwelling inside.  You have to know, if you got the Holy Spirit dwelling inside, you will not want any part to sin because you feel the pain with Him in your spirit as you walk in failure.  When you strive for that very close relationship with Christ, the last thing you will want to do is to offend His Spirit with willful sin.

Thanks,