Several years ago, Rick left Chicago on his way back to home. He had a couple people with him…he was busy talking, probably telling stories. About an hour later, one of the guys realized Rick was headed south not north, and was now closer to central Illinois than he was to home! Crazy isn’t it, that you can go that far in the wrong direction and not realize it? Thankfully, someone was with Rick both times—someone who read the road signs and got him turned around. It’s good to have someone tell you you’re headed in the wrong direction, right? Well, it should be. But people usually don’t like being told they’re wrong. Let’s think about Jesus…
Imagine you’re in Israel. Jesus is doing all these amazing miracles, but he teaches a different message from the religious leaders you’ve known all your life. He’s is teaching that you must repent or you will die in your sins. He says that He is the light of the world and that belief in him is the only way to eternal life in heaven (John 8:12). That is not what the leaders teach. They teach that you must keep these 600+ rules and you’re all set. Obey every rule and you’re on your way to heaven. But keeping all these rules is impossible. So maybe you’ll get to heaven, but maybe you won’t. What Jesus teaches is faith in Him is the way to heaven. It’s that simple. Jesus teaches this to the people, AND He tells the religious leaders right to their face that they are wrong. It’s not about rules. It’s about faith and repentance of sin. They too must repent, which is incredible because these religious leaders make themselves out to be perfect. Man, does that make them mad! Then Jesus makes them even madder when He says He’s God. They’re stunned! They ask Him, “Who do you make yourself out to be?” (John 8:53). After all, Jesus is just some carpenter’s son from a nothing little town in Galilee…He’s a nobody.
You know what made the leaders mad? Jesus told them they were wrong. The leaders thought they were being ultra-religious when in reality they were sons of Satan (John 8:44). They were going in the wrong direction. What the people AND the leaders needed to do was change direction. So here’s a question for you: was it wrong of Jesus to tell the people and the leaders they were wrong since it upset them and made them so mad? No. They needed to hear the truth so they could change. Without hearing the truth, there’ no possibility of changing and no hope of eternal life.
It’s no different now. The truth is that Jesus was God in the flesh when He was here in the world. He lived a sinless life. Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe in Him. He was raised from the dead and is now in heaven. The truth is that the only way to eternal life is belief in Jesus—repenting (turning your back on living a sin-filled life) and believing in Jesus through faith that is granted to you by God. When you follow Jesus, you are a new creation (2 Cor 5:17). Isn’t that exciting news? And as you follow Jesus, the Holy Spirit will cause you to want to be more and more like Jesus. Your life will be changed. You will be headed in a new direction that will be evident to everyone around you. The other truth is that without Jesus, you are going in the wrong direction, and you’re on the road to hell. My prayer is that you will desire to follow Jesus and that God will grant you repentance and faith. If you need a Bible, let me know.
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