If what Jesus claimed is true, how would it change the way you think or live your life? If Jesus is true, could there be anything more important to consider than who He is?
At The Well, we believe that Jesus is God and we take Him at His word. In Him we find rest for our souls. In Him we have an eternal hope. In Him we have salvation and are united in a relationship with the God of the universe. In Him we can have freedom and joy forever. In Him we find purpose in this life. We have tested this out and found it to be true time and time again. And so we worship and serve Him because of who He is, and because of what He has done for us.
The Bible says that we were created to be in a relationship with God. God desires for us to be whole and have intimacy with Him. However, we have sinned, and rebelled against God, and because of our sin we have fractured our relationship with God. Since God is perfect, holy, and just, He rightly punishes sin. Not only is sin turning our face away from God, but it is showing that we are against Him and His ways. (Genesis 1:27, Romans 3:23, Psalm 5:4-5, Colossians 1:21)
However, God is also a God who is slow to anger, who is full of mercy and grace, and who is rich in love. God desires all of us to be united in relationship with Him yet our sin severs us. So, what do we do to fix this problem? Or better question, what does God do? (Psalm 103:8, Romans 6:23)
God sent us His son Jesus. Jesus came to us as a man and lived a perfect life that we could never live. Jesus walked on earth, taught us the ways of God, and showed us what it looked like to have a relationship with God. However, Jesus was not just a man with nice teaching! Jesus was also the God of the universe. Jesus, after living perfectly, died a sinner’s death on the cross, paying our penalty of sin and separation. How did He do that? (John 4:34, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 John 2:2)
Well, because Jesus was man, He was tempted with everything we are tempted with, yet He never sinned. Also because Jesus was God, He was powerful and strong enough to pay the penalty of our sins, and was raised from the grave, conquering death. So, since Jesus was God, He can save us, and since Jesus was man, He can save us. This is good news! (Hebrews 4:15, Romans 1:4-5)
God loves us so much that He actually made a divine trade. He gave us Jesus’ righteousness, and Jesus took on our sin. This made a way for us to be brought into a right relationship with Him again. This shows that God is still holy, perfect and just because He punished sin and didn’t let it go; and that He is merciful, gracious, and loving because He made a way for us to connect again with Him. (1 John 4:10, Romans 3:25, Romans 5:8)
Then what is our part? Well, all we have to do is believe in Jesus and we get this trade. Does this sound like one of those scam emails or an “As Seen on TV” ad that sounds too good to be true?! Well it should. God gives us what I like to call “scandalous grace.” Because He desires us so much, He made it as simple as possible for us to know Him. However, this faith is not just a “check in the box” type of thing. This faith transforms our lives! Once we get a little taste of Jesus, it is intoxicating and exhilarating, and it will alter who we are. Not in some religious sense where we put on our “Sunday best” and become altar boys. But it does make us want more and more of Him. Once we taste Jesus we will be sold out to Him. We find joy, hope, love, peace and freedom in Christ. We have everything we need in Him. Why would we go back? (John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Psalm 34:8, Colossians 1:5)
So, it’s all about Jesus! We believe that fully and desire to live fully to Him. This is why we serve the way we do, why we sing the way we do, why we teach the way we do, why we live the way we do. Jesus is too good to find life anywhere else. In Him we have life and life to the fullest! So we encourage you, consider Jesus. Was He a “good” man with cute words, or was He something so much more? (John 17:3, John 8:32)