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WHY DID JESUS COME
TO EARTH?
Jesus
answers this question in John 10:10 by saying "...I have come
that they may have life and have it more abundantly." This abundant
life is something we can enjoy now and in the age to come (Luke
18:29-30). Can anyone else give us life but Jesus? In John 14:6
we read "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the
Father except through me." We see that only Jesus can give us life.
But not everyone can have this life that Jesus came to give. Only those
that do the will of the Father can receive it (Matthew 7:21). The
will of the Father is to listen to His Son Jesus (Matthew 17:5).
Jesus tells us in John 8:24 "I told you that you will die in your
sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will
die in your sins." Those that do
receive Jesus have the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
To do His will means everything that He commands of us. Besides
believing in Him we must repent or we will perish (Luke 13:3).
What does this word repentance mean? It's a turn around; change
of mind or heart; to be sorry for what we did. A biblical example of
this is found in Matthew 21:28-30. After one repents then Jesus
must be acknowledged before men (Matthew 10:32-33), this is
called confession. It's important to note here that we are confessing
Jesus as being the Son of God--not our sins. We confess Jesus the same
way Peter did in Matthew 16:16 when he said "You are the
Christ, the Son of the living God". We can also compare Romans
10:10 with Acts 8:37. Paul tells the Romans that "...it is
with your mouth that you confess…” and in Acts 8:37 Philip
said to the Eunuch "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
The Eunuch answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son
of God." Confession is simply stating publicly that "Jesus Christ
is the Son of God".
Is there anything else Christ wants us to do? In Matt 28:18-20,
Jesus says to "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,..." We can further learn that if we believe and are
baptized, we shall be saved, but if we don't believe we will be
condemned (Mark 16:16). Jesus wants us to be baptized because
it’s through baptism that we get into Christ (Galatians 3:26-27).
Why is it important that we want to be in Christ? Romans 8:1
tells us that "Therefore there is no condemnation for those who are
in Christ Jesus." We also learn from the apostle Peter that our sins
are washed away in baptism
(Acts 2:38). Baptism must be a burial as opposed to sprinkling
because it represents the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
(Romans 6:3-4). If one is not baptized then he cannot enter the
kingdom of God (John 3:3-5). Jesus, even without sin, was
baptized to show obedience to God's commandments (Matthew 3:13-17).
Peter explained what baptism symbolizes in 1 Peter 3:20-21.
Belief, Repentance, Confession, and Baptism are commandments of God and
must be obeyed to receive His gift of eternal salvation. If we know the
right thing to do and don't do it, we sin (James 4:17). Do we
love Jesus? If so, then we'll keep His commandments (John 14:15)
and receive the abundant life that Jesus came to give.
When studying the Bible often times the obvious is overlooked. The
Bible, God's Holy Word plainly teaches that baptism is essential to
eternal life. We can't keep part of His word and discard the other. We
must keep the whole commandments of God to be acceptable in His sight.
We need to open up the Word of God and see for ourselves all that is
required of us to be saved in accordance with what God our Father has
instructed? "Let the word of the Lord richly dwell within you..."
(Colossians 3:16).
----Richard
Thetford |
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