Does your understanding of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus line up with Scripture? Do you believe Jesus is who Scripture says He is? Living truth means having a Biblical understanding of Jesus. This is absolutely foundational to the Christian faith because Jesus is the foundation of our faith. All 66 books of the Bible tell the story of God’s redemptive plan to save sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
This seems like such a simple topic and yet so many professing Christians get it wrong. I believe this is because many churches that claim to be Christian blaspheme Jesus from the pulpit. They don’t teach about Jesus from Scripture. They instead teach of a Jesus that acts just like the unbelieving world. Many religions outside of Christianity claim to know Jesus, but they don’t view Him rightly as God the Son. They view Him as a prophet, a saint, or a good moral teacher. As Christians, we have to reject these definitions and see the danger in viewing Jesus as anything other than God.
because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
We also need to have a right understanding of Jesus’ mission. Jesus came to Earth to live the perfect life, not just as an example, but so He would be without sin. Only then could He be the perfect sacrifice, the spotless lamb, and the only one who could pay the penalty for our sin because He had no sin of His own. By His resurrection, He defeated sin and death so that we could not only have eternal life, but so that we could put to death sin in this life. Are you living the truth that Jesus is Lord and that He came to save you from your sin?
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 1 John 2:2
Not Just My Savior in Death
In the house that I grew up in, my parents had a print by a Christian artist hanging by the front door. It depicted Jesus standing in the clouds hugging someone I assumed was just entering heaven. This picture brought me great comfort when a loved one would pass or when I was facing something difficult. However, my faith really didn’t go beyond the idea of this picture. I believed Jesus would one day save me from hell but until then I would just go on living the life I’ve always lived.
Many believers claim that Christ is their Savior, but they don’t seek to know Him or what is pleasing to Him through the study of His Word. They aren’t repenting of sin in their lives. As a matter of fact, they don’t think we should even acknowledge or tell others what God calls sin. This is not the Gospel because without sin there is no Good News. We must understand the gravity of our sin in order to realize our great need for a Savior.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. John 8:34
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are given the power through the Holy Spirit to no longer be slaves to sin, but to be slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:18). This starts with knowing what God calls sin and recognizing my own sin. This is why the law is important. Then it requires rejecting what God calls sin, praying to God for forgiveness of my sin, and turning away from sin to the things of God. Then doing that over and over again every day for the rest of my life. This is how we walk by the Spirit and stop gratifying the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
Lord of My Life
If I look at the first thirty years of my life, I can tell you that this is where I got it wrong. Thankfully, God didn’t leave me there. When I came to faith, God showed me through the Holy Spirit that following Christ meant He was Lord of my life. It was no longer I who lived, but Christ who lived in me (Galatians 2:20). I have a purpose and it is to glorify God by making disciples and teaching them to observe all that God has commanded (Matthew 28:19-20).
My Creator made me to worship, glorify, and fellowship with Him. He is a Holy God, who does not tolerate sin, and I have personally sinned against Him on several occasions. But He showed His great love for me that while I was a sinner, He sent Christ to die for me so that I may be justified and saved from His wrath (Romans 5:8-9). I owe Him a debt I can never repay, and He paid it for me. However, He did not pay that debt so that I could continue to accumulate more debt (even though He has paid for my future sin as well). He did it so that I could live for Him.
If Christ is truly the Lord of my life, then I surrender all to Him. There is no part of my life that He doesn’t control. This means if God’s Word convicts me, I quickly change my course to line up with His. I don’t go anywhere that He is not going. When He says to move, I move. I am still when He says to be still. I do not make decisions without praying for His direction first. Everyday I make the choice to take up my cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24), and I can truly say, it’s been the best years of my life.
The Lies
Any representation of Jesus as anything other than God, is a lie. Any religion that claims Jesus is anything other than God is a false religion. Scripture is clear that Jesus is God. He is eternal. He was there at creation and all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made (John 1:3). This means you can not separate God the Son from God the Father or claim that their mission, commandments, or their Words are different. Time and time again Jesus says that He did not come on His own authority, but the authority of the Father who sent Him. He warned that if we do not know God the Father, we do not know Him.
The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” John 12:48-50
I see so many people, in an effort to appeal to the world, try to make Jesus more like us. They take one thing He did or said, separate it from the rest of Scripture, and make unbiblical assumptions. My favorite one is, Jesus ate with sinners so clearly we shouldn’t call out what God calls sin. But Jesus was clear that if we love Him we will keep His commandments (John 14:15), which means not sin. His commandments are the same as the Old Testament commandments. You can not separate Jesus from the rest of Scripture. He is literally called the Word made flesh (John 1:14).
Anchored To Truth
There is so much more I can say about how the world lies about Jesus. It is a very popular topic on social media and among women pastors everywhere. I hope to write more about that later this month. However, I encourage you to seek the truth about Jesus in the Word of God. We must reject the lies of the world especially when it comes to the foundation of our faith. As followers of Christ, we must view Jesus as God of all and as Lord of our lives. We must understand our great need for Him to save us from the wrath of a Holy God as well as to save us from our sin. We must be willing to publicly reject what God calls sin, and share with others that we are all sinners in need of a Savior. This is what it looks like to be living truth.
Be sure to download Lesson 5: Jesus of Anchored to Truth. I welcome your questions and comments. Send me an email through my Contact Page.