Questions and Answers with Pastor Ray

Jesus is not just a great teacher or just a hero or martyr; nor is He just a prophet or holy man authorized and sent by God. But in Jesus Christ we see no less than God made manifest in human flesh. All of the divine that could be concentrated in human form was embodied in that carpenter of Nazareth, Jesus Christ. He is no mythical figure but a well-documented historical personage whose life, death, and resurrection fully endorse the majestic claims He made about Himself and others made about Him.

What Did Jesus Achieve?

Boldly stated, He rescued the world. What does that mean? Simply that the world has from earliest days been operating under a dangerous bias: man has turned repeatedly, habitually, constantly to his own way. He has turned his back on God and on conscience times without number. This results in a perilous situation if God is, as Scripture and careful reflection would maintain, the Supreme Source of all that is good and upright and holy and just. This holy God cannot simply pretend that human wickedness and evil (as prevalent in our own generation as ever before in the history of mankind) do not matter. Of course they matter. And they will inevitably alienate us not only from each other but from Him who is utter perfection. There can only be one verdict for the whole human race: guilty. That applies to men and women of all religions and of none: all the world is guilty before God (Rom. 3:19). That unholiness in us both evoked God’s righteous judgment and called forth His mercy. It resulted in His own coming to this earth, not only to show us within the confines of a perfect human life what He is like but supremely to fashion a way back to Him for human rebels. What He did was to go to the place of degradation and shame, of the most terrible anguish and suffering; the place where innocent suffering would be experienced at its most acute; the place associated throughout Israel’s history with God’s repudiation and indeed His curse (Deut. 21:22-23).

He went to the cross, that accursed instrument of torture. And He shouldered the curse-the curse, as Paul says, that should have been ours. For it was the curse of God’s judgment upon those who had broken His laws; His personal, though not at all vindictive, verdict against human wickedness (Gal. 3: 10, 13). And the whole New Testament exults in wonder at the generosity of a God who could stoop so low to conquer the hearts of His enemies and could sacrifice Himself so that we could go free. No other leader in any of the world’s religions ever did anything remotely similar. Nowhere do you find the notion of a God who loves at such a cost that He sacrificed Himself for us.

What Can Jesus Offer?

Jesus can offer forgiveness of sins because He himself paid the price. Nowhere else in all the religions of the world will you find that, not in Hinduism, Buddhism or Islam. It is only in Christ that there is an unrestricted, sure and just offer of forgiveness. But there is more. The Resurrection provides life after death with Jesus Christ and fellow believers. His resurrection paves the way for His Holy Spirit to come and indwell our lives. Jesus comes and indwells our lives making Him a constant companion and friend. Remember as Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:8-9 “for it is by grace you have been saved through faith and this not from yourselves it is the gift of God- not by works so that no one can boast.”