Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV
Participating in a campus college ministry was one of the most formative activities impacting my spiritual walk for the rest of my life. I can still remember the house and the weekend that we were taught how to share the 4 Spiritual Laws written by Bill Bright. We had to memorize the booklet word for word and practiced using the material with one another. Jesus is the answer to mankind’s problem of sin and all of it’s damage to our lives.
Why do we need a Savior?
- It’s not because we need to adopt a new belief system. Adding new techniques, thoughts and strategies to live life in a new and productive way is helpful. Yes, we should treat people with kindness and forgive them, but that will not address our core problem.
- It’s not primarily about making a good person better or a bad person good. Internally, each person has a scale in their minds of where they measure up compared to other people. We judge most to be lower than us and a few to be ahead of us. We would then look to Jesus for just a little bit of help to make us better. Jesus does not want to put new clothes on a dirty soul.
- It’s not because Christianity is a better solution than other religions. Some will say all roads can lead to God, just find what works for you. This sounds good, but it is a lie. Jesus declared His own exclusivity. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 NIV
- We need a Savior because we are spiritually dead. Every single person is spiritually dead because of the presence, alignment and the effects of sin in their lives. Every person is incapable of a remedy to remove the condition of this spiritual death by one’s own efforts. We need help from beyond ourselves. We need a Savior.
When you identify every person you see with the same prognosis of spiritual death the field of need is level. Everyone needs a Savior. Rich people, poor people, smart people, slow people, different races and cultures, all nationalities, people with few problems, people with addictions, people happy, people sad, people partying, people wanting to be alone, people in happy families, people divorced, people in jail, people with good vocations, people on the side of the street asking for money, people driving expensive cars, people in the bars, people at home with families…all are spiritually dead and in need of a Savior.
Jesus remedy for this terminal condition is a new birth, “you must be born again.” Jesus death on the cross, burial and resurrection paved the way for this new birth. But it requires faith and confession to make the “new birth” yours. Everyone enters this new life by identification of the horrible condition and presence sin makes in comparison to God’s perfection and glory.
Faith is the unseen declaration of the heart that says to Jesus, “I need you, I am yours, I am giving all of me to all of You. Take my dead, broken and messed up heart.” No one but God can fully see that decision being made in your heart. It is the agreement with God that you truly are dead and incapable of saving yourself. It is the declaration of the heart similar to Peter’s recognition when he was sinking in the water and cried out to Jesus to save him.
Confession is the open declaration of the internal decision. It’s not enough to just have good thoughts about Jesus. We need to declare openly. “Jesus, I need you as my Savior and Lord, forgive me of my sins and come into my life.” Others need to hear you make this confession.
When confession and faith in Jesus are aligned, spiritual new birth occurs…instantly. A person becomes a child of the kingdom of God. As many as believed in Him, Jesus, He gives the right to become children of God…and that is what you are.
Why do we need a Savior? We are dead. A relationship with Jesus raises us up in a new birth. You are now a child of God who is free to live in a new and free way.
Blessings Love y’all