Does truth really exist or do we create reality in our heads? Do our beliefs determine what is true? Is there really life after death or is that hope just an illusion? Is there is really a heaven?
Jesus Christ is real. He contradicts the view that truth is relative and He claims to be the truth. In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” When Jesus was before Pontius Pilate, Jesus told him, . . . for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” (John 18:37)
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In John 8:31-32, Jesus says, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus clearly claims to be more that a prophet; He claims to be the eternal pre-existing God in human form.
Why is the cross so significant? It is at the heart of Christ’s message. People don’t understand Jesus Christ because they don’t understand the cross. They don’t understand the gravity of sin and the magnitude of God. Sin is rebellion against God; breaking the boundaries that God has set to prevent us from getting hurt and hurting others. Sin is hostility towards God when we don’t want to submit to Him but rather do things our own way. The Ten Commandments are not suggestions. God desires to forgive us. He can judge evil but still love us. That comes together at the cross and that is why the cross is so important. Jesus Christ claims that His death on the cross is the vehicle through which He offers us life with God for eternity. He took the judgment that we deserve for our sins so that we receive what we don’t deserve: God’s forgiveness, a restored relationship with God, and eternal life. That’s why we need Jesus. He rose from the dead and calls us to put our faith in Him and to make a commitment to Him because He’s the truth, He’s reliable and He loves us. We are to die to our self-centeredness, ask for forgiveness and commit our lives to Him.
Summary submitted by Karen Walsh
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