Having proven that Jesus was God in human flesh, the question must be asked, “Why did Jesus come?” The Scriptures answer that He came because of the human condition.
The
Human Condition
John Calvin wrote:
“For, since we are all naturally prone to hypocrisy, any empty semblance of righteousness is quite enough to satisfy us instead of righteousness itself. And since nothing appears within us or around us that is not tainted with very great impurity, so long as we keep our mind within the confines of human pollution, anything which is in some small degree less defiled delights us as if it were most pure just as an eye, to which nothing but black had been previously presented, deems an object of a whitish, or even of a brownish hue, to be perfectly white. Nay, the bodily sense may furnish a still stronger illustration of the extent to which we are deluded in estimating the powers of the mind. If, at mid-day, we either look down to the ground, or on the surrounding objects which lie open to our view, we think ourselves endued with a very strong and piercing eyesight; but when we look up to the sun, and gaze at it unveiled, the sight which did excellently well for the earth is instantly so dazzled and confounded by the refulgence, as to oblige us to confess that our acuteness in discerning terrestrial objects is mere dimness when applied to the sun. Thus too, it happens in estimating our spiritual qualities. So long as we do not look beyond the earth, we are quite pleased with our own righteousness, wisdom, and virtue; we address ourselves in the most flattering terms, and seem only less than demigods. But should we once begin to raise our thoughts to God, and reflect what kind of Being he is, and how absolute the perfection of that righteousness, and wisdom, and virtue, to which, as a standard, we are bound to be conformed, what formerly delighted us by its false show of righteousness will become polluted with the greatest iniquity; what strangely imposed upon us under the name of wisdom will disgust by its extreme folly; and what presented the appearance of virtuous energy will be condemned as the most miserable impotence. So far are those qualities in us, which seem most perfect, from corresponding to the divine purity.”
-John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion 1.1.2
http://www.reformed.org/books/institutes/bk1ch01.html#two.htm
Most of us, as humans, naturally think of ourselves as generally ‘good’ people. We think to ourselves that as long as we’ve never done anything seriously wrong and lived a fairly good life that God will accept us into heaven when we die. We have this preconception because we look around at each other, and all that we see is someone else’s righteousness which is not that much better or worse than our own. Thus, we come to the conclusion that the subjective standard must be no greater than the average person. Jesus dealt with this belief in His day:
“For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 5:20 (NASB)
In
the eyes of the people, the scribes and Pharisees were the most religious, pious, and righteous men on the planet! It would
be like saying, “Unless you are a better person than Billy Graham [or whoever the most righteous person of modern times in your eyes
is], you will not go to Heaven.” Jesus basically stated that it is impossible for a man to enter heaven the way he is! Why would He say this? To determine this, we must look at the Scriptures, which Jesus said were “spoken…by God” (Matthew
God expected man to live a life free of any sin, and this was God’s covenant with man (i.e. the basis of man’s right standing with God):
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of
the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat
from it you will surely die.”
-Genesis
2:16-17
And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but if you wish to enter intolife, keep the commandments.”
-Matthew 19:17
“…for
it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.”
-Romans 2:13
“However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.””
-Galatians 3:12
However, all have sinned and are under God’s wrath:
“Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world
may become accountable to God;”
-Romans
3:19
“…for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”
-Romans 3:23
“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind,
and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
-Ephesians 2:3
All works that are considered ‘good’ in man’s eyes still cannot overcome or cover man’s sins:
“For all of us have become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us
away.”
-Isaiah 64:6
“Is the Law then
contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would
indeed have been based on law.”
-Galatians
3:21
Thus, salvation is impossible if it is based on the actions of men:
“And Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it
is for those who are wealthy to enter the
-Luke 18:24-25
The Good News
Mankind is corrupt in the eyes of God, Who is the ultimate standard, and justly deserves God’s wrath for our sin. However, what is impossible to man is possible with God:
“When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?” And looking at them Jesus said to them, “With people this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” ”
-Matthew 19:25-26
Thus, God, in His infinite love, has provided a way of salvation for all who believe in Christ:
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge
the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
-John 3:16-18
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our
transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him
in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward
us in Christ Jesus.”
-Ephesians 2:4-7
This salvation is a free gift:
“…being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;”
-Romans 3:24
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;”
-Ephesians 2:8
It is completely unearned:
“Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is
due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…”
-Romans 4:4-5
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result
of works, so that no one may boast.”
-Ephesians
2:8-9
“But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which
we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He
poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to
the hope of eternal life.”
-Titus 3:4-7
No amount of good works can ever give someone a higher standing before God:
“…just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man
to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE
BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.” ”
-Romans 4:6-8
By His death on the cross and resurrection from the grave, Christ has merited all things necessary to save believers from God’s wrath:
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath
of God through Him.”
-Romans 5:9
“…that
if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for
with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the
Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.””
-Romans 10:9-11
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE
WHO HANGS ON A TREE…”
-Galatians 3:13
“For
by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
-Hebrews 10:14
The Gospel of the Grace of God
“…that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in
your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED.””
-Romans 10:9-11
If you have been convicted in your heart of the things written in this article, then pray this prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that I, like all others, am a sinner and have broken Your Righteous and Just Law innumerable times. I repent and ask You to freely forgive me of my iniquity as You have promised in Your unfailing Word, the Bible. I now confess You as the Lord of my life and the Savior of my soul. Your name is the only name under heaven by which men can be saved. I confess that You are truly God and truly man, and that through fellowship with You, I have been made right in the eyes of God. It is by grace through faith that I have been saved. I now know that I have eternal life, and in Your loving grasp, I know that nothing, not even my own sin, can take that away from me. I thank You, my Lord, God, and Savior Jesus Christ, for saving me and transforming my life forever. In Your Holy Name, Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.
If you prayed this prayer and meant it with all your heart, then you have been saved from the just wrath of God. You have passed out of death and into life. If you have truly been saved, then you will hate sin and do your best to turn away from any sinfulness in your life. You now know the gospel of the grace of God:
“But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my
course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God.”
-Acts
The Gospel of the
Grace of God