Why Jesus is the Only Way

David Tedla Redwood Gospel Mission Sermon 22 March 2009 Why Jesus is the Only Way Greetings and salutations to you all. My name is David Tedla. Let me tell you a little about myself. Well believe it or not I am 18 years old. I am in my second semester at the Santa Rosa Junior College. I attended Montgomery High School where I played 4 years of football. I also got 3rd place for a prestigious award. I got 3rd place for the best “Junk in the Trunk.” I have had cornea transplant surgery on both of my eyes. Thank God I can see. I gave you a taste of me so now let me get into my topic. So what I want to talk about is why we need Jesus. Well we need Jesus for his forgiveness. We have all sinned against God. God cannot tolerate sin. What we need to understand is that God is Holy. In Him there is no sin. Therefore, however good we may feel we are, our "goodness" falls short of God’s holiness and we are stained with the guilt of our shameful, careless, selfish, and unrighteous acts. The good news is that Jesus came into the world to save sinners. God knows the horrible situation that man is in because of his sinning, and He has acted through Jesus to atone for our sins. In Jesus, God does something about man’s sin problem. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." Jesus suffered and died in our place. He voluntarily received a penalty that we deserved so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be righteous in the eyes of God. When we surrender our lives to God and stop willfully sinning, He forgives our sins because the sinless Jesus has suffered the penalty for our sins. We need Jesus because he is the basis of our forgiveness. Apart from him we are still in our sins and still condemned to suffer for them. Romans 8:1 says, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." We need Jesus to escape the condemnation we have brought upon ourselves with our sins. Jesus is our salvation from condemnation. Why does this world hate Jesus? What did Jesus ever do to you? He did nothing to you but everything for you! So what is the problem? Why hasn't the world accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior? Because Jesus demands accountability. Accountability from you, accountability from me and accountability from THEM! Jesus offers, expects and demands absolutes and this scares the world to death, literally. Because of rebellion, the world does not want rules, nor do they want anyone, any religion or any God telling them that there is a "right" and there is a "wrong". This world wants to do what they will. What Jesus did for you is something you wouldn't do for your wife, your kids, or any other family member. The greatest thing Jesus gave to us was the Gospel in order for us all to gain eternal life! Isn't that great! Eternal life, where do I sign up? But apparently this world does not want it. So it is our job as Christians to GO preach the Gospel and tell the love of Jesus. But the problem with this world is that we are caught up with the worldly things. 1 John 2:15-16 says, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.”What that scripture is saying is that God did not teach us that, the world did. In Romans 12:2 it says “Do not conform any longer to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Don't be like the rest of the world. So tonight, before yall sleep, pray to God and ask for forgiveness. We need to Repent of our sins. Repent is defined in the dictionary to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better. And most importantly you got to accept Jesus in your life. Tomorrow is no guarantee. And it says in Philippians 2:9-11 “That every knee shall bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Are you going to say it because you want to or have to. I know I want to, how bout you?