Why Do We Need A Savior? And Why Jesus?

Before you start the studies available to you in Walking Towards the Light, it would be a good idea to know why you’re doing them, right? Who is this Jesus, and why do I need to know Him? Here’s why, and what happened:

In the beginning God created Heaven and earth. God then created a little bit of Heaven right here on earth, and He called it the Garden of Eden. God made beautiful trees for this garden and plants and herb-yielding seed. He created animals to walk on the earth, swim in the sea, and fly in the air. Then God made man, Adam, and woman, Eve.God gave Adam and Eve this most beautiful and perfect garden to live in. In the cool of the day, Adam and Eve had the most awesome blessing of walking and talking with God, right there in the garden. (Genesis1-2)

Everything that was in the garden was good for food and pleasing to the sight. And God gave it all to Adam and Eve. But He placed one ... only one ... restriction on them: they were not to eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They could have anything else they wanted, but they were not to eat the fruit from that one tree.

Along came the serpent, sly and cunning. He deceived Eve by convincing her that there would not be consequences for disobeying God's one and only restriction.  Eve believed him, or maybe she thought "well, just a little bit won't hurt me," and she ate. She then gave some to Adam, and he ate as well. With that action of disobeying God's direction, what we now call "sin" entered the world.

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God had told them that if they ate this fruit they would surely die. Yet they did not die in the flesh. So, what did God mean when He said they would surely "die?"

Well, take a look at what happened there. God expelled them out of the Garden of Eden. No longer could they walk and talk with God in the cool of the day. They were banished from the garden ... and banished from the presence of God.

That’s what the Scriptural meaning of “death” is…being separated from God.  As we all know, Adam and Eve did eventually die in the flesh, and because of all these events, so will each one of us.

That’s what happened to Adam and Eve…and it’s what has happened to each one of us since that time. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Every single one us, except Jesus. Yet God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)  He gave us the way back to Himself. Through Jesus Christ, we can once again be in right relationship and fellowship with the Father.

Jesus Christ came to this earth in the form of man. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. (Isaiah 53:5) He was betrayed by a close associate, He was beaten (it is said until He was unrecognizable), His blood was shed, and then He suffered a grueling and humiliating death on the cross. He spent three days in the grave, and was then resurrected by the power of the Holy Spirit of God. He ascended into Heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of the Father, ever making intercession for us. (Romans 8:34)

But He didn’t leave us alone. He sent His Holy Spirit to live within the hearts of every person who would accept Him. He gave us His anointed and inspired Word––the Holy Bible––which is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. (Psalm 119:105) Jesus has done everything possible to enable us to be brought back into right relationship with the Father. He shed His blood for the remission of our sins. He gave us His Word as a guide for our lives. And He gave us His Holy Spirit, who enables us by His grace and power, to live that Word.

And so I praise Him. I praise the God of all comfort, and the God who is so worthy of glory and honor. And before you begin these studies, I want to give you the opportunity to come to know the God of all comfort, through His Son, Jesus Christ. If you feel like you have “one foot on a banana peel…” place the other one in the hand of God because there is no safer place to be.

I invite you to pray this prayer with me…pray it from your heart: 

      Jesus, I am a sinner. I have done wrong, and I am sorry. I know I need You, so I ask You to please forgive me. Come into my heart and cleanse me from all my wrong doings. Teach me Your ways, and be the Lord of my life. Thank You for loving me so much that You gave Your life, so that today I could be brought back into a right relationship with You. Amen.

Welcome to the Kingdom!

The Bible - The Holy and Inspired Word of God

Now that you know Jesus, only one more question remains before we begin these studies. The question concerns the inerrant, holy Word of God. Is the Bible God’s word? Or man’s?

The Bible is God's Word. Allow me to explain, using an example from my own life:

I began my career early in life as a secretary. Back then, bosses used to dictate letters to their secretaries. You would sit in the boss’ office, pad and pencil in hand. S/he would speak and you would write his or her words down on a page of the notebook.

These notes, scrawled in a language that no one could understand but you, were called “shorthand.” Shorthand was a written system of symbols and marks, which have direct correlation to words in the English language.

It was a different kind of “language”––different in the same manner that sign language is different. Move your fingers in a specific manner, and those trained in sign language know exactly what you are trying to communicate. Write down the code of shorthand, and you will be able to transcribe exactly what the boss said. 

This is a perfect, paralleled example of how the Bible was written. The words you wrote down on your notepad were not your words. They were your boss’ words. You wrote them down, then you transcribed them onto a sheet of paper so that the recipient of the letter could read and understand the words that were being written to him or her. Then your boss signed the letter as the one sending it, and off it went in the mail.

When the recipient received the letter, s/he knew the words in the letter were from your boss, not from you. This is exactly how the Bible was written. God's word, written by the hand of man.

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:21

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All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteous. 2 Timothy 3: 16

In order to remain stable through the storms we experience in life, it’s vital to find and understand truth. Human emotions are not a stable jumping off place. There must be something—some One—larger than life. 

So, this issue concerning the inherency and holiness of the Word of God, is critical.  It’s essential to get this point set in your mind and heart: God inspired the words of Scripture into the hearts of men, and then those men wrote the words down on paper, or papyrus, which was the medium of the day. Men wrote them down, but they were the words of God. His message, not man’s. It’s God’s message to us, so that we would be able to understand what He wants to say to us.

God is not a man that He could lie (Numbers 23:19). Therefore, we can trust His Word. We can know that it is truth, even the parts that we don’t yet understand. We can know that even as we learn and grow from childhood through adolescence and on to adulthood, we will learn and grow in spiritual truths as well. So begin your walk with Jesus, and begin your studies about Him in faith, knowing that as you take each step, you are walking towards the Light.

 The Bible says that we must be transformed by the renewing of our minds. (Romans 12:2)  As you study and learn, you will discover some new truths that will lead you on a Godly pathway, walking by the Spirit of the Living God. May you be blessed beyond your wildest imagination!

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