What Do You Believe About Jesus?

Have you ever noticed how many people will tell you when asked that they believe in God, but when you ask them which god they believe in their answer is not so spontaneous? Why is it that so many people believe in God but have so little to say about what and who they believe in? Recently, we enjoyed watching the Olympic coverage on TV. Here is a topic that many people will go into long detail over in conversation. Everyone has their favorite event or athlete and they are ready to share their thoughts and recollections with you even if it creates a controversy. But, ask them if they believe in God and what they believe about Him, and conversation for the most part becomes strained.

Ask someone if they believe in Jesus Christ and it takes this whole conversation thing to another level. Some people will turn away from you, some will answer with a simple yes or no. Ask believers what they believe about Jesus Christ and some will struggle to give you an answer that gets beyond the written word; others will give an answer that is shadowed with question. But, there will always be the ones who search your eyes for the sincerity in which you've asked the question, and wonder how much time you have to hear their answer.

So, how about it what do you believe about Jesus Christ? In the gospel of John chapter eight Jesus is telling some Jews who had gathered around Him just what it was that they should believe about Him if they wanted to gain eternal life. I'd like to share with you some of the things He revealed about Himself that if believed would bring men into light and life. Let's look at what He said in John 8:12-24.

Jesus tells those gathered around Him that He is "the Light of the world." That is a powerful statement of truth. It means that He alone possesses the knowledge that this world is in need of. There are and have been brilliant minds in this world that have left an impact in her history. Minds that have contributed to remarkable discoveries in the sciences, doctrines in religions, laws for social order and advancements in technologies. But, Jesus tells the people who are listening that they are in darkness. Their knowledge is restricted to this world. Their knowledge cannot lead them to an eternal application of what they know. Earthly knowledge is without power to give men the light and life that Christ alone possesses.

The Pharisees represented part of the Jewish religious order of Christ's day, and they wanted Him to prove His credentials. They wanted Him to back up what He was saying and doing in the name of His Father with two witnesses. Jesus tells them that they judge truth by human standards. He announces that there is a higher court whose judgments are always true. There is no standard of law truer than the one He possess, and He is not alone in passing judgment from this court of law. The court of law that He was speaking about was made of Himself who was on earth, and His Father who is in heaven. What Jesus said and did was not of Himself, but of He who sent Him into the world to bring His light and life to men.

Finally, Jesus obliges the Pharisees and meets the requirement of their law by saying,"It is written in your law , that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that bear witness to myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me." I wonder how many religious people of this day truly believe that Christ was sent from another world by the Father? How many people believe that Christ is the eternal and Spiritual connection between He who is in heaven and men who reside on earth? The true church and body of Christ should be living in His light and life shaping the course of earth's history according to the Father's plan?

Jesus told the Jews and the Pharisees that were gathered around Him,"You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world: I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be." He is telling them who have a long rich heritage of being a chosen people and nation unto God, that they are in a critical condition. They were rebellious toward God in their lives on earth, and without a provision of forgiveness that would grant them an eternal freedom from the darkness of their sins. He was saying that they would have no eternal place with their Father in heaven if they refused to believe in Him, and what He revealed about Himself. Their condition was critical and would remain so throughout eternity if they chose to reject Him.

The words that Jesus spoke then have a direct bearing on the church and all peoples and nations today. There are too many believers today who have a long rich heritage of belonging to a particular church, but when asked what they believe about Jesus Christ will fall short of the answer that will testify to the truth stating why the Father sent His Son into the world. Seek the Lord with all your heart and mind and He will draw next to you. Believe the testimony that Jesus gave about His coming into the world, and leave the sin of unbelief behind you.