Knowing Jesus

We think we know Jesus.

We've heard about Jesus in school. We have read of people talking about their views on Jesus. We even hear people using Jesus' name all the time - as a swear word.

But do we really know anything about Jesus? And why should we be interested anyway?

Jesus sat with people no-one else would sit with. He spoke with people everyone else hated. He had power to heal people with incurable diseases that even modern medicine cannot touch. He raised people from the dead. He, with one word, caused raging seas to immediately go flat calm. He fed thousands upon thousands with a simple prayer. And He is not only attested to in the Bible, but also by secular historians and those who opposed Him.

That's incredible!

But there's more. Jesus said "I have come that you might have life, life in all it's fullness". That's an incredible claim. Perhaps you never heard of it before, but He said it.

When we look at our lives, when we're honest about the mess we have made of them, don't we need what Jesus offers?

He offers us new life - he used the analogy of being 'born again', starting all over again with our wrongs dealt with, our guilt gone, and [vitally] the power to live the life that we really should have lived.

How can you come to know that for yourself?

The following pages are here to help you understand more. They are called "The Four Points", and we have used them with permission of The4Points.com. Read through them one by one. We hope that in reading them you come to find our for yourself that you don't just need to know about Jesus, but that you come to know Jesus for yourself.

God loves me

If you're a member of the human race then God loves you; not just with any old 'love' but with a love that will last forever (Jeremiah 31:3) and one which drove him to give his own son, Jesus to die in your place. As it says in 1John 3:16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us."

You see love is not just something God does, it's what He is. He defines the true meaning of love. In 1John 4:16 it simply says "God is love".

But why would God love us; why would He love you?

I have sinned

Romans 3:23 says "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". That means that every human being has failed meet the perfect standard of God's goodness and righteousness. We have failed because we have done things our way, not God's way. We have disobeyed His instruction which He wrote in both the Bible and in our consciences. God's law is like a pane of glass; it's either broken or it isn't. It's no good saying "I only lied, I never stole". James 2:10 says "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it". Whether it's murder or whether it's just a 'white' lie, whether it's adultery or just jealousy, every sin keeps us from meeting God's standard and has both consequences and penalty!

Jesus died for me

The just penalty for our sin, the wrong things every one of us have done, is spiritual death; separation from God. In the old testament times, God allowed animals to be sacrificed for the people's sin and would accept the shed blood as a substitute for the people's own life. But ever since man had first sinned, God had planned a permanent solution. The ultimate sacrifice that could pay the punishment for everyone's sin and see justice done.

I need to decide to live for Jesus

God has done His part. Jesus gave His own life as a punishment for OUR sin. We didn't deserve it. It wasn't 'fair' but that's how much God loves you.

But now you have to decide if you want to accept this gift of forgiveness, this promise of eternal life. If you want to be free from the punishment you brought on yourself by not doing things God's way, you need to decide to surrender to God and do things His way from now on. You need to believe that He exists, that He loves you and that He died for you.

What now?

So now you know what the 4 points mean but maybe you want to know more or take it further. We do not attempt to provide all the answers to the questions you have here but we can give you some pointers and advice.