I hear that from a lot of folks who have been burned by the church. They say to me, “I just don’t feel the need for Christ or getting involved in a church.” Christianity is not something that we package and sell at Wal-Mart, Belks, or Bi-Lo. It's not some commodity that’s going to add just a sparkle of happiness to our lives. It's developing a relationship with the Creator of the Universe that can last for all of eternity. The church is just a facilitator of this message to a world that is looking desperately for answers. It is and always has been filled with people that are there changed by the grace of God. As with anything that men are involved with it's not perfect, but that should never reflect on the need for every individual to have a personal relationship with Christ.
If the only reason a human being ever needed Jesus was to be happy with their life and a person is already happy without Jesus, then they certainly don’t need Jesus. The Bible indicates, however, that there’s a reason you need Jesus. There is a God who is altogether holy, who is perfectly just, and who declares that he is going to judge the world and hold every human being accountable for their life. As a perfectly holy and just God, he requires from each one of us a life of perfect obedience and of perfect justness. If there is such a God and if you have lived a life of perfect justness and obedience then you certainly don’t need Jesus. You don’t need a Savior because only unjust people have a problem.
If God is just and requires perfection from me and I come short of that perfection and he is going to deal with me according to justice, then I am looking at a future punishment at the hands of a holy God. If the only way I can escape that punishment is through a Savior and if I want to escape that, then I need a Savior. Some people will say that we’re just trying to preach Jesus as a ticket out of hell, as a way to escape eternal punishment. That’s not the only reason I would commend Jesus to people, but that is one of the reasons.
I think that many people in today’s culture don’t really believe that God is going to hold them accountable for their lives and that God really does not require righteousness. When we take that view, we don’t feel the weight of the threat of judgment. If you’re not afraid to deal with God’s punishment, then be happy the way you are. However, I would be living in terrible fear and trembling at the prospect of falling into the hands of a holy God without knowing my sins had been covered by His blood.
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