FROM THE PREACHER'S LENSES

Sam AwedaTuesday, December 16, 2014
[email protected]
USA

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TO YOUR FRIENDS

WHY I AM A CHRISTIAN


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Note to readers:

What you are just about to read is a radio broadcast. I will be glad to post the audio to you on request. You will certainly find it a good Christmas gift for your friends and relations. After I post the audio, you may wish to burn it on CD and present to your friends and relations who have no e-mail address.

here is no time we do not talk about the person, Jesus Christ, but at Christmas time, when we celebrate His coming in to the world, call it "His birthday" if you like, provides a unique and special opportunity to talk about Him.

So today, I want to talk about God who came in human form, named Jesus Christ and explain why I follow Him. I am not preaching today, I only want the world to know why I am a Christian among all other religions. So come with me as I explain why I am a Christian.

Let us bow down our heads reverently before God as Dr. Deacon Kayode Samuel leads us in prayers.

Why I am a Christian

I have read about so many popular personalities in history but one person stands out uniquely among them. He had the appearance of a man, He behaved as a human being; he was hungry, he was thirsty but at the same time, his behavior, wisdom and utterances were of a higher order, above that of any human being in history. His behavior, wisdom and utterances are like that of God, the creator of the heaven and earth and all that are there in.

I did not get the account of His behavior, claims, wisdom and utterances from the Bible alone but from many other sources; particularly from several reports including those ones, which Pilate, the governor in Jerusalem sent from time to time to his home government in Rome. Remember Israel was under the Colony of Rome at the time of Jesus Christ.

Every religion describes God as holy and man as a sinner and because man is a sinner, he is disqualified to live with God in heaven at the close of age.

The Bible says that the best of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags in the sight of God (Isaiah 64: 6). This indicates doom for us, call it hell of you like.

1450 years before the birth of Christ, Moses claimed that God wrote for him a set of laws, which were intended to guide the people into holy life style.

King David hundreds of years later described those laws, this way "The instructions (laws) of the LORD are perfect,

reviving the soul.

The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy,

making wise the simple.

8 The commandments of the LORD are right,

bringing joy to the heart.

9 Reverence for the LORD is pure,

lasting forever.

The laws of the LORD are true;

each one is fair.

10 They are more desirable than gold,

even the finest gold.

They are sweeter than honey,

even honey dripping from the comb.

11 They are a warning to your servant,

and in keeping of them there is great reward.

These laws are scattered in the books of the Bible authored by Moses in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

572 years after the appearance of Christ, another great prophet was born, who brought a set of laws.

But when one looks at several of these laws, which are referred to as "Sharia", they are not very much different in context and content with what Moses had put in place 2000 years earlier, approx.

Most of the legal systems of all the countries of the world found their roots from these laws of Moses and Sharia.

But unfortunately, man has failed woefully in abiding with these laws and not just today but right from the beginning.

Failure of man to obey these laws informed the wars and uprising in the world and inequality in the society where some people have wealth in surplus while others are poor as Church rats.

The Pharisees in the days of Jesus boasted of their religious services and acted pious. Jesus educated them of the depth of the law in order for them to realize that all their religious services do not and cannot impress God. He told them 27 You have heard the commandment that says, You must not commit adultery28 But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matt. 5: 27-28)

With this eye opener, I want to hear one man born of a woman, say he has never lusted after a woman, that person is a liar and a hypocrite.

James, the brother of Jesus and the early Pastor in Jerusalem expatiated it this way:

10 For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God's laws. 11 For the same God who said, "You must not commit adultery," also said, "You must not murder."[e] So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law (James 2:10-12).

With this, I want to hear a man or a woman who wants to say then that he or she is righteous and qualify for heaven. And if no unrighteous person will live with God at the end of the age, then we all are doomed for hell.

Reading the Holy books, if we are going to be judged by the works of our hands, I will not be qualified for a place in heaven and I want to know someone who can claim he can.

We must therefore get acquainted with the plan of God to make us holy, which God has designed for us in order to enter heaven.

I always pity people who always esteem themselves as right hands of God because of their religious services because if they know what is entailed in the law system, given by Moses, which is also called 'Sharia', they would have realized how unworthy they are in the eyes of God, qualified for nothing but hell.

Paul described those laws as "The doom of impossible system" (Gal.3:13 LB). Peter described it as "A burden, which our forefathers nor we were unable to bear" (Acts 15:10).

Let everyone read the books of Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus & Deuteronomy of the Bible in order to understand what really these laws entails.

What then is the way of escape?

He (God) knew that by the works of our hands, no one can see Him, so He provided a soft landing for us through Jesus Christ. Jesus by His cruel death, met all the requirements of the 'Ceremonial (Religious) Laws" required of us and that is why He said "I have not come to destroy the law but to fulfill them"

Blood sacrifice is all that can appease God.

Why is it blood?

Because we all are condemned to eternal death, another life must be sacrificed as exchange, in order to live again as God says it in Leviticus 17 11 for the life of the body is in its blood. I have given you the blood on the altar to purify you, making you right with me (the LORD). It is the blood, given in exchange for a life, that makes purification possible, summarized in Hebrews as follows "Nearly everything was purified with blood. For without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness" (Heb. 9: 22).

I do not know of any religion who does not use blood to appease his god. Every religion uses it. But it is certain that the blood of goat or ram cannot perfect the cleansing. If it can, then we won't have to be doing it year in year out as the writer of Hebrews explains it.

If the blood of animal cannot appease God and we say, let us use the blood of a human being. But who is that person whose blood will be acceptable to God to appease Him? Himself a sinner who needs cleansing in order to have his sins forgiven! This is the relevance of Jesus. His blood is pure. It is stainless. This is so because He was a detachment, a part of God who is in heaven.

So, how do we cleanse our sins in order to live with God at the end of age?

God in His infinite mercy then provided a soft landing for us through Jesus Christ who is part of Him and a detachment of Him when He came into the world. Only the spirit of God will explain to anyone the mystery of relationship of Jesus to God.

The night prior His crucifixion, as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body.

27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, "Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant[d] between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many (Matt. 26:26-28).

I have not read or heard anyone else in history claim that his/her blood cleanses sin.

Jesus said of himself "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" " He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not only see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. (John 3 16 & 36)

These are the things among others that inform my decision to be a Christian because we do not have any other person on record who makes similar claims that believing in him lies our salvation.

Jesus said he laid down his life for his friends (John 15:13). No other person ever made such a claim.

Jesus said at another time "I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"

No other person in history has ever claimed he came from heaven other than Jesus. He told the learned old man, Nicodemus "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3 12-13).

No other person in history has ever claimed that he and the father (God) are one, other than Jesus (John 10: 30)

No other person in history said with such authority to say "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

No other person other than Jesus in history had the boldness to say "I am the way, the truth and the life, no one can come to the father but by me" (John 14:6).

Jesus in the flesh came through the lineage of Abraham also known as Ibrahim. Yet Jesus, 30 years old told the Jews "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad"(John 8: 56)

57 Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham?

58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am (John8. 56-58)

He spoke familiarly of events that took place since creation, which let Him out that He was there at creation.

My position is that if someone else in history, had made similar claims, even only one, there may have been some doubts or confusion in me. But since no one else has done, then it will be hard folly on my part to ignore these facts and do otherwise.

Pilate invited Jesus for a meeting. He told Jesus among others "Your words are those of a sage. I know not whether you have read Socrates or Plato, but this I know there is in your discourses majestic simplicity that elevates you far above those philosophers"

I did not read this report in the Bible but an excerpt of several reports, which Pilate, the Colonial master wrote to his government in Rome.

Jesus was in a ship when a deadly storm arose. When other voyagers panicked to the bone marrow, Jesus rebuked the storm with three simple words "Peace be still" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm to the fear of other travelers and they said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4 35-42).

No one in history had his birth so foretold, so prophesied, so mentioned, hundreds of years before he was born. Special significant Stars shone hundreds of miles away from his birth place. Angels visited and announced the good news of his birth to the shepherds watching over their flock in the night at the outskirt the city of Bethlehem.

No one in history had nature stood still at his death like it was with Jesus; darkness fell over the city; afternoon turned to darkness. Pilate reported to Rome that "There was earthquake that reached lower Egypt. So dreadful were the signs that men saw, both in the heavens and on the earth that Dionysius, the Aeropagite is reported to have exclaimed, 'Either the author of nature is suffering or the universe is falling apart'.

The description of his resurrection from death, 3 days after he was murdered was beyond description.

There are many other information that inform my decision to follow Jesus but time will not permit.

My final position is this:

I confess Jesus as my Lord and my savior already as I understand it and if after we get to heaven, it is not the name of Jesus we need, I will have lost nothing. But it will be a regret and a calamity if on the judgment day, it is Jesus name we need and I have been disobedient on earth by rejecting the offer at the time opportune. I am neither a Jew nor an Arab descendant, there is therefore no need for sentiment, I must do what I find to be the truth to the best of my own interest. Salvation is not a thing I can play sentiment with because after death, all that remains is judgement and no plea will be taken any longer. No amount of weeping will help. It will remain me and my obedience to God when I was alive.

However, my firm believe remains that no religion preaches evil nor encourage anyone to do evil and with this, it is my strong believe that all of us from our different faith background, we should use the teachings in our holy books to take the reproach of Nigeria away by applying all the good teachings in our holy books to our daily lives, to live a life of live and let live.

It is shear ignorance for me to avoid people of other religions and it is ignorant for people of other religions to avoid me. I believe that God wants us to live in harmony among ourselves irrespective of our faiths and to consider the interest of the other fellows. This is the only option open to us particularly in Nigeria if we must live in peace and in order that all of us partake of the wealth, which God has bestowed on us.

Note to readers:

As you may observe, what you have just read is a radio broadcast. I will be glad to post the audio to you on request. You will certainly find it a good Christmas gift for your friends and relations. After I post the audio, you may wish to burn it on CD and present to your friends and relations who have no e-mail address.

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