‘What if?’ is a relaxed, informal, free chance to explore some of the big questions in life. It involves some food, a talk and opportunity for questions and discussion. Our next ‘What if? Taster’ (introductory session) has not yet been confirmed. For more info Email: hello@redeemerbirmingham.org.uk or Text/Call: 07525 611835.
What if a man came to your town claiming to be a billionaire and is offering anyone who needs or really wants it a million pounds! It may seem very unlikely to be true but wouldn’t you kick yourself if he turned out to be genuine and you had missed the opportunity?
Isn’t a claim which could change your life if true worth investigating?
Surely the bigger and better the claim the more sense it makes to look into it to find out whether it is true or not.
No-one throughout history has made bigger and better claims than one man. He made claims about life, love, happiness, meaning, forgiveness, freedom, satisfaction, the world and eternity which if true will change everything for all of us!
The sheer size and appeal of his claims demands we investigate them before we decide what we make of them. Surely it is only rational to consider Jesus and his claims?
We need to make sure we investigate the claims for ourselves. This is too big a life issue to rely only on what we may have heard from other people, whether this is from parents, teachers, or TV etc. Please don’t dismiss Jesus because you already think you know what he is all about, when what you have heard may be very different from the reality. Have you ever really read and considered what he said for yourself?
My plea is please, please consider Jesus! Look into him and test what he said for yourself. There is too much at stake, to much to be potentially lost and gained. If we are not going to follow Jesus we need to be sure why!
What if Jesus was telling the truth? He is worth considering!
Five different ways you could start investigating Jesus are:
1) Come along to ‘What if?’ (a relaxed, fun, free event based around food set up to help people look into the life and claims of Jesus)
2) Come along to our Sunday meeting, or any of our other events
3) Read a gospel (Matthew, Mark, Luke or John). These are the four biographies of Jesus life from the Bible (we can send you one for free)
4) Ask Jesus to make himself known to you
5) Email, text or call with any questions or comments hello@redeemerbirmingham.org.uk 07525 611835
6) Read on below for an explanation of the Good News.
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Reality Check
Whether we struggle with life or whether we enjoy it, the tragic reality (which we understandably perhaps try not to think about), is that we will all one day die. However, there is much hope! Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even though he dies.” About 2000 years ago, because He loves you, Jesus died on the cross for all who would believe in Him, and then two days later came back to life, defeating death, and is still alive today! Because of this He has made it possible for us to be saved from death and have life now and forever with God.
This is not just talk, it is for real! Please read on to find out more. Nothing is more important than this!
Everyone
In the Bible we read that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. This means every person in the world ever is a sinner, we are all guilty of rebelling against God in breaking His good law. We have treated God awfully. He created and provides for us, giving us every breath, yet we just ignore Him. The Bible tells us “all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” This means that even the best things we do are actually sinful. This is because, in reality, we don’t do them in love for God, but for ourselves whilst ignoring God. This offends God and deeply saddens His heart. No-one can think themselves superior to anyone else, our lives may look different but fundamentally we are all in the same boat!
God is Holy
In the Bible we read “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD God Almighty.” Holy means perfect, unique and totally fair. Nothing God is or does is anything less than the best; He always does what is perfectly right and loving. This is why God hates sin; it makes Him rightly angry as it is a direct insult to, and rejection of, who He is, and what is good for the world.
Sin & death
In the Bible we read “the wages of sin is death.” This means sin earns or deserves the fair ‘eternal punishment’ of death. Sin is living separately from God, instead of living our whole lives in love for and enjoyment of God, as He deserves, and is best for us. So in the end God gives us what we want, existence without Him and any of His goodness. This is what Jesus calls ‘hell’.
The Rescue
But there is Good News! The The Bible tells us “for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life”. This means that although God hates our sin, He still loves us and desires to know and be with us more than we could ever imagine! Due to His love for us, God put into action the most extraordinary rescue plan. He sent His perfect Son Jesus to die in the place for all who would believe in Him. The Bible says “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The Swap
Jesus died and rose again so that a swap could take place. The swap is that on the cross Jesus takes the punishment our sin deserves for us, and we can have Jesus’ perfect life recorded in heaven as our own! This way God still rightly deals with our sin, but we go free! We are enabled to know and live with God forever, because when God looks at us He does not see all our sin but sees Jesus’ perfect life. All our sins are forgiven; we are washed clean and made perfect in God’s sight. The Bible tells us “not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith”.
This is God’s free gift to us. It cost Him more than we will ever know, but all we need to do, is to receive it. However, if we continue to refuse this gift, we will have to take the punishment for our sin ourselves, as this must be paid for one way or the other. God in His Holy fairness cannot just pretend sin did not happen it must be dealt with.
How to Receive the Gift
In the Bible we read we need to “Repent and believe the good news!” To repent means to be sorry for your sin, to acknowledge Jesus as your king, and to desire to follow Him and His ways. To believe means to rely on Jesus’ death & resurrection alone to forgive and save you.
If you want to do this now, you can say this prayer to God or use your own words…
‘Holy God, I am sorry for my sin and for rebelling against you. Please forgive and save me. I believe Jesus died and came back to life again for me. I want to follow wherever you lead me, and live to be with you. Thank you that you love me so much, that you are now my Father, and that I now have eternal life with you. Please drench me now with you Holy Spirit, that I may be changed, healed and receive your power to truly live.’
If you have just prayed this and meant it, praise God, you have just done the most important thing in your life! You are now a Christian, a child of God. I would love to hear from you.
If you haven’t yet believed, could I encourage you to keep seeking and asking your questions. This really is the most important thing in the world. Jesus is one day going to return to the earth to bring God’s eternal life or punishment to all people.
(Bible quotes John 11v25esv, Romans 3v23esv, Isaiah 64v6esv, Revelation 4v8, Romans 6v23esv, Matthew 25v46, Matthew 10v28, John 3v16esv, Romans 5v8esv, Philippians 3v9esv, Mark 1v15niv)
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