Jesus comes to give life and give life more abundantly

As I was thinking one day on the scripture in John 10:10, Jesus said, “I am come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Right away my thoughts were, how do I know that? Because that is what the Bible says! How is it possible that a man could give life more abundantly? Because not only was Jesus a man when he walked on this earth, he is God, the third member of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. You may ask how I know this. It’s because the Bible says so. God’s Word is the writings of holy men of God inspired by the Holy Spirit.

Jesus was the Messiah. He was born of a virgin, conceived of the Holy Spirit. He had divine blood flowing in his veins. Jesus’ blood was never contaminated by the sin that came upon the world when Adam sinned in the Garden of the Eden. It has been said medical science definitely has known the blood, which flows in an unborn baby’s arteries and veins, is not derived from the mother. When Jesus was born on this earth, he was all man, He was the son of God. When he ministered on this earth, he set his deity aside and ministered in the power of the Holy Spirit.

God had a plan to redeem all mankind from sin and sickness, and that was only possible through Jesus Christ the Messiah, when Jesus went to the cross, shed his blood, died and rose, He made that sacrifice for sin for all mankind. He was our substitute; he paid the price to buy us back from Satan’s domain with his very own blood. The Word says that Satan is the ruler of this world, he took that at the fall of Adam.

When we accept what Jesus has done for us, make him Lord and Savior, make that commitment in our hearts, our innermost beings. We become a child of God, and we’re no longer under Satan’s rule, but one of God’s chosen people.

Eternal life in heaven with God is mine; not only mine, but for anyone who accepts the Lord Jesus Christ, the price is already been paid for eternal life all you have to do is accept Jesus.

The unbelieving person gets kind of mad at the Christian because they say we are trying to push Jesus on them, in reality we want them to have eternal life. We don’t want them to spend eternity in Hell. One man asked me that if God is such a good God, why would he send all those people to Hell? Well, I told him God does not send people to Hell. He made a way (to avoid Hell) through Jesus Christ!

The reason Hell is there is for Satan and his fallen angels. Man has a choice — choose Jesus and everlasting life.

The only way you are going to get to Heaven is through Jesus Christ. Those who do not believe in the Word of God, the Bible, do not like that statement because they pick and choose what they want to believe. They make statements like, “We are in new times,” or they say what was a sin stated in the Bible or even an abomination is no longer true. There again, some scoffers of the Bible say that Christians today take their theology teachings from 300 or 400 years after Jesus walked on this earth. However, through the Bible, Christians know his Word was established and God’s Word never changes, nor does God. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

We as Christians need to be bold in our confession of the Lord Jesus Christ and bring the gospel forward, for there are many out there who are doing much damage. Titus 1:11 says, “Whose mouths must be stopped. ... Teaching things which ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain.” Then it goes on to say, “rebuke them sharply;” and the 16th verse says, “they profess to know God, but in works they deny him ...”

What are the works of a Christian? For one thing, their confession will line up with the Word of God. Christianity is not a pick-and-choose religion. We as Christians must continue to tell the world about Jesus. There will be those who resist the gospel. There will be those that want to change and manipulate God’s Word. But even so, we cannot turn our backs and get discouraged. We need to continue in the work of the Lord.

First Corinthians 15:58 says to “be strong and steady, always enthusiastic about the Lord’s work, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.”

We need to tell people God is not mad at them and when they make Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior, heaven is their home for eternity.

Lavon Barve works with Cup of Life Ministry in Wasilla.

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