Christ Is The Answer!

by Rev. Max Solbrekken, D.D.

      “And when they were come to the multitude, there came to Him a certain man, kneeling down to Him, and saying, Lord have mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed: for oftimes he falleth into the fire, and oft into the water. And I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him.

      “Then Jesus answered and said, O foolish and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? Bring him hither to Me. And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child was cured from that very hour.” (Matt.17: 14-18)

    While on a visit to the USA - in the dying days of the former Soviet Union – MIKHAEL GORBACHEV stated: “Only Jesus Christ had the solutions to all the world’s problems. I do not possess that skill”.

      Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no man cometh unto the Father but by Me”. (John 14:6)

      Not only does Jesus Christ have the answers to all the problems and questions of life, HE IS THE ANSWER!

     St. Paul stated, “But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, Who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption”. (1 Cor. 1:30)

Again the Bible says, “In Whom (Jesus Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. (Col. 2:3)

JESUS SAID, COME UNTO ME!

     Jesus stated, “Come unto Me all ye who labour are heavy laden, and Iwill give you rest”. (Matt. 11:28);  “...and him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast out”. (John 6:37)

     Jesus Christ is the Fulfillment of all Old Testament prophecies relating to the Coming of the Just One, the Jewish Messiah! He also quenches the spiritual thirst of each genuine seeking soul!

    To the Samaritan woman’s question, Jesus answered: “Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be a well of water springing up into eternal life”. (John 4:13)

     Again He said, “...He that believeth on Me, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this He spake of the Spirit, which they that believe on Him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” (John 7:38-39)

     Our Compassionate Saviour constantly invites us all: “Come unto Me, learn of Me, lean on Me, receive of Mine”. To the troubled disciples in the boat, Jesus asked, “Why are ye so fearful...”

     Reacting to the desperate cry of a sinking Simon Peter, He leaped across the waters and lifted him up. “Why did you doubt”? He asked.

      Concerning the hungry multitudes in the desert place, He simply said, “Give ye them to eat”. Then He blessed the few loaves of bread and fishes and gave to His disciples to distribute to the masses. After more than 5,000 men besides women and children had eaten, there were 12 baskets left over!

     He admonished the tired disciples to:“Come ye apart and rest a while”, and to the father of the deaf and dumb epileptic boy, He said, “Bring him to Me”. Then He commanded the tormenting infirm spirits to come out of the boy, and he became well!

                                          I WILL, BE THOU CLEAN!

     A leper once came to Jesus saying: “If Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean”. Jesus replied, “I will, be thou clean”. And he was cleansed!

     The Roman centurion who came to Jesus asking for a miracle for his servant heard the Master say, “I will come and heal him”.

      When the soldier remonstrated, “I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof...but speak the Word only and my servant shall be healed, Jesus was amazed at his faith and answered, “Go thy way, thy servant liveth”.

       Regarding a woman bound by arthritis - who came to Him on the Sabbath - He asked, “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?” (Luke 13:16)

      Then He cast out the tormenting spirit of infirmity and liberated her from her bondage!

And to the paralytic who had lain at the pool of Bethesda for 38 years, waiting for a miracle, Jesus said, “Rise, take up thy bed and walk”. (John 5:8)

      And to Jairus’ dead daughter whom He raised back to life, Jesus simply said, “Talitha cumi” ei - little lamb, I say unto thee arise. She came back to life, opened her eyes and ate some food in their presence!

      Clearly stated, there is but ONE God and Father and One Lord Jesus Christ Who is both Creator, Judge and Sustainer of the world and Sole Saviour and Redeemer of the human race and One blessed Holy Spirit of God Who draws all men to Christ.

     All other so-called gods, goddesses and deities are mere couterfeits, imitators and pretenders! It is Christ and Christ ALONE Who saves, heals, delivers and liberates from sin, fear, sickness, disease and all the powers of darkness and Satan!

     The Holy Bible states: “But to us (believers) there is but One God, the Father of Whom are all things, and we in Him, and One Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom are all things, and we by Him.” (1 Cor.8: 6)

THE BLOOD OF CHRIST:

MANKIND'S ONLY HOPE!

     St. Paul declared: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but to us which are saved it is the power of God.

      “But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” (1 Cor. 1: 17,18,23,24)

     For many years the Christian Church has presented the claims of Jesus Christ to be able to save lost souls, heal the sick and liberate the suffering and wounded, granting eternal life on the basis of His shed blood, vicarious death and glorious resurrection!

      In his book, 'The Cruciality of the Cross', Dr. Henry Mabie writes, “The Greek word used by Paul in 1 Cor.1: 18 is Logos.., 'not preaching' but 'the subject matter of preaching, with the very essence of that which was to be preached; with the Logos of the cross, which constitutes a rationale, its divine reason which...he declares to be the wisdom of God.

     “This LOGOS of the CROSS is conceived by Paul to be the Key which unlocks the riddle of the universe, Solves all mysteries and Reconciles all things.”

WE ARE LEFT SPEECHLESS!

    The sacrificial death of the incarnated (God in human flesh) Son of God to redeem the world, is a subject matter so powerful, magnanimous and incomprehensible that mortal man can only stand in holy awe at its immensity, enormity and grandiose love, that we are left speechless!

     The BLOOD of Jesus Christ which He freely gave for sinful, rebellious, guilty, hell-bound sinners, purges our conscience from all guilt, delivers us from the power of sin and liberates us from Satan and his evil kingdom for time and eternity.

      As Dr. Henry Mabie states, “The Logos of the Cross is conceived by Paul to be the Key which unlocks the riddle of the universe, solves all mysteries and reconciles all things.”

     If incompetant, atheistic evolutionists would take a serious look at God's Word, they would change their ridiculous monkey-theory world view and embrace the Gospel of Christ.

      When unbelievers learn that God created “all things” through Jesus Christ, they will fall down and worship Him like St. Thomas and real scientists like Werner von Braun, the father of the 'Man on the Moon' project! (Heb.1: 10-12)

      The CROSS unlocks the “riddle of the universe” because the ONE Who bled, died and rose again is the ONE Who created all things!

     The CROSS “solves all mysteries” about God, why He created the worlds, why He sent His Son to die and why He created us? His death on the CROSS and His glorious resurrection from the dead on the Third Day solves all mysteries.

     The CROSS “reconciles all things”. His blood cleanses all who truly repent and brings reconciliation between nations, tribes, communities, families and individuals!

                                        JESUS APPEARED TO SAUL!

      I agree one hundred per cent with that analysis and commentary. St Paul wrote: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither has entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” (1 Cor. 2: 9)

       St. Paul, who was one of the world's most brilliant Jews, had been deceived through a faulty theology about their Messiah. When He met the glorified Son of God on the Damascus Road, he was incapacitated and physically blinded by His presence.

      “And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from Heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?

      And he said, Who art Thou, Lord? And the Lord said, Arise I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks (goads).

      “And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

      “And Saul arose from the earth: and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” (Acts 9: 3-9)

      Jesus has a unique way of getting people's attention. He certainly got the attention of this hateful Jewish terrorist who was persecuting the entire fledgling Christian Community!

                                           GOD'S CALL TO US ALL!

      Testifying to the Jews, St. Paul stated: “And when I coud not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came to Damascus.

      “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour, I looked up upon him.

       “And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest KNOW His will, and SEE the Just One, and shouldest HEAR the words of His mouth. For thou shalt be His WITNESS unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.

      “And now why tarriest thou? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” (Acts 22: 12-16)

      Here is God's call to Saul of Tarsus. It is also a call to those who carry His Gospel to the lost and dying, and to every generation as well. First, we must know His will for us.

Second, we must see the Just One. Saul was blessed to see His face on several occasions.          We may not see His face as Saul did, but we can see His face in the Holy Scriptures.

Third, he heard His audible voice. We may not have that privilege but we hear His voice as we read the Holy Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit! Fourth, he was called to be His witness to everyone and we are also called to do the same!

                                      GO YE INTO ALL THE WORLD!

      Jesus said: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that beliveth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe.

       “In My name shall they cast out devils, they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover.

                                              JESUS WAS BORN TO DIE!

He came to earth the promise to fulfill

A rugged cross He bore up Calvary's Hill

And for my sins He cried, 'Father Forgive'

Born to die, that might Live

Born to die, a cruel cross to bear

Born to die His everlasting love to share

Between two thieves

He bowed His head and cried

It's finished now. I came to die

      The Holy Scriptures bind all true believers to Jesus Christ. The Word of God and the Spirit of God agree on that absolute truth. There is no gospel without Jesus of Nazareth, shedding His holy and pure BLOOD as God's Paschal Lamb, to redeem mankind from the curse of the Law. (Gal.3: 13)

     Without Jesus Christ there would be no forgiveness for sins, no peace for troubled minds, no joy for sorrowing souls and no eternal life for hell-bound sinners! In Him we live, move and have our being (Acts 17: 28). As He is, so are we in the world. (1 John 4: 4-17). 
     Through Christ we have become children of God and joint heirs with Him. (Rom.8: 17). Through Christ, we have been made partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. (Col.1:12-13). Thanks be unto God, Who always makes us triumph in Christ. (2 Cor.2: 14). 
      We are more than conquorors through Christ Who loves us. (Rom.8: 27). Greater is He Who is in us, than he (Satan) who is in the world. (1 John 4: 4). With God all things are possible through Christ. (Mark 9: 23; 10: 27).

    The Bottom Line: We are safe because we belong to Him. We are His property, purchased by His precious blood. (1 Cor.6: 19, 20). “For ye are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ,Who is our LIFE, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in Glory.” (Col.3: 3). It doesn't get any better that that!

                                      IS JESUS CHRIST TRULY GOD?

     Who is Jesus Christ? Is He truly God? If He is, then let us worship Him and serve Him. If He is, then we are in good hands. If He is truly God and was incarnated (God in human flesh) so that He could die for our sins and redeem us, then His LOVE for us is greater than any and all human love. If He is, then Heaven is real and the Bible is true!

     If He loved us that much, then it is beyond comprehension or understanding. It is beyond the scope of human thought or imagination. It is truly apodeictic – Evident beyond contradictions.

     If Jesus of Nazareth is truly God as He claimed, then NOTHING is too costly, too difficult, too arduous or beyond human capabilities or reasoning for mortal man to abandon, in order to KNOW Him and declare His Lordship and Eternal Majesty, to a corrupt, idolatrous and dying word!

     If Jesus of Nazareth was truly God the Son in human flesh, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a Jewish virgin maiden, walked among men to show us the mercy, grace and love of our Creator, for the sole purpose of securing our Eternal Savation, by meeting the demands of Divine Justice through His condescending tortourous sacrifice on our behalf on the Hill of Shame, the 'Place of the Skull' called Golgotha, then our love, devotion and absolute commitment to Him in all things MUST become our Number One Priority!

     And because He has showered His love and grace upon a perverted world through the outpouring of His precious Holy Spirit upon His Church for almost 2,000 years, should it not cause sinning mankind to fall down upon BENDED KNEE and cry out with the Roman Centurion Longinus and his soldiers who crucified our Saviour, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” Amen.