About Christianity and Jesus

Part Three

"Why did God choose freedom for us?"

We do not know the whole reason, but we know part of the answer. Personhood requires freedom.

• Where there is no free choice, there is no personality.
• We are real people when we can be ourselves, make our own decisions, and express our personalities, i.e., choose the way we live.
• The Bible says that when God created the human race, He gave us the gift of choice. Joshua 24:15 says, "...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve."
• God has allowed us to decide between right and wrong, rather than turning us into a race of robots.

Suppose you created a robot that could speak, and you programmed it so every time you pushed a button it would say, "I love you, and I will do whatever you ask." You would feel no pleasure from hearing that statement, because it is not the product of a thinking, choosing person. The robot does not love you nor desire to obey you; it is only repeating what you programmed it to say. It would not be a relationship of love, nor would it be true obedience. A relationship demands love, and love requires a choice. It cannot be forced or programmed.

Therefore, if God created us with freedom, there would have to be the possibility for us to appropriately use or misuse it. We could choose to do right, live as He asks us to, love God with our whole heart; or we could choose to do wrong and turn our backs on Him. Unfortunately, the sad story of the human race is that from the beginning, turning their backs on God is what men and women have done. We prefer to be in control ourselves—in effect, to be our own gods.

If we choose to be in control, however,we should understand the consequences. Living a life independent of God means we are likely to get it wrong. If I bought a new car, but ignored the instruction manual and never got it serviced, I should not be surprised if it fell apart. Likewise, when we ignore the Maker's advice, we end up in all sorts of trouble, and have only ourselves to blame.

What about natural disasters like floods and earthquakes?

These natural disasters are not the direct result of human choice, are they? The Bible says that the whole of creation was actually broken because of mankind's broken relationship with God—Rom. 1:18-21; 8:19-23. We are not living in the perfect world God intended for us. Of course, we are not personally responsible for earthquakes, but the Bible claims that the human race as a whole is responsible for the fact that the world is in a mess.

To understand this, we need to realize that the decision Adam made at the time of the fall of mankind was to completely throw off God's leadership. According to the Bible, this choice had repercussions. When Adam said, "I can take care of myself without You," he was rejecting God's leadership, protection, and control.

Unfortunately, man cannot take care of himself. Each generation after Adam that says, "I want to be in control," will have to suffer the same consequences. Man cannot control the environment, hostile microbes, or even his own nature.

So can anything be done about the progressive effect of man's free choice to do evil?

Before we look at what Christians believe is the answer, we should look at some of the other alternatives.

Don't all roads lead to God?

1. "All religions lead to God."

2. "It is up to you what you make of Christianity."

3. "Is Christianity the 'only way'?"

4. "The important thing is to be sincere."

5. "Why do Christians think they are right all the time?"

6. "Isn't it a bit arrogant for Christians to insist they are right and everyone else is wrong?"

7. "Christianity is just 'one way' among many ways."

Several years ago my wife and I went to the British Isles. I had a great time, but the most difficult part for me emotionally was driving in Great Britain. I would never drive in London, but when we got back from Ireland, the rail was on strike, so we had no choice but to rent a car and drive through the Cotswalds, i.e., the countryside.

I could not believe how horrifying it was for me to drive on the wrong side of the road. Everything within me said I was to drive on the right side, but I had to venture over the line to the left. I was totally freaked out. Then, when we came to intersections, we entered the world of round-abouts—big circles of traffic, everyone driving around in a circle. There were no stop signs or lights, just everyone driving "around about" and at a split second having to decide when to venture out of the circle, hopefully onto the right road.

I screamed the first few times, and just continued to drive around and around the circle until my niece and my wife got me calmed down enough to take the risk and make a turn off the round-about. I was so scared on one occasion, I had to pull off to the side of the road to stop shaking. A whole lot of years of driving told me I was going the wrong way.

The situation is complicated by another problem. I sometimes have a tendency to go on automatic pilot when I am driving. For example, one time I was driving from Los Angeles to San Diego on the I-5 freeway. My wife and kids were sleeping. I got so engrossed in what I was thinking about, I drove right by San Diego and did not even see it. (San Diego is not an easy city to miss!) The only way I knew something was wrong was when I woke Nancy up and asked her why they were blocking off the roads. I was at the Mexican border.

So, in other words, I have a tendency to drive instinctively. When I was in England, everything I would normally do while driving no longer worked. I had to pay attention, and I had to drive on the wrong side of the road at 60 miles an hour. (Scream.) If I had arrived in England by myself and done what was normal and natural for me, even instinctively, I would have been wrong. I would have driven down the right hand side of the road, and quite possibly been killed as a result. My belief about driving on the right hand side would have been 100% sincere, but 100% wrong.

Why have I told you this story? It illustrates what many people do when it comes to their belief system. Lots of people sincerely hold the view that all roads lead to God, and all religions are basically the same but in different packaging, a bit like brands of corn flakes at the supermarket.

Some will say, "It is narrow-minded to say that Jesus is the only way to God. Jesus, Muhammad, Krishna are all symbols of God. God isn't limited to Jesus Christ."

Don't all the major world religions point to the same God?

In an age of relativism, people want to think their view of right and wrong is as good as anyone else's, as long as it is sincere.

Let's take a look at just three of the major religions in the world:

• Hinduism believes in many gods.
• Islam insists there's only one god.
• Buddhists are noncommittal about whether god exists at all.

Now we might sincerely want to ignore reality and maintain that all three religions can be right, though they clearly believe contradictory things. But logically, it just doesn't add up. If Islam is right, the other two must be wrong, or vice versa.

Jesus Himself said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me."

Now this outrageous statement is either right or wrong.

If it is right, it categorically insists that no other religion provides a way of building a relationship with the True God. If it is wrong, Jesus was misguided and Christianity is irrelevant, even if we think some of what Jesus said was commendable. Now of course, it is important to respect other peoples' religions and beliefs, but it is no good trying to pretend that they are all equally valid. The facts just will not allow us to do that.

The greatest fundamental difference that separates Christianity from all other religions is the Bible's insistence that the only means of building a true relationship with God is through Jesus.

What does it mean exactly, that the way to a relationship with God is through Jesus?

The story of Jesus centers around what happened to Him on the cross.

Everywhere you go, you see the symbol of the cross: sometimes empty, sometimes with Jesus hanging on it. People wear crosses around their necks and in their ears, and they hang them outside churches.

Have you ever stopped to think about how strange this is?

The cross was an instrument of torture and death; so it is a bit like walking around with a miniature set of gallows hanging from your ears, or a model electric chair dangling from your neck. The reason people focus on the cross, however, is because one of the most important accomplishments Jesus fulfilled was to die on a cross.

The central message of the Bible is that Jesus was crucified for us.

• It says He was wounded for the wrongs we have done.
• He took the punishment we should have received for our wrongs.
• As Jesus was dying on the cross, He shouted out something very strange: "It is finished!" At first this may seem like a cry of despair ("It's all over, I'm dying, I've had it, I've failed.") But in fact, that is not at all how the people standing nearby would have understood what Jesus said. The expression Jesus used would normally have belonged to the world of business. Far from being a cry of defeat, it was a shout of victory!
• "It is finished!" means, "The deal has been struck, the business is done." Or if you like, "The price has been paid in full." The price Jesus paid was His own life in exchange for ours.

We can hardly imagine how much it cost God to allow His only Son to die on the cross. But what about the cost to us in accepting His offer?

• There is a cost.
• Becoming a Christian means putting God in control of your life.
• That means other people's opinions cannot rule your life anymore.
• Being a Christian means change. God will want to change you. But He will change you from the inside out. He will actually make you into the person He intended you to be in the first place. He will make you more yourself, not less. how do you receive God's present of forgiveness?

  Talk to God in prayer. As you pray, you need to:

  • Accept what Jesus did by dying in your place. This can be done silently or aloud. You can stand, sit, or kneel. It makes no difference. What matters is your honesty.

  • Repent of your sin, turn from the road you are on; or if you want to use my illustration from England, cross over the line and go in the opposite direction.
  • Submit your life to follow Him all the days of your life.

  Make sure, however, that following Jesus is what you want to do.

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  If so, read the prayer that follows.

  "Father God, I want to become a real Christian. I admit that until now, the wrong things I have done have cut me off from You. There are many things I have said and done and thought that I am ashamed of and sorry for. I do not deserve Your love or forgiveness, but I know it is available to me right now. I trust that Jesus died for me on the cross, so I can have a new relationship with You. Please forgive me now, especially for keeping You on the sidelines of my life, and not allowing You to really be my God. I place my life into Your hands. I want to serve You from this moment on. I want to be a follower of Jesus for the rest of my life." Amen.

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