No Alternative

August 27

What does it mean to believe in Jesus? That assertion, though valid for countless millions of souls, has more than one level of application. For some, it is a nominal assent, entailing essentially that a Man named Jesus is an actual, historical figure, that He was a gentle spirit, loving teacher, and helper of His fellow man.

To another, He is a claimant of the title of Messiah, although He neglected to accomplish the military victories required of the Conquering Messiah, and therefore His claim is not considered to be viable. To others, Jesus is indeed the Messiah who came to suffer for the sins of all mankind as foretold in Isaiah 54 and He will come again in great glory to defeat God’s adversary once and for all.

To believe passionately in Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord places a man in a different category than does merely recognizing Him as an historical figure or a charlatan who’s made false claims to Messiahship. As Paul said in II Corinthians 4:13, to be an espouser of the Savior Christ is to, “…believe, therefore I have spoken; with that same spirit of faith you also believe and therefore speak.”

When one’s spiritual eyes have been opened, when the light of the reality of one’s need for salvation becomes clear, when one recognizes that there is only ONE who fits the criterion for being that Savior, that Messiah, that Holy One who left heaven to walk among us and carry our sin away from us, there is no alternative than to speak of Him, to share one’s faith in Him—so all may know and be saved.