Don Stewart :: According to the New Testament, Who Is Jesus?

Whenever we read any book our goal should be to discover the intention or purpose of the author. As far as the New Testament is concerned, the main character is Jesus Christ and the New Testament was written to create belief in Him. This is the claim it makes for itself:

Many other signs Jesus performed in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book, but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and that believing you might have life in his name (John 20:30,31).

These verses are highly instructive. John's purpose in writing was to create in his readers, belief in Jesus. He tells us that he was selective in the signs that he recorded about the life and ministry of Jesus, but that the signs that were given were meant to cause the reader to believe. This is his stated purpose. The remainder of the New Testament echoes that same purpose.

There Is One Way To Reach The One God

When Jesus came to earth, He made a variety of claims about Himself. One thing that Jesus claimed was that He Himself was the only possible way that a person could have a relationship with God. There are many who do not like this assertion because it seems so narrow-minded. Others try to deny that Jesus said or meant this. But the record is clear, and whether a person likes it or not, Jesus made the colossal claim that nobody could know the living God except by means of Him. Jesus told the people of His day:

For if you do not believe that I am he, you will die in your sins (John 8:24).

To His disciples in the upper room He said.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God trust also in me (John 14:1).

Jesus also said.

I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).

At another time He said:

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live (John 5:24,25).

Elsewhere Jesus declared:

He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him (John 3:36).

The Claims Of The Book Of Acts

The Book of Acts also makes the claim that Jesus is the only way to reach God. The Apostle Peter said:

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

Note well his claim. There is no salvation outside of the person of Jesus Christ. He is the only way by which a person can be saved.

The Claims Of Paul

The Apostle Paul echoes this thought. He also stated that Jesus was the only way to get to God.

For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, the humanity Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Paul also wrote.

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23).

Later in Romans he wrote.

That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation (Romans 10:9,10).

According to Scripture there is one God, and one go-between, Jesus Christ. There is no other way!

The Testimony Of The Book Of Hebrews

The writer to the Hebrews said.

Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25).

The Claims Were Not Invented By The Church

The idea that Jesus is the only way to get to God was not invented by the church but was central to His message. Therefore, according to the New Testament, there is no other way to reach God except through Jesus.

Whether a person believes it or not, the record is clear - Jesus Himself believed and taught that only through Him could a person have their sins forgiven and come to know the living God.

There Are Two Basic Questions That Need To Be Answered

There are two basic questions that need to be answered about the person of Jesus Christ. The first question Jesus Himself asked His disciples.

"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" (Matthew 16:15).

Pontius Pilate asked the second question.

What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ? (Matthew 27:22).

According to Scripture the eternal destiny of each individual depends upon how they answer these questions.

Summary

The stated purpose of the New Testament is to create belief in the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. Those who believe this message have life through His name. The specific claim of the New Testament is there is only God and only one way to get to the one God - through Jesus Christ. All others are pretenders. There is no salvation outside of the person of Jesus Christ. This is their claim, not something the church later invented. Two basic questions about Jesus need to be answered by each individual. The first is, "Who do you think that He is?" The second question is, "What will you do with Him?"